Considering the cowardly behaviour of National Party since, well, forever why do you still vote for them?
And, no, I don’t support the tagging. But, then, I most definitely don’t support the lying by National that has hurt so many people while they hide behind laws and self-righteousness.
Winston’s ultimate fantasy may be realised – effectively staying out of government but forcing minority Labour and National administrations come to him to beg permission to be PM for a month or two, until he decides to give the other side a turn. And shaping policy to suit his mood – otherwise down it goes.
If a government falls, does it automatically mean a general election? Or can a new government have an opportunity to form? I’m up to speed with how it works in Britain, where a government can be bundled out of office without it precipitating a new election (I long for the day Theresa May visits Queenie and utters the words, “Your majesty, I suggest you send for Mr Corbyn.”) but have to admit I’ve never bothered to find out if the same thing applies in New Zealand.
Obviously, the ‘every couple of months’ was hyperbole, but replacing one administration with another would delight Winston – people keep telling him he’s a kingmaker, after all. Why stop at one?
No, it only causes a general election if nobody can form a government. In theory, NZ First could change support from National to Labour + Greens or vice versa, and as long as the new government had 61 votes, it would be able to continue.
“Winston’s ultimate fantasy may be realised – effectively staying out of government but forcing minority Labour and National administrations come to him to beg permission to be PM for a month or two, until he decides to give the other side a turn.”
Explain how that would work? Doesn’t look constitutionally possible to me (or in any way likely).
Obviously the ‘couple of months’ part was hyperbole. But he could (maybe?) simply offer a sub confidence and supply deal to National – “Okay, Willy, you get to call yourself PM. But anything you want passed, you bring to me first. If I like it, I’ll back it. If you don’t like it, then you can try your luck with the Greens and Jacinda.”
That would work – assuming English liked being abused in this way (given he served with Brash and Key, both of whom treated him like garbage, you have to suspect theirs some weird Catholic guilt and subjection going on) – until Winston tired of it and tells Ardern it is her turn: “Okay, Cinders, you get to call yourself PM. But anything you want passed, you bring to me first. If I like it, I’ll back it. If you don’t like it, then you can try your luck with Bill.”
Obviously, it could be short circuited at any time by a snap election … But do either party have the stomach for an early poll?
Not quite following that. A C and S agreement and NZF is free to vote how it wants otherwise and say what they want otherwise? I don’t see the big deal with that, it’s an option for the Greens with a L/NZF govt too.
But the bit where he tries to get National to change legislation pre-emptively in private, and presumably had an open door agreement on that, sounds very dodgy and I can’t imagine National agreeing to it.
The bit about Peters getting tired of it and giving Ardern a go makes even less sense. He doesn’t control who forms government, the Governor General does. And they need to have confidence in the stability of any proposed govt or its back to the polls. If Peters pulled out of his C and S agreement with National for no good reason no-one would trust him (National, Labour, GG, voters). There’s lots of things I don’t like about the way he does business, but Peters isn’t stupid.
Go inspired by the tree planting. Not in a position to do that currently, but did start a new compost today. I’m renting so it’s the best way to build soil here. Great post-election therapy too. Practice sustainability and resiliency.
A fair few years back I put in a raised garden ( 200mm) x 1 meter, by about 5-6 meters long, had about 6 beds – did it the French intensive / Irish way and companion planted . Lived out of that garden , … had 6-7 vege types all through winter. Couldn’t give the produce away fast enough in summer. Never dug once,… just masses of compost I made , constantly layered on top, planted directly into that.
Just used pepper and garlic/ onion sprays mixed with soap for the pests.
I lived across from a paddock across the road with cattle, had 2 wheelbarrows and a shovel – double handed it over the fence. Also had a large fast growing hedge – that went into the shredder, when I had to regularly prune it back layered it with lawn clippings , bought in some commercial compost as a starter just for bulk. Rotated the beds , in summer, … the compost bin so hot you wouldn’t dare put your hand in it. That’s when we know the pathogens are killed. It was like cooking. Keeping that compost going was the key . 🙂
Don’t panic The New Zealand First Party and Winston no what has happened to OUR country over the last 8 years or so they will do what is good for the people
Winston at 72 is still a very inspiring man and is now needed more than ever with the ratpack of Government backstabbers, horse and rumour traders.
Parliament is where Winston will exel this term believe it mate.
The opposition knows this to that is why they are deserately trying to cobble Winston onto a National trainwreck Government who will implode within a year from now if the second GFC arrives and Winston would be blamed for all.
Am still celebrating the election result, our country has voted for change.
How about some of the new MP’s, Kiri Allan being one of them
Kiri was on some of the political tv shows earlier on in the year. On seeing her on the TV, my man and I were like.. who is this woman, she’s awesome, dang she’s a labour candidate, lucky Labour 😀 Thrilled she is one of our new MP’s.
Still 15% of special votes to count.
I’m happy with the result thus far
Am big on education and the three parties who were/are in opposition all support the scrapping of national standards and free tertiary education. I even had the opportunity to ask Winston about it a few months back and he reinforced their views of getting rid of the failed borrowed policy known as national standards.
As well their shared stance on Salisbury School.
Waste of time speculating until specials come in, but it’s bloody hard not to lolololz, crikey it’s like a political fortune tellers gossip fest
And hopefully support a review of the mess that early childhood education is getting into with the profit motive overtaking quality of teaching/learning
I’m with you Cinny. I was in education as well. Younger friends seriously considered leaving teaching for a pub!! Very unhappy at standards and BS passed off as desirable.
As I’ve heard, ad nauseam, about polls from posters on this site the only poll that counts is on election day and on election day National was more popular in 2017 then they were in 2008
National are more popular than Labour/Greens combined, when the people of NZ ackshully had to decide, to choose, more people chose National
If the people of NZ wanted a change they could have voted for change last Saturday but they didn’t, they gave National 46% of the vote when National are going for a fourth term
As I’ve heard, ad nauseam, about polls from posters on this site the only poll that counts is on election day and on election day National was more popular in 2017 then they were in 2008
That’s not how MMP works.
You seem to be ignoring what the voters of NZ1st want and they seemingly want NZ1st to go with Labour/Greens.
Excuse me , – 58 % DID vote for change ,… the simple fact is , if they were sold on National they would’ve voted National instead of NZ First.
Obviously they didn’t vote for National.
Bearing in mind also , – 77% of NZ First membership want a coalition with Labour , I wouldn’t get too hasty in claiming NZ First as a win for the right if I were you.
Not saying NZFirst is with National, I’m saying National gained more votes than Labour/Greens combined so National has a better mandate for forming the next government because thats what the voters want
No , that’s what NATIONAL supporters want , – 58% don’t want that.
And that effectively puts the kiwash on any notion of some misconstrued ‘ morality’ that desperate right wingers and their media hacks are trying to attach to having the most party votes for a single given party in an MMP environment.
The facts are , – that the combined results of Labour, Greens and NZ First give them a ruling majority , whereas Nationals do not.
“The facts are , – that the combined results of Labour, Greens and NZ First give them a ruling majority , whereas Nationals do not.”
That is true however as someone once said to me: ” I wouldn’t get too hasty in claiming NZ First as a win for the right if I were you.” (you do need to substitute left for the right but I’m sure you get my point)
So if we take NZFirst out of the equation then we’re left with more voters wanting National than Labour/Green which to me means National has the more convincing argument as to why they should form the next government
I’m saying National gained more votes than Labour/Greens combined so National has a better mandate for forming the next government because thats what the voters want
Which is a lie.
The majority of voters don’t want National because the majority of NZ1st voters want a Labour led government.
Hehehehe,… it takes a while for the penny to drop among some stalwarts , Draco,…
And if its not remembered this time round ? ,… it certainly will be in the next,.. and if I was in charge of National ?… I’d be weighing up the balance of short term aspiration as against the health and future of the longevity plan of the party’s survival at this stage…
Too much sugar rots the teeth.
Bow out gracefully , National ,… the combined vote against you has spoken.
Well. you wont be getting a Randian paradise. Winston will put a stop to any privatisation or deregulation that National might have hidden away.
The current charter schools will probably stay, but there will be no new ones. meaning that kids in South Auckland will grow up knowing that humans evolved from apes and the world is round. There will be no more state asset sell off, even the sneaky ones, like what happened to Solid Energy, and Learning Media, as well as Landcorp. There will be employment schemes for young people, and employers will not be able to bypass the local workforce in favour of the Chinese and Indian reserve armies of labour that they have been drawing on over the past few years.
Absolutely stoked with how the left have gone this election, as others have said, what’s out of the box won’t be put back. However I’m really disappointed Mojo Mathers won’t be returned, she’s done some amazing work giving a face and voice to disabled New Zealanders.
Fingers crossed that specials will pull her back in… we can hope. Shaw said they were something like 0.13% from getting an 8th MP. Mathers is 9th on the list.
They must fantacise about NZ workers being in some kind of servile stupor like Baldric ,… unfortunately they are not stupid and the illusion exists only inside their heads… and in the pages of their favorite ideology’s handbook ,… that of neo liberalism.
Nasty shock for them on the not too distant horizon.
Blackadder: Baldrick’s cunning plan – YouTube
Video for baldric you tube▶ 0:21
Only if we want to hear more of their bullshit justifications ,… why let them have that privilege of co opting their right wing media?
By contrast, let the Left show them in their full light as ETHELRED THE UNREADY.
Let them bear the full brunt of their disgusting short term avarice filled vision. Take power , and lay at the foot of blame their indiscretions. Let them feel the full wrath of their betrayal of the citizens of this country.
Nine years they had to insulate the citizens of this country from the fall out of global crisis,… yet they did nothing.
