Well we can all criticise Winston Peters but he was the only one in NZ politics predicting and supporting Brexit .
His appearance on the Paul Henry show this morning was a eye opener and in my opinion he is heading toward further polling strength. This could be at the expense of Labour as Andrew Little had to back down in his statement regarding tax expert Mr Shewan. Not good for Andrew or Labour.
I pose the question should the LabGreen partnership accept Winston as Prime Minister if as expected Winston will hold the keys to the formation of a Government in 2017.
I believe that will be his price to the LabGreen and NZ First coalition.
I also believe that Little, Turei and Shaw will accept those terms from Winston, such is their desperation to be part of a NZ Government.
National would not accept such a proposal from Winston though they would accept him high in their cabinet rankings.
The question of Prime Ministership in 2017 needs to be asked and answered now, after the election is to late and would cause political turmoil if outcomes are not what the electors expect.
An obsfucation answer to the question should not be tolerated.
Shewans report is a complete parroting of John Key’s various claims and statements about the tax haven, opps Zero tax rated companies Key have made since the panama papers were released.
Show me where he has said anything original.
I’m going to put NRT’s post here in it’s entirety:
Damning inquiry points finger at the Government, State Services Commissioner, Stuff, June 23, 2016:
The Government has rejected parts of a damning report into its handling of an inquiry into leaks from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Ombudsman Ron Paterson has told the Government it should compensate a former top diplomat whose career ended in tatters after he was targeted by the inquiry, which was instigated by the State Services Commission.
He has also recommended a formal apology.
[…]
In a statement, Rennie said he did not agree with all elements of the Ombudsman’s findings, in particular that in making findings relating to the investigation being outside its terms of reference.
—————————————————————————————-
Ombudsman resigns: Professor Ron Paterson steps down two years early, New Zealand Herald, 27 June 2016:
One of the country’s two Ombudsmen has resigned and will leave the role two years before the end of his five-year term.
Professor Ron Paterson will leave the role on Thursday. He was appointed an Ombudsman in June 2013 for a five-year period.
[…]
The timing of this really doesn’t look good. The SSC report was apparently hotly contested, and Rennie effectively refusing to accept its “recommendations” may have been a final straw.
Ron Paterson did not intend to see out his full term, but his decision to up-sticks forthwith is worthy of investigation. As NRT infers: something is definitely not right here.
Anyone know what Murray McCully has been up to lately?
The real idiots are the lawmakers whose economic policies prepared the perfect conditions for the Brexit in the UK and the rise of Donald Trump in the US.
The real idiots are the well-dressed, gently spoken, highly educated, mostly men, who plan perpetual wars around the world that lead to terrorism and refugee crisis.
The real idiots are the politicians whose inability to act on climate change and the nuclear threat is pushing humanity to the precipice of extinction.
And the even bigger idiots are those who advocate and believe in the American and British economic model claiming that it is the best of bad alternatives.
Not so. The Nobel laureate economist, Joseph Stiglitz, believes tackling extreme inequality is an achievable goal.
Probably the best breakdown of Brexit that I’ve read so far.
The truth about the British Labour leadership coup.
Been planning it for months. A small bunch of Blairites who never accepted Corbyn and have been waiting for a chance to launch their coup. “Westminster Games”.
As soon as I heard about it I figured that it had been in the making for months. Probably started before Corbyn even made leader, as it became obvious that he was going to win and not their hand selected parrot. Someone who was a danger to the status quo rather than its defender.
Saw this in the comment section of a Guardian article:
This much is clear. The country is divided virtually down the middle. On the one side we have those who despise the political classes. On the other, those who absolutely hate them.
The fury of the membership and unions will be unlimited. I suspect not a single one of these self-indulgent dorks will be remain in Labour in a year’s time. There’ll be a general crab-like scuttle off towards the rock called Liberal.
These munters had a choice, they could have seen Corbyn as someone different and a challenge to politics as usual, some-one they needed to get in behind, serve protect and promote. They could have formed a team around him and looked after his back, but no. Their personal arrogance had to come first. They had to plot, scheme, and finesse the rule-book.
And just when the Tories are on their knees they act to ensure the Tories will rise unscathed. In wartime you don’t fuck about with traitors, you just execute them out of hand.
I mean the sainted Hilary Benn, has the unmitigated gall to insult his Party Leader in public, call ‘no-confidence’ … and then fail to resign on the spot !!!. What fucking planet did I wake up on today?
