Jacinda Ardern and the govt has fronted and acted quickly and decidedly. Most reasonable New Zealanders will expect the rural sector to accept the medicine and $16million compensation.
I think the a great deal more will go to the farmers, basically to buy the cows that will be destroyed. A milking cow can, apparently, be worth up to $2,000 or so. http://www.progressivelivestock.co.nz/Livestock-for-Sale
Not that I am an expert on the subject. The only thing I ever learnt about cattle was that no sensible farmer ever turned his back to a bull. I only ever spent any time with school holiday jobs on a farm running sheep.
“should be charging them for causing the problem”
You obviously have access to some inside knowledge.
I didn’t think they actually knew how the disease got here.
You, if you are blaming farmers, obviously must know.
Please explain what really happened, and what evidence is there for what you say being true?
That says that the livestock tracking program wasn’t being observed.
It says nothing at all about how the disease got into the country.
If you exceeded the speed limit by 10 kph on one occasion on the freeway can we prosecute and jail you for manslaughter because some idiot did the same on a winding country road and killed a cyclist?
After all you broke a law.
Now please explain. How did the disease get here and was it due to some illegal activity of farmers in general? After all DTB doesn’t appear to want to pay compensation to any farmers.
That says that the livestock tracking program wasn’t being observed.
And so the farmers were breaking the rules and should be fined.
It says nothing at all about how the disease got into the country.
That has to do with National cutting funding for biosecurity.
If you exceeded the speed limit by 10 kph on one occasion on the freeway can we prosecute and jail you for manslaughter because some idiot did the same on a winding country road and killed a cyclist?
No but a charge of attempted manslaughter should probably apply.
Now please explain. How did the disease get here and was it due to some illegal activity of farmers in general?
How the disease got here is a concern. How the disease spread is also a concern. You’re trying to put all the blame on the former and ignore the latter.
But we had rules in place to prevent the spread of disease amongst cattle that the farmers ignored.
So, yeah, the farmers need to be charged and fined.
After all DTB doesn’t appear to want to pay compensation to any farmers.
Damn right I don’t. They’re a major problem across many aspects of society that needs to be dealt with.
I hope that eradication works but I don’t think it will. No other country has managed that. They all seem to control the disease though.
I hope the Government have decided when, and how, they are going to determine that the attempt has succeeded or whether it should be abandoned. We really don’t want to follow the example of the US in Vietnam as shown so vividly on TV recently, where they just kept on and on and on, looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m sure that Grant Robertson will be happy though. He will probably take Rahm Emanuel’s advice to heart.
“You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before”.
I think that Grant will be bringing in about $20 billion a year of new taxes whilst using this as an excuse for another broken promise from the Labour election campaign.
Comparing M Bovis outbreak control in NZ to the US involvement in the war in Vietnam I suspect you have mad cows disease. And please, get off the tax spin.
I wasn’t, as I’m sure you can see comparing the activities as being with the same intentions or morality. You are simply being mendacious in suggesting that I was.
I was merely illustrating the way that people can continue on a path even if it is not working.
Eradication is a worthy aim. The Vietnam war certainly wasn’t.
What about the Boer war, the Korean war, the Iraq war or any other war for that matter. What the hell has “morality” got to do with eradicating M Bovis. This govt is acting to cure a potential epidemic that affects the financial survival of many farmers and a major industry in NZ not go off to some foreign bloody war. And do not accuse me of lying or being deceitful, ever…….unless you have bullet proof evidence.
Looked the word up did you?
While you are about it why don’t you simply read what I say and not try and turn it into something it isn’t?
As far as war goes I think General Sherman got it right. “War is Hell”.
“And there are 10 m cattle in NZ
Thus 150k cows are 1.5% of the stock”
Bugger there goes my silver lining theory that our ‘greenhouse gases’ will dramatically decline over the next couple of years. Oh wells maybe fencing will improve over said time frame instead.
Damo is doing a stellar job on this, he’s had concerns about our biosecurity for a long long time.
I always equate The Standard trying to discuss rural matters to a bunch of 5 year olds attempting quantum physics. They’ve got absolutely no idea what their talking about but it’s mildly amusing watching them try.
