The abysmal quality of thinking of a lot of citizens today. To make comments about something, put the link and say nothing about it. It is an example of how many have a brain that is not fully exercised, and then criticise politicians for not being better. You can't convey a fully formed thought from yourself to someone else!
Most people couldn't manage half of what politicians are doing, so practise being good informed effective citizens why don't you instead of picking away at the scabs of horny politicians. They may not be perfect, but see if overall they are making breakthrough on their jobs towards the desired outcomes.
The polly under the microscope is Shane Jones by the way.
Not as abysmal as an old fool asking how to link in to tree planting programs and then coming back with a "what you talking about Willis" response when someone suggests joining the most prominent tree planting group in the country. You are so critical of others yet your walls are of the thinnest glass.
What you on about solkta? I find you are often negative and cutting, yet when I ask that people actually indicate what a link is about when they put it up – as part of a joined up thought to share, you go off your trolley. Are you the only person allowed to pass a judgment?
You know what i am on about. You could apologise. There is nothing negative about suggesting someone join Forest and Bird when they say they want to plant trees.
You didn't read what I had written and was asking. And you won't know what I am talking about because I don't think you do read most of what you reply to.
I was wondering – if I want to plant a tree, do something to act not just think. Where do I go. I just can't plant trees in my back yard, no room, have one already and they can be too shade producing in some places and people don't want to trim, cut them down when they have negative effects on light, sun and health.
So what do you suggest – I was wondering about speaking to local Councils, getting a designated spot, with protocols on how to do it, requiring a position two paces from the nearest one, dig and plant properly put a post up with the name on the tree, shrub in permanent marker etc. Also to make a note for oneself of where it is amongst the plantings, and go and give it water regularly while young, and in summer with about 5 litres of water to spread round it,
It is good to get the itch to plant a tree, it is where and how so that it can grow and be part of a healthy woodland. Do you think that would be a sensible approach to take to Council?
So i suggested joining Forest and Bird and you bit my head off without even bothering to go to their website and find out what they do. Local branches already liaise with local councils about where planting should happen. Your council would likely refer you to Forest and Bird or similar group if you were to approach them.
I'm not sure what it is that i might have missed. Perhaps it is that you are a grumpy old man who does not want to work as part of a team. You are so critical of the behaviour of others yet you seem unable to self reflect.
IMHO, this is a great attempt to provide and ask for clarification except for the ‘stingy’ tail. Moving on from this and re-focus on the important topic at hand is what I hope for.
Friday, September 27th: Greenpeace is calling the Government’s announcement to increase the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) of orange roughy an “insult” to the 30,000 New Zealanders who called for a ban on bottom trawling, and a rejection of the latest ocean science.
Minister for Fisheries Stuart Nash announced on Friday that he would increase commercial catch limits for orange roughy, a fish caught using highly destructive bottom trawling techniques.
(There had been comment that Stuart Nash appeared to have a strong RW lean. This confirms it. It takes a strong person to intervene in fishing industry wishes.)
Pound slides as Bank of England hints at Brexit interest rate cut – business live
A no-deal Brexit could be very bad news for rural businesses, with fears that one in four could go bust
Charts: Brexit uncertainty hurts economy…
Michael Saunders has also provided two charts for his audience of business leaders in Barnsley, showing how the Brexit crisis is hurting the UK economy.
The first shows that more than 50% of firms say that Brexit is an important source of uncertainty for their business:
People complain about their jobs being meaningless. Does it matter?David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It, would have smiled at Elon Musk’s sacking half the Twitter workforce. Musk seems to be confirming the main thesis of the book, that ...
Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. So, although Ardern has named an ...
I warned about the trap of virtue signaling in my article Virtue signaling over Ukraine. This video is still relevant – but have we moved on since then? The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was universally condemned at the time. Or was it? Certainly, the political atmosphere ...
Open access notables Bad news delivered by an all-star cast of familiar researchers: Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans. From the abstract: In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum. According to IAP/CAS data, ...
One of my earliest political memories is the resignation of Prime Minister David Lange in August 1989. I remember this because of a brown felt-tipped pen drawing I did of the Beehive, the building that houses the Executive of the New Zealand Government. More than thirty years later, we ...