That’s one interpretation.
Another is Corbyn was/is/and always will be electoral toast. Rolling him now, after his much discredited performance, could equally be the saving of and popular comeback of UK labour.
Oh come on, blaming Corbyn for the outcome of a referendum that was never of his own making is a feeble, cowardly fig-leaf.
We have Diane Abbott’s plain commentary on the matter, this scum had been planning it for fucking months. Down to the very detail. Even their ‘resignation’ letters all look they came from the same PR firm.
I just might have a smidgeon less contempt for them if they actually thought they might be stepping down; but in their minds this is nothing more than a game where they play ‘time-out’ for a few days, topple the Leader their Party voted for … and then waddle back into their comfortable troughs under a new Leader who’s neck deep in their debt.
Speaking of which … they all whine that Corbyn is electoral toast, but exactly WHO among their number is not an electoral greasy smut on the ceiling?
I don’t know if the rules permit it, but in the circumstances I’d argue he would certainly have moral mandate to ask for them to step down. And with a GE almost certain within six months, there would likely be no especial need to call by-elections.
Back in 1981, in Hard Road to Renewal, Stuart Hall remarked: “The right of the labour movement, to be honest, has no ideas of any compelling quality, except the instinct for short-term political survival. It would not know an ideological struggle if it stumbled across one in the dark. The only ‘struggle’ it engages in with any trace of conviction is the one against the left.”
You’ll have to scroll down to 21:33 for the ‘breaking’ news.
It does say at 22:08 that “the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg notes, Mr Watson didn’t explicitly tell Mr Corbyn he should resign and stressed that the final decision was a matter for him.”
But I didn’t see it and my post was before this, so no lie on my part.
I will accept your apology for casting aspersion. 😉
Don’t bother. I’m picking you don’t have it in you. lol
Though next time you call me for mis quoting and stating I’m a liar, I’d appreciate it if you were a little more researched and less half cocked as this time. Thanks.
Lets face it some of these MPs in the UKLP cant decide on the colour of shite.
All the Labour party members did in voting in huge numbers for Corbyn was reaffirm what they historically stood for and that was to represent working people and their aspirations for a better life and fairness at work with a livable wage and a belief in society and properly funded public services and keep the ever present dangerous capitalist establishment in check.
Its been an ambush under the cloak of the BREXIT and these plotters cant accept that the british Labour voter wants something better than the Tories prescription or Tony Blairs New Labour that they rejected with Gordon Brown in 2010 and again with New Labour part two in 2015.
These shadow ministers who have resigned were never prepared to accept Corbyn or any other left wing candidate for leader because they no longer support what their parties founding principles are about and are more relevant now , today than ever before and should think long and hard about what their members want rather than their own vile selfish agendas.
Maybe they should split away and take their chances with a different party if they cant stomach the one they are in.
In the mean time if they cant be loyal they should go to the back of the room and let the elected leadership get on with it and remind themselves unity is strength.
And at the earliest opportunity , resign and test their position at a by election.
Bullies – when young – are often very oblivious to the hurt caused by their actions.
A simple solution – and one that I used to use here at home – is to sit both children involved facing each other – knee to knee. Then as dispassionately as possible articulate what has gone on. The children are asked to look directly into each others faces, and at young ages – very few are able to mask the hurt and pain when they are revisiting what occurred. Most times the “bully” reacts immediately with guilt and empathy.
No requirement for sermons or explanations from the parent.
Not that all children are angels, but the very young are often very empathetic, and we teach them out of this by competitive structures in schooling, sports and in a million other ways.
Including a couple they can stop making fun of now, but also:
– Free movement of labour … only possibly, despite this being a Leave policy
– The right to be forgotten
– Working time directive
– Temporary Agency Workers Directive
– Renewables Directive
– EU Climate and Energy Package
– Banking Regulations
– Clean Water regulations
“In 1935, a young Laurie Lee set off to walk across Spain, from north to south. In the book the adventure would eventually lead to, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, Lee describes a country riven by inequality, of communities in grinding poverty, and an out-of-touch ruling elite. The fascists and the communists both laid claim to the discontents, the rhetoric becoming increasingly polarised. The narrative resonated across the European continent. By the time Lee got to Malaga, in the summer of 1936, the Spanish civil war had begun.”