Seriously, if you can’t figure out the difference between culls and milking herd with high BW/PW (as per the original poster), then you should probably not post as you end coming off as an idiot to the people that actually know what they’re talking about.
Are you impressed how National spin it though, gotta give them credit for reworking Goebbels propaganda theories in the 21st century. Have a listen to Hooton on air, he is a master at it.
That’s not Godwin’s Law, that’s an old debating saw about invoking Nazis being a lost argument. Godwin’s Law is an observation based on it (although given this is an internet message board of sorts, Godwin was certainly right).
Its not really Goebbels original thought, he credited the’ English’ as masters of it!
It was attributed to Lenin before him and likely many others would have said it too.
This story finds it around 1896 written in a book.
What are the chances that both NZF and the Green Party drop out entirely at the next election and we revert to a two party Parliament?
Is the threshold for getting any seats of 5% an entrenched part of the Electoral Act? On these numbers I can see the otherwise doomed minor parties crashing through an amendment to get rid of the cut-off point.
On the other hand, if Seymour wins that dancing program he is in I can see a massive rise in ACT’s popularity. If he wins I am sure that ACT will take a huge leap upwards and might, just might, reach the 1% level. Well perhaps 0.8%. 1% is probably a bit far.
NZF, remains me of a good stayer at Melbourne Cup or the NZ Cup (the trots) at some stupid odds to win trailing at the rear at the final bend and winning by half a length in the end.
Anyone writing of NZF at this stage of the game is a fool, just like the fool who put a hundred on the nose for the good stayer to win.
It needs to be remembered that the well known axiom which used to be trotted out regularly by past media:
budget and policy announcements take at least two months to filter through to the general public so changes in political fortunes based on them are never instant
are conveniently forgotten by today’s bunch of mediocre media commentators.
Neither do these med. med. commentators ever point out the facts about MMP:
a) the centre right to far right have effectively only one political party to vote for (plus a tiny lunatic fringe led by Seymour) while the centre left to far left have three parties to choose from.
Therefore the appropriate comparison to make is the National Party (on the right) has
blah blah points and Labour, Greens and NZ First (on the left) have blah blah points.
In this case : The right have 45%. The left have 48%. The left are 3% ahead. But of course that’s being honest and doesn’t fit in with the right leaning agenda plus a healthy dose of media ignorance.
Great interview with fact checking by Abby Martin. Colombia and the possible (almost real) collapse of the peace deal with FARC. Interestingly still hundreds of labour leaders, social activist and community leaders being murdered in Colombia by the right. Video just over 18 minutes long.
The numbers across the various polls are starting to look quite resilient. Labour/Greens in government with a bare majority (as is typical of MMP) and National falling short. NZFirst just below the threshold (who wouldn’t back Peters to bridge that 0.8% shortfall in the Colmar Brunton?) and everyone else (who even remembers the Maori Party these days?) irrelevant.
“starting to look quite resilient”.
Hm. You did notice did you that in this poll, just like the Reid Research one, both the Green Party and New Zealand First went down? Even now they are both on the verge of extinction. How much further do you expect them to drop in the next couple of years?
Personally I expect them to follow the example of all the minor parties we have had who went into Government with either National or Labour. They will vanish in exactly the same way that all the others have done. The only question will be whether their voters switch before the election, and their votes will matter in 2020, or whether the few remaining faithful will cling to the party corpses and the votes will be wasted.
Maybe the case with NZ First after Winston goes, but never the case with the Greens. They are different, and are at their nadir now. They will only rise, much to your disappointment. Greenpeace and Greens are a powerful movement – nothing like the shallow base of ACT, Maori Party, NZ First, etc. You heard it first from me, Alwyn, and I think this one is more predictable than the weather.
When the person with the shifting narrative fabricates “evidence” – by misrepresenting the dates of satellite photos, for example – what does that tell you?
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
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Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
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Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
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Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
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Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
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Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
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Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
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The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
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NZ farmers already cull 1 mill dairy cows a year.