Hence therefore , .. so should be their reward.
Let them bask in their failures, let them wear it as a mantle around their necks.
And never again , .. will they be able to accuse Labour or the Left of their avarice and indiscretions.
From the polling stations at individual Uni campuses. So it misses students who voted elsewhere, and can’t tell who is a student or staff.
…
…and some voters living in the immediate neighbourhood may also have voted on campuses!
…
For averages I got:
Labour 39.1% (41.72%)
National 31.03% (26.29%)
Greens 19.64% (21.91%)
*adjusted for amount of votes per uni in brackets
Here are the votes for Ara (formerly CPIT) here in Christchurch:
City Campus:
Chch Central Total – 502 votes; G – 98; L – 214; N – 137
Chch East Total – 208 votes; G – 23; L – 109; N – 58
Ilam Total – 204 votes; G – 23; L – 76; N – 77
Port Hills Total – 339 votes; G – 70; L – 144; N – 90
Selwyn Total – 142 votes; G – 14; L – 60; N – 58
Waimakariri Total – 125 votes; G – 10; L – 53; N – 48
Wigram Total – 211 votes; G – 23; L – 86; N – 82
Te Tai Tonga Total – 109 votes; G – 20; L – 63; N – 17
Woolston Campus:
Chch Central Total – 431 votes; G – 56; L – 198; N – 117
Chch East Total – 27 votes; G – 0; L – 15; N – 7
Ilam Total – 12 votes; G – 2; L – 3; N – 6
Port Hills Total – 414 votes; G – 53; L – 204; N – 101
Selwyn Total – 19 votes; G – 2; L – 6; N – 9
Waimakariri Total – 18 votes; G – 0; L – 9; N – 8
Wigram Total – 12 votes; G – 1; L – 7; N – 4
Te Tai Tonga Total – 39 votes; G – 2; L – 26; N – 5
Overall total – 2812 votes; G – 397 (14.12%); L – 1273 (45.27%); N – 824 (29.3%); Other – 318 (11.31%).
I’m not really expecting 60% of specials to L/G, but it would be amazing.
therefore its pointless, the accuracy can only be judged when the result is known….what can be commented on however is the turnout…one has to wonder what it will take for the over 20% of disengaged to voice their opinion (or even a proportion of them)
not sure where you draw that conclusion from….it may not change the fact Winston has balance of power but there is considerable potential for it to change party voter support levels….that which is (supposedly) predicted by advance polls.
I have been studying people I know – friends and acquaintences and their voting preferences. Its not like the old days when people didn’t discuss what their preferences were. One thing that really resonates with me is that people who vote right wing generally are conservative, like the status quo, have boring interiors in their homes, an absence of books, artwork on the walls and general clutter about the place and do not have a lot to offer in conversations at restaurant tables. Some of these people have homes which look for motel or hotel rooms. Prefer to look at sport on Sky for evening’s entertainment and most certainly will always have an excuse for the way the Government is acting out with hospitals, schools and WINZ for example. In other words will not enter into any sort of “opening up the mind” to alternatives or have the ability to debate these topics. A closed mind.
Left wingers are more keen for change, have the guts to agree make the “huge decisions” which are what need to be done to make our society a better place. Books there are by the truck loads and clutter abounds as well. They usually have done “out of the way” things on their OE and generally have exciting things to offer in a conversation. They may have comfortable lives and jobs as well but they have that joy of anticipation for change and do not seem to be fearful of change. Just my observations but for sure there is depth in left wingers and not such a money oriented interest in their lives.
Is there some different side of the brain that makes us what we are – be interesting if some academic study was done on his phenonema.
There is much academic study out of the US on the general subject, and it basically agrees with what you’ve said here. And yes, MRIs show different parts of the brain engage for RW compared to LW.
History shows that major innovations were created while Labour was in power.
History shows that National made few innovations while in power. National tended to just tinker round the edges to modify detrimentally to wages and conditions for wage and salary earners.
I agree with you Whispering Kate. Something else I have noticed about right wingers I know: they are phenomenally ignorant about current affairs and political subjects. They are not necessarily unintelligent but they have no interest in keeping themselves informed about issues unless it affects them. But mention house prices and related property matters and they are all well read experts.
A perceptive comment. What you’re writing about here is what really interests me about politics … why is it that voting has so little to do with rationality and so very driven by emotion, tribalism and sheer short-sighted folly ?
Why are some people willing to embrace new ideas and others so very resistant to them? There is a deep neuro-biology driving all this; aspects of how our brain is working beyond our immediate awareness.
Yet emphatically I still believe people can change. It just takes confidence, courage and hope.
It is all in the cognitive perception ,… conservatism ,… whether it is the fearful , doubtful aspect that plagued the Generals of the battle of the Somme, or the ego that drove General Robert E Lee to wage a full frontal attack uphill against entrenched Yankee troops with mechanized Gatling guns and artillery ,… … or the goad that prompted the cold war ,… there is a common element,… the paralyzing inability to action !!!
It is a human condition,… based on fear.
Now,… if we were to exploit that fear , we would apply a bold general , such as Sun Tsu. Or General George ‘ Blood and Guts ‘ Patton.
We would take the initiative.
If there is one thing absent from the New Zealand Left it is boldness.
That uncompromising , unapologetic spirit that General Patton expressed ,…
………………………………….
” Have taken Trier with two divisions. What do you want me to do? Give it back?”
Reply to a message from General Dwight Eisenhower to bypass the German city of Trier because it would take four divisions to capture it (2 March 1945), as quoted in the Introduction to War as I Knew it (1947) by George Smith Patton, Jr., with Paul Donal Harkins, p. 20
………………………………….
When Jacinda Adern said ” we are in the fight of our lives”,…
A bit late only just seen it, but excellent post Kate. The follow-on comments were also good especially Annes @15.3
We have a right-wing acquaintance who will discuss Rugby and Master Chef all day every day and has a theory a vote for the left is the start of the slippery slope to communism. When we told this person, this summer we were planning to go to Farewell Spit photographing some of the bird life there, the response was, WHERE IS IT, WHAT IS IT! Surely I thought that would have been one of the basic geography lessons of New Zealand. and I am sure the geography of NZ would have been taught in schools.
I think his questions confirms your theory Kate.
you think it has nothing to do with Puerto Rico drowning, North Korea calling him an old fool or dotard :), his son in law using a private email account for offical business, the repeal and replace with nothing ACA debacle, no just him trolling some black folks calling them son of bitches?
Yeah … everything about Trump is appalling … except for how successful he has been in mobilising his support base with fear, lies and misdirection. National just did a watered down version of it on us and I think it’s worthwhile to think about that.
no, i think it is worthwhile calling them out on it.
You can not live your live on fear and demonetization of others, eventually you run out of others.
so instead of calling him the most successful troll you could call him a President who is such a racist that he is not coming to the aid of the Puerto Ricans, who are US Citizens, who have been without electricity, water for a few days now, and who are currently under water and will not have electricity back for maybe a full half to a year.
I know that is boring, so much more fun discussing the fears of the white working class and other assorted bullshit, cause clearly the fears of the non white working class matter little.
Lets all just pander to fear. Yei.
And in NZ, Blinglish did not pander to fear, he pandered to greed. Simple as that.
And again, when that boat sinks, the poor have the least to loose. It is the rich that are going to eat crow and it is them who will not like it.
Greed is nothing more than a ‘fear of loss’; so it’s pretty closely linked really.
I’m not endorsing Trump or National at all; just pointing to the fact that despite all their numerous human and moral deficiencies .. they keep winning elections. Unless we are willing to closely look at how they do this; we the left will keep losing them.
again, i do not see National as a winner in this country. In MMP there are no true winners unless they can form stable coalitions and sadly National has killed everyone it ever worked with, so clearly National should have had more reason to ‘win bigly’ in order to manage its fourth term on its on and now it is a lame duck.
The US – and i am one who considered Clinton the smaller of two evils – will most likely see either a civil war or will see Trump removed by hook or by crook within a year. I am going with martial law first, then some civil unrest, then President Pence – whom i actually consider worse then Trump. Not sure if Trump believes he won, he does not behave like a winner to be honest.
But to diminish his dehumanizing of people as an act of troll is what allows him to keep on going. He is not trolling, he is inciting violence. He is past trolling.
And no i don’t think that the farmers and landowners of NZ have fear of loss, they just have a fear of being forced to pay their fair share and finally behave as if they were citizens instead of “landlords”. Greed is not the same as fear.
It is not that you are right or i am right, it is about how we now frame the disconnect that is being spread.
The US can no more go back to the 1850s where everyone knew their place – especially people of colour and women, no matter how hateful Trump will be then we can pretend that we can sell our land to the highest bidder to the point where we end up needing a passport internally to get from point a to point b because everything is fenced off for ‘cows’, or mining, or road building.
This is not about scoring points. this is about how do we address is. Call Trump a troll? He is not, he is the fucking President of the US with the biggest weaponry at his disposal and Troops in over 150 countries. That is some troll.
Blinglish is not sowing fear he is sowing greed, vote me and you get 20$ per week, or no taxes and all the water for free. Greed.
Once we can name it, how do we counter it. Just saying he is the biggest troll of them all is not countering.
So from where i am standing WE, you , i and humpty dumpty next door are the real losers. Feel better now?
The Left are deflecting and already licking their wounds and conceding defeat.
The hell with that.
Grab your balls and get on top of the situation and show some fight, stop wallowing in self pity and apportioning blame. We’ve got a future to fight for the next generation coming through. No more of this self pitying bullshit.
So put on your helmets and get on with the program of winning.
A lucid explanation of Trump … and what we’re up against:
Well, an Australian would make excuses.