Although shortly stated, it was intended to be a serious question. Whilst there are pressing social problems to be solved, I don’t think the current govt fits the usual definition of extreme right wing. Centre right, or depending ones perspective right. Not when we have a minimum wage of $15, and an increase in general benefit levels, both of which occurred under the current govt. In my view etreme right wing would need to be more like say the Republicans in the US, or perhaps ACT in NZ.
As for the definition of Hard left, I would say the Corbynista left of UK Labour fits well enough. That would include some on the left of Labour in NZ and the left of the Greens (and quite a few commenters on this site). It would not include Andrew Little or James Shaw. Not sure where I would put the most left of the Labours MP’s (for instance Carmel Sepuloni) I am not sure that she would be far left enough to meet the my definition of hard left. Choosing people as illustrations helps. This not intended to be personal, it is just that it easier than a formal description of political philosophy. Lilia Harre would do so. As much as anything for her role in the destruction of the Alliance. Breaking it up on the basis of Afghanistan following 9/11 seemed reckless, even though I was looking at it from the perspective of the Opposition. Similarly her involvement with Kim Dotcom. We are all assessed on our political judgements and others will make of them what they will.
My old school fellow pupil, Len Richards, would also qualify, he was two years ahead of me. I have not heard much of him in the news these days, so he might be retired.
I am certainly aware of some pretty personal attacks on this site, which means it is risky for me to comment.
Most people on the right would regard me as a moderate liberal, but in recent times this site (or at least some of the commenters) has become much less forgiving of hearing an alternate view, at least if put by me.
The right has enjoyed political dominance without a public mandate for much too long. So now its organs are reviled and dare not show their faces to the people they have misled and betrayed. Why are you surprised?
You toss around labels like confetti. Can’t take the heat from your employers? Your predetermined opinions and association with the National Party constitute a conflict of interest.
I note your abject failure to address the points raised: families living in cars while your corrupt crony sponsors lie and blame and increase the prison population, then you have the insufferable gall to pretend that $15 p/h is a good earn.
Go on, pretend criticism of your opinions and behaviour is a personal attack. That’ll work 🙄
“but in recent times this site (or at least some of the commenters) has become much less forgiving of hearing an alternate view, at least if put by me.”
symptomatic of the type of feelings expressed in the US and UK……feelings that apparently have no basis in NZ?
I am certainly aware of some pretty personal attacks on this site, which means it is risky for me to comment.
For better or worse, the policy doesn’t allow interventions for personal attacks unless they get pretty extreme or stray from the post and/or discussion.
The reason why the policy has those limits is because the site was founded to provide robust public debate. That means that we can have people on here doing the usual right wing unthinking slagging of the poor, and the equivalent left wing demonisation of the capitalists. The reason that we want this is because it means that the public debate that is essential for the development of good supported public policy is able to happen, and that the choke points of debate aren’t left in the hands of mindless demagogues like Mike Hoskings or Nigel Farange. Personally I consider that those kinds of narcissistic and probably psychotic personalities simply aren’t that reliable at leading rational debates.
But to be able to express an opinion on people like that, you have to allow all people seeking a public profile to similarly be analysed. People carry their history with them when they claim it as you have done, and they will be attacked on it – mainly limited by legal limits, not screwing up the debate here with too many side issues, and a modicum of good taste.
And it isn’t exclusive. It operates in exactly the same way for anyone on the left as well. Even with my very limited public profile, that has been extensively attacked in various media. More recently it has been personally and expensively attacked in the courts by a illiterate legal idiot in a private prosecution. It appears that he failed to read the first paragraph of the about on this site. It is simply part of the cost of being involved in having a public life.
Most people on the right would regard me as a moderate liberal…
I suspect that in many policy areas you’d be well to the ‘left’ of me.
…but in recent times this site (or at least some of the commenters) has become much less forgiving of hearing an alternate view, at least if put by me.
This isn’t abnormal and is a whole lot less here than in many forums. But have you ever seen what happens if I make a comment on kiwiblog? Even one supporting something said by David Farrar? The second reason (after a simple lack of time) that I don’t comment there very often is that I have an aversion to derailing comment streams by simply being present. Comment streams there tend to immediately divert into “I hate lprent” whenever I make a comment regardless on what the comment is about or what its content is. It is a whole lot more extreme than anything that is allowed to happen on this site.
