Watched this earlier. It made David Carter grumpy đ
I hope Cunliffe (and Labour) are going somewhere with this: the speech tells us the state of things without proposing any solutions. Perhaps that’s coming in the next speech…
One of the ways to change (ie: become) the government is to seize the narrative, not just on this front, either. The Radio NZ (Catch-Up Funding) Amendment Bill isn’t going to do that.
Anyway, with their conference on Labour has a good chance to seize a few moments and I hope they do.
That speech is jammed full of issues and detail. Almost all of them covered here at The Standard by one author or another.
Now we know from the other thread that Stuart Nash will have written that speech off as ‘vile, negative bile’ and ‘out of touch with political realities’ – but what about – whose the Labour leader again? Haven’t heard boo from the guy in ages.
I’m afraid the solution is too threatening for any major party because as long as Parliament is sovereign the ruling party can do anything with impunity.
The solution lies in taking power from Parliament and distributing power to other parts of the system. It’s called “checks and balances” and we don’t have it. We never will until the people decide some of these watchdogs and their budgets must be beyond the control of the ruling party of the day.
Cunliffe should also have mentioned the bias of the Speaker of the House toward National Party. Especially the way he allows key to run off at the mouth without interruption. Deplorable.
It highlights why the Speaker should be appointed by Parliament, but not out of the existing stocks, it should be someone from the Judiciary, or someone of enough mana that all people agree on, and the person nominated shouldn’t want the job.
By a unanimous Parliament or at least 75% of MPs. We need some independent bodies in our political system. Sticking to the rugby metaphor. Rugby games were pretty crap when home countries used their own ref’s.
We need independent Speakers who act as actual referees, are committed to increasing public participation in Parliament, rigorous debate, and ensuring questions are answered in an apolitical fashion.
It would be better that Speakers were independently appointed, (not from the pool of MPs) were employees of Parliament, or perhaps directly elected. (there are disadvantages to each approach, especially the last one as it could turn just as politicized as electorate races)
Then folks like OAB and DTB et al won’t agree with who is appointed because national have a parliamentary majority and that’s not democracy because they didn’t win the election. they only got more votes than any other party by screwing the scrum. sob sob sob sob the media have elected this speaker, not parliament
the left in this country is so deluded about what the reality in New Zealand, on any subject, it’s appalling. having an effective opposition is a corner stone of parliamentary democracy. I can see now why the opposition is so terrible at being an opposition. Whoever still votes for labour and the greens and turn out in support at conferences and local electorate bodies are, to put it bluntly, stupid.
Further, the people who run the National Party know that he is spot on.
That is why they have taken all those extensive steps to “screw the scrum” – because National dare not give the public a fair chance and a level playing field with which to judge them on.
You’re right of course – the Gnats have put the fix on this voting system – so how are they to be removed from power, since they are manifestly incompetent to the tune of $100 billion dollars so far? This government is the most expensive failure in NZ history.
David Cunliffe is correct in every aspect in what he delivered in that speech.
Well done.
Where the hell is the Media in not high lighting these facts ?
Democracy , how the hell can we say that this country is still a democracy when it is obvious it is not.
We are being controlled by a slimy few from the inner National Party.
Never, ever has there been a more devious Govt.
Surely that other irritant in this debacle, Peter Dunne can see where we are heading in this country, why does he keep these parasites in power ?
Show some gumption Peter Dunne and pull the pin on National !
Same goes to the Maori Party, stop this charade.
Me too, and I wish David Cunliffe was still Labour’s leader, but… National’s msm and those self serving members within Labour would never had allowed that.
+100. Odious Nash got well and truly trounced by all those who commented on his article on the TDB, and he really did show his true colours, and they weren’t red.
He needed to have been giving that type of speech back at the last election around the time of Dirty Politics, instead of doing the ‘positive message regardless’ thing. Oh well.
+1 Bill – but who knows maybe Cunliffe wanted too – he probably had loads of ‘advice’ to the contrary by his ‘team’ to stay on ‘task’.
What Labour needs is political courage and to show they are prepared to fight back. Hence all this positive outpouring from Cunliffe’s speech in The Standard when Cunliffe shows political courage by this speech. Everyone also cheered when Little said ‘show some guts’.
The voters want Labour MP’s like Cunliffe who still have Labour values of anti corruption – not as has been implied by another Labour MP the National way of raising ‘shit loads of money and forget your principals to win’.
Cunliffes speech is resonating with the population!! And more importantly some in Labour seem to be more aware of the problem – it is not a FAIR fight or a FAIR election with dirty politics!
Don’t be dirty or pretend it’s not happening, fight the right, for a FAIR fight!
Little said ‘cut the crap!’ (show some guts was when Key was justifying sending troops overseas), but you are right otherwise, in this world of airbrushed pap & committee written speeches we are hungry for some truth.
Sorry mean’t cut the crap! Was also trying to also point out that it should not be one Labour line against another and not trying to pit Cunliffe against Little – when either says something good, it is good for all in Labour.
I’d like to see Little put Cunliffe as No 2 or 3. Key did not get on with English but he still put him into finance. Labour needs to do similar and put their best people at the top.
I heard the speech via the radio broadcast from Parliament, it was good to hear that at least one MP from the Labour caucus dares to state clearly the abysmal situation we have with the rotten, bought and manipulated mainstream media in this country. I am worried though, whether David Cunliffe did speak so openly, because he may consider not standing again for Parliament next election.
Time will tell. Most if not all in Labour dare say nothing about the biased and generally poorly informing media.
It has really troubled me to see a fair few turn up on the Paul Henry breakfast program, but it is always a balancing act, to be heard and taken note of at all, at the risk of being ridiculed by Henry, or to risk not being taken note of by staying away. You are damned if you do deal with the present MSM, you are damned if you do not. Hence also the Greens, NZ First and so talk with the most useless or biased reporters and program hosts at times.
The henry / gower segment this morning made some good points about labour around Little needing to show where labour is heading and how they have to be careful releasing policy to soon because the nats will flog it.Henry even commended Little for his success in unifying caucus.
Na I reckon labour /nzf with greens in support . I know you want radicle change and now but i’ll settle for a.government with integrity for starters.
I think Little is boxing clever and will get stronger as time goes on.
There will be very few members left in the Party if that happens I would think. Robertson couldn’t set a barbecue on fire. Just hasn’t got the chops for that job or the finance one either. You either have it, or you don’t, and he doesn’t! Robertson is not politically brave, it’s that simple.
“have to be careful releasing policy to soon because the nats will flog it”
I totally agree, they goad and demand Labour policies, then do a wek copy or hack them apart
I’ve been reading Chris Trotter’s Bowalley Road lately. He seems incandescent over the media being largely kept out of the coming Labour conference. Its all to be ‘in the family’ except for a few open opportunities to gather info. (Which family might that be – ‘the Cosa Nostra’?)
In his recent essay – Burning Down The House: Why Does The Labour Caucus Keep Destroying The Labour Party In Order To Save It? – he says this: Only a mass influx of people determined to make policy â not tea â can rescue the Labour Party from the self-perpetuating parliamentary oligarchy that currently controls it.
Only a rank-and-file membership that is conscious of, and willing to assert, its rights â as the Corbynistas are doing in the United Kingdom â has the slightest hope of selecting a caucus dedicated to circulating the whole oxymoronic notion of democratic elitism out of New Zealandâs political system altogether.