/
Four years later at the 1972 Summer Olympics that took place in Munich, Germany, Norman wasn’t part of the Australian sprinters team, despite having run qualifying times for the 200 meters thirteen times and the 100 meters five times.
Norman left competitive athletics behind after this disappointment, continuing to run at the amatuer level.
Back in the change-resisting, whitewashed Australia he was treated like an outsider, his family outcast, and work impossible to find. For a time he worked as a gym teacher, continuing to struggle against inequalities as a trade unionist and occasionally working in a butcher shop. An injury caused Norman to contract gangrene which led to issues with depression and alcoholism.
As John Carlos said, “If we were getting beat up, Peter was facing an entire country and suffering alone.” For years Norman had only one chance to save himself: he was invited to condemn his co-athletes, John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s gesture in exchange for a pardon from the system that ostracized him.
A pardon that would have allowed him to find a stable job through the Australian Olympic Committee and be part of the organization of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Norman never gave in and never condemned the choice of the two Americans.
He was the greatest Australian sprinter in history and the holder of the 200 meter record, yet he wasn’t even invited to the Olympics in Sydney. It was the American Olympic Committee, that once they learned of this news asked him to join their group and invited him to Olympic champion Michael Johnson’s birthday party, for whom Peter Norman was a role model and a hero.
Yes you are correct about fuck trump.
But joe90 link tell of how a neo liberals western government can hammer a great indigenous PERSON and the local media will not tell his stories
And Norman was the BEST in the World at 100 200 mtr sprints he should have been celebrated by OUR WORLD as Husan Bolt is . EVERYONE IN THE WORLD should have Know who Norman is
ONE of the greatest Australian Indigenous and the World s Greatest sport Stars .We all should have been talking about him.
This is how the systems oppress The people of the land they won’t let the people have leaders or role model s to help raise there Wairua /self worth and all the people suffer oppressive .
FUCK THIS DUM ASS SYSTEM because Ours is oppressing me who a broke ass father half caste PROUD MAORI And the systems are not use to dealing with people like US.
I said absolutely nothing about tRump but let me spell it out –
A very concerned white Australian, whose own Australia made a pariah of Peter Norman, a man who dared stand alongside men who were voicing the very same opinions as those taking a knee in 2017, writes DNFTT. objecting about what someone who hates you says only encourages people who hate you, so best you STFU, he’s only trolling you.
Future generations rely on how we conduct ourselves right here , and right now.
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Up till now, Australia has made its living by digging up coal and exporting it to other countries, destroying the global climate in the process. But now they have a new option: exporting solar power:The desert outside Tennant Creek, deep ...
Later this month, thousands of people are expected to march to parliament as part of the #HandsOffOurTamaraki movement. At its heart, the movement is about preserving whānau and demanding that the state stop removing children from their whānau, hapū and iwi. ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh The recent statements made by the former FARC commander, Carlos Lozada (legal name Julian Gallo), where, from his seat in Congress, he praised the Colombian Army demonstrate how low the farianos have sunk. Lozada began by ...
A Woman’s Place is on the Podium was a public meeting in London on 10 July to discuss women’s sports and the impact of transwomen competing against women. The venue was sold out with a packed hall of 750 people. ...
Last month I talked about the no-fly movement: people who refuse to fly or limit it to absolute necessity to avoid destroying the climate. Now, that movement has a somewhat surprising new member: Dutch airline KLM:Dutch airline KLM has launched ...
In the 1960's, humanity faced a terrible threat: global thermonuclear war. Nuclear weapons were uniquely destructive and dangerous, and if more countries got them, the logic of MAD and the pre-emptive strike would put us on a hair-trigger to destruction. ...
An occasional series where I will ponder allegations of anti-Semitism directed at the British Labour Party and its members.In this case, we are thinking about an allegedly anti-Semitic image shared by a Labour Party member. Its origins appear to be ...
Matariki has been and gone, but this year we saw a couple of op-eds arguing that it should be a public holiday, replacing the foreign monarch's fake birthday. And now, New Zealand Republic - a group which campaigns for an ...
The discussion on the quality of economic advice, which we reported last week, has spilled over into a discussion about whether so many senior appointments should be of non-New Zealanders. Recall I discussed the failure to develop career paths within ...
When Nicky Hager revealed US footage of the Operation Burnham raid, obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act, one of the obvious questions was whether Ministers had seen it - and in particular, whether they'd been told that it ...
Northern Ireland is the Alabama of the UK: a backwards region where women and gay people are denied fundamental rights. But Westminster has just decided to fix that:MPs have voted resoundingly to extend same-sex marriage and access to abortion to ...
There's a problem with "synthetic cannabis", and not just the one you think. It's the name.We're in the midst of a wave of news stories that link synthetic drugs to serious harm, through deadly road accidents and accidental overdoses (which ...
Ranjit Kauri, The Dancing Maharani and Other Stories, Swansea, Head and Heart, 2019, £6.99; reviewed by Don Franks Working people are not the same country to country. Our struggles for a better life take place in surroundings of very different ...
Let's Do Them! All Jacinda Ardern has to do to clinch the 2020 General Election is frighten the bejesus out of the electorate by describing in the most graphic terms imaginable what will happen to all the positive beginnings her ...
It may be that we have all misinterpreted the somewhat surprising “bromance” between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. It has been all too easy to assume that it is Kim who is cosying up to Trump rather than the ...
by Michael Roberts So the full circle is completed. The corrupt pro-business conservative New Democracy party in Greece that was ousted by the anti-capitalist Syriza party in 2015 has been returned to office in yesterday’s general election, with an outright ...
When the Australian government passed a series of new spy laws over the last few years, they pinky-promised that they wouldn't use them to spy on journalists and subvert freedom of the press. They lied:The anti-encryption laws passed by the ...
From 1975 to 1989, the spy agencies of South America's right-wing military dictatorships cooperated in Operation Condor, a joint campaign of extermination against the continent's left. Roughly 400,000 people were imprisoned, 30,000 disappeared, and 60,000 murdered - kidnapped, tortured, executed, ...
When she was standing for office, Jacinda Ardern promised she would take abortion out of the Crimes Act. And to be fair, there was some early action on that, with an immediate referral of the issue to the Law Commission ...
When the government introduced the Zero Carbon Bill, people rightly asked what they planned to do to reduce transport emissions, which basicly had no policy at all other than the ETS. Today, they responded, announcing a "feebate" system which would ...
At almost every level, the problem with medicinal cannabis is a lack of good information. In the US, FDA regulations make it hard to research. Most doctors aren't familiar with what research there is and most patients don't know either. ...
Redline is critical of Corbyn for his political weaknesses, but he’s no anti-Semite. There is no substance to the McCarthyist witch-hunt being run by the right wing, and the pro-Israel lobby inside and outside the Labour Party in the UK. ...
The government's billion trees program is the sort of policy which could make a real difference to our emissions and the fight against climate change. But climate scientist Jim Salinger isn't convinced:The Forestry Minister Shane Jones' one billion trees won't ...
Last month the government was celebrating another surplus. Meanwhile, children are starving:One in five children are living in households where putting food on the table is a struggle, according to a new report from the Ministry of Health. It found ...
Show Me The Money! The alternative to state funding of infrastructure is, of course, to fund it by taking on massive amounts of private debt. On this issue, at least, Auckland mayoral challenger, Tamihere, has some solid points to make. ...
If we are to avoid making the earth uninhabitable, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to practically nothing over the next decade. But that will still leave us with the problem of the carbon we have already emitted, which ...
Former Waikato DHB CEO Nigel Murray allegedly misused public funds, spending more than $120,000 of public money on unjustified travel. He was forced to resign and the Serious Fraud Office began an investigation. But despite the SFO finding that the ...
Jeremy Corbyn, we are told, is being advised – not least by his deputy (as well as by some of his would-be successors) – that he must come “off the fence” on the Brexit issue if he wants to bolster ...
The End of Life bill has been read a second time and is now heading for the House for further debate. Personally, I support the proposal. I don't ever epect to take advantage of the Bill's provisions myself, but as ...
Before the substantive issue which this column is about – whether there has been a deterioration in the economic advice given to the government – a paragraph about the budget leaks.read more ...
Below is a translation of the editorial in the June 24 round of weekly workplace bulletins issued all over France by the revolutionary workers’ organisation Lutte Ouvriere. Last Saturday, 8,000 people took to the streets of Belfort (eastern France) to ...
Why hasn't Parliament followed the lead set by our local authorities and declared a climate emergency? The answer is the National Party:The Prime Minister’s admission that she is open to the idea of declaring a climate change emergency is nothing ...
The first full week of the firearms buy-back and amnesty has produced a strong turnout as events roll out nationwide for the first time. “Momentum is slowly starting to build as community collection events are held across the entire country, ...
A new digital platform aims to make it easier for small businesses to access services from multiple government agencies, leaving them more time to focus on their own priorities. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash ...
Million-dollar start to gun collection eventsPolice Minister Stuart Nash says a solid start has been made to the gun buyback and amnesty after the first weekend of community collection events. “Gun owners will walk away with more than ...
Police Minister Stuart Nash has praised Police and gun owners after the first firearms collection event saw a busy turnout at Riccarton Racecourse in Christchurch. “Police officers and staff have put a tremendous effort into planning and logistics for the ...
Seventy-eight new Police constables are heading out to the regions following today’s graduation of a new recruit wing from the Royal New Zealand Police College. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the record high number of new Police officers being recruited, ...
The New Zealand Deerstalkers Association says it will take an active role in the debate on proposed firearm law changes to ensure any future legislation is fair, reasonable and meets the needs of both firearm owners and the general public. ...
