Good demonstration on Cuba st today, with some hilarious John Key pantomime street theatre. Also got plenty of signatures beforehand, so worth it to be out in the rain.
Was great to be there in Auckland. Good mix of people and determined atmosphere. To celebrate Bastille Day nice Guillotine action on ShonKey cutout. Viva le resistance.
Bastille day ended feudalism in France.
This may be the beginning of the end of modern day feudalism in NZ.
Where the Neo con man Key stops handing wealth to a lucky few!
David Shearer was on an interview on ‘Focus on Politics’ on National Radio tonight. He had a good questionner, but that did not make him sound too convincing and good at all. Again too much “generalism”, distraction by simply criticising the government, but avoiding real questions about what Labour would do instead. I am sorry, but that “honest” and “nice” man is too “fluffy” and unconvincing to me. He should seriously let someone else take over!
One comment from David Shearer was about the criticisms of his performance from the Left. His reasoning was that this fractures the Left, and is almost more than the criticism from the Right. And of course the Left does this apparently everywhere – questions and forms factions that support individual causes.
But he misses the point. Those who want the NZ Left to resume the ‘sinister’ approach that would excite and enthuse the public don’t want the same old stuff that has had its day, which the country has rejected. If Shearer is to please the critics on the Left he needs to invigorate and enthuse his approach. If he can get excited about his policies that are backed by good advice, the Left will get ahead in the polls.
Shearer is clearly not comfortable with the left, as he is happy to be a middle class swing voter himself. Labour happens to be the party he was born into or just happened to be affiliated with, not that he really has thought that much about it, I am afraid. Not good enough, really.
“One comment from David Shearer was about the criticisms of his performance from the Left. His reasoning was that this fractures the Left, and is almost more than the criticism from the Right.”
He could at least answer to the criticisms, rather than evade and equivocate. If criticisms fracture the left, and he is the leader of a main party that is still broadly described as centre left, then he holds some responsibility for any fracture that occurs. Hence he should be either meeting the concerns of the critics, or explaining why he thinks they cannot be met, not just shrugging them off. We saw much the same thing when rumour had it that Cunliffe got told off for making a heartening speech, and Trotter wrote about it. “Well, I don’t find it particularly helpful to read Chis Trotter,” he said. Not “Trotter is mistaken for reasons A, B and C,” or anything else that would squarely address the concern that had arisen.
Labour at present, David Shearer in particular. Teflon opinions, like the easi-fold storage units sold that hinges and collapses flat after use. What should used is a good old soapbox, firmly built, that lifts him to obvious prominence and allows him to declaim policies that offer some intelligent AND practical AND pragmatic moves going forward etc.
I am surprised to see this posted here. Given how low the numbers were, the left should want as little attention on these marches as possible. Maybe 1000-1500 people in Auckland, hundreds in Christchurch/Wellington? Many waving Green/Tino Rangatiratanga flags?
National will be breathing a sigh of relief. This is the latest in a string of clear indications that, despite what they say when pollsters insist on a for/against answer, most voters don’t really care that much about asset sales.
That was due to large scale population growth due to migration, expansion of business and households needing urgently more electricity, which the existing networks were unable to deliver, hence additional, gas and coal powered stations had to be built in a very short time, thus necessitating large investments, which had to partly be passed on to the consumers in the way of electricity charges.
I hope that this will explain to you the reason for this.
Also did National and ACT show great enthusiasm for the additional migration and growing economic activity at that time, so if you belong to their lot, you should think twice before trying to make this an argument against Labour and other parties that were running affairs then.
, so if you belong to their lot, you should think twice before trying to make this an argument against Labour and other parties that were running affairs then.
I won’t deny that power prices went up under Labour – as we all know, power prices (and other living costs) continue to go up under National.
* The difference is wages went up under Labour and wages have stagnated under National *
People’s disposable income (ie. income after living costs are taken away) increases under a Labour government which in turn allows consumers to help NZ businesses. Businesses, consumers, and the economy win.
That’s not necessarily true either. Still you and facts aren’t exactly best mates recently are you felix. I’m still waiting to see some sort of evidence that the BNZ was bailed out by the Government in 1945.