In his latest piece – All In The Family: Labourâs President Keeps The Media Out Of His Partyâs Annual Conference. – on what he sees is a disaster for progressive Labour in banning media scrutiny and report, he says – [Professor Nigel Haworth] the partyâs president explained that its proceedings needed to be kept âin the familyâ. Putting to one side the obvious fact that a political party is nothing like a family…. Families that shut their doors and draw their curtains against the outside world are often trying to hide something. …
Paradoxically, what Haworth and the Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Little, are trying to hide isnât in the least bit shameful or ugly. Free and frank political debate is the declared objective of the media ban. âWe want people to be able to speak freely and frankly and be reported appropriatelyâ, was the way Haworth put it to Trevett
Curiously, the Herald journalist did not challenge Haworthâs implication that she and her colleagues would not report the delegatesâ statements âappropriatelyâ. Nor did Trevett point out to the Heraldâs readers that with the news media excluded from important debates party leaders can crack down hard on dissident delegates with impunity.
This is no small consideration. At the 2012 annual conference, held in the Auckland suburb of Ellerslie, journalists were able to report the extraordinary vitriol hurled at disobedient delegates by Labour MPs. The latter were furious that the conference had voted contrary to their instruction. They were probably even more furious that their behaviour was reported…..
Free and frank discussion is actually much more likely when the whole worldâs watching. Absent the television lights, anyone daring to challenge the top table is likely to be flayed alive by individuals who throw insults for a living.
âONLY ONE political party conference matters in New Zealandâ, says veteran political journalist, Richard Harman. âThe National Partyâs conference is little more than a PR presentation; NZ First keeps theirs behind closed doors and the Greens is entirely predictable.â But, according to Harman, Labour conferences are different. As recently as 2012, he says, âLabourâs has been coloured by political blood on the floor.â
Thereâs a very good reason for paying attention to what goes on at Labour Party Conferences, and thatâs because the political fault line dividing the defenders of the status quo from the advocates of real change runs right down the middle of the conference floor. Itâs been that way since the 1980s
I think Chris fears that if they close off reports of dissent and bruising argument about policy and method, it will take a major earthquake to bring the present Labour edifice tumbling down despite the shoddy engineering that has gone into the soulless concrete slab construction of modern Labour.
Tracey
And here is an opposing and well argued viewpoint from Anonymous on Chris’s points.
Anonymous Anonymous said…
I won't deny that at least some of what you claim are indeed risks of closed conferences. But while I can't speak for Labour, as a Green Party member, I prefer it when our debates occur away from the media glare. There is far greater pressure to watch what one says when the media is present and why wouldn't there be? Most in the media wouldn't know nuance if they fell over it and aren't interested in policy debates despite protestations. They want to report controversy and personal animosity and are happy to invent it when there is not enough on offer. Rank and file members are very aware that what they read in the papers often bears little resemblance to what they experienced, and it pisses them off.
And as for your attempt at high principle in claiming the internal workings of a party are the property of the entire public rather than the party's members, that is just journalistic self interest. What a party owes the public is a clear statement of it's principles, it's policies and it's priorities, plus a commitment to stick with all three in return for a vote. It cannot ask for more.
5 November 2015 at 22:20
Nothing ever changes on the New Zealand left does it.
3 election defeats and still blaming everyone else. The world is against us. The media are bias. The NZ media could hardly be more left if they tried. The NZ Herald still offers column space to discredited far left economist Professor Jane Kelsey. You don’t see them offering the same space to the far right.
You guys spend so much time stressing over conspiracy theories rather than considering what’s steering you in the face. You policies suck and you don’t have a credible leader.
“steering” us “into the face”? Grammar check, perhaps, spelling check, perhaps? The steering is done from the PM’s Office, and their lackey’s offices, the staring is also there, but it is that of hopeless players in government, doing all to play smoke and mirrors and make the ones in public (apparently incl. you) think, it is all fair dink-um and real.
What a waste of an argument, perhaps consult your computer for the spelling check button first, mate.
Mr Hoot on and off, TV will be with us for many years to come, the only difference will be, they will not broadcast and present programs in the old fashioned way, they will embrace multi media, have many platforms, and use web based and other services, like On Demand, much more.
You will never have a nice large screen in a living room be replaced for viewing by tiny tablet and smart phone screens. It is not the same experience, and people will continue to watch TV, same as some will continue to buy hard copy books, mags and papers also.
It is better for the eyes, as that much blue light from screens we use here, is not at all good for your eyes, for your general health, and especially not the nervous system. It makes for poor sleep and information uptake, due to poor concentration. It can worsen or cause depression. Also are online and internet services quite addictive, which will explain your and some of our presence here, will it not?
That is just one other aspect of the wider problem of dumbing down people, which is a main problem we have.
As you will likely earn money paid by companies promoting this technology, to dumb down, you will not want to discuss this, I bet.
“loony”, a throwaway comment with no evidence or anything worth noting, what a tosser, I reckon. I like people presenting an argument and some stuff to back them up, but not such rubbish. You lost as soon as you came with that word I first mentioned.
brilliant speech. Highlights so much that is wrong with politics in NZ, as practised by the National party. Creeping authoritarianism to keep themselves in power because they have no solutions to the issues facing NZ, just want to give themselves and their mates more money at the expense of ordinary NZ’ers.
That was quite an amazing speech he gave. It was certainly nothing like his anodyne performance in the campaign.
It does appear that he needs some advice on side-effects of medications though.
Even a small amount of alcohol can have results like this when the person is on medicines like Clozapine or Risperidone. I think he should have been warned, as it certainly looks like those side-effects in his behaviour.
Scoop is seeking 1000 Kiwis who care about the future of NZ News media
Dear Scoop Foundation Pledgers,
Thank you for your very generous support.
With 12 days to go we have reached 37% of our target. However that means we have 63% of the target to go and we really need your help to get there
If you can please forward this email to friends, family, colleagues and or people who you think will be interested. We only need 600 more people to join us to get this show on the road!. http://www.scoop.co.nz/sections/comment.html
Pledgeme’s update on the latest from Scoop’s fundraiser. Now is the time to come to the aid of the party. And Scoop is the party providing news and views to be trusted so we can understand what is going on behind the wordy smoke screens and smiley images.
If you can’t afford much give the $16 pledge which they have obviously put in knowing the state of many people’s finances. A responsive thoughtful move. But do something if you want to see NZ improve, even stop sliding over the cliff. Their words will be more effective than yours here, but together make a worthy tool to prick the barriers of the self-centred.
(lprent I thought that Scoop’s situation would justify the rare use of so much bold. Hope you agree. How is the weather in…Italy?)
Lyn, not sure if you’ll get a chance, but I would thoroughly recommend Assisi. I had a great week there in April this year.
It’s right up on the side of a mountain, and in the evening the son sets the length of a great u-valley that stretches for hundreds of kilometres in each direction, and the light and shadow and colour change every 30 seconds I swear. Particularly in the colder months.
Slightly closer to where you are, make sure you get to The Last Supper in Milan. Milan’s pleasures are few – so you have to plan carefully. And the main cathedral honestly is too twee for me. But if you don’t come back with a decent pair of shoes for Her In Doors, you’ll have a few questions I’m sure.
Cunliffe deserved to be PM obviously.
“Sorry for being a Man” would have been a real winner in the changing rooms after the AB’s won the RWC.. especially in that faux PI inflection he did on the back of the bus a few years ago.