The latest Safety of Children in Care report reveals the scale of the challenge facing social workers as they act to better protect children / tamariki and young people / rangatahi in Oranga Tamariki in the system. While the statistics ...
The next round of proposed Arms Act Amendments will further alienate law abiding firearms licence holders from the Government, according to the NZ Outdoors Party. ...
The current law for dividing property on separation is out of date and in need of reform, the Law Commission concludes in its report, Review of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 – Te Arotake i te Property (Relationships) Act 1976 ...
First National Real Estate Chief Executive Bob Brereton is predicting that homes currently being built as part of a KiwiBuild development, in Te Kauwhata, will not sell and that the Government will be left with 175 homes and few, if ...
A short time ago, kaumatua and kuia representing mana whenua from Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Ākitai Waiohua, and Tainui, walked onto the land that Fletcher Building owns at Ōruarangi Road, known as Ihumātao, and asked protestors to leave. ...
The Greenpeace climb of the Majestic Tower in Wellington is ignorant grandstanding says the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ). ...
Tuesday, July 23: The two Greenpeace climbers who are scaling the outside of the tallest building in Wellington have unfurled the first of a series of banners. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer's decision to fire three warning shots to stop a fleeing driver from reversing towards him was not justified. ...
Government figures out today are consistent with what working people have told the Council of Trade Unions in our own survey, that a significant group of working Kiwis are unhappy and dissatisfied at work. Now the Government must act to ...
Deputy State Services Commissioner John Ombler has today announced the outcome of an examination of what led Inland Revenue to commission a public poll that included a question about the political leanings of taxpayers. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Tracey Martin for wasting money on a meaningless “translation” of a written press statement into a sign language video, when the vast majority of any deaf or hard-of-hearing persons are perfectly capable of reading ...
Te Mana o Ngāti Rangitihi Trust (Te Mana) and Tūhourangi Tribal Authority (TTA) have announced that they will jointly negotiate with the Crown for the return of the lands at Waimangu and Otūkapuarangi. These lands have been at the centre ...
Government documents reveal the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) approved a shipment of cattle last month, despite the Government announcing a review into live export five days earlier. ...
“The Government’s second round of firearms reforms has hunters concerned that they will be burdened with onerous and unnecessary compliance and costs,” says Game Animal Council Chair Don Hammond. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) are concerned at the statements by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Police Minister Stuart Nash at the Post-Cabinet Press Conference this afternoon stating that firearm ownership and licences should ...
National’s Climate Change spokesperson Todd Muller told Q+A he has “total confidence” that technology will be developed to mitigate the effects of climate change. “To simply take the New Zealand agriculture sector which is the most emissions efficient ...
PM can’t say whether the Government will meet its KiwiBuild goals. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern couldn’t say whether the Government would meet its goal of building 16-thousand KiwiBuild homes by the end of its first term. She was interviewed on ...
Greenpeace climbers are scaling the outside of the Majestic Centre, the tallest building in Wellington, to reach the headquarters of Austrian oil giant, OMV. ...
Media statement on behalf of Sir Edward Taihākurei Durie and Donna Marie Tai Tokerau Hall: Māori Television has admitted publishing false allegations about former High Court justice, Sir Edward Taihākurei Durie, and his wife, Donna Hall, and it has ...
Announcement today by the Prime Minister of further gun law reform is being shrouded by fear, so that scrutiny of the law is seen as an affront to the victims of the horror attack in March. The Prime Minister acknowledged ...
Misgivings about the practicality and cost of a firearms register is likely to dominate feedback from rural areas on the second round of proposed Arms Act amendments, Federated Farmers says. ...
School Strike 4 Climate NZ organisers Sophie Handford and Raven Maeder delivered a clear message to over 600 local government mayors, chairs, chief executives and councillors at the recent LGNZ conference : make climate change a priority. ...
The Police Association, Te Aka Hāpai backs the government’s emphasis on public safety as the driver of its second tranche of amendments to New Zealand’s firearms law, announced today. ...
The growing housing shortage crisis about more than supply and demand- it is about inequity. Recently released analysis by Kiwibank shows that last year’s “severe” shortage of housing has worsened, with the shortfall growing from 100,000 to 130,0000 ...
One of the country’s largest district health boards has a severe shortage of hospital specialists, says the senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is joining opposition to possible regulations on the strength of nicotine vaping liquid. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “The Government would certainly benefit from regulations on the strength ...
The Meat Industry Association (MIA) is calling for significant changes to the Zero Carbon Bill with a new analysis using the Government’s preferred modelling indicating that the proposed methane targets are excessive if all other gases go to net zero. ...
Victoria University Feminist Organisation and ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa, in conjunction with the VUW Feminist Law Students, Organise Aotearoa, Fem Force, and with the support of VUW Student Association announced they are sponsoring a march ...
With the Government's firearm buyback scheme starting to draw over 30,000 police man hours away from fighting crime, the safety of law abiding citizens is being compromised. ...
Social Credit Party leader Chris Leitch is calling on the sale of Westland Milk to Chinese company Yili to be put on hold pending an approach to the Government by Westland Milk for funding assistance. ...
Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa seems intent on ensuring the Government’s vaping legislation will heavily target flavours and nicotine levels – a move that would be completely counterproductive to helping Kiwis quit smoking and achieving ...
A new website has launched in response to recent RNZ reporting about Police in Dunedin unlawfully entering people’s homes and breath-testing them. “I was disgusted when I saw what they cops were doing in Dunedin. Their behaviour undermines all of ...
Hundreds of whanau and Maori leaders gathered at a hui in Mangere last weekend where they voted unanimously for an inquiry into Oranga Tamariki. The historic meeting called for a child welfare framework to be developed by Maori, for Maori. ...
The Head of the New Zealand Maori Council has called for the Government to hold an immediate investigation into the global cosmetics company Sephora after they were caught dumping waste hundreds and thousands of waste paper products embedded with ...
Simon Shepherd: The government says its agreement with farmers, that they should pay for agricultural emissions, is historic. But there's no agreement on how. One proposal says farmers should pay a 5 per cent emissions tax. Another suggests farmers ...
The O’Brien Institute for Public Health at Calgary University has just released their report on fluoridation. This institute has, up to now, been staunchly in favour of fluoridation. However, yesterday, with regards to fluoride’s effect on the brain, ...
July 19 (BusinessDesk) - The government is looking to tighten control and impose harsher penalties after the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak revealed cracks in the country's stock management system. ...
Kia Anga Mua Ngā Hapū o Ngāpuhi (KAM) has reached a pivotal milestone following a hui yesterday at Waitangi with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Government spent $133,530 on producing its ‘Wellbeing Budget’ document, a cost blowout largely driven by spending on graphic design and photography. The $133,530 price tag compares to $86,268 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Therese Keane, Associate Professor, Deputy Chair Department of Education, Swinburne University of Technology A cute human-like robot taught students in a small, rural school how to code while also helping them learn ...
After months of protest, the last occupants were moved off Ihumātao in south Auckland by police this afternoon. Don Rowe reports. Most of the occupants of Ihumātao had been moved on. The police, numbering at least 30, had finally made good ...
Hundreds of people marched to Parliament today calling for reform of New Zealand's abortion laws, as Cabinet prepares to consider a bill that would remove abortion from the Crimes Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The two Centre Alliance senators, Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick will often be pivotal to the fate of government legislation. The smaller non-Green Senate crossbench ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chongyi Feng, Associate Professor in China Studies, University of Technology Sydney Australian authorities have been told to stop interfering in the case of the Chinese-Australian writer Dr Yang Hengjun who has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tess Newton Cain, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Political Science & International Studies, The University of Queensland Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape is visiting Australia this week, his first overseas ...
The Greens may have achieved their sought-after mainstream credibility, and scored some wins in government, but commentators warn this will not necessarily result in more votes. On the contrary – it might even result in a loss of enthusiasm from ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsThe supposed end of the 20-year standoff between environmentalists and farmers was announced last week, with the release of the Interim Climate Change Committee’s report on “Action on agricultural emissions”. It was celebrated as an “historic consensus” ...
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 contentGovernment Joseph Nunweek (Spinoff): Jacinda Ardern and bringing the ...
The 2019 budget put aside $300m for venture capital for small to medium-sized startups with the hope it will allow businesses to grow locally and stay in New Zealand for longer. In a small rural town on the east coast ...
To give the Pacific a fighting chance Australia and NZ need to take a stand, writes a Fijian litigator and activist.Climate change is now an everyday reality for the Pacific. Its impact on our countries is undeniable. To remain within ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Grové, Educational Psychologist and Lecturer, Monash University Curious Kids is a series for children. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au You might ...
Questions about political leanings in surveys by Inland Revenue, DOC and Stats NZ were inappropriate and had the potential to undermine political neutrality, a report has found. ...
Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little says he cannot understand why the previous government ever accepted Ngāpuhi's problematic Tūhoronuku mandate. ...
The Electricity Authority’s latest take on transmission prices has softened the expected hike in power prices for Aucklanders from $176 per year to $21 a year. ...
New Zealanders are as parochial about charity as they are about sport, with only a fraction of the money we donate leaving our shores or even going outside our local areas.Less than 9% of private donations in New Zealand go ...
Infrastructure investor Infratil is looking for potential buyers of a group of mature investments across Australia and NZ's health, education and prison sectors,according to the AFR. ...
A nightmarish and near-fatal high-speed pursuit of a New Zealand Chinese family concluded with a judge rejecting the prosecution’s request for hate crime sentencing. Tze Ming Mok discusses why New Zealand’s approach to hate crime is utterly useless.I don’t like ...