Jacinda Ardern had an outsized impact on New Zealand’s international relations. While all Prime Ministers travel internationally, Ardern’s calendar was fuller than most. Ardern’s first major foreign trip came within weeks of her election in 2017, to the APEC summit in Vietnam. The meeting gave Ardern her first in-person encounter ...
She gave it her all. No New Zealand Prime Minister has ever dominated the political scene at home as she has done, or has established an international profile to match hers. No New Zealand Prime Minister has had to confront such a sequence of domestic and international catastrophes – from ...
Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation announcement today has left a lot of us with a lot of complicated feelings. In my case, while I've been highly critical of Ardern's government, I'm still sorry to see her go. We've had far too many terrible things happen during her term as Prime Minister ...
The decision by Jacinda Ardern to end her term as Prime Minister on February 7 has come as a stunning surprise. It turns the task of a centre-left government winning re-election this year from difficult to nigh on impossible. No-one else among the Labour caucus has Ardern’s ability to explain ...
Jacinda Ardern’s first press conference as Labour leader in August 2017 was a defining moment in the past decade of New Zealand politics. A young woman (by the standards of politics) who had long been tipped for higher office, she had underperformed as a minister and Andrew Little’s noble resignation ...
An Astonishing Rapport: Jacinda Ardern's "Politics of Kindness" raised so many progressive possibilities. Her own tragedy, and New Zealand's, is that so few of them were realised.MUCH WILL BE WRITTEN in the coming days about "The Ardern Years", some of it sympathetic and insightful, most of it spiteful and wrong.For ...
The Herald this morning reports on the rich's efforts to buy this year's election. And you'll never guess who their chosen vehicle is: The National Party may start election year with a $2.3 million war chest raised from 24 big donors in 2022, while Labour has declared just $150,000 ...
Christopher Luxon’s National Party are the odds-on favourites to win the general election this year. They have been consistently ahead of Labour in the polls in recent months, and have a firm coalition partner in Act, which is often polling about 10 per cent. Betting agencies can’t take bets on ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler You walk into your kitchen to make pasta. After filling a pot with water, you place a small silicone mat in the middle of your counter, then set the pot above it and open a stovetop app on your phone. ...
You know it as well as I, the famous Ring Verse from The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien: Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stone Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die One ...
The Herald has an annual roundup of electric vehicle stats this morning, and it shows us that the government's clean-car-discount - which sees buyers of dirty vehicles pay to subsidies purchases of clean ones - has been a hugely successful policy: New Zealand broke two records for electric vehicles ...
She’s Such A Scream! The Prime Minister’s enemies, those who want us to hate her, suffer from the not insubstantial handicap of being more than a little hateful themselves. Rendered nonsensical by their unwavering belief in the most absurd conspiracy theories, and dangerous by their relentless peddling of fake news ...
Me, Myself, Eye: The great irony of individualism is that the nearer humanity comes to the point where every person can make their own life, the more doubtful many intellectuals become of its merit. But, before embracing the moral oblivion of collective identity; and the strictures of tribal tradition, they ...
Ever since Christopher Luxon became leader, National has adopted a “small target” strategy. This consists of offering nothing to distract the media from its focus on the government’s shortcomings and the public’s discontent with its performance. In particular, the strategy involves releasing no policy alternatives whose own failings might then ...
Japan is a country on the move. Since World War II, Tokyo has largely been happy to outsource its security needs to Washington. But this is now changing to a more equal partnership. On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called his country’s alliance with the United States ‘stronger than ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 8, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 14, 2023. Story of the Week Relentless Rise of Ocean Heat Content Drives Deadly ExtremesThe heat of global warming will keep penetrating deeper into the oceans ...
The two most comprehensive forecasts of the New Zealand economy are by the Reserve Bank and the Treasury. They are especially important because they inform monetary and fiscal policy. What do they say?Shortly after the Reserve Bank and Treasury published their end-of-year forecasts, Statistics New Zealand announced a 2.0 percent ...
On Tuesday, the Herald broke the news of a massive increase in ANPR surveillance by police, from mere dozens of uses in 2020 to thousands in 2022, and that police had lied in their internal documentation when they said the system was audited to ensure use was legal. And today ...