Yet we will hear howls of anguish over a possible 150,000 cows for the disease.
Jacinda Ardern and the govt has fronted and acted quickly and decidedly. Most reasonable New Zealanders will expect the rural sector to accept the medicine and $16million compensation.
Compensation will be over $800 mill.
$16 mill is only’ loss of production’ ie milk
That lost production compensation is what will go directly to the affected farmers, as I understand it. I may be wrong.
I think the a great deal more will go to the farmers, basically to buy the cows that will be destroyed. A milking cow can, apparently, be worth up to $2,000 or so.
http://www.progressivelivestock.co.nz/Livestock-for-Sale
Not that I am an expert on the subject. The only thing I ever learnt about cattle was that no sensible farmer ever turned his back to a bull. I only ever spent any time with school holiday jobs on a farm running sheep.
It is shameful we treat sentient beings in this way.
Don’t forget Cowspiracy Ed, that’s good too.
I thought Cowspiracy was crap. All that research and the guy didn’t even know the concept of Permaculture.
To be honest, I’ve only watched the trailer.. But that is compelling. It’s on my ‘to watch’ list.
And how often? You recommended a movie based on a trailer?
I don’t see why not.
Ummm. Ummm. Fuck that’s an idiotic thing to say. Have you actually thought about that?
No need for the aggro, soltka.
Trailers can be great indicators of a film.
and you are another one. But i guess there is no need to actually watch it when you already have your mind closed.
I have seen all 3 films.
Have you?
I’ve seen Cowspiracy, that is the one i commented on. See how it works?
Yes – a good film, but lacks the punch of Earthlings.
One of the best vegan films is ‘Forks over Knives.’
Looks great. I like the final line too: “…eating more plant based foods, it’s that simple.”
It is a brilliant film.
In the film, The China Study provides incontrovertible evidence that a plant based diet is better for your health.
Cowspiracy deals with the environmental argument.
And Earthlings catalogues the cruelty and barbarity of the food industry.
I recommend you watch the other two.
The dark side of the NZ Dairy Industry
And yet we should be charging them for causing the problem.
Some of them should go to court for negligence and breaking safety rules.
That’s true too.
“should be charging them for causing the problem”
You obviously have access to some inside knowledge.
I didn’t think they actually knew how the disease got here.
You, if you are blaming farmers, obviously must know.
Please explain what really happened, and what evidence is there for what you say being true?
We know farmers were breaking the rules.
Try them.
And sentence them.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/opinion/102628844/editorial-outbreak-must-lead-to-better-compliance
That says that the livestock tracking program wasn’t being observed.
It says nothing at all about how the disease got into the country.
If you exceeded the speed limit by 10 kph on one occasion on the freeway can we prosecute and jail you for manslaughter because some idiot did the same on a winding country road and killed a cyclist?
After all you broke a law.
Now please explain. How did the disease get here and was it due to some illegal activity of farmers in general? After all DTB doesn’t appear to want to pay compensation to any farmers.
It certainly spread because of malpractice by farmers.
Trials needed.
And sentencing.
And so the farmers were breaking the rules and should be fined.
That has to do with National cutting funding for biosecurity.
No but a charge of attempted manslaughter should probably apply.
How the disease got here is a concern. How the disease spread is also a concern. You’re trying to put all the blame on the former and ignore the latter.
But we had rules in place to prevent the spread of disease amongst cattle that the farmers ignored.
So, yeah, the farmers need to be charged and fined.
Damn right I don’t. They’re a major problem across many aspects of society that needs to be dealt with.
I hope that eradication works but I don’t think it will. No other country has managed that. They all seem to control the disease though.
I hope the Government have decided when, and how, they are going to determine that the attempt has succeeded or whether it should be abandoned. We really don’t want to follow the example of the US in Vietnam as shown so vividly on TV recently, where they just kept on and on and on, looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m sure that Grant Robertson will be happy though. He will probably take Rahm Emanuel’s advice to heart.
“You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before”.
I think that Grant will be bringing in about $20 billion a year of new taxes whilst using this as an excuse for another broken promise from the Labour election campaign.