Any article I linked to NEVER mentioned any bail out of BNZ by Government in 1945. This is what YOU claimed and which you fail to back up with any facts.
How does it feel to be part of the ignorant mass, putting filling their stomachs, filling the tanks of their cars, sliming to their bosses, dobbing in their neighbours, cutting down others they “compete” with and allowing their own country or adopted country to be sold bit by bit to self serving business and speculator’s interests?
Maybe you feel so good like that, but to me that is a mentality of a self destroying society, not worth anything anymore, where one goes against his neighbour, work-colleague and business partners.
By the way, the mainstream media are doing the usual, trivialising protests, presenting wrong numbers and only mentioning the events within 1 to 2 minutes of “news”, where more time is spent on commercial advertising for products and services, catering for the lost majority, that does feel “entertained” while the bloody Titanic is already sinking.
“Enlightenment”, common sense and intelligence are rare these days, and I am waiting now for the ruling circles to also cut down and throw out the very last bastions of any form of still marginally informative public broadcasting, represented by only Maori TV and Triangle TV.
Total control, dumbind down, manipulation, selling out, dividing and ruling under such conditions, that is the agenda, and the 3,000 to 4,000 that actually went out on Queen St today, are the spear head of a sizeable part of the NZ public, that have chosen NOT to put up with any more of this bull-crap.
Have a nice evening in your litlle corner, possibly sitting in front of another screen, indulging in less enlightening and real stuff!
Nah. You watched the Nat. poodle channel TV1 didn’t you Than. They always under-estimate protest matches except when there is a Labour govt., then they over-estimate! Remember the so-called anti-smacking bill wot wasn’t an anti-smacking bill? Thousands were going to march according to TV1. There were 500, but that didn’t stop TV1 giving them wall to wall coverage as though the numbers were closer to 50,000.
Oh, and don’t you ever read the opinion polls? Consistently around 80% opposition to Asset Sales? Yeah, that’s right, voters don’t really care that much about Asset Sales
I tell you that TVNZ is now a “poodle” to National Party and government influences represented on their board or directors or management!
That is why their news have for months been quite dismissive of anything that opposition politicians added to political debate, while TV3 and their news have actually moved a bit towards the opposite direction. This is really strange, but maybe Joyce did after all not catch on that well with Mediaworks, well, are TV3 not now owned by a bit different a set of investors?
It is shocking to even have to mention all this, as the mainstream media always has little time for protests, and that has been so for many, many years.
They are more “commercially” focused and want to “appeal” to sentiments of a more trivial kind, being crime, weather shocks, overseas horror stories, trying to imply: “Well, how good and glad to be in NZ.”
I have bad news, because apart from exorbitantly expensive mining towns in Western Australia, rents, housing and consumer goods are cheaper in very many places on the globe, including “developed” countries, where people do not get ripped off quite as badly as in little, dear ol Kiwiland.
Don’t forget that Labour was very happy for TVNZ to be commercial in nature, and that it left behind any thoughts of true public broadcasting for the public good a very long time ago.
In other words, “the left” set this bugbear up for themselves.
I do not disagree with this comment at all. That is why I insist on Labour to offer and maintain a true “game changer”, away from anything near the “right” or “right of centre”, for sure. And I may add, I did detect that there was a total absence of David Shearer as speaker at the end of the event today, while there were Russel Norman and Julie Ann Genter speaking for the Greens, and only Phil Twyford afterwards addressing the crowd with some words.
Twyford created a bit of a “scene”, as some students appeared to challenge him on “free speech”. Then a know Labour activist or organiser charged towards them and had to be restrained. I am afraid there is something really bad happening within Labour at present.
Better sort this out. My opinion is: Shearer is a nice chap, may make a good minister of education or similar, but as leader, he is ambiguous, uncertain and not competent.
Open the Labour membership base to vote for a future leader, please, we may see something positive after all. At least one must hope.
Hey xtasy, not sure exactly how you interpreted the ‘scene’ in that way. A man started yelling when Twyford began speaking, and wouldn’t stop when asked to by the AINFS organizers, so some youngish guys (not actually students) challenged him to let Twyford speak; in the name of free speech. I was fairly close and I’m pretty sure the guy who was yelling was actually talking about how Labour is not too different at all from National, rather than defending Twyford.