If you do spot anything that walks too far over the edge in comments, then just highlight it in a comment or in email
Wayne. Here is a quote of something you once said on Bowalley Road.
“On that basis, I would say there is a reliable 25% of the voting population who are essentially left (hard left as I am wont to say) as opposed to centre-left. ”
If it is true that, in your terms, anyone who is a traditional Social Democrat is Hard Left, then it must also be true that a similar percentage on the Right can be designated in the same fashion.
Based on the high tide marks achieved by ACT and various conservative / Christian parties, and the fact that most of the people who have in the past voted for those Parties have certainly defaulted to currently voting National as their only viable option, it must also be true to say that nearly half of National’s voter base are, in your terms “Hard Right”??
There seems to have been uncertain result in the Spanish elections. The conservative Peoples Party have 137 seats out of 350; the Socialists 85; Unidos Podemos 71; and other conservative party 32. Coalition possibilities are uncertain. UP did not do as well as many were hoping apparently.
Then why do you care Tory? You should stay quiet & then laugh with glee if what you say turns out correct & use your crystal ball to predict winning Lotto numbers genius.
I’m getting redflags (in firefox top tab – instead of the clicked page loading) most of the time when I try to access or refresh OM (more than usual). The other posts are mostly ok, but some of the older ones have been giving me the same problem. Thought I’d mention it here, as this post loads and won’t be too distracting to the above discussion.
Is this just me, or have others been having this problem too?
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Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
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 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
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Well, if yah going to just go half way, like the guy in the pic above with a half shaved head, you mose as well go all the way.
Otherwise yah just look silly.
Well we can all criticise Winston Peters but he was the only one in NZ politics predicting and supporting Brexit .
His appearance on the Paul Henry show this morning was a eye opener and in my opinion he is heading toward further polling strength. This could be at the expense of Labour as Andrew Little had to back down in his statement regarding tax expert Mr Shewan. Not good for Andrew or Labour.
I pose the question should the LabGreen partnership accept Winston as Prime Minister if as expected Winston will hold the keys to the formation of a Government in 2017.
I believe that will be his price to the LabGreen and NZ First coalition.
I also believe that Little, Turei and Shaw will accept those terms from Winston, such is their desperation to be part of a NZ Government.
National would not accept such a proposal from Winston though they would accept him high in their cabinet rankings.
The question of Prime Ministership in 2017 needs to be asked and answered now, after the election is to late and would cause political turmoil if outcomes are not what the electors expect.
An obsfucation answer to the question should not be tolerated.
Shewans report is a complete parroting of John Key’s various claims and statements about the tax haven, opps Zero tax rated companies Key have made since the panama papers were released.
Show me where he has said anything original.
I’m going to put NRT’s post here in it’s entirety:
Ron Paterson did not intend to see out his full term, but his decision to up-sticks forthwith is worthy of investigation. As NRT infers: something is definitely not right here.
Anyone know what Murray McCully has been up to lately?
Wow, just wow.
Pushing out the Ombudsman? WTF?
They will push out anyone that makes them look bad or shows them up as incompetent
The Brexit Vote: The Painful Price of Inequality
Probably the best breakdown of Brexit that I’ve read so far.
The truth about the British Labour leadership coup.
Been planning it for months. A small bunch of Blairites who never accepted Corbyn and have been waiting for a chance to launch their coup. “Westminster Games”.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36632956
Diane Abbott MP. Video now half way down article.
Edit: new Shadow health secretary.
As soon as I heard about it I figured that it had been in the making for months. Probably started before Corbyn even made leader, as it became obvious that he was going to win and not their hand selected parrot. Someone who was a danger to the status quo rather than its defender.
GregJ called it last night:
http://thestandard.org.nz/corbyn-coup-hilary-benn-is-sacked-for-disloyalty/#comment-1195037
So did swordfish. Always good to have it confirmed from ‘a horse’s mouth’ though.
+1
I called it three days ago
But this really isn’t a spitting contest but a place for discussion.
Probably the Blairites are best to try and get this business done before the release of the Chilcott Report huh?
After July 6th they just might be toxic.
Saw this in the comment section of a Guardian article:
Appeals to me anyway.
Ha ha nice one.
Very good thanks
They even waited until Corbyn’s right hand man was out of town at Glastonbury.
Now I have a difficult choice … can I both despise AND absolutely loath these despicable shitters?