Comparing M Bovis outbreak control in NZ to the US involvement in the war in Vietnam I suspect you have mad cows disease. And please, get off the tax spin.
I wasn’t, as I’m sure you can see comparing the activities as being with the same intentions or morality. You are simply being mendacious in suggesting that I was.
I was merely illustrating the way that people can continue on a path even if it is not working.
Eradication is a worthy aim. The Vietnam war certainly wasn’t.
What about the Boer war, the Korean war, the Iraq war or any other war for that matter. What the hell has “morality” got to do with eradicating M Bovis. This govt is acting to cure a potential epidemic that affects the financial survival of many farmers and a major industry in NZ not go off to some foreign bloody war. And do not accuse me of lying or being deceitful, ever…….unless you have bullet proof evidence.
Looked the word up did you?
While you are about it why don’t you simply read what I say and not try and turn it into something it isn’t?
As far as war goes I think General Sherman got it right. “War is Hell”.
And there are 10 m cattle in NZ
Thus 150k cows are 1.5% of the stock
Again persective
Animals killed last year
Cows 934,000
calves and vealers 1,650,000
So the 150,000 is low cf to normal slaughter rate.
https://figure.nz/chart/MvEo5sIoSRn18Ofd
dairy cows are just ‘production units’, so are replaced fairly frequently.
They dont live out their days, its off to the works, mostly hamburger mince.
By any other name
Torture, cruelty and mass murder…..
“And there are 10 m cattle in NZ
Thus 150k cows are 1.5% of the stock”
Bugger there goes my silver lining theory that our ‘greenhouse gases’ will dramatically decline over the next couple of years. Oh wells maybe fencing will improve over said time frame instead.
Damo is doing a stellar job on this, he’s had concerns about our biosecurity for a long long time.
Be the Peace.
Be a Plant-Based Being!
I always equate The Standard trying to discuss rural matters to a bunch of 5 year olds attempting quantum physics. They’ve got absolutely no idea what their talking about but it’s mildly amusing watching them try.
Seriously, if you can’t figure out the difference between culls and milking herd with high BW/PW (as per the original poster), then you should probably not post as you end coming off as an idiot to the people that actually know what they’re talking about.
Not the point.
The point was that 150k is 1.5% of the national herd.
Not that many.
Latest Colmar Brunton
Labour – 43
National – 45
Greens – 5
NZ First – 4.2
ACT – nowhere …
Interesting.
And Bridges is on 12% compared to Jacinda’s 41%.
Just proves the budget was a flop…..according to PB & GB. Does anyone in National understand politics or MMP?
Nationals number after last years budget were unchanged as well- must have been a flop ?
Are you impressed how National spin it though, gotta give them credit for reworking Goebbels propaganda theories in the 21st century. Have a listen to Hooton on air, he is a master at it.
“Goebbels propaganda theories”.
Bingo. Godwin’s law has struck. You lose the debate for being the first to invoke the Nazis.
Aw, come on Alwyn. Some substance, please, instead of primary school Godwin stuff.
That’s not Godwin’s Law, that’s an old debating saw about invoking Nazis being a lost argument. Godwin’s Law is an observation based on it (although given this is an internet message board of sorts, Godwin was certainly right).
Its not really Goebbels original thought, he credited the’ English’ as masters of it!
It was attributed to Lenin before him and likely many others would have said it too.
This story finds it around 1896 written in a book.
https://shmaltzandmenudo.wordpress.com/2017/04/07/famous-sayings-56-repeat-a-lie-often-enough/
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/1-news-colmar-brunton-poll-budget-fails-deliver-boost-labour-but-ardern-up-four-per-cent-preferred-pm
And attention-seeking Judith showing no movement from the previous CB poll at 2%.
Bennett didn’t feature in spite of her attention seeking behaviour.
“ACT – nowhere …”
Just as well they generally win an electoral seat then huh.
One does not win something gifted to them
And National’s current leader, at least, refuses to confirm if the gift of Epsom will continue to be offered.
Just like I ‘won’ some socks and undies on my birthday.