Anne: I totally agree, Radio NZ is probably giving the most correct figures here. That tells us something again. It is a “balanced” broadcaster still in public hands, so neither Nats, Labour or others can run it to their pleasure, and that is how it bloody well should be, same with TVNZ, which though has gone astray too long ago.
Anne, I don’t watch TV news. I get my information primarily from the internet (Stuff, Herald, Scoop, etc.). The 1000-1500 figure I gave was from Stuff (“estimated at well over 1000 people”), and the Herald put the number at 3,000. Could you give a source for that 4,000 police estimate? Because I can’t find it anywhere.
But even 4,000 is still a pretty low turnout compared to the 50,000 for the anti-mining protest at the start of this year, or the 3,000-8,000 for the last anti-asset sales protest. In his opinion piece for the Herald Matt McCarten claims “growing protests in the streets”, but this march was actually smaller than the first. The protesters are also doing their cause no favours with the vehemence of their anti-National rhetoric. All it does is show this wasn’t a march of everyday kiwis against asset sales, it was a march of the far left against John Key.
Than: This just shows how “reliable” and misleading internet based information can be!
I was there in Auckland, I was at the previous march against asset sales, I was at the anti mining march too. I have some good estimating experience of crowd sizes.
Having searched various media re any news about the protests last night I found:
1. The NZ Herald online edition had NO mention of it at all;
2. the Dominion Post online edition had only a very brief report, which was only about the start of the march;
3. TVNZ had only about a minute or minute and a half of a “leading” news item at 06 pm, giving no other info but “thousands marched”;
3. TV3 had a bit more of footage and reporting, but also only barely 2 minutes long, but at least showing a sizeable crown half way down Queen St in Auckland;
4. Radio Live bizarrely said in late news, “up to a thousand” marched in Central Auckland (??);
5. National Radio did not mention a number in the read out news, but also stated “thousands”;
6. apart from this, I found little or no news at all in MSM!
I am certain that there were at least 3,000, yes rather close to 4,000 on that Auckland march, and most who were there will agree. There were fewer at the end where speeches were held, as some do not bother staying for listening to pollies telling them what they usually tell them.
Scoop, the NZ Herald and other online media are treating any protests and increasingly social issues in general with neglect and even indifference or ignorance. As they increasingly present “infotainment” rather than quality journalism. Look at some of the young journos, also in broadcasting, who re pre-occupied with “lifestyle” issues, fad type opinions, crime, weather and “entertaining” stuff. Also many are “over groomed” for appearances, like corporate type employees trying all to “fit in” rather than think independently and talk openly. Crap really!
I do not think the first march against asset sales had about 8,000 participants, and the anti mining march never reached 50 k. It was rather 20 to 30 k who attended that one.
xtasy, forgive me, but I completely ignore “I was there” estimates. For one thing people who participate in a march are not objective. By definition they support the cause being marched for, they want the march to be perceived to be as large as possible. For another, their physical viewpoint (ground level, walking along in the same segment of the march) simply gives them less information than bystanders watching the march go past.
While I can’t disagree with your criticisms of online media, they are unfortunately the best numbers we have. And based on them this march was at most the same size as the first anti-asset sales march, probably slightly smaller.
Estimating large crowd sizes is actually very difficult from any perspective, whether you’re in the crowd, watching it go by, or observing it from a great height.
I pretty much just listen to newly created single-issue internet personalities, especially ones with an apparent interest in rubbishing whatever the crowd has gathered for.
Have you not noticed, that I put to you the more realistic figure of 20 to 30 thousand that marched against mining on conservation land, and that I considered the first asset sale march not having had as many as even you quoted?
Cyberspace allows anything these days, and if you rely on certain media sites, run as commercial businesses with profit motives, not wanting to offend advertisers, often even being “warm” with the National Party and ACT, then you choose to live in a world of your own and their own imagination.
I am not member of any party or particular group that organised the march, and as an independent minded individual, I take offence by such criticism of real figures, proved by others, even independent public media like Radio NZ and – forget it not – the Police!
A further thing to acknowledge is the fact that there was NO mention of the upcoming march by any of the “main stream media” at all, apart from just a brief mention on a website of 1ZB a day before.