There’s the joke that the difference between the Victorians and our current era is that the Victorians were obsessed with Death and acted as though Sex didn’t exist, whereas current modernity is the other way around. It’s not actually true, of course, but it’s still amusing. Today, I’m going ...
The next recession is shaping up as the most predicted event since the Second Coming. While we have to take it on faith that it will arrive someday, it is hard to say when it will happen, or how great/how bad it will be if and when it ever does. ...
I was going to write about something else to start off the KP year but current events have intruded in the form of the craziness surrounding the selection of US House Speaker and the storming of the Brazilian seats of power (Congress, the Supreme Court and Presidential Palace) by (so-called ...
Stuff reports that Tasman Steel - the latest name for what used to be NZ Steel - made a $340 million profit last year. The kicker? $117 million of that was from government pollution subsidies: New Zealand Steel’s holding company Tasman Steel increased its profit by 153% to a ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson and Jeff Masters A series of Pacific storms that’s taken aim on California since late December is on track to continue into mid-January. Ferocious winds will slam much of the state on Wednesday and Thursday, accompanied by heavy rain likely ...
In this article from the website Radicalism of Fools Daniel Ben-Ami looks at some of the limitations of the new anti-racism movement One of the key tasks I have set myself this year is to examine the arguments around anti-Semitism in more depth. That is both those used by anti-Semites ...
For wealthier New Zealanders and Australians, Fiji is just one option among many for their tourism resort experiences, poolside. Obviously, the country amounts to a lot more to the people who actually live there. It also happens to be the Pacific’s key diplomatic listening post, the home of the Pacific ...
What is it with Prince Harry?. Most of us would probably acknowledge that he has a legitimate cause for complaint at the way he and his wife have been treated by the British media. But there is more to it than that. Harry seems to harbour resentment against the media ...
One of the most popular moves Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ever made was the pay freeze her government imposed on politicians back in 2018. The freeze may have only been grudgingly agreed to by other MPs and parties, but it had universal public support. The pay freeze is due to ...
Two years ago, supporters of failed presidential candidate Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overthrow America's democracy and overturn the results of an election they had lost. And today, just a few days after the anniversary of that event, supporters of Trump's ally Jair Bolsonaro did ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 1, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 7, 2023. Story of the Week Scientists Report a Dramatic Drop in the Extent of Antarctic Sea Ice Links between global warming and the decline of sea ...
About half an hour ago, I became a very happy writer. My long-running effort at writing a sequel to Wise Phuul has finally borne fruit. Specifically, the draft manuscript for Old Phuul – starring Teltö’s elder sister, Rhea Phuul – is now complete at 102,172 words. This ...
The Green Party has a habit of sabotaging their election-year campaigns, risking electoral oblivion. Could the same thing happen in 2023? The last two election campaigns were particularly painful for the party. In 2017 then co-leader Metiria Turei had her story about her past as a welfare beneficiary unravel during ...
Open access notables In Conservation Biology, snapshots of two books that will probably launch a lot of objections, one by Vaclav Smil and the other yet more Bill Gates. Two doses of carbon budget realism review author Vojtech Novotny sums them up: "Sober assessments of our options for reducing carbon emissions in ...
Pundits have been making their political forecasts for the year ahead. Here are some of their predictions about what we can expect in 2023. The Big issues of 2023: Economy and ethnicity There’s a consensus that the political year, and especially the election campaign, will centre around the economy, with ...
I watched this movie three times in two days so you wouldn’t have to (but should anyway, it’s exquisite). You should definitely watch it at least once before reading this even if you don’t care about spoilers because most of this doesn’t give much context. Note “Children ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States, and passenger vehicles — the cars most Americans rely on to meet their daily needs — account for more than half of transportation emissions. Conversations about reducing these ...
Completed reads for 2022: On Providence, by Seneca the Younger On the Firmness of the Wise Man, by Seneca the Younger Kubla Khan, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Passions of Saint Perpetua and Felicity Murder is Easy, by Agatha Christie The Secret Adversary, by Agatha Christie The Bacchanals, ...
by Don Franks Stuff reports today: “Nationwide bookstore Whitcoulls is selling a magazine peddling a number of anti-vax conspiracies and insinuating the Christchurch mosque terror attack was a “false flag” operation. The Lambton Quay store in Wellington had copies of two issues of New Dawn magazine for sale this week. It was also spotted ...