I’m surprised he hasn’t given up and tried to get a real job by now, or better yet started a business & paid maximum tax – & maximum wage to the parents of the million kids in poverty…
FFS, delusional seems to not only exist, but seems mandatory to Lefties.
you think you’re smart but you just keep showing us what an imbecile you really are.
[lprent: Pointless abuse and stupid flame inducing at that. But for your comment I’d have had been able to moderate Mr Rylands. On the other hand he probably wouldn’t have made such a comment without this pinheaded comment to induce it. ]
Freemark
You can talk the talk, but in fact you’d be walking for ever if you had to ask for directions to find your way home. Pop out and let off your firecrackers and bangers, that is something you could manage. Try not to set the hillside on fire, or go on past 10pm will you. There are responsible adults trying to get their sleep before again coping with the real world.
I guess mine is pointless abuse too. I should just leave them alone in their own gated community, and ignore their stupidity of which they seem inordinately proud.
“Freemark” All I can say it is just as well that none of the ABs are sporting long hair and ponytails because JK’s ponytail debacle (and creepy fetish) far outweighs any supposed gaffes that DC has committed.
“Sorry for being a man” was in the context of us winning the world cup …… for domestic violence
Cunliffe was quite correct …………. New Zealand men should be ashamed of our number 1 ranking for domestic violence in the developed world
FreeMark like John Key would never get near an AB’s changing room based on anything they’d ever achieved playing the game rugby ……………
Jockstrap sniffers and pony tail pulling hanger-on s like freemark and Key grease they way into places like that ……….and act like stalkers when they get there
Cunliffe is also correct that our media is pretty rooted and a right wing stitch up on places like tv3, the herald etc
People generally make the logical and correct choices when presented with all the information ………..
National are masters at suppressing and manipulating information …… and running dirty politics smear campaigns………..
Northlands bye-election drubbing for the Nats showed what happens when the majority get it together and act semi-cohesively against the largest minority …………………. which is all the Nats/act are.
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In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
Transport Minister and now also Minister for Auckland, Michael Wood has confirmed that the light rail project is part of the government’s policy refocus. Wood said the light rail project was under review as part of a ministerial refocus on key Government projects. âWe are undertaking a stocktake about how ...
Sometime before the new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced that this year would be about “bread and butter issues”, Nationalâs finance spokesperson Nicola Willis decided to move from Wellington Central and stand for Ohariu, which spreads across north Wellington from the central city to Johnsonville and Tawa. Itâs an ...
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed.Mainly because it turns ...
One of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Tomorrow we have a funeral, and thank you all of you for your very kind words and thoughts — flowers, even.Our friend Michèle messaged: we never get to feel one thing at a time, us grownups, and oh boy is that ever the truth. Tomorrow we have the funeral, and ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
A new Prime Minister, a revitalised Cabinet, and possibly revised priorities – but is the political and, importantly, economic landscape much different? Certainly some within the news media were excited by the changes which Chris Hipkins announced yesterday or – before the announcement – by the prospect of changes in ...
Currently the government's strategy for reducing transport emissions hinges on boosting vehicle fuel-efficiency, via the clean car standard and clean car discount, and some improvements to public transport. The former has been hugely successful, and has clearly set us on the right path, but its also not enough, and will ...
Buzz from the Beehive Before he announced his Cabinet yesterday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced he would be flying to Australia next week to meet that countryâs Prime Minister. And before Kieran McAnulty had time to say âThree Watersâ after his promotion to the Local Government portfolio, he was dishing ...
The quarterly labour market statistics were released this morning, showing that unemployment has risen slightly to 3.4%. There are now 99,000 people unemployed - 24,000 fewer than when Labour took office. So, I guess the Reserve Bank's plan to throw people out of work to stop wage rises "inflation", and ...
Another night of heavy rain, flooding, damage to homes, and people worried about where the hell all this water is going to go as we enter day twenty two of rain this year.Honestly if the government can’t sell Three Waters on the back of what has happened with storm water ...
* Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on âbread and butterâ issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins continues to be the new broom in Government, re-setting his Government away from its problem areas in his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday, and trying to convince voters that Labour is focused on âbread and butterâ issues. The ministers responsible for unpopular reforms in water and DHB centralisation ...
Hi,It’s weird to me that in 2023 we still have people falling for multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs for short). There are Netflix documentaries about them, countless articles, and last year we did an Armchaired and Dangerous episode on them.Then you check a ticketing website like EventBrite and see this shit ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Nanaia Mahuta fell the furthest in the Cabinet reshuffle. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: PM Chris Hipkins unveiled a Cabinet this afternoon he hopes will show wavering voters that a refreshed Labour Government is focused on ‘bread and butter cost of living’ issues, rather than the unpopular, unwieldy and massively centralising ...
Shortly, the absolute state of Wayne Brown. But before that, something I wrote four years ago for the council’s own media machine. It was a day-in-the-life profile of their many and varied and quite possibly unnoticed vital services. We went all over Auckland in 48 hours for the story, the ...
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...
Pity the poor Brits. They just canât catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...
On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planetâs atmosphere is ...
Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...
Kia ora e te whÄnau. Today, we mark the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - and our commitment to working in partnership with MÄori to deliver better outcomes and tackle the big issues, together. ...
Weâve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, weâre making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in TÄmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Governmentâs top priority â and this week, weâve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
 The tools exist to help families with surging costs â and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today held their first bilateral meeting in Canberra. It was Chris Hipkinsâ first overseas visit since he took office, reflecting the close relationship between New Zealand and Australia. âNew Zealand has no closer partner than Australia. I was pleased to ...
New Zealand will immediately provide humanitarian support to those affected by the earthquakes in TĂŒrkiye and Syria, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. âAotearoa New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by these earthquakes. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones affected,â ...
An historic Northland pÄ site with links to NgÄpuhi chief Hongi Hika is to be handed back to iwi, after collaboration by government, private landowners and local hapĆ«. âIt is fitting that the ceremony for the return of the PÄkinga PÄ site is during Waitangi weekend,â said Regional Development Minister ...
The Government is investing in a suite of initiatives to unlock MÄori and Pacific resources, talent and knowledge across the science and research sector, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Two new funds â He tipu ka hua and He aka ka toro â set to ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for India tomorrow as she continues to reconnect Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. The visit will begin in New Delhi where the Foreign Minister will meet with the Vice President Hon Jagdeep Dhankar and her Indian Government counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in WhangÄrei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
The Government is supporting one of Aotearoa New Zealandâs most significant historic sites, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, as it continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. âThe Waitangi Treaty Grounds are a taonga that we should protect and look after. This additional support will mean people can continue to ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between MÄori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
More Police officers are being deployed to the frontline with the graduation of 54 new constables from the Royal New Zealand Police College today. The graduation ceremony for Recruit Wing 362 at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was the first official event for Stuart Nash since his reappointment as Police ...
The Government is unlocking an additional $700,000 in support for regions that have been badly hit by the recent flooding and storm damage in the upper North Island. âWeâre supporting the response and recovery of Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, Northland, and Bay of Plenty regions, through activating Enhanced Taskforce Green to ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has welcomed the announcement that Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will visit New Zealand this month. âPrincess Anne is travelling to Aotearoa at the request of the NZ Armyâs Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief, to ...
A new Government and industry strategy launched today has its sights on growing the value of New Zealandâs horticultural production to $12 billion by 2035, Agriculture Minister Damien OâConnor said. âOur food and fibre exports are vital to New Zealandâs economic security. Weâre focussed on long-term strategies that build on ...