The Māori midwives on the frontline of whānau care and Oranga Tamariki scrutiny say their voices are going unheard and their wisdom unheeded.*All names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involvedNewsroom’s powerful investigation into Oranga Tamariki’s attempt ...
From fine art school graduates to hobbyists, magazine-making talent from all over the city is showcased in Auckland Zinefest. Lucy Zee went along to check out the zines and meet some makers.Aucklanders love a festival. If it’s not food, wine ...
Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa artist Nikau Hindin has recently been taught by ancestors in Hawai’i the skills of beating tapa or barkcloth, reviving as contemporary form a Māori art largely lost after the extinction of the aute plant in Aotearoa. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has stopped short of committing to a declaration of climate emergency in Parliament, despite again saying she supports such a move. ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the Australian authorities to drop all charges against four French TV journalists who – in what RSF called an “unacceptable attack on investigative journalism” – were arrested yesterday ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neville Nicholls, Professor emeritus, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University This month the world has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon. But this ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Giancaspro, Lecturer in Law, University of Adelaide Viral photo app FaceApp has taken the world by storm. Launched in 2017, the app has recently enjoyed mass popularity due largely to Hollywood ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Barton, Chair in Global Islamic Politics, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University A key element in the success of countering terrorism in Australia has been a series of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melissa Kang, Associate professor, University of Technology Sydney Around one-quarter of the world’s population menstruate. That’s more than 1.9 billion people in the world who will bleed, on average, for 65 days ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Therese Keane, Associate Professor, Deputy Chair Department of Education, Swinburne University of Technology A cute human-like robot taught students in a small, rural school how to code while also helping them learn ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University There is a case for not proceeding with, or at least further deferring, the legislated increase in employers’ compulsory superannuation contributions from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Ostling, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University Review: Margaret Olley: A Generous Life, and Quilty, QAGOMA Margaret Olley’s exhibition at QAGOMA is titled A Generous Life, referring to ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Second round of gun law changes announced, hundreds with conditions like Down syndrome get early Kiwisaver, and a major refusal to participate in March 15 inquiry.The second major phase of ...
Almost as soon as it was announced, the Royal Commission tasked with probing the lead-up and response to the terrorist attacks in March attracted criticism, both over the process and its engagement with Muslim groups. Former race relations commissioner Joris ...
Following the Silver Ferns’ World Cup victory, another New Zealand team playing korfball – netball’s European cousin - are about to make world championship history of their own. ...
A victim of domestic violence has had to find alternative accommodation after Oranga Tamariki breached her privacy for the second time in three years. ...
While researching NZ on Air for a recent history, Duncan Greive noticed a shocking 30 year trend.News broke over the weekend that Love Island NZ, Three’s biggest announcement of the year, will now not screen in 2019, and realistically is unlikely ...
Joseph Nunweek joins the adoring throngs gathered at the Melbourne Town Hall to watch the New Zealand prime minister. The warm feeling is contagious, but a question hangs in the airThursday, 18 July: a big night for New Zealanders in ...
Daily Review 25/09/2017 
My idealistic position on the role of MPs was articulated by Edmund Burke: ‘Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.’read more ...28 mins ago
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled on the pillage of swamp kauri, stating clearly that export was forbidden unless it had been clearly turned into a finished product. But less than a month later, MPI was again approving minimally carved ...4 hours ago
Having spent the last 3 months in these countries and getting some appreciation of their dependence on fossil fuels – oil, gas, coal – one realises how loopy is the idea popular in societies like New Zealand that have negligible ...9 hours ago
I have been unimpressed with Western corporate media coverage of the tensions involving Iran in the Straits of Hormuz. They repeat the line that Iran is the source of current tensions, that it is a major sponsor of terrorism, that ...2 days ago
2 days ago
2 days ago
Much like Tuvalu, the manmade climate change Cult love to tell people the Maldives is almost totally underwater. In fact the dishonest Maldives Govt d on the same bandwagon, believing they would receive billions of dollars aid from other Countries ...3 days ago
As the entry on Wikipedia shows (and no, one doesn’t necessarily have to regard Wikipedia as the be-all and end-all of truth, because it isn’t on a great many things, to agree with the following): “…a fallacious argument that concludes ...3 days ago
by Daphna Whitmore The story of how the world awoke to a big injustice is starting to be told. The Pacific Games held this month in Samoa is another chapter. On the podium was Laurel Hubbard, the giant transgender weightlifter, ...3 days ago
Our conversations and push against specific supremacist and ultra-Nationalist groups, and the pseudo-intellectual underpinnings of them, need to mature at all levels. But in doing so, it’s going to have to include a more thorough and brutally honest self-examination ...4 days ago
Something I missed: not only did Youth MPs declare a climate emergency; they also launched a campaign to lower the voting age to 16:Youth Parliament week in Parliament has seen the establishment of Make it 16, a campaign to ...4 days ago
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh This article aims to answer a simple question, whether the conflict is only a rural one or whether it is also urban. The verb ‘to be’ is conjugated in the present tense as ,despite what some ...6 days ago
6 days ago
On Sunday July 7, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter announced their intention to review the Ministry of Health’s Funded Family Care policy and repeal Part 4Aof the 2000 NZ Public Health and Disability Act. These are festering injustices ...1 week ago
Belle is a lovely fifteen year-old border collie who belongs to our friends and neighbours at Bryan’s Beach, Michael and Judy Corboy. Belle, in her old age, can hardly see or hear, but – as a constant participant at social ...1 week ago
An occasional series where I will ponder allegations of anti-Semitism directed at the British Labour Party and its members.In this case, we are thinking about an allegedly anti-Semitic image shared by a Labour Party member. Its origins appear to be ...2 weeks ago
2 weeks ago
2 weeks ago
The first full week of the firearms buy-back and amnesty has produced a strong turnout as events roll out nationwide for the first time. “Momentum is slowly starting to build as community collection events are held across the entire country, ...1 day ago
The New Zealand Deerstalkers Association says it will take an active role in the debate on proposed firearm law changes to ensure any future legislation is fair, reasonable and meets the needs of both firearm owners and the general public. ...3 hours ago
The House: Youth MPs have laid down another climate challenge to their real counterparts in the form of an open letter. ...37 mins ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Therese Keane, Associate Professor, Deputy Chair Department of Education, Swinburne University of Technology A cute human-like robot taught students in a small, rural school how to code while also helping them learn ...57 mins ago
After months of protest, the last occupants were moved off Ihumātao in south Auckland by police this afternoon. Don Rowe reports. Most of the occupants of Ihumātao had been moved on. The police, numbering at least 30, had finally made good ...2 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tess Newton Cain, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Political Science & International Studies, The University of Queensland Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape is visiting Australia this week, his first overseas ...2 hours ago
3 hours ago
The 2019 budget put aside $300m for venture capital for small to medium-sized startups with the hope it will allow businesses to grow locally and stay in New Zealand for longer. In a small rural town on the east coast ...4 hours ago
To give the Pacific a fighting chance Australia and NZ need to take a stand, writes a Fijian litigator and activist.Climate change is now an everyday reality for the Pacific. Its impact on our countries is undeniable. To remain within ...5 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Grové, Educational Psychologist and Lecturer, Monash University Curious Kids is a series for children. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au You might ...5 hours ago
The Electricity Authority’s latest take on transmission prices has softened the expected hike in power prices for Aucklanders from $176 per year to $21 a year. ...6 hours ago
New Zealanders are as parochial about charity as they are about sport, with only a fraction of the money we donate leaving our shores or even going outside our local areas.Less than 9% of private donations in New Zealand go ...7 hours ago
Infrastructure investor Infratil is looking for potential buyers of a group of mature investments across Australia and NZ's health, education and prison sectors,according to the AFR. ...7 hours ago
Mistakes happen but this one was a biggy, and a lack of proactive correction did not look good for the Government. ...7 hours ago
The Māori midwives on the frontline of whānau care and Oranga Tamariki scrutiny say their voices are going unheard and their wisdom unheeded.*All names have been changed to protect the privacy of those involvedNewsroom’s powerful investigation into Oranga Tamariki’s attempt ...8 hours ago
From fine art school graduates to hobbyists, magazine-making talent from all over the city is showcased in Auckland Zinefest. Lucy Zee went along to check out the zines and meet some makers.Aucklanders love a festival. If it’s not food, wine ...9 hours ago
Ngāpuhi and Te Rarawa artist Nikau Hindin has recently been taught by ancestors in Hawai’i the skills of beating tapa or barkcloth, reviving as contemporary form a Māori art largely lost after the extinction of the aute plant in Aotearoa. ...9 hours ago
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the Australian authorities to drop all charges against four French TV journalists who – in what RSF called an “unacceptable attack on investigative journalism” – were arrested yesterday ...10 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neville Nicholls, Professor emeritus, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University This month the world has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon. But this ...11 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Giancaspro, Lecturer in Law, University of Adelaide Viral photo app FaceApp has taken the world by storm. Launched in 2017, the app has recently enjoyed mass popularity due largely to Hollywood ...12 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Melissa Kang, Associate professor, University of Technology Sydney Around one-quarter of the world’s population menstruate. That’s more than 1.9 billion people in the world who will bleed, on average, for 65 days ...12 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will Rifkin, Chair in Applied Regional Economics and Director, Hunter Research Foundation Centre, University of Newcastle News of evacuations from cracked apartment buildings in Sydney and the need to replace combustible cladding ...12 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University There is a case for not proceeding with, or at least further deferring, the legislated increase in employers’ compulsory superannuation contributions from ...12 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Ostling, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University Review: Margaret Olley: A Generous Life, and Quilty, QAGOMA Margaret Olley’s exhibition at QAGOMA is titled A Generous Life, referring to ...12 hours ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Second round of gun law changes announced, hundreds with conditions like Down syndrome get early Kiwisaver, and a major refusal to participate in March 15 inquiry.The second major phase of ...13 hours ago
Fraser Newman tells of opening Atlantis Books in Rotorua and Tokoroa – and having to close shop in Whakatāne. ...14 hours ago
Following the Silver Ferns’ World Cup victory, another New Zealand team playing korfball – netball’s European cousin - are about to make world championship history of their own. ...14 hours ago
As NZ Bird Rescue cares for record numbers of ruru/morepork at Auckland, one theory is they're being poisoned. ...14 hours ago
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11926235
Some people need a hug…
Typical, cowardly behavior from some losers that didn’t get the result they wanted
Considering the cowardly behaviour of National Party since, well, forever why do you still vote for them?