Redline interviews James Robb from Workers Now, a group standing candidates in the coming general election Redline: What prompted the Workers Now initiative? In the immediate sense, this was prompted by the comments by Adrian Orr, the governor of the Reserve Bank, in November, in which he frankly admitted that ...
Activists of various nationalist parties carry torches during a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. The rally was organized to mark the birth anniversary of Stepan Bandera, founder of a rebel army that collaborated with Nazi Germany and murdered thousands of Jews, Poles, Russians and Ukrainians (AP Photo/Efrem ...
Those of a more conservative bent seem even more hardened than ever against the shifts we are seeing taking place, because that’s the side whose pushing back against all this that has been most vocal, and the most outraged. Don’t pretend you can’t hear it every day on the ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Dec 25, 2022 thru Sat, Dec 31, 2022. Story of the Week Overshooting climate targets could significantly increase risk for tipping cascades 12/22/2022 - Temporarily overshooting the climate targets of 1.5-2 degrees Celsius ...
Members of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have today written to Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Khamenei to condemn the ongoing violence and killing of women’s rights and democracy protesters, and to call on him to intervene immediately. ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
The Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...
A vaccine for people at risk of mpox (Monkeypox) will be available if prescribed by a medical practitioner to people who meet eligibility criteria from Monday 16 January, says Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. 5,000 vials of the vaccine have been obtained, enough for up to 20,000 ...
The Government is seeking feedback on measures to help reduce the number of young people vaping. “Youth vaping is becoming increasingly popular, with many choosing to vape despite never having smoked,” Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said. “Alongside our efforts to reduce tobacco smoking, we want to ensure vaping ...
The Government is reiterating its advice to all international travellers to do a Covid test if they become symptomatic after arrival, while also stepping up awareness of free RATs available at airports, Covid-19 Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says. “This follows growing global concerns, including from the World Health Organisation ...
Nominations for the vacancy of Labour leader, and therefore presumptive prime minister to succeed Jacinda Ardern, close tomorrow morning at 9am. If there is just one nominee, which according to sources is more likely than not, that person will be formally endorsed as leader by caucus on Sunday. Critically, nominations ...
While Jacinda Ardern did not cite it as one of the reasons she is quitting politics, there is little doubt it took a toll, according to her former chief of staff. ...
14% say Ardern’s resignation may, or will change the way they vote The first poll since Jacinda Ardern’s resignation has given a strong endorsement to Chris Hipkins as the next leader of the Labour party. However, 39% of respondents said that knowing ...
The leader of the Social Credit party, Chris Leitch, passed away this morning after a long battle with neck cancer. He is survived by his wife Anne, son Andrew, two stepdaughters Tracey and Darian, and brother Tim. Mr Leitch was a long time activist ...
Nominations for the position of Labour Party leader must be received by 9am Saturday and if there is only one nominee, that person's name will be made public. ...
RNZ News Aotearoa New Zealand has become hugely polarised and it is little wonder Jacinda Ardern has decided to call it a day, says Helen Clark. The former New Zealand prime minister and Labour Party leader is no stranger to the ups and downs of politics. However, she said current ...
ANALYSIS:By Richard Shaw, Massey University Well, no one saw that coming. For those in New Zealand relieved that Christmas was over because it means politics resumes, this week held the promise of a cabinet reshuffle, the possible unveiling of some meaty new policy and — if we were really ...
“History will judge Jacinda Ardern as a remarkable leader. She is genuinely kind and has an incredible intellect, she’s made more of a contribution than she will ever appreciate. I can’t help but feel like we need to find better ways to support women and mothers in politics.” – union ...
Opinion - Chris Hipkins is a frontrunner to replace Jacinda Ardern, but he has an unfortunate tendency to play the man rather than the ball, writes Brigette Morten. ...
We’ve made it to the end of what turned out to be an extraordinarily busy news week – and it’s not over yet. This Sunday will see Labour’s caucus attempt to elect a new leader (and new prime minister). We’ll have coverage on the day, don’t you worry. In the ...
Examples of the destruction caused by parties infighting in public abound. But that doesn’t make obsessive secrecy a good idea either.Like cardinals at a conclave choosing a new pope, the magic number for the Labour caucus is two-thirds. At least 43 MPs will need to back one candidate to ...