25 cents per litre petrol excise duty cut extended to 30 June 2023 â reducing an average 60 litre tank of petrol by $17.25 Road User Charge discount will be re-introduced and continue through until 30 June Half price public transport fares extended to the end of June 2023 saving ...
The strong economy has attracted more people into the workforce, with a record number of New Zealanders in paid work and wages rising to help with cost of living pressures. âThe Governmentâs economic plan is delivering on more better-paid jobs, growing wages and creating more opportunities for more New Zealanders,â ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. âCabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. âWe need a greater focus on whatâs in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. âThe trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealandâs closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,â Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. âWe moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,â Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. âIâd urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papÄ te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wÄhi rua mai ana rÄ runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te mÄreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira NÄ reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mĆwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pĆuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the TairÄwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. âAnnouncing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,â Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 daysâ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes âWord from The Hillâ, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversationâs politics team. In this podcast Michelle and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe.Lukas Coch/AAP Australiaâs cash rate has hit 3.35%, after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates for the ninth time in a row â and signalled ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Della Bosca, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant at Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney Shutterstock While the days of overt climate denial are mostly over, thereâs a distinct form of denial emerging in its stead. You may have experienced ...
A potential cyclone that could bring more severe wet weather to the upper North Island is now forecast to form a day earlier, Stuff reports. Due to ideal cyclone-formation conditions over the Coral Sea, a low south of the Solomon Islands has a high chance of turning into a cyclone ...
Author I.S. Belle reveals the top five influences on her debut LGBT horror/paranormal YA novel, Zombabe.Zombabe is a LGBT found family horror/paranormal YA about a group of friends putting down an ancient evil inextricably linked to their sleepy town of Bulldeen, Maine. Does all of that bring anything to ...
New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese are holding a joint press conference in Canberra. Watch live here. Â ...
The New Zealand government is providing $1.5 million in humanitarian support to those affected by destructive earthquakes in Turkey and Syria last night, foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced. The contribution of $1m to Turkey and $500,000 to Syria will be made via the International Federation of Red Cross and ...
In a state-of-the-nation-style lunchtime speech in Auckland today, the leader of the Act Party has taken aim at both major party leaders. âThroughout this speech,â David Seymour told supporters at the Maritime Museum, âI will do my best to differentiate between the Chrisses, but it may not be easy.â Seymour ...
In Canberra Chris Hipkins has met with Australiaâs Anthony Albanese in Canberra, exchanging a few brief words to gathered reporters before heading inside for a closed doors meeting. Hipkins was driven into the courtyard of Parliament House, where he was greeted by Albanese in person. âWelcome prime minister,â said Albanese. A beaming ...
The acclaimed fashion designer has been crowned the âundisputed king of the frockâ â but with identical dresses widely available on fast fashion outlets, questions are being asked about his design practices.This story was first published on Stuff. He has been described as the âknight of New Zealand fashionâ, his ...
In Canberra New Zealandâs media pack has arrived at Australiaâs parliament ahead of this afternoonâs visit from prime minister Chris Hipkins. The PM will be met by his counterpart Anthony Albanese in the courtyard of parliament house, before heading inside for a closed doors meeting. Following the 45 minute meeting, ...
Two new funding initiatives, totalling $22 million, have been approved by Cabinet today to help ensure the cultural sector has the âcertainty and support to thriveâ, announced ManatĆ« Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. $10 million of Covid-19 recovery funding will support established arts, cultural and diversity festivals, while $12 ...
New Zealand Politics Daily is a collation of the most prominent issues being discussed in New Zealand. It is edited by Dr Bryce Edwards of The Democracy Project. Items of interest and importance todayWAITANGI, CO-GOVERNANCE, THREE WATERS Thomas Cranmer: Waitangi Day and the quiet revolution Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Waitangi in 2023: Plenty ...
ACT leader David Seymour has delivered a speech painting National and Labour as two sides of the same coin, and calling co-governance a "culture war". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Quigley, Associate Professor of Earthquake Science, The University of Melbourne Mustafa Karali / AP A pair of huge earthquakes have struck in Turkey, leaving more than 3,000 people dead and unknown numbers injured or displaced. The first quake, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kalinda Griffiths, Scientia lecturer, UNSW Sydney Getty/Marianne Purdie Cancer figures provide stark evidence of the gap between the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people in Australia. The difference is confronting â and itâs increasing over ...
NZ Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have used a joint media conference to affirm the nations' relationship is that of "family". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Alcohol bans are being reimposed on Northern Territory Indigenous communities, as the federal and territory governments grapple with intractable problems in Alice Springs and elsewhere in the NT. The situation in Alice Springs and the ...
I was told to avoid gluten. I was told it was all in my head. When 10% of women experience endometriosis, why does it take so long for its classic symptoms to be recognised? It was 2011 when I had my first period. It felt like a very exciting moment ...
In Canberra Chris Hipkins has touched down in Australiaâs capital â his first overseas visit since becoming prime minister just three weeks ago. After disembarking from the Airforce Boeing, Hipkins was greeted by his former caucus colleague and current high commissioner to Australia, Dame Annette King. The pair hugged on ...
The rise of TikTok-inspired âalgospeakâ is making online communication even more of a nightmare, writes SYSCAâs Lucy Blakiston.This is an excerpt from the Shit You Should Care About daily newsletter â sign up here.Content warning: sexual assault The other day I was chatting with a friend about algospeak â ...
School, finally, is back this week in the nationâs largest city to howls of relief from many parents and (one hopes) some students also. Yet the resumption of normal service shouldnât obscure a curious inconsistency. The past few weeks have shown ...
MediaRoom column: On the eve of a Cabinet decision on the fate of the proposed public broadcasting merger, questions emerge over the engagement by the TVNZ chief executive of two former National government aides to change the narrative and push TVNZ's view on the Government's plan Within weeks of taking over ...
Olivia Sisson performs a good old-fashioned cost comparison â and it might change the way you buy your veges.The price of food in New Zealand is shocking. So, how to cope? The recommendations are starting to feel like the avo-toast-flat-white trope. Cut those items out and there it is, ...
An early morning fire at an egg-laying farm in Orini, Waikato yesterday has claimed the lives of at least 50,000 hens. The farm is operated by New Zealandâs largest egg producer Zeagold, the countryâs biggest egg producer, whose eggs are sold under ...
The Natural and Built Environment Bill and Spatial Planning Bill will make resource management issues worse and should be withdrawn, Federated Farmers has told the Environment Select Committee. "Farmers agree the costly, slow and unpredictable processes ...
New police minister Stuart Nash has met with new health minister Ayesha Verrall to talk about the issue with the aim of preventing ram raids. Nash wants to speed up the scheduled reduction of dairies that can sell cigarettes. Nash made the comments at a police graduation ceremony in Porirua last ...
Itâs Tuesday, February 7 and welcome to a special edition of The Spinoffâs live updates. Stewart Sowman-Lund will be on the ground in Canberra today as PM Chris Hipkins meets with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. What you need to know Chris Hipkins will meet Australian PM ...