And, no, I don’t support the tagging. But, then, I most definitely don’t support the lying by National that has hurt so many people while they hide behind laws and self-righteousness.
More than 25,000 in Selwyn think that Amy Adams deserved their vote.
Her latest actions in the Teina Pora case reaffirms why I would not not voted for her because of the type of human being she is.
Yep the transactional cost of this will be way more than what is at stake. Give Teina his compensation. It is the least we should do.
Winston’s ultimate fantasy may be realised – effectively staying out of government but forcing minority Labour and National administrations come to him to beg permission to be PM for a month or two, until he decides to give the other side a turn. And shaping policy to suit his mood – otherwise down it goes.
No – that would precipitate another election and NZF would get seriously punished for causing it. He’s not stupid.
If a government falls, does it automatically mean a general election? Or can a new government have an opportunity to form? I’m up to speed with how it works in Britain, where a government can be bundled out of office without it precipitating a new election (I long for the day Theresa May visits Queenie and utters the words, “Your majesty, I suggest you send for Mr Corbyn.”) but have to admit I’ve never bothered to find out if the same thing applies in New Zealand.
Obviously, the ‘every couple of months’ was hyperbole, but replacing one administration with another would delight Winston – people keep telling him he’s a kingmaker, after all. Why stop at one?
No, it only causes a general election if nobody can form a government. In theory, NZ First could change support from National to Labour + Greens or vice versa, and as long as the new government had 61 votes, it would be able to continue.
“Winston’s ultimate fantasy may be realised – effectively staying out of government but forcing minority Labour and National administrations come to him to beg permission to be PM for a month or two, until he decides to give the other side a turn.”
Explain how that would work? Doesn’t look constitutionally possible to me (or in any way likely).
Obviously the ‘couple of months’ part was hyperbole. But he could (maybe?) simply offer a sub confidence and supply deal to National – “Okay, Willy, you get to call yourself PM. But anything you want passed, you bring to me first. If I like it, I’ll back it. If you don’t like it, then you can try your luck with the Greens and Jacinda.”
That would work – assuming English liked being abused in this way (given he served with Brash and Key, both of whom treated him like garbage, you have to suspect theirs some weird Catholic guilt and subjection going on) – until Winston tired of it and tells Ardern it is her turn: “Okay, Cinders, you get to call yourself PM. But anything you want passed, you bring to me first. If I like it, I’ll back it. If you don’t like it, then you can try your luck with Bill.”
Obviously, it could be short circuited at any time by a snap election … But do either party have the stomach for an early poll?
Not quite following that. A C and S agreement and NZF is free to vote how it wants otherwise and say what they want otherwise? I don’t see the big deal with that, it’s an option for the Greens with a L/NZF govt too.
But the bit where he tries to get National to change legislation pre-emptively in private, and presumably had an open door agreement on that, sounds very dodgy and I can’t imagine National agreeing to it.
The bit about Peters getting tired of it and giving Ardern a go makes even less sense. He doesn’t control who forms government, the Governor General does. And they need to have confidence in the stability of any proposed govt or its back to the polls. If Peters pulled out of his C and S agreement with National for no good reason no-one would trust him (National, Labour, GG, voters). There’s lots of things I don’t like about the way he does business, but Peters isn’t stupid.
That’s a great photograph. Not a real laugh though.
Braying like an ass ..
Go inspired by the tree planting. Not in a position to do that currently, but did start a new compost today. I’m renting so it’s the best way to build soil here. Great post-election therapy too. Practice sustainability and resiliency.
A fair few years back I put in a raised garden ( 200mm) x 1 meter, by about 5-6 meters long, had about 6 beds – did it the French intensive / Irish way and companion planted . Lived out of that garden , … had 6-7 vege types all through winter. Couldn’t give the produce away fast enough in summer. Never dug once,… just masses of compost I made , constantly layered on top, planted directly into that.
Just used pepper and garlic/ onion sprays mixed with soap for the pests.
Those were the days….
Nice one. How did you make your compost?
I lived across from a paddock across the road with cattle, had 2 wheelbarrows and a shovel – double handed it over the fence. Also had a large fast growing hedge – that went into the shredder, when I had to regularly prune it back layered it with lawn clippings , bought in some commercial compost as a starter just for bulk. Rotated the beds , in summer, … the compost bin so hot you wouldn’t dare put your hand in it. That’s when we know the pathogens are killed. It was like cooking. Keeping that compost going was the key . 🙂
That and a bit of lime to make the ph neutral.
Don’t panic The New Zealand First Party and Winston no what has happened to OUR country over the last 8 years or so they will do what is good for the people
100000% Eco Maori,
Winston at 72 is still a very inspiring man and is now needed more than ever with the ratpack of Government backstabbers, horse and rumour traders.
Parliament is where Winston will exel this term believe it mate.
The opposition knows this to that is why they are deserately trying to cobble Winston onto a National trainwreck Government who will implode within a year from now if the second GFC arrives and Winston would be blamed for all.
Am still celebrating the election result, our country has voted for change.
How about some of the new MP’s, Kiri Allan being one of them
Kiri was on some of the political tv shows earlier on in the year. On seeing her on the TV, my man and I were like.. who is this woman, she’s awesome, dang she’s a labour candidate, lucky Labour 😀 Thrilled she is one of our new MP’s.
I don’t think NZ has voted for change, currently National is on 46% of the vote (beat their 2008 result) and Labour/Greens can’t match what National
Winston will do whats right for the country and it’ll be National/NZFirst, with a lot of dead rats swallowed
Still 15% of special votes to count.
I’m happy with the result thus far
Am big on education and the three parties who were/are in opposition all support the scrapping of national standards and free tertiary education. I even had the opportunity to ask Winston about it a few months back and he reinforced their views of getting rid of the failed borrowed policy known as national standards.
As well their shared stance on Salisbury School.
Waste of time speculating until specials come in, but it’s bloody hard not to lolololz, crikey it’s like a political fortune tellers gossip fest
And hopefully support a review of the mess that early childhood education is getting into with the profit motive overtaking quality of teaching/learning
I’m with you Cinny. I was in education as well. Younger friends seriously considered leaving teaching for a pub!! Very unhappy at standards and BS passed off as desirable.
54% of voters did not, vote for National.
After lying and cheating their way into the most votes they should be in jail, not Parliament
58% didn’t vote for Labour/Greens which would suggest National has a stronger mandate for forming the next government
Polls say more prefer a Labour led Government.
As I’ve heard, ad nauseam, about polls from posters on this site the only poll that counts is on election day and on election day National was more popular in 2017 then they were in 2008
National are more popular than Labour/Greens combined, when the people of NZ ackshully had to decide, to choose, more people chose National
If the people of NZ wanted a change they could have voted for change last Saturday but they didn’t, they gave National 46% of the vote when National are going for a fourth term
Still stuck on the FPP idea of single party dictatorships eh Chris.
We all voted for MMP, because of the damage single parties did, from 1981 to 1993.
Call me curious but how many elections, under MMP, have Labour won vs National?
and yet you guys still have no friends in parliament.
Suddenly the regime that destroyed democratic governance in SDHB and environment Canterbury is all about moral mandates to govern? Lol.
In case you didn’t know National have won more elections under MMP than Labour
And yet they still thought that shitting on every possible coalition partner was an awesome way of winning another one.
Oh, I forgot: National is being led by Bill English. What’s his track record like, just out of interest?
Failed in 2002, lead National to a higher percentage in 2017 then they got 2008 while going for a fourth term
So almost no votes in ’02, and no friends in ’17.
He does know how MMP works, right?
Hey, I’m reading in Stuff that Peters offered to be friends with National before the election, and Blinglish told him to fuck off. Bold move from mister percentage. I wonder if it will bite him in the arse.
You know what they say about assumptions
No assumptions. I’m not the one pretending that 46% and no friends means a damned thing under mmp.
Sure, we could have another three years of you vampires. Equally possible is the chance that blinglish will be the most successful loser MMP has seen.
That’s not how MMP works.
You seem to be ignoring what the voters of NZ1st want and they seemingly want NZ1st to go with Labour/Greens.
Excuse me , – 58 % DID vote for change ,… the simple fact is , if they were sold on National they would’ve voted National instead of NZ First.
Obviously they didn’t vote for National.
Bearing in mind also , – 77% of NZ First membership want a coalition with Labour , I wouldn’t get too hasty in claiming NZ First as a win for the right if I were you.
Not saying NZFirst is with National, I’m saying National gained more votes than Labour/Greens combined so National has a better mandate for forming the next government because thats what the voters want
So you’d like to disenfranchise NZF voters? Interesting.
No but I would like to see the party (whatever party that is) with the biggest majority be part of the government
I wouldn’t, nor would all those New Zealanders who didn’t vote National.
I’m nothing if not helpful, try this: http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/contact
A majority of New Zealanders do not want a National Government ?