The largely privately owned and as businesses operated, profit focused media enterprises do virtually never mention anything about upcoming events like the anti asset sale protests, as they simply do not show much interest in such. They are pre-occupied with delivering headline news of more sensationalist a nature, like stories about murder, rape, child abuse, alcohol excesses by the youth, car crashes, freak weather, celebrity gossip and so forth, which are considered more adrenalin generating, “catchy” and thus good “sellers”.
While this happens, few people get informed, and each time I have been on a protest, I see hundreds or thousands stand on the footpaths, gazing in confusion, wondering what all this is about. So given this is the challenge organisers face, they did fairly well after all.
felix; I agree, estimating march sizes is always difficult. It is effectively impossible for an individual in the march, walking along with no perception of how long the march is or overall density.
But difficult does not mean it cannot be done, and both the police and media try. It is never going to be particularly accurate (for the previous anti-asset sales march I read numbers between 3,000 and 8,000), but we can get a broad indication. And the broad indication for this march is, it was the same size or smaller than the first anti-asset sales march.
Don’t let the fact that I post on a wide range of subjects (on this site, Bowalley Road, Kiwiblog, WhaleOil, and others, all using the same username) get in your way. Just keep the fingers in your ears and I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Some people choose to walk through life with blinkers on. Others choose to be colourbling or totally blind to the truth. I have some relatives like that, and I think we all know a fair number of such examples.
This phenomenon will continue to exist, and the person you comment back on appears to be a prime example of such a human specimen.
the interesting thing about Aotearoa Not For Sale is that they have no pre-existing organisation. They call a bunch of protests but, unlike say Greenpeace and Forest and Bird, they don’t have a database of tens of thousands of members to attempt to mobilise.
It has to spread by word of mouth, Facebook blogs – that it did and thousands showed up through out New Zealand despite the weather on short (and vague) notice is a testimony to the strength of feeling.
Than.
You are either living in fantasy land or your blue tinted glasses need cleaning.The marches attracted huge crowds every where .It was an example of what happens when the Left co-operates .,A lesson there I think.If the political left gets its act together (and I think they will) Key and his band of neo-Cons are mincemeat,
Christchurch had a good turnout despite of not the best weather, but Wellington was a bit disappointing.
I just heard the news on Radio Live, which must still be Steven Joyces propaganda channel, because they had the cheek to say, that “up to a thousand protesters marched up Queen St”!
Now that is scandalous, but what do you expect of a privately run talk back radio station having Michael Laws as prime entertainer, broadcasting about a third of airtime on commercial advertising, letting many extreme nutters comment and otherwise cater for largely crime, rape, pillage, sports and low level entertainment style information?
xtasy “What has NZ come to, I ask again”
I would say that yesterdays protest was mostly the hardcore who are prepared to go on fighting. Down on numbers from the last march because many people will have lost hope of stopping the sales at this point. This drop in numbers happened during the marches against the 2001 and 2003 Afghanistan and Iraq invasions, before and after.
The big difference is that asset sales and the rip, shit, bust plan to recolonise NZ will not go away. The TPPA signals this logic. This means that the opposition to that barbaric future will only grow stronger and draw more and more into activity. The NACTs have no choice but to go for broke and they are breaking down everywhere.
For example, Operation 8 was a total failure to divide the nation against Maori ‘terror’. The big plans to ‘reform’ education have been temporarily shelved. The huge opposition to asset sales has forced the NACTs to repackage its sales pitch several times and its now coming up against a worsening global crisis and facing legal challenges that could put off any buyers.
But most important, these setbacks are temporary and part of an ongoing austerity across the board and this is not something that the NACTs can resile from. What makes the current resistance bound to increase and strengthen is the courage and political inventiveness of a growing youth movement who understand that their generation must lead the austerity the fightback against the attacks of the international banksters. When the capitalist system begins to eat its young, its days are numbered. Yesterdays march showed the youth anti-capitalist left in the lead.
The no-show of Labour’s leaders reflects its unwillingness to be identified as part of a movement lead by anti-capitalists. The Green and Labour MPs who spoke are pro-capitalists and conscious of the need to keep the anti-capitalists in parliament. They are on a losing streak. Because to stop the asset sales the movement has to go beyond referenda and legal challenges to direct action which must come into conflict with parliament.