Politicking by politicians was less overt but whether there was less politics probably depends on your definition of the word and what lay beneath the optics, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoffâs morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Why is it becoming harder to achieve debt-free status? Money Sweetspot is a new company that uses compassion and incentives to help people pay off their debts. Co-founder Sasha Lockley talks to Simon about using gamification to increase financial literacy, breaking the cycle of poverty, and how she intends to ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins is heading to Australia today for his first face-to-face meeting with an international leader. Heâll be meeting with Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese during his single-day visit to Canberra. The Spinoff live updates will be on the ground in Australia as the meeting takes place and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney Pexels/Uriel Mont The question of whether and to what extent face masks work to prevent respiratory infections such as COVID and influenza ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Mackinnon, Professor and Director, Centre for Clean Energy Technologies and Practices, Queensland University of Technology Superconducting cables transmit electicity without lossesShutterstock For most of us, transmitting power is an invisible part of modern life. You flick the switch and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Munro, Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University Shutterstock Many students are returning to school this year face a renewed focus on grammar. Just before Christmas, the NSW curriculum was overhauled to include the âexplicit teaching of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debra Dudek, Associate professor, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University Universal Life is full of surprises â some pleasant and some painful â but there can be no surprises without expectations. We expect the sun to come up ...
News stories have honed in on the fact Wayne Brown and his staff were left off a âvitalâ email distribution list on the night of the Auckland floods. But internal emails from the mayorâs chief of staff show he was getting regular briefings from officials.Internal council emails obtained by ...
In a reality shaped by climate crisis, how do you think and feel about the changed present â and the changing future â without spiralling into despair?In the midst of a flood thereâs not much time to think about the future. But when the water recedes, the reality of ...
06 Feb The news today of the death of 75,000 chickens at an egg farm in Waikato is yet another outrageous and avoidable tragedy. âThe fact that so many hens died in this fire in the Waikato is a testament to the systemic neglect and disregard ...
Lawmakers are being urged to bridge the legal and scientific divide over braided rivers. David Williams reports What is a river? More particularly, what is a braided river? An expert group known as The Land The Law Forgot is urging politicians considering the Natural and Built Environment Bill â one ...
As Auckland copes with unprecedented flooding, Mairi Jay points to lessons from extreme weather events in British Columbia that could be vitally important for policy-makers and administrators here âExpect extreme weather eventsâ the climate scientists tell us. But sometimes the extreme is beyond our imagining. On Thursday January 26, New Zealandâs Met Service predicted ...
UK and US deals for NZ novels Three of the best New Zealand novels of recent years are about to be published in the UK and the US. All three books â She's a Killer by Kirsten McDougall, Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly, and The New Animals ...
Confidence from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell kept markets buoyant. But mortgage payments and job losses could dampen consumer spending in NZ ...
Someone left the Swift out in the rain - insurance agents are overloaded with calls about flood-damaged vehicles Itâs been a big week for testing the submarining abilities of the family station wagon. Thousands of cars around the upper North Island have been written off following the devastating floods of ...
The first of the air force's new Poseidon aircraft has landed in New Zealand. But is this the sort of workhorse the military needs? Our old heroes of the Air Force, the P-3 Orions, have retired after 56 years of service - and the first of the flash new Poseidon ...
Chris Hipkinsâ first overseas trip as Prime Minister comes on relatively friendly territory. But while there have been marked improvements in the trans-Tasman relationship since a change in Canberra, there is still plenty to discuss, as Sam Sachdeva writes In many ways, it is fitting Chris Hipkins should make Australia the ...
Fiordland National Park is the crowning jewel of our national parks and arguably our greatest tourist magnet. But conservationists warn that marine life has been put at risk because the parkâs waters are unprotected. Heidi Bendiksonâs investigation shows they are right. Tourists on the 'M.V Sinbad' clamber to the bow to ...
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RNZ News New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has described todayâs Waitangi Day dawn service as moving and says he welcomes the shift away from a focus on politics. Hundreds of people gathered before dawn to commemorate 183 years since Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed. Hipkins said the national ...
By Hilaire Bule, RNZ Pacific Vanuatu correspondent in Port Vila Vanuatuâs prime minister has stressed any future employment within the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat must be from MSG member countries. Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau, who is also chair of the MSG Secretariat, made the statement following the recruitment of ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Yamin Kogoya On Friday 10 February 2023, it will be one month since the Papua Governor Lukas Enembe was âkidnappedâ at a local restaurant during his lunch hour by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and security forces. The crisis began in September 2022, when Governor Enembe was ...
By KÄlino LÄtĆ«, editor of Kaniva News Dr Sitiveni Halapua, former deputy leader of Tongaâs Democratic Movement, has died aged 74. Born on February 13, 1949, he was a respected academic, a pioneer of Tongaâs democratic reforms and pioneer of a conflict resolution system based on traditional practices. Halapua earned ...
COMMENTARY:By Richard Naidu in Suva Five weeks on from Christmas Eve, I think most of us are still a bit stunned at what has happened in Fiji. A new government came to power in dramatic circumstances. It took not one but two Sodelpa management board meetings to change it, ...
By Red Tsounga Another house done, and onto the next . . . Volunteers working in Mount Roskill community over the past few days helping those suffering from Aucklandâs flash flood devastation have done us proud. Tremendous work by everybody. Here are some random photos of our volunteer teams on ...
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 Mick Tsikas/AAP Senator Lidia Thorpe announced on Monday that she would be leaving the Greens. Thorpe had split with the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis B. Desmond, Lecturer, Cyberintelligence and Cybercrime Investigations, University of the Sunshine Coast The news of a so-called âChinese spy balloonâ being shot down over the US has reignited interest in how nation-states spy on one another. Itâs not confirmed that the ...
Today, at a Waitangi ki Waititi concert hosted by Te WhÄnau o Waipareira at Hoani Waititi Marae, West Auckland; Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp was officially announced as Te PÄti MÄori Candidate for TÄmaki Makaurau for the 2023 Election. Hailing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Daniel Pockett/AAP Victorian Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe has defected from the Greens to sit on the crossbench, declaring she wants to fully represent the âBlak Sovereign Movementâ in parliament. The announcement by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Daniel Pockett/AAP Victorian Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe has defected from the Greens to sit on the crossbench, declaring she wants to fully represent the âBlak Sovereign Movementâ in parliament. The announcement by ...
Sure, Scotty Morrisonâs MÄori At Work is a wonderful resource for Aotearoaâs collective te reo MÄori journey. But is it judgemental enough for the modern office environment?First published September 12 2019 The growing strength of te reo is palpable across Aotearoa, with record numbers of people participating in Mahuru ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Mills, Professor and Dean La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University Shutterstock It can be tough to access front-line health care outside the cities and suburbs. For the seven million Australians living in rural communities there are significant ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, Australian National University Chad Fish/AP Was the balloon that suddenly appeared over the US last week undertaking surveillance? Or was it engaging in research, as China has claimed? While the answers to these ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Walker-Munro, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The generative AI industry will be worth about A$22 trillion by 2030, according to the CSIRO. These systems â of which ChatGPT is currently the best known â can write ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Doug Drury, Professor/Head of Aviation, CQUniversity Australia Shutterstock When booking a flight, do you ever think about which seat will protect you the most in an emergency? Probably not. Most people book seats for comfort, such as leg room, ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has described this morning's Waitangi dawn service as moving and says he welcomes the shift away from a focus on politics. ...
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Watched this earlier. It made David Carter grumpy đ
I hope Cunliffe (and Labour) are going somewhere with this: the speech tells us the state of things without proposing any solutions. Perhaps that’s coming in the next speech…
So OAB
The solution is to change the Government. As you well know. But perhaps that won’t please You or your carping Greens. More the Pity.