You’d like to see that but that doesn’t mean to say that it will happen.
Particularly when the majority of people just don’t want that party anywhere near government.
No , that’s what NATIONAL supporters want , – 58% don’t want that.
And that effectively puts the kiwash on any notion of some misconstrued ‘ morality’ that desperate right wingers and their media hacks are trying to attach to having the most party votes for a single given party in an MMP environment.
The facts are , – that the combined results of Labour, Greens and NZ First give them a ruling majority , whereas Nationals do not.
“The facts are , – that the combined results of Labour, Greens and NZ First give them a ruling majority , whereas Nationals do not.”
That is true however as someone once said to me: ” I wouldn’t get too hasty in claiming NZ First as a win for the right if I were you.” (you do need to substitute left for the right but I’m sure you get my point)
So if we take NZFirst out of the equation then we’re left with more voters wanting National than Labour/Green which to me means National has the more convincing argument as to why they should form the next government
Problem with that is we CANNOT take NZ First out of the equation.
Neither can National or Labour / Greens.
And there we have it.
MMP.
Not FFP.
And going by the results?,… more people wanted change than didn’t.
And if they didn’t ?… they would have voted exclusively National.
They didn’t.
Well thats one way of looking at it but another is if change was wanted then, at the very least, Labour/Greens would have got more votes
I think you’ll find that is the ONLY way to look at it in an MMP environment. Anything else is a perversion of the facts.
It wouldn’t perhaps have been if we were still under FFP.
But we are not.
No we are not and for my prediction it’ll be National/NZFirst
Which is a lie.
The majority of voters don’t want National because the majority of NZ1st voters want a Labour led government.
Which means that National has no mandate at all.
Hehehehe,… it takes a while for the penny to drop among some stalwarts , Draco,…
And if its not remembered this time round ? ,… it certainly will be in the next,.. and if I was in charge of National ?… I’d be weighing up the balance of short term aspiration as against the health and future of the longevity plan of the party’s survival at this stage…
Too much sugar rots the teeth.
Bow out gracefully , National ,… the combined vote against you has spoken.
Yes, my 80 year old neighbour voted for Winston and hopes he goes with Labour
Well. you wont be getting a Randian paradise. Winston will put a stop to any privatisation or deregulation that National might have hidden away.
The current charter schools will probably stay, but there will be no new ones. meaning that kids in South Auckland will grow up knowing that humans evolved from apes and the world is round. There will be no more state asset sell off, even the sneaky ones, like what happened to Solid Energy, and Learning Media, as well as Landcorp. There will be employment schemes for young people, and employers will not be able to bypass the local workforce in favour of the Chinese and Indian reserve armies of labour that they have been drawing on over the past few years.
Rubbish Chris, see my coment 5.1 above on Winston and learn the truth.
Absolutely stoked with how the left have gone this election, as others have said, what’s out of the box won’t be put back. However I’m really disappointed Mojo Mathers won’t be returned, she’s done some amazing work giving a face and voice to disabled New Zealanders.
When you mean the left you actually mean Labour?
You are pretty pity BM.
Pretty petty? Agree.
Not really, Greens bombed, Mana didn’t make it and labour ditched their leader and replaced him with a Helen Clark controlled marionette.
Call me negative but I don’t see a lot of win for the left.
translation: BM doesn’t like women in power, and he thinks that a shift left in the electorate isn’t a gain for the left.
What shift left? Labour just regained all the votes they lost to the Greens and NZ First.
I don’t know what goes for moderating on here but ….
you say call you “negative’. For saying that Arden is a “Helen Clark controlled marionette” I’d call you stupid.
The howls and squeals of fear from the neo liberal right wing , – that and their perverse justifications for going against MMP and democracy ,…
Are music to my ears.
And as the years roll by ?
It will become a symphony.
Oh look, another put down and lie by a sexist RWNJ.
It is all ,… that they have left…
BM We add NZF as left when compared to Nartional as being wrongly stated by English as a centre right, which is tortal falicy!!!
National are a sellout party for foreign corporations, foriegn speculators and landowners.
Nothing centre about that.
Fingers crossed that specials will pull her back in… we can hope. Shaw said they were something like 0.13% from getting an 8th MP. Mathers is 9th on the list.
Seeing as we are country of oligopoly, watching this might help.
Time stamp: Just short of a half and hour.
Farmers are angry at the wrong people. First working day post election we find out Fontera ED gets 75% pay rise.
I am sure they didnt hold that back though…
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/chief-executive-fonterra-receives-75-per-cent-pay-rise-over-8-million
Any workers had 75% payrise in the last 9 years? 20?
nah, we only get butter the block at 6$ cause rock star economy or how to raise the money to pay the CEO. 🙂
They must fantacise about NZ workers being in some kind of servile stupor like Baldric ,… unfortunately they are not stupid and the illusion exists only inside their heads… and in the pages of their favorite ideology’s handbook ,… that of neo liberalism.
Nasty shock for them on the not too distant horizon.
Blackadder: Baldrick’s cunning plan – YouTube
Video for baldric you tube▶ 0:21
You can decide for yourself who is addressing who….
do we really want to be government ???
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/08/30/hous-a30.html
sobering article from Australia are we better to walk away and let national wear the collapse and the fall out????
Only if we want to hear more of their bullshit justifications ,… why let them have that privilege of co opting their right wing media?
By contrast, let the Left show them in their full light as ETHELRED THE UNREADY.
Let them bear the full brunt of their disgusting short term avarice filled vision. Take power , and lay at the foot of blame their indiscretions. Let them feel the full wrath of their betrayal of the citizens of this country.
Nine years they had to insulate the citizens of this country from the fall out of global crisis,… yet they did nothing.
Hence therefore , .. so should be their reward.
Let them bask in their failures, let them wear it as a mantle around their necks.
And never again , .. will they be able to accuse Labour or the Left of their avarice and indiscretions.
Let them wear it as a crown.
Bill English calling Winston Peters a maverick ‘not very smart’, NZ First leader says…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11926394
Some interesting stats on voting at Unis this election – need to scroll down comments for some explanations.
eg:
Smart people, those Uni voters 😉
Also doesn’t (yet) include specials, which will have been enrol + vote (mostly), so will likely go higher in L/G favour. Nice to see Canty doing well!
Looking at it, it’s missing the polytechs – any volunteers? http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/voting-place-statistics.html then check the PDFs of the relevant electorates.
Here are the votes for Ara (formerly CPIT) here in Christchurch:
City Campus:
Chch Central Total – 502 votes; G – 98; L – 214; N – 137
Chch East Total – 208 votes; G – 23; L – 109; N – 58
Ilam Total – 204 votes; G – 23; L – 76; N – 77
Port Hills Total – 339 votes; G – 70; L – 144; N – 90
Selwyn Total – 142 votes; G – 14; L – 60; N – 58
Waimakariri Total – 125 votes; G – 10; L – 53; N – 48
Wigram Total – 211 votes; G – 23; L – 86; N – 82
Te Tai Tonga Total – 109 votes; G – 20; L – 63; N – 17
Woolston Campus:
Chch Central Total – 431 votes; G – 56; L – 198; N – 117
Chch East Total – 27 votes; G – 0; L – 15; N – 7
Ilam Total – 12 votes; G – 2; L – 3; N – 6
Port Hills Total – 414 votes; G – 53; L – 204; N – 101
Selwyn Total – 19 votes; G – 2; L – 6; N – 9
Waimakariri Total – 18 votes; G – 0; L – 9; N – 8
Wigram Total – 12 votes; G – 1; L – 7; N – 4
Te Tai Tonga Total – 39 votes; G – 2; L – 26; N – 5
Overall total – 2812 votes; G – 397 (14.12%); L – 1273 (45.27%); N – 824 (29.3%); Other – 318 (11.31%).
I’m not really expecting 60% of specials to L/G, but it would be amazing.
How did the polls perform?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/97203753/election-how-did-the-polls-perform
article is somewhat premature…
Not really, unless you’re expecting a substantial change (most are expecting one or two seats to change) due to the special votes.
its a measure of how the polls performed…and we dont have the final result to judge them by…irrespective of whether theres a significant change or not
No, we don’t have the final result. But the article acknowledges that.
And unless there is substantial change (which is unlikely) they’re not as bad as some have claimed.
therefore its pointless, the accuracy can only be judged when the result is known….what can be commented on however is the turnout…one has to wonder what it will take for the over 20% of disengaged to voice their opinion (or even a proportion of them)
“Therefore its pointless”
At this stage, not totally. The election has been held, the provisional result is out and there is expected to be little change.
Direct democracy is said to encourage participation, thus deserves consideration.
“….and there is expected to be little change”
not sure where you draw that conclusion from….it may not change the fact Winston has balance of power but there is considerable potential for it to change party voter support levels….that which is (supposedly) predicted by advance polls.
I have been studying people I know – friends and acquaintences and their voting preferences. Its not like the old days when people didn’t discuss what their preferences were. One thing that really resonates with me is that people who vote right wing generally are conservative, like the status quo, have boring interiors in their homes, an absence of books, artwork on the walls and general clutter about the place and do not have a lot to offer in conversations at restaurant tables. Some of these people have homes which look for motel or hotel rooms. Prefer to look at sport on Sky for evening’s entertainment and most certainly will always have an excuse for the way the Government is acting out with hospitals, schools and WINZ for example. In other words will not enter into any sort of “opening up the mind” to alternatives or have the ability to debate these topics. A closed mind.
Left wingers are more keen for change, have the guts to agree make the “huge decisions” which are what need to be done to make our society a better place. Books there are by the truck loads and clutter abounds as well. They usually have done “out of the way” things on their OE and generally have exciting things to offer in a conversation. They may have comfortable lives and jobs as well but they have that joy of anticipation for change and do not seem to be fearful of change. Just my observations but for sure there is depth in left wingers and not such a money oriented interest in their lives.