What are the chances that both NZF and the Green Party drop out entirely at the next election and we revert to a two party Parliament?
Is the threshold for getting any seats of 5% an entrenched part of the Electoral Act? On these numbers I can see the otherwise doomed minor parties crashing through an amendment to get rid of the cut-off point.
On the other hand, if Seymour wins that dancing program he is in I can see a massive rise in ACT’s popularity. If he wins I am sure that ACT will take a huge leap upwards and might, just might, reach the 1% level. Well perhaps 0.8%. 1% is probably a bit far.
I don’t know what are the chances we are visited by aliens tomorrow?
“visited by aliens tomorrow”
Trumps not coming here is he?
You are already here, old boy.
Isn’t John key one btw?
We’re already here.
NZF, remains me of a good stayer at Melbourne Cup or the NZ Cup (the trots) at some stupid odds to win trailing at the rear at the final bend and winning by half a length in the end.
Anyone writing of NZF at this stage of the game is a fool, just like the fool who put a hundred on the nose for the good stayer to win.
What are the chances that both NZF and the Green Party drop out entirely at the next election and we revert to a two party Parliament
Approximately NIL
It needs to be remembered that the well known axiom which used to be trotted out regularly by past media:
budget and policy announcements take at least two months to filter through to the general public so changes in political fortunes based on them are never instant
are conveniently forgotten by today’s bunch of mediocre media commentators.
Neither do these med. med. commentators ever point out the facts about MMP:
a) the centre right to far right have effectively only one political party to vote for (plus a tiny lunatic fringe led by Seymour) while the centre left to far left have three parties to choose from.
Therefore the appropriate comparison to make is the National Party (on the right) has
blah blah points and Labour, Greens and NZ First (on the left) have blah blah points.
In this case : The right have 45%. The left have 48%. The left are 3% ahead. But of course that’s being honest and doesn’t fit in with the right leaning agenda plus a healthy dose of media ignorance.
Great interview with fact checking by Abby Martin. Colombia and the possible (almost real) collapse of the peace deal with FARC. Interestingly still hundreds of labour leaders, social activist and community leaders being murdered in Colombia by the right. Video just over 18 minutes long.
The numbers across the various polls are starting to look quite resilient. Labour/Greens in government with a bare majority (as is typical of MMP) and National falling short. NZFirst just below the threshold (who wouldn’t back Peters to bridge that 0.8% shortfall in the Colmar Brunton?) and everyone else (who even remembers the Maori Party these days?) irrelevant.
“starting to look quite resilient”.
Hm. You did notice did you that in this poll, just like the Reid Research one, both the Green Party and New Zealand First went down? Even now they are both on the verge of extinction. How much further do you expect them to drop in the next couple of years?
Personally I expect them to follow the example of all the minor parties we have had who went into Government with either National or Labour. They will vanish in exactly the same way that all the others have done. The only question will be whether their voters switch before the election, and their votes will matter in 2020, or whether the few remaining faithful will cling to the party corpses and the votes will be wasted.
Maybe the case with NZ First after Winston goes, but never the case with the Greens. They are different, and are at their nadir now. They will only rise, much to your disappointment. Greenpeace and Greens are a powerful movement – nothing like the shallow base of ACT, Maori Party, NZ First, etc. You heard it first from me, Alwyn, and I think this one is more predictable than the weather.
From here:
Pic
A book by Nicky Hager published in August 2014 by any chance?
We have been lied to.
Again.
‘Russian MoD: Missiles Shown By MH17 Investigators Were Decommissioned After 2011’
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201805251064798750-missiles-mh17-ministry/
Thanks for that Ed.
Interesting, not surprising though.
The Kremlin’s Shifting, Self-Contradicting Narratives on MH17.
They can’t even lie straight in bed.
As if having a single narrative is a Good Thing™ in an investigation to find the truth.
Lies are coordinated, the truth never is.
When the person with the shifting narrative fabricates “evidence” – by misrepresenting the dates of satellite photos, for example – what does that tell you?
It tells me that they’re lying.
But then so does having a single narrative about what happened from the get go.
Well done for spotting that the Russian MoD are lying.