Congratulations David Cunliffe. You are outstanding.
One of the ways to change (ie: become) the government is to seize the narrative, not just on this front, either. The Radio NZ (Catch-Up Funding) Amendment Bill isn’t going to do that.
Anyway, with their conference on Labour has a good chance to seize a few moments and I hope they do.
That speech is jammed full of issues and detail. Almost all of them covered here at The Standard by one author or another.
Now we know from the other thread that Stuart Nash will have written that speech off as ‘vile, negative bile’ and ‘out of touch with political realities’ – but what about – whose the Labour leader again? Haven’t heard boo from the guy in ages.
And with Grant Robertson advising Little on strategy, you’re not likely to.
But I thought no MP read TS đ
@ One Anonymous Bloke
I’m afraid the solution is too threatening for any major party because as long as Parliament is sovereign the ruling party can do anything with impunity.
The solution lies in taking power from Parliament and distributing power to other parts of the system. It’s called “checks and balances” and we don’t have it. We never will until the people decide some of these watchdogs and their budgets must be beyond the control of the ruling party of the day.
+100
Yes.
Most definitely we need it.
Our last bastion of checks and balances at this stage may be the judiciary.
Cunliffe should also have mentioned the bias of the Speaker of the House toward National Party. Especially the way he allows key to run off at the mouth without interruption. Deplorable.
Have you ever heard of Margaret Wilson?
So much for personal responsibility…
but but but Llllaaaabbbbooooouuuuurrrrrr!!!!!!
It highlights why the Speaker should be appointed by Parliament, but not out of the existing stocks, it should be someone from the Judiciary, or someone of enough mana that all people agree on, and the person nominated shouldn’t want the job.
Sounds sensible. ‘Let’s not do it.’
By a unanimous Parliament or at least 75% of MPs. We need some independent bodies in our political system. Sticking to the rugby metaphor. Rugby games were pretty crap when home countries used their own ref’s.
What about the Speaker coming from one of the Opposition parties?
Same problem, but in reverse.
We need independent Speakers who act as actual referees, are committed to increasing public participation in Parliament, rigorous debate, and ensuring questions are answered in an apolitical fashion.
It would be better that Speakers were independently appointed, (not from the pool of MPs) were employees of Parliament, or perhaps directly elected. (there are disadvantages to each approach, especially the last one as it could turn just as politicized as electorate races)
Then folks like OAB and DTB et al won’t agree with who is appointed because national have a parliamentary majority and that’s not democracy because they didn’t win the election. they only got more votes than any other party by screwing the scrum. sob sob sob sob the media have elected this speaker, not parliament
the left in this country is so deluded about what the reality in New Zealand, on any subject, it’s appalling. having an effective opposition is a corner stone of parliamentary democracy. I can see now why the opposition is so terrible at being an opposition. Whoever still votes for labour and the greens and turn out in support at conferences and local electorate bodies are, to put it bluntly, stupid.
David Cunliffe’s analysis is spot on.
Further, the people who run the National Party know that he is spot on.
That is why they have taken all those extensive steps to “screw the scrum” – because National dare not give the public a fair chance and a level playing field with which to judge them on.
+100 CV
Cheese with your whiiiiiine?
You’re right of course – the Gnats have put the fix on this voting system – so how are they to be removed from power, since they are manifestly incompetent to the tune of $100 billion dollars so far? This government is the most expensive failure in NZ history.
John Campbell
Ah the Labour did it too defence … totally ignoring Keys promise to enforce higher standards from his government
I have long argued the Speaker should be an impartial judge approved by 75% of the MPs.
How can you have a fair debate when the judge belongs to one of the debating teams.
Who would mind going to trial if they could appoint the judge deciding the case.
David Cunliffe is correct in every aspect in what he delivered in that speech.
Well done.
Where the hell is the Media in not high lighting these facts ?
Democracy , how the hell can we say that this country is still a democracy when it is obvious it is not.
We are being controlled by a slimy few from the inner National Party.
Never, ever has there been a more devious Govt.
Surely that other irritant in this debacle, Peter Dunne can see where we are heading in this country, why does he keep these parasites in power ?
Show some gumption Peter Dunne and pull the pin on National !
Same goes to the Maori Party, stop this charade.
Where the hell is the Media in not high lighting these facts ?
Cunliffe explains that pretty clearly: the writers and journalists who might have done so have been sacked.
On that line….where’d all the good people go?
This puts me in mind of hawaii… lies and our PM
Cunliffe, his team and his supporters were hardly media friendly during the election.
What does being “media friendly” actually mean? Can you give examples?
Probably has something to do with John Armstrong waiting over a year to make an apology for his disgusting lies.
Put money and support behind Scoop initiative!
Yup
+100 Simple Simon
More important than making David Carter grumpy, Cunliffe explained how The High Court found The Ombudsman illegally sucked up to Groser.
She has thoroughly trashed her integrity for John Key; and dirtied her once proud office for him.
Sick
David Cunliffe has integrity and depth – Stuart Nash the polar opposite.
+1 Hami
yes! & killer speech Cunliffe! I was wanting him to be PM.
@Gangnam Style
Me too, and I wish David Cunliffe was still Labour’s leader, but… National’s msm and those self serving members within Labour would never had allowed that.
What a shame that so many voters disagreed with you.
@Melb
What did you expect when John Key used dirty politics to rig… oops I mean, win an election?
@Hami Shearlie
+100. Odious Nash got well and truly trounced by all those who commented on his article on the TDB, and he really did show his true colours, and they weren’t red.
+1 Hami
He needed to have been giving that type of speech back at the last election around the time of Dirty Politics, instead of doing the ‘positive message regardless’ thing. Oh well.
+1 Bill – but who knows maybe Cunliffe wanted too – he probably had loads of ‘advice’ to the contrary by his ‘team’ to stay on ‘task’.
What Labour needs is political courage and to show they are prepared to fight back. Hence all this positive outpouring from Cunliffe’s speech in The Standard when Cunliffe shows political courage by this speech. Everyone also cheered when Little said ‘show some guts’.
The voters want Labour MP’s like Cunliffe who still have Labour values of anti corruption – not as has been implied by another Labour MP the National way of raising ‘shit loads of money and forget your principals to win’.
Cunliffes speech is resonating with the population!! And more importantly some in Labour seem to be more aware of the problem – it is not a FAIR fight or a FAIR election with dirty politics!
Don’t be dirty or pretend it’s not happening, fight the right, for a FAIR fight!
Little said ‘cut the crap!’ (show some guts was when Key was justifying sending troops overseas), but you are right otherwise, in this world of airbrushed pap & committee written speeches we are hungry for some truth.
Sorry mean’t cut the crap! Was also trying to also point out that it should not be one Labour line against another and not trying to pit Cunliffe against Little – when either says something good, it is good for all in Labour.
I’d like to see Little put Cunliffe as No 2 or 3. Key did not get on with English but he still put him into finance. Labour needs to do similar and put their best people at the top.
media would have criticised his tie being wonky anyway
I guess that certain faction in caucus hates Cunliffe just a little bit more after he pulls good shit like this off.
I heard the speech via the radio broadcast from Parliament, it was good to hear that at least one MP from the Labour caucus dares to state clearly the abysmal situation we have with the rotten, bought and manipulated mainstream media in this country. I am worried though, whether David Cunliffe did speak so openly, because he may consider not standing again for Parliament next election.