Is there some different side of the brain that makes us what we are – be interesting if some academic study was done on his phenonema.
There is much academic study out of the US on the general subject, and it basically agrees with what you’ve said here. And yes, MRIs show different parts of the brain engage for RW compared to LW.
History shows that major innovations were created while Labour was in power.
History shows that National made few innovations while in power. National tended to just tinker round the edges to modify detrimentally to wages and conditions for wage and salary earners.
I agree with you Whispering Kate. Something else I have noticed about right wingers I know: they are phenomenally ignorant about current affairs and political subjects. They are not necessarily unintelligent but they have no interest in keeping themselves informed about issues unless it affects them. But mention house prices and related property matters and they are all well read experts.
Lefties are the other way around.
@WKate…totally agree!
@WK
A perceptive comment. What you’re writing about here is what really interests me about politics … why is it that voting has so little to do with rationality and so very driven by emotion, tribalism and sheer short-sighted folly ?
Why are some people willing to embrace new ideas and others so very resistant to them? There is a deep neuro-biology driving all this; aspects of how our brain is working beyond our immediate awareness.
Yet emphatically I still believe people can change. It just takes confidence, courage and hope.
Whispering Kate ,… magnificent !
It is all in the cognitive perception ,… conservatism ,… whether it is the fearful , doubtful aspect that plagued the Generals of the battle of the Somme, or the ego that drove General Robert E Lee to wage a full frontal attack uphill against entrenched Yankee troops with mechanized Gatling guns and artillery ,… … or the goad that prompted the cold war ,… there is a common element,… the paralyzing inability to action !!!
It is a human condition,… based on fear.
Now,… if we were to exploit that fear , we would apply a bold general , such as Sun Tsu. Or General George ‘ Blood and Guts ‘ Patton.
We would take the initiative.
If there is one thing absent from the New Zealand Left it is boldness.
That uncompromising , unapologetic spirit that General Patton expressed ,…
………………………………….
” Have taken Trier with two divisions. What do you want me to do? Give it back?”
Reply to a message from General Dwight Eisenhower to bypass the German city of Trier because it would take four divisions to capture it (2 March 1945), as quoted in the Introduction to War as I Knew it (1947) by George Smith Patton, Jr., with Paul Donal Harkins, p. 20
………………………………….
When Jacinda Adern said ” we are in the fight of our lives”,…
She needed to have Blood and Guts Patton in mind.
George S. Patton – Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_S._Patton
A bit late only just seen it, but excellent post Kate. The follow-on comments were also good especially Annes @15.3
We have a right-wing acquaintance who will discuss Rugby and Master Chef all day every day and has a theory a vote for the left is the start of the slippery slope to communism. When we told this person, this summer we were planning to go to Farewell Spit photographing some of the bird life there, the response was, WHERE IS IT, WHAT IS IT! Surely I thought that would have been one of the basic geography lessons of New Zealand. and I am sure the geography of NZ would have been taught in schools.
I think his questions confirms your theory Kate.
A lucid explanation of Trump … and what we’re up against:
http://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/nfl-stars-are-falling-into-donald-trumps-trap/news-story/5c4ea843402408249c7966945b634ab2
Essentially Trump is the world’s most successful troll.
you think it has nothing to do with Puerto Rico drowning, North Korea calling him an old fool or dotard :), his son in law using a private email account for offical business, the repeal and replace with nothing ACA debacle, no just him trolling some black folks calling them son of bitches?
yeah, i guess you could call that a troll.
Yeah … everything about Trump is appalling … except for how successful he has been in mobilising his support base with fear, lies and misdirection. National just did a watered down version of it on us and I think it’s worthwhile to think about that.
no, i think it is worthwhile calling them out on it.
You can not live your live on fear and demonetization of others, eventually you run out of others.
so instead of calling him the most successful troll you could call him a President who is such a racist that he is not coming to the aid of the Puerto Ricans, who are US Citizens, who have been without electricity, water for a few days now, and who are currently under water and will not have electricity back for maybe a full half to a year.
I know that is boring, so much more fun discussing the fears of the white working class and other assorted bullshit, cause clearly the fears of the non white working class matter little.
Lets all just pander to fear. Yei.
And in NZ, Blinglish did not pander to fear, he pandered to greed. Simple as that.
And again, when that boat sinks, the poor have the least to loose. It is the rich that are going to eat crow and it is them who will not like it.
Greed is nothing more than a ‘fear of loss’; so it’s pretty closely linked really.
I’m not endorsing Trump or National at all; just pointing to the fact that despite all their numerous human and moral deficiencies .. they keep winning elections. Unless we are willing to closely look at how they do this; we the left will keep losing them.
again, i do not see National as a winner in this country. In MMP there are no true winners unless they can form stable coalitions and sadly National has killed everyone it ever worked with, so clearly National should have had more reason to ‘win bigly’ in order to manage its fourth term on its on and now it is a lame duck.
The US – and i am one who considered Clinton the smaller of two evils – will most likely see either a civil war or will see Trump removed by hook or by crook within a year. I am going with martial law first, then some civil unrest, then President Pence – whom i actually consider worse then Trump. Not sure if Trump believes he won, he does not behave like a winner to be honest.
But to diminish his dehumanizing of people as an act of troll is what allows him to keep on going. He is not trolling, he is inciting violence. He is past trolling.
And no i don’t think that the farmers and landowners of NZ have fear of loss, they just have a fear of being forced to pay their fair share and finally behave as if they were citizens instead of “landlords”. Greed is not the same as fear.
OK if you just want to score points for the fun of it … you win. You’re right I’m wrong. Happy?
It is not that you are right or i am right, it is about how we now frame the disconnect that is being spread.
The US can no more go back to the 1850s where everyone knew their place – especially people of colour and women, no matter how hateful Trump will be then we can pretend that we can sell our land to the highest bidder to the point where we end up needing a passport internally to get from point a to point b because everything is fenced off for ‘cows’, or mining, or road building.
This is not about scoring points. this is about how do we address is. Call Trump a troll? He is not, he is the fucking President of the US with the biggest weaponry at his disposal and Troops in over 150 countries. That is some troll.
Blinglish is not sowing fear he is sowing greed, vote me and you get 20$ per week, or no taxes and all the water for free. Greed.
Once we can name it, how do we counter it. Just saying he is the biggest troll of them all is not countering.
So from where i am standing WE, you , i and humpty dumpty next door are the real losers. Feel better now?
Que sera sera… whatever will be , will be…
Like FUCK.
The Left are deflecting and already licking their wounds and conceding defeat.
The hell with that.
Grab your balls and get on top of the situation and show some fight, stop wallowing in self pity and apportioning blame. We’ve got a future to fight for the next generation coming through. No more of this self pitying bullshit.
So put on your helmets and get on with the program of winning.
FFS.
Well, an Australian would make excuses.
/
Four years later at the 1972 Summer Olympics that took place in Munich, Germany, Norman wasn’t part of the Australian sprinters team, despite having run qualifying times for the 200 meters thirteen times and the 100 meters five times.
Norman left competitive athletics behind after this disappointment, continuing to run at the amatuer level.
Back in the change-resisting, whitewashed Australia he was treated like an outsider, his family outcast, and work impossible to find. For a time he worked as a gym teacher, continuing to struggle against inequalities as a trade unionist and occasionally working in a butcher shop. An injury caused Norman to contract gangrene which led to issues with depression and alcoholism.
As John Carlos said, “If we were getting beat up, Peter was facing an entire country and suffering alone.” For years Norman had only one chance to save himself: he was invited to condemn his co-athletes, John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s gesture in exchange for a pardon from the system that ostracized him.
A pardon that would have allowed him to find a stable job through the Australian Olympic Committee and be part of the organization of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Norman never gave in and never condemned the choice of the two Americans.
He was the greatest Australian sprinter in history and the holder of the 200 meter record, yet he wasn’t even invited to the Olympics in Sydney. It was the American Olympic Committee, that once they learned of this news asked him to join their group and invited him to Olympic champion Michael Johnson’s birthday party, for whom Peter Norman was a role model and a hero.
http://griotmag.com/en/white-man-in-that-photo/
WTF has Trump got to do with it?
This is New Zealand and we’ve got to focus here – not how many thousand kilometers away in a land that has nothing to do with us.
Fuck Trump and fuck the National party.
This is the here and now we are talking.
Future generations rely on how we conduct ourselves right here , and right now.
Yes you are correct about fuck trump.
But joe90 link tell of how a neo liberals western government can hammer a great indigenous PERSON and the local media will not tell his stories
And Norman was the BEST in the World at 100 200 mtr sprints he should have been celebrated by OUR WORLD as Husan Bolt is . EVERYONE IN THE WORLD should have Know who Norman is
ONE of the greatest Australian Indigenous and the World s Greatest sport Stars .We all should have been talking about him.
This is how the systems oppress The people of the land they won’t let the people have leaders or role model s to help raise there Wairua /self worth and all the people suffer oppressive .
FUCK THIS DUM ASS SYSTEM because Ours is oppressing me who a broke ass father half caste PROUD MAORI And the systems are not use to dealing with people like US.
I said absolutely nothing about tRump but let me spell it out –
A very concerned white Australian, whose own Australia made a pariah of Peter Norman, a man who dared stand alongside men who were voicing the very same opinions as those taking a knee in 2017, writes DNFTT. objecting about what someone who hates you says only encourages people who hate you, so best you STFU, he’s only trolling you.
Barking mad spider bites self, delusions ensue,
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