Hmmm typical centrists 😛
“They even waited until Corbyn’s right hand man was out of town at Glastonbury”
And he’s just told him what everyone else in the plp knows.
“Labour deputy leader ‘tells Jeremy Corbyn to quit.
Tom Watson has told Jeremy Corbyn to resign. He told him he has “no authority with the PLP”.”
lol
This will be the absolute wreckage of the UKLP.
The fury of the membership and unions will be unlimited. I suspect not a single one of these self-indulgent dorks will be remain in Labour in a year’s time. There’ll be a general crab-like scuttle off towards the rock called Liberal.
These munters had a choice, they could have seen Corbyn as someone different and a challenge to politics as usual, some-one they needed to get in behind, serve protect and promote. They could have formed a team around him and looked after his back, but no. Their personal arrogance had to come first. They had to plot, scheme, and finesse the rule-book.
And just when the Tories are on their knees they act to ensure the Tories will rise unscathed. In wartime you don’t fuck about with traitors, you just execute them out of hand.
I mean the sainted Hilary Benn, has the unmitigated gall to insult his Party Leader in public, call ‘no-confidence’ … and then fail to resign on the spot !!!. What fucking planet did I wake up on today?
That’s one interpretation.
Another is Corbyn was/is/and always will be electoral toast. Rolling him now, after his much discredited performance, could equally be the saving of and popular comeback of UK labour.
I guess only time will tell.
Oh come on, blaming Corbyn for the outcome of a referendum that was never of his own making is a feeble, cowardly fig-leaf.
We have Diane Abbott’s plain commentary on the matter, this scum had been planning it for fucking months. Down to the very detail. Even their ‘resignation’ letters all look they came from the same PR firm.
I just might have a smidgeon less contempt for them if they actually thought they might be stepping down; but in their minds this is nothing more than a game where they play ‘time-out’ for a few days, topple the Leader their Party voted for … and then waddle back into their comfortable troughs under a new Leader who’s neck deep in their debt.
Speaking of which … they all whine that Corbyn is electoral toast, but exactly WHO among their number is not an electoral greasy smut on the ceiling?
What I want to know is if they will resign as MPs if Corbyn stays on as leader.
I don’t know if the rules permit it, but in the circumstances I’d argue he would certainly have moral mandate to ask for them to step down. And with a GE almost certain within six months, there would likely be no especial need to call by-elections.
Looks to me like Peter Swift is using mis-quotes and lying.
“Deputy leader falls short of calling on Corbyn to resign as more frontbenchers quit in protest at his leadership of the party”
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/27/labour-resignations-continue-as-mps-try-to-force-out-jeremy-corbyn
I wouldn’t have posted it if I hadn’t have seen it on the BBC website.
http://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-politics-36570120
You’ll have to scroll down to 21:33 for the ‘breaking’ news.
It does say at 22:08 that “the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg notes, Mr Watson didn’t explicitly tell Mr Corbyn he should resign and stressed that the final decision was a matter for him.”
But I didn’t see it and my post was before this, so no lie on my part.
I will accept your apology for casting aspersion. 😉
Don’t bother. I’m picking you don’t have it in you. lol
Though next time you call me for mis quoting and stating I’m a liar, I’d appreciate it if you were a little more researched and less half cocked as this time. Thanks.
Lets face it some of these MPs in the UKLP cant decide on the colour of shite.
All the Labour party members did in voting in huge numbers for Corbyn was reaffirm what they historically stood for and that was to represent working people and their aspirations for a better life and fairness at work with a livable wage and a belief in society and properly funded public services and keep the ever present dangerous capitalist establishment in check.
Its been an ambush under the cloak of the BREXIT and these plotters cant accept that the british Labour voter wants something better than the Tories prescription or Tony Blairs New Labour that they rejected with Gordon Brown in 2010 and again with New Labour part two in 2015.
These shadow ministers who have resigned were never prepared to accept Corbyn or any other left wing candidate for leader because they no longer support what their parties founding principles are about and are more relevant now , today than ever before and should think long and hard about what their members want rather than their own vile selfish agendas.
Maybe they should split away and take their chances with a different party if they cant stomach the one they are in.
In the mean time if they cant be loyal they should go to the back of the room and let the elected leadership get on with it and remind themselves unity is strength.
And at the earliest opportunity , resign and test their position at a by election.
and judging by their actions the political classes are themselves in those groupings
Very well put and sums up the mood in the UK.