Cornfields hold versatile place in our collective imagination (wholesome, romantic, spooky…) And corn is equally adaptable in the kitchen: at home in soups, fritters, salsas and salads, on the BBQ or just with butter… mmmm… Oh, sweetcorn. The longer my mind lingers on this summery vegetable, the wilder the associations ...
A new poem by Lily Holloway.Ali dies of cancer and i am not allowed to visit Anxious in small groups, tetras will start nibbling at their tank-mates. I never see it happening. No piece of fin floating up, no bone stark against the charcoal filter. They must be swimming ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Why Jacinda Ardern’s resignation changes everythingPolitical scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $29) This slim volume is ...
Megan Woods will not put herself forward to become Labour’s new leader, Stuff has reported. The senior cabinet minister was a long shot for the role, but had been in the conversation since Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation yesterday. It’s now likely to come down to ministers Chris Hipkins or ...
The soon-to-be-former prime minister has assumed many mantles and many monikers. DJ, play that song, because here are some of her greatest hits.Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern has had her name misspelt more times than seems humanly possible for someone whose moniker is extremely, bloody online. Her name, her job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suze Wilson, Senior Lecturer, School of Management, Massey University Kerry Marshall/Getty Images “Uneasy is the head that wears the crown”, wrote Shakespeare, way back in the 1500s. It’s not a new idea that top-level leadership jobs are intensely stressful and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suze Wilson, Senior Lecturer, School of Management, Massey University Kerry Marshall/Getty Images “Uneasy is the head that wears the crown”, wrote Shakespeare, way back in the 1500s. It’s not a new idea that top-level leadership jobs are intensely stressful and ...
A new Taxpayer’s Union Curia poll released just a day after Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation shows a continued decline for the Labour Party. The poll was taken before yesterday’s news. The governing party has dropped to 31.7%, down 1.4 points. But while National retained a healthy lead – sitting ...
Another 31 New Zealanders, including the fiancé of the outgoing prime minister and a number of journalists, have been banned from entering Russia. According to a statement from Russia’s foreign ministry, the names were added to the list because of their part in a “Russophobic campaign of the ‘collective West'”. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreea Lachsz, PhD Candidate, University of Technology Sydney Today marks the (already twice extended) deadline for Australia to meet its international obligation to implement torture prevention bodies. The role of these bodies is to monitor treatment and conditions in places where people ...
"With change in the air, let's do New Zealand a favour and have a snap election'" says Sue Grey co-leader of the NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party. The last term of Jacinda's government has been extremely tumultuous. New Zealand has had enough. Its time to ...
It could be all over by Monday – or the process could drag out for months, writes constitutional law expert Andrew Geddis.Oh no! We’ve gone and broken our prime minister, that was careless of us! It is all somewhat “shocking but unsurprising”, to quote Aotearoa New Zealand’s finest summary ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rajkishore Nayak, Associate Professor , RMIT University Vietnam Shutterstock Ever considered the carbon footprint of manufacturing your favourite shirt? The average cotton shirt produces 2.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide – but a polyester shirt produces over twice as much ...
The Employment Court has ruled in favour of the Tertiary Education Union in legal action against Auckland University of Technology. The Court found that AUT had failed to abide by a compliance order issued by the Employment Relations Authority. Kaiwhakahaere ...
The Employment Court has ruled in favour of the Tertiary Education Union in legal action against Auckland University of Technology. The Court found that AUT had failed to abide by a compliance order issued by the Employment Relations Authority. Kaiwhakahaere ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Olive, Senior Research Fellow & Clinical Psychologist, Deakin University Ferne Millen/Ocean Minds, Author provided Nothing clears the mind like going for a surf. With the escapism and simplicity of riding waves, it’s no secret that surfing feels good. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Olive, Senior Research Fellow & Clinical Psychologist, Deakin University Ferne Millen/Ocean Minds, Author provided Nothing clears the mind like going for a surf. With the escapism and simplicity of riding waves, it’s no secret that surfing feels good. ...
Analysis - Jacinda Ardern's resignation announcement has turned politics on its head and Labour must now find a new leader capable of taking on National - an awesome undertaking in an election year, Peter Wilson writes. ...