Time will tell. Most if not all in Labour dare say nothing about the biased and generally poorly informing media.
Remember, most of the Labour Caucus view the MSM as their main constituency, not us poor saps in the voting public.
It has really troubled me to see a fair few turn up on the Paul Henry breakfast program, but it is always a balancing act, to be heard and taken note of at all, at the risk of being ridiculed by Henry, or to risk not being taken note of by staying away. You are damned if you do deal with the present MSM, you are damned if you do not. Hence also the Greens, NZ First and so talk with the most useless or biased reporters and program hosts at times.
The henry / gower segment this morning made some good points about labour around Little needing to show where labour is heading and how they have to be careful releasing policy to soon because the nats will flog it.Henry even commended Little for his success in unifying caucus.
My prediction – Little will lose the next election and Robertson will put his hand up for the Leadership yet again. And this time he will get it.
Na I reckon labour /nzf with greens in support . I know you want radicle change and now but i’ll settle for a.government with integrity for starters.
I think Little is boxing clever and will get stronger as time goes on.
There will be very few members left in the Party if that happens I would think. Robertson couldn’t set a barbecue on fire. Just hasn’t got the chops for that job or the finance one either. You either have it, or you don’t, and he doesn’t! Robertson is not politically brave, it’s that simple.
If so Labour will reach 10% next election.
“have to be careful releasing policy to soon because the nats will flog it”
I totally agree, they goad and demand Labour policies, then do a wek copy or hack them apart
A Paul Henry commendation is like a cyanide capsule dropped into your drink, while you are not aware of it (done behind your back).
I’d vote for him.
I’ve been reading Chris Trotter’s Bowalley Road lately. He seems incandescent over the media being largely kept out of the coming Labour conference. Its all to be ‘in the family’ except for a few open opportunities to gather info. (Which family might that be – ‘the Cosa Nostra’?)
In his recent essay – Burning Down The House: Why Does The Labour Caucus Keep Destroying The Labour Party In Order To Save It? – he says this:
Only a mass influx of people determined to make policy â not tea â can rescue the Labour Party from the self-perpetuating parliamentary oligarchy that currently controls it.
Only a rank-and-file membership that is conscious of, and willing to assert, its rights â as the Corbynistas are doing in the United Kingdom â has the slightest hope of selecting a caucus dedicated to circulating the whole oxymoronic notion of democratic elitism out of New Zealandâs political system altogether.
In his latest piece – All In The Family: Labourâs President Keeps The Media Out Of His Partyâs Annual Conference. – on what he sees is a disaster for progressive Labour in banning media scrutiny and report, he says –
[Professor Nigel Haworth] the partyâs president explained that its proceedings needed to be kept âin the familyâ. Putting to one side the obvious fact that a political party is nothing like a family…. Families that shut their doors and draw their curtains against the outside world are often trying to hide something. …
Paradoxically, what Haworth and the Leader of the Opposition, Andrew Little, are trying to hide isnât in the least bit shameful or ugly. Free and frank political debate is the declared objective of the media ban. âWe want people to be able to speak freely and frankly and be reported appropriatelyâ, was the way Haworth put it to Trevett
Curiously, the Herald journalist did not challenge Haworthâs implication that she and her colleagues would not report the delegatesâ statements âappropriatelyâ. Nor did Trevett point out to the Heraldâs readers that with the news media excluded from important debates party leaders can crack down hard on dissident delegates with impunity.
This is no small consideration. At the 2012 annual conference, held in the Auckland suburb of Ellerslie, journalists were able to report the extraordinary vitriol hurled at disobedient delegates by Labour MPs. The latter were furious that the conference had voted contrary to their instruction. They were probably even more furious that their behaviour was reported…..
Free and frank discussion is actually much more likely when the whole worldâs watching. Absent the television lights, anyone daring to challenge the top table is likely to be flayed alive by individuals who throw insults for a living.
+100 greywarshark…good points..”Free and frank discussion is actually much more likely when the whole worldâs watching…
Its the stategy that works for the nats
Tracey
Yes Chris noted that and it worries him to see Labour choosing the same tactic.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2015/11/litmus-test-will-labours-rank-and-file.html
âONLY ONE political party conference matters in New Zealandâ, says veteran political journalist, Richard Harman. âThe National Partyâs conference is little more than a PR presentation; NZ First keeps theirs behind closed doors and the Greens is entirely predictable.â But, according to Harman, Labour conferences are different. As recently as 2012, he says, âLabourâs has been coloured by political blood on the floor.â
Thereâs a very good reason for paying attention to what goes on at Labour Party Conferences, and thatâs because the political fault line dividing the defenders of the status quo from the advocates of real change runs right down the middle of the conference floor. Itâs been that way since the 1980s
I think Chris fears that if they close off reports of dissent and bruising argument about policy and method, it will take a major earthquake to bring the present Labour edifice tumbling down despite the shoddy engineering that has gone into the soulless concrete slab construction of modern Labour.
Tracey
And here is an opposing and well argued viewpoint from Anonymous on Chris’s points.
Anonymous Anonymous said…
I won't deny that at least some of what you claim are indeed risks of closed conferences. But while I can't speak for Labour, as a Green Party member, I prefer it when our debates occur away from the media glare. There is far greater pressure to watch what one says when the media is present and why wouldn't there be? Most in the media wouldn't know nuance if they fell over it and aren't interested in policy debates despite protestations. They want to report controversy and personal animosity and are happy to invent it when there is not enough on offer. Rank and file members are very aware that what they read in the papers often bears little resemblance to what they experienced, and it pisses them off.
And as for your attempt at high principle in claiming the internal workings of a party are the property of the entire public rather than the party's members, that is just journalistic self interest. What a party owes the public is a clear statement of it's principles, it's policies and it's priorities, plus a commitment to stick with all three in return for a vote. It cannot ask for more.
5 November 2015 at 22:20
Nothing ever changes on the New Zealand left does it.
3 election defeats and still blaming everyone else. The world is against us. The media are bias. The NZ media could hardly be more left if they tried. The NZ Herald still offers column space to discredited far left economist Professor Jane Kelsey. You don’t see them offering the same space to the far right.
You guys spend so much time stressing over conspiracy theories rather than considering what’s steering you in the face. You policies suck and you don’t have a credible leader.
Much easier to blame everyone and everything else for your problems then it is to realise the worlds moved on and that you’re stuck in the past
Hell it’s you righties who want a return to feudalism – you expect to avoid jacquery as well? The two go hand in hand.
The policies suck so much Dear Leader has to keep copying them. Fish, meet barrel.
The R Matthew
You…………………suck and you don’t have a credible………………
You can fill in the gaps in your own fashion. Which won’t amount to much I am sure.
lol
I’m maybe an undecided voter “The Real Matthew”, and I will be dead before the next elections, dammit.
But it’s far right thinking that got this country into such a mess, no wonder MSM have finally started to figure out the truth.
There maybe not many decent journalists left after the recent “crystal nights”, but their words sneak through.
Without the likes of Jane Kelsey, how can we find balance in bullshit !!!!
“steering” us “into the face”? Grammar check, perhaps, spelling check, perhaps? The steering is done from the PM’s Office, and their lackey’s offices, the staring is also there, but it is that of hopeless players in government, doing all to play smoke and mirrors and make the ones in public (apparently incl. you) think, it is all fair dink-um and real.
What a waste of an argument, perhaps consult your computer for the spelling check button first, mate.