Well you know what the Brits have done of course…. they have Voted Them Out
Vote Them Out
they did
vto
And I approve of all those English outside of London exercising that option.
40% of people inside London too.
Indeed, you are correct.
“And I approve of all those English outside of London exercising that option.”
Does that mean you disapprove of the scots, N.Ireland, and 13,266,996 voters in England?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/little-kids/81489771/teacher-uses-two-apples-to-show-kids-what-really-happens-when-they-bully-others
For anyone involved in teaching this is an interesting anti bullying technique.
Bullies – when young – are often very oblivious to the hurt caused by their actions.
A simple solution – and one that I used to use here at home – is to sit both children involved facing each other – knee to knee. Then as dispassionately as possible articulate what has gone on. The children are asked to look directly into each others faces, and at young ages – very few are able to mask the hurt and pain when they are revisiting what occurred. Most times the “bully” reacts immediately with guilt and empathy.
No requirement for sermons or explanations from the parent.
Not that all children are angels, but the very young are often very empathetic, and we teach them out of this by competitive structures in schooling, sports and in a million other ways.
15 EU laws the UK will miss
Including a couple they can stop making fun of now, but also:
– Free movement of labour … only possibly, despite this being a Leave policy
– The right to be forgotten
– Working time directive
– Temporary Agency Workers Directive
– Renewables Directive
– EU Climate and Energy Package
– Banking Regulations
– Clean Water regulations
“In 1935, a young Laurie Lee set off to walk across Spain, from north to south. In the book the adventure would eventually lead to, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, Lee describes a country riven by inequality, of communities in grinding poverty, and an out-of-touch ruling elite. The fascists and the communists both laid claim to the discontents, the rhetoric becoming increasingly polarised. The narrative resonated across the European continent. By the time Lee got to Malaga, in the summer of 1936, the Spanish civil war had begun.”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/27/liverpool-london-brexit-leave-eu-referendum
what next?
Thanks, that was a grim but important read.
Now imagine the despairing fury of these people, betrayed by the Labour party and brutalised by an extreme right wing government in a few years time.
Define “extreme right wing”.
Families living in cars while government ministers lie and blame and build private prisons.
“Families living in cars while government ministers lie and blame and build private prisons.” – Burn!
Bit worried about your historical future Wayne, don’t worry, you seemed soft for that mob in the end, please let me down.
Work assessment tests with fatal outcomes
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34838539
Benefit sanctions with fatal outcomes
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/benefit-sanctions-lead-claimants-to-self-harm-crime-and-destitution-warns-damning-report-a7047211.html
Why don’t you go first, Wayne, and define ‘Hard Left’ which is your favourite put-down of your political opponents.
Although shortly stated, it was intended to be a serious question. Whilst there are pressing social problems to be solved, I don’t think the current govt fits the usual definition of extreme right wing. Centre right, or depending ones perspective right. Not when we have a minimum wage of $15, and an increase in general benefit levels, both of which occurred under the current govt. In my view etreme right wing would need to be more like say the Republicans in the US, or perhaps ACT in NZ.
As for the definition of Hard left, I would say the Corbynista left of UK Labour fits well enough. That would include some on the left of Labour in NZ and the left of the Greens (and quite a few commenters on this site). It would not include Andrew Little or James Shaw. Not sure where I would put the most left of the Labours MP’s (for instance Carmel Sepuloni) I am not sure that she would be far left enough to meet the my definition of hard left. Choosing people as illustrations helps. This not intended to be personal, it is just that it easier than a formal description of political philosophy. Lilia Harre would do so. As much as anything for her role in the destruction of the Alliance. Breaking it up on the basis of Afghanistan following 9/11 seemed reckless, even though I was looking at it from the perspective of the Opposition. Similarly her involvement with Kim Dotcom. We are all assessed on our political judgements and others will make of them what they will.
My old school fellow pupil, Len Richards, would also qualify, he was two years ahead of me. I have not heard much of him in the news these days, so he might be retired.
$15 must be enough, because a living wage is ~$20.
I wonder if you even understand the contempt you’ve earned.
I am certainly aware of some pretty personal attacks on this site, which means it is risky for me to comment.
Most people on the right would regard me as a moderate liberal, but in recent times this site (or at least some of the commenters) has become much less forgiving of hearing an alternate view, at least if put by me.