For the first time in the Taxpayers' Union – Curia poll, the Prime Minister's net favourability rating is negative. Outgoing PM Jacinda Ardern’s rating has dropped 4 points compared to last month from +3% to -1%. Back in September 2021, she was ...
International migration statistics give the latest outcomes-based measure of migration, which includes estimates of migrants entering or leaving New Zealand. Key facts Annual migration Provisional estimates for the year ended November 2022 compared with the ...
Jacinda Ardern has no regrets over her shock decision to step aside. The prime minister briefly spoke to media at Hawke’s Bay airport today and, as the Herald reported, said she had slept well last night “for the first time in a long time”. She added: “But still a range of ...
It’s Friday, January 20 and welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates. I’m Stewart Sowman-Lund. Get in touch with me on [email protected] What you need to know Jacinda Ardern has announced her resignation as prime minister. She will leave the role no later than February 7 – and it ...
Like so many others, Mad Chapman has tried to become ‘a runner’ many times over many years, getting as far as completing a marathon in 2018. But the bursts of inspiration never stuck around for long – until now.I don’t really like to say that I have run a ...
The Lunar New Year is this Sunday, January 22, the first day of the year of the rabbit. Ruth Oy Har Agnew has some tips for marking the occasion in a fun but respectful way. Chinese New Year has always been an important celebration in my NZ Chinese Pākehā family, ...
US president Joe Biden has joined the chorus of international tributes to outgoing prime minister Jacinda Ardern. In a tweet, Biden thanked Ardern for strengthening the partnership between the United States and Aotearoa. “Your stewardship in advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific was crucial – I look forward to deepening ...
We propose creating a Community Council with the job of re-constituting the relationship between government and the community so that communities regain their right to a proper voice in politics. ...
Earlier this week Point of Order carried a post by Geoffrey Miller on how Japan under a new security blueprint is doubling its defence spending. The plans see Japan buying up advanced weaponry – including long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US – and spending more on ...
Amid a climate of vandalism and hostility, comes a plea to the government not to exclude the LGBTQIA+ community from the proposed hate speech law reform. Tēnā koe Ms Allan, and NZ Labour MPs.This letter is an expression of the greatest concern regarding the proposed withdrawal of protections for ...
Former prime minister Helen Clark has spoken of the sadness she felt upon learning of Jacinda Ardern’s resignation. A long time supporter and confidante of Ardern, Clark wrote on Instagram that she was in Europe when she learnt of the news. “Her legacy is very significant, and my overwhelming feeling ...
There’s one thread that’s filtered through a lot of coverage of Jacinda Ardern’s resignation over the past 24 hours and that has been regarding the level of vitriol and abuse faced by the prime minister during her tenure. The Covid-19 pandemic has clearly exacerbated that, with the protest at parliament ...
An out-of-gas Jacinda Ardern is standing down as prime minister. What prompted the decision, what legacy will she leave, who is in the running to succeed her, and what does it all mean for election year? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas race from their own caucus retreat into ...
It’s hard to imagine the Labour party wanting anything but a very clean transition. They remain the disciplined caucus of the last five and a half years. Given the party’s current polling, a protracted and public battle would not help matters. But a new leader must be found and this ...
If you’ve somehow woken up, clicked on The Spinoff and realised the prime minister resigned yesterday – here are the top lines from an extraordinary 24 hours in politics. Jacinda Ardern will step down as prime minister in the coming days. A vote for a new Labour Party leader ...
Yesterday’s announcement of the prime minister’s resignation might best be described as shocking but unsurprising. A legacy of a prime minister will now take form and the race to replace her will begin, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday ...