Spot on David Cunliffe, that was an awesome speech. No mincing of words there, Cunliffe laid it all out.
He nailed it !!
Still waiting for Labour to come out with unequivocal support for a non-commercial, government funded national television channel.
What is a “television channel”?
What will a “television channel” be in 2020?
What do you mean by “will”, “is”, and “be”?
What do you mean by “mean”?
Mr Hoot on and off, TV will be with us for many years to come, the only difference will be, they will not broadcast and present programs in the old fashioned way, they will embrace multi media, have many platforms, and use web based and other services, like On Demand, much more.
You will never have a nice large screen in a living room be replaced for viewing by tiny tablet and smart phone screens. It is not the same experience, and people will continue to watch TV, same as some will continue to buy hard copy books, mags and papers also.
It is better for the eyes, as that much blue light from screens we use here, is not at all good for your eyes, for your general health, and especially not the nervous system. It makes for poor sleep and information uptake, due to poor concentration. It can worsen or cause depression. Also are online and internet services quite addictive, which will explain your and some of our presence here, will it not?
That is just one other aspect of the wider problem of dumbing down people, which is a main problem we have.
As you will likely earn money paid by companies promoting this technology, to dumb down, you will not want to discuss this, I bet.
Ah, TVNZ 7, we knew you so little.
You will be waiting a very long time.
Great speech – good on you David Cunliffe!
Long time lurker, first time commenter.
The mere fact that you are all loving Cunliffe’s speech, demonstrates how out of touch a loony it was!
Seems very much like that speech was paypack for Mickey’s hit on Nash.
Ban me if you like, I have no interest in engaging, only laughing at your continuing collective intellectual dishonesty and stupidity
Happy Thursday all!
So having been ignoring us you’ve decided to move to the laughing stage. No, wait, you’re the joke.
Defensive much Batman? It’s more like your intellectual dishonesty and stupidity is being laughed at.
“loony”, a throwaway comment with no evidence or anything worth noting, what a tosser, I reckon. I like people presenting an argument and some stuff to back them up, but not such rubbish. You lost as soon as you came with that word I first mentioned.
Did you know that in some parts bat is slang for wank.
brilliant speech. Highlights so much that is wrong with politics in NZ, as practised by the National party. Creeping authoritarianism to keep themselves in power because they have no solutions to the issues facing NZ, just want to give themselves and their mates more money at the expense of ordinary NZ’ers.
Great speech DC. I bet he has been longing to say that for some time. I see Bryce Edwards has tweeted it.
That was quite an amazing speech he gave. It was certainly nothing like his anodyne performance in the campaign.
It does appear that he needs some advice on side-effects of medications though.
Even a small amount of alcohol can have results like this when the person is on medicines like Clozapine or Risperidone. I think he should have been warned, as it certainly looks like those side-effects in his behaviour.
I stopped in amazement when he referred to “right wing” media. FFS
Yeah, Cunnliffe seems a bit unhinged.
Hope he doesn’t go postal.
Why don’t you three point out what parts weren’t true instead of having a little love in down the back here.
bwaghorn
lol
Scoop is seeking 1000 Kiwis who care about the future of NZ News media
Dear Scoop Foundation Pledgers,
Thank you for your very generous support.
With 12 days to go we have reached 37% of our target. However that means we have 63% of the target to go and we really need your help to get there
If you can please forward this email to friends, family, colleagues and or people who you think will be interested. We only need 600 more people to join us to get this show on the road!.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/sections/comment.html
Pledgeme’s update on the latest from Scoop’s fundraiser. Now is the time to come to the aid of the party. And Scoop is the party providing news and views to be trusted so we can understand what is going on behind the wordy smoke screens and smiley images.
If you can’t afford much give the $16 pledge which they have obviously put in knowing the state of many people’s finances. A responsive thoughtful move. But do something if you want to see NZ improve, even stop sliding over the cliff. Their words will be more effective than yours here, but together make a worthy tool to prick the barriers of the self-centred.
(lprent I thought that Scoop’s situation would justify the rare use of so much bold. Hope you agree. How is the weather in…Italy?)
If. – The mighty word with huge potential!
I might have to contribute a little myself.
Italy: Pretty chilly, good work, great weather, and I have to say that I haven’t found a decent wine yet. But the food….
Sunday afternoon in Innsbruck

What happens when you leave your car out, 15 minutes of ice chipping. Now I use the garage.

This evening…

Lyn, not sure if you’ll get a chance, but I would thoroughly recommend Assisi. I had a great week there in April this year.
It’s right up on the side of a mountain, and in the evening the son sets the length of a great u-valley that stretches for hundreds of kilometres in each direction, and the light and shadow and colour change every 30 seconds I swear. Particularly in the colder months.
Slightly closer to where you are, make sure you get to The Last Supper in Milan. Milan’s pleasures are few – so you have to plan carefully. And the main cathedral honestly is too twee for me. But if you don’t come back with a decent pair of shoes for Her In Doors, you’ll have a few questions I’m sure.
Cunliffe deserved to be PM obviously.
“Sorry for being a Man” would have been a real winner in the changing rooms after the AB’s won the RWC.. especially in that faux PI inflection he did on the back of the bus a few years ago.
I’m surprised he hasn’t given up and tried to get a real job by now, or better yet started a business & paid maximum tax – & maximum wage to the parents of the million kids in poverty…
FFS, delusional seems to not only exist, but seems mandatory to Lefties.
you think you’re smart but you just keep showing us what an imbecile you really are.
[lprent: Pointless abuse and stupid flame inducing at that. But for your comment I’d have had been able to moderate Mr Rylands. On the other hand he probably wouldn’t have made such a comment without this pinheaded comment to induce it. ]
Freemark
You can talk the talk, but in fact you’d be walking for ever if you had to ask for directions to find your way home. Pop out and let off your firecrackers and bangers, that is something you could manage. Try not to set the hillside on fire, or go on past 10pm will you. There are responsible adults trying to get their sleep before again coping with the real world.
I guess mine is pointless abuse too. I should just leave them alone in their own gated community, and ignore their stupidity of which they seem inordinately proud.
Says the vaccine denier.
Srylands
So they let you out did they?
“Freemark” All I can say it is just as well that none of the ABs are sporting long hair and ponytails because JK’s ponytail debacle (and creepy fetish) far outweighs any supposed gaffes that DC has committed.
Obviously the trolls coming out …..
“Sorry for being a man” was in the context of us winning the world cup …… for domestic violence
Cunliffe was quite correct …………. New Zealand men should be ashamed of our number 1 ranking for domestic violence in the developed world
FreeMark like John Key would never get near an AB’s changing room based on anything they’d ever achieved playing the game rugby ……………
Jockstrap sniffers and pony tail pulling hanger-on s like freemark and Key grease they way into places like that ……….and act like stalkers when they get there
Cunliffe is also correct that our media is pretty rooted and a right wing stitch up on places like tv3, the herald etc
People generally make the logical and correct choices when presented with all the information ………..
National are masters at suppressing and manipulating information …… and running dirty politics smear campaigns………..
Northlands bye-election drubbing for the Nats showed what happens when the majority get it together and act semi-cohesively against the largest minority …………………. which is all the Nats/act are.
Hope-fully the lesson stuck a bit ………….
Very important for the trolls to silence Cunliffe’s message for some reason – painful truths to a crowd entirely unfamiliar with truth perhaps.
+1