The right has enjoyed political dominance without a public mandate for much too long. So now its organs are reviled and dare not show their faces to the people they have misled and betrayed. Why are you surprised?
You toss around labels like confetti. Can’t take the heat from your employers? Your predetermined opinions and association with the National Party constitute a conflict of interest.
I note your abject failure to address the points raised: families living in cars while your corrupt crony sponsors lie and blame and increase the prison population, then you have the insufferable gall to pretend that $15 p/h is a good earn.
Go on, pretend criticism of your opinions and behaviour is a personal attack. That’ll work 🙄
“but in recent times this site (or at least some of the commenters) has become much less forgiving of hearing an alternate view, at least if put by me.”
symptomatic of the type of feelings expressed in the US and UK……feelings that apparently have no basis in NZ?
For better or worse, the policy doesn’t allow interventions for personal attacks unless they get pretty extreme or stray from the post and/or discussion.
The reason why the policy has those limits is because the site was founded to provide robust public debate. That means that we can have people on here doing the usual right wing unthinking slagging of the poor, and the equivalent left wing demonisation of the capitalists. The reason that we want this is because it means that the public debate that is essential for the development of good supported public policy is able to happen, and that the choke points of debate aren’t left in the hands of mindless demagogues like Mike Hoskings or Nigel Farange. Personally I consider that those kinds of narcissistic and probably psychotic personalities simply aren’t that reliable at leading rational debates.
But to be able to express an opinion on people like that, you have to allow all people seeking a public profile to similarly be analysed. People carry their history with them when they claim it as you have done, and they will be attacked on it – mainly limited by legal limits, not screwing up the debate here with too many side issues, and a modicum of good taste.
And it isn’t exclusive. It operates in exactly the same way for anyone on the left as well. Even with my very limited public profile, that has been extensively attacked in various media. More recently it has been personally and expensively attacked in the courts by a illiterate legal idiot in a private prosecution. It appears that he failed to read the first paragraph of the about on this site. It is simply part of the cost of being involved in having a public life.
I suspect that in many policy areas you’d be well to the ‘left’ of me.
This isn’t abnormal and is a whole lot less here than in many forums. But have you ever seen what happens if I make a comment on kiwiblog? Even one supporting something said by David Farrar? The second reason (after a simple lack of time) that I don’t comment there very often is that I have an aversion to derailing comment streams by simply being present. Comment streams there tend to immediately divert into “I hate lprent” whenever I make a comment regardless on what the comment is about or what its content is. It is a whole lot more extreme than anything that is allowed to happen on this site.
If you do spot anything that walks too far over the edge in comments, then just highlight it in a comment or in email
Wayne. Here is a quote of something you once said on Bowalley Road.
“On that basis, I would say there is a reliable 25% of the voting population who are essentially left (hard left as I am wont to say) as opposed to centre-left. ”
If it is true that, in your terms, anyone who is a traditional Social Democrat is Hard Left, then it must also be true that a similar percentage on the Right can be designated in the same fashion.
Based on the high tide marks achieved by ACT and various conservative / Christian parties, and the fact that most of the people who have in the past voted for those Parties have certainly defaulted to currently voting National as their only viable option, it must also be true to say that nearly half of National’s voter base are, in your terms “Hard Right”??
There seems to have been uncertain result in the Spanish elections. The conservative Peoples Party have 137 seats out of 350; the Socialists 85; Unidos Podemos 71; and other conservative party 32. Coalition possibilities are uncertain. UP did not do as well as many were hoping apparently.
Yeah the centre right gained a few seats, but not enough yet again to form a majority government.
third time lucky?
Corbyn and his rump of ragtag Commies will lead UK Labour to the greatest defeat in history. Foretaste of what is to come here.
Meh – England is a sideshow now. The schwerpunkt will be in Europe.
Then why do you care Tory? You should stay quiet & then laugh with glee if what you say turns out correct & use your crystal ball to predict winning Lotto numbers genius.
A better class of chicken entrails…
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/04/the-political-resonance-of-game-of-thrones?mbid=social_facebook
Lprent
I’m getting redflags (in firefox top tab – instead of the clicked page loading) most of the time when I try to access or refresh OM (more than usual). The other posts are mostly ok, but some of the older ones have been giving me the same problem. Thought I’d mention it here, as this post loads and won’t be too distracting to the above discussion.
Is this just me, or have others been having this problem too?