Wellington has a new mayor determined to shake things up. At the beginning of the year, Tory Whanau was a mayoral candidate pitching her ambitious vision for the future of Wellington City. Now, she sits in the top spot and is tasked with turning that vision into a reality. She ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Sherratt, Senior Research Fellow in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Adelaide A black-tailed jackrabbit.ranchorunner/Shutterstock What do you think when you hear the word “rabbit”? Does your mind conjure images of cartoon bunnies eating carrots? Or the fluffy tails and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Neil G Sipe, Honorary Professor of Planning, The University of Queensland With fewer people using public transport and more working from home due to the COVID pandemic, public transport agencies need to do everything they can to encourage more people to use ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandy Hagstrom, Senior Lecturer, Exercise Physiology. Director of Teaching and Education, School of Health Sciences, UNSW Sydney Photo by Cliff Booth/Pexels, CC BY People asking for exercise advice are usually looking for a simple answer. Do this over that. Do ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Bateman, Associate professor, Curtin University Shutterstock You might think evolution is glacially slow. At a species level, that’s true. But evolution happens every time organisms produce offspring. The everyday mixing of genes – combined with mutations – throws up new generations ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kaya Barry, Senior Lecturer & ARC DECRA Research Fellow, Griffith University Alice and Scott* have been running their two-storey pub-turned-backpacker hostel in Queensland’s Wide Bay region, north of Brisbane, for more a decade. Over the years they’ve provided accommodation for thousands of ...
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Someone needs to pull this idiot's head in. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12271534
Is yet another reflection of the abysmal quality of so many involved in politics today…it must be contagious
The abysmal quality of thinking of a lot of citizens today. To make comments about something, put the link and say nothing about it. It is an example of how many have a brain that is not fully exercised, and then criticise politicians for not being better. You can't convey a fully formed thought from yourself to someone else!
Most people couldn't manage half of what politicians are doing, so practise being good informed effective citizens why don't you instead of picking away at the scabs of horny politicians. They may not be perfect, but see if overall they are making breakthrough on their jobs towards the desired outcomes.
The polly under the microscope is Shane Jones by the way.
pardon?
Not as abysmal as an old fool asking how to link in to tree planting programs and then coming back with a "what you talking about Willis" response when someone suggests joining the most prominent tree planting group in the country. You are so critical of others yet your walls are of the thinnest glass.
What you on about solkta? I find you are often negative and cutting, yet when I ask that people actually indicate what a link is about when they put it up – as part of a joined up thought to share, you go off your trolley. Are you the only person allowed to pass a judgment?
You know what i am on about. You could apologise. There is nothing negative about suggesting someone join Forest and Bird when they say they want to plant trees.
You didn't read what I had written and was asking. And you won't know what I am talking about because I don't think you do read most of what you reply to.
You said:
So i suggested joining Forest and Bird and you bit my head off without even bothering to go to their website and find out what they do. Local branches already liaise with local councils about where planting should happen. Your council would likely refer you to Forest and Bird or similar group if you were to approach them.
I'm not sure what it is that i might have missed. Perhaps it is that you are a grumpy old man who does not want to work as part of a team. You are so critical of the behaviour of others yet you seem unable to self reflect.
IMHO, this is a great attempt to provide and ask for clarification except for the ‘stingy’ tail. Moving on from this and re-focus on the important topic at hand is what I hope for.
"abysmal… old fool"; "You are so critical of others…" – too critical (imho); let it be?
I don't have a lot of tolerance for holier than thou types.
Me neither
He is conceited, arrogant, self-obsessed and very close to being downright corrupt.
I see him as being a snout-in-the-trougher who expects everyone else to behave the same way. He is not an asset to our Govt.
Greenpeace outraged, and so we all should be.
Friday, September 27th: Greenpeace is calling the Government’s announcement to increase the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) of orange roughy an “insult” to the 30,000 New Zealanders who called for a ban on bottom trawling, and a rejection of the latest ocean science.
Minister for Fisheries Stuart Nash announced on Friday that he would increase commercial catch limits for orange roughy, a fish caught using highly destructive bottom trawling techniques.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/09/27/orange-roughy-catch-increase-rejection-of-lscience/
(There had been comment that Stuart Nash appeared to have a strong RW lean. This confirms it. It takes a strong person to intervene in fishing industry wishes.)
https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2019/sep/27/chinese-factory-profits-slowdown-bank-of-england-brexit-stock-markets-oil-business-live
Pound slides as Bank of England hints at Brexit interest rate cut – business live
A no-deal Brexit could be very bad news for rural businesses, with fears that one in four could go bust
Charts: Brexit uncertainty hurts economy…
Michael Saunders has also provided two charts for his audience of business leaders in Barnsley, showing how the Brexit crisis is hurting the UK economy.
The first shows that more than 50% of firms say that Brexit is an important source of uncertainty for their business:
Worth a chortle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amOpD2ka2Mw