Mana is shaping up to lead that resistance and can do when it overcomes its historic division between Tinorangatiratanga and the Pakeha left and unites the majority of the NZ working class. I look forward to the demos and direct actions when I see Mana banners and flags declaiming “Renationalisation without Compensation” behind which the various left currents and single issue campaigns are willing to march.
The reason that NZ politics is being re-aligned is that Aotearoa/NZs economic role in the Pacific is being permanently realigned under The NACTs as US lackeys. This political realignment will see a huge polarisation between the NACT rightwing and a growing left around Mana, a left labour split, and a Green split along class lines that unites the left fragments reminiscent of Syriza in Greece. Its agenda will be to defeat the right drift towards NZ as a locked down US neocolony and fight for Aotearoa/NZ as sovereign, republic and socialist. That would be a good start. http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/aotearoa-sold-out.html
Again everyone has it all wrong. Those were the good old days, we are now well and truly on the down side of the global peak in energy invested on energy returned, from now on life is going to get worse for all of us. The rich are going to be less comfortable when all the global paper wealth burns to nothing, and might becomes right. We are on a non stop ride to reality.
So once the av gas runs out and flying just stops every airport will just be a waste land covered in rotting planes. And once all the coal power dependent factories in China stop manufacturing all the wingdings our electricity grid needs, and I’m including all the end products we use electricity to run. Not only are we at peak energy we are fast reaching peak washing machine and flat screen TV, though just like the Easter Islanders with their 3/4 carved Moi in their quarry, ‘we’ will still be manufacturing crap as the lights are going out. We are not quite at peak stupid yet, though 1.4 million Kiwi Savers would be hard to beat. Installing heat pumps, and thinking ‘assets are worth shit are just symptoms of an uninformed society, sadly being stupid is no excuse, but most people will go out of their way to remain uninformed.
Political blogs being another example. sorry just winding you up
I am afraid until that happens, there are still a few decades left, where they can destroy the last remnants of life on the planet. Really, and forgive me all those humane thinking readers, the most agressive, hostile and destructive being on this planet now is the human being.
We will follow the exploitative conduct to the very end, I am afraid. No stone, soil and whatever unturned, nothing sacred, all open to exploitation, just to get the oil, coal, gas, iron, aluminium, platinum, rare earth minerals, and whatsoever, out of the ground and sea, that is what will happen. It will be done, to keep the totally brainwashed, manipulated, conditoned, manicured, air conditioned, chemically constructed and otherwise artificially wrapped “humans” (?) able to continue to consume til they die. Lipstick, finger nail polish, wrappers, tissues, one way this and that, pills, clothing, fast food, other food, decorations, silly presents, but of course also really essential goods and services, that will continue to be produced, sold and marketed.
Fuck the whales, dolphins, sharks, snappers, tuna, the wild animals on grounds, the soil, the earth, the air, and the whole damned environment, it is only to be used to get those resources and products made.
Hardly anybody sees, hears and feels those environments anyway, so they are totally disconnected, not aware, do not give a damn and only see all the “nature” as a source for exploitation for their benefit.
That is what goes on now, will get worse, and it will mean the human species going to go that far, that it will cut the umbilical cord, to nature, where we all come from. It is all screwed, fucked and the rest. Consider cyanide or other emergency measures, because once the Arabian Gulf gets into turmoil and cut off, nothing will go anywhere anymore. That is the reality dumb people do NOT get.
Come on Robert, you can do better than that. We can live without flatscreen TVs, and we can live without washing machines. We can even learn how to live without electricity on tap. We can live without kiwisaver when that falls over. We can’t live without water. We can’t live without land that is capable of growing food. Resistance to asset sales is about sovereignty.
Weka get a copy of this post collapse movie http://theroad-movie.com/ and show me the sovereignty, in the end it will not matter who owns the defunked rotting infrastructure.
But the clowns can keep hoping I guess.
Well, at the moment, NZ Herald is reporting on first time protesters who were moved to go to yesterday’s protest – and estimates the crowd in Auckland as 3000:
Botes, a teacher and mum of two, had never been in a protest before. But she felt so strongly about the Government’s plans that she left her Glen Innes home to march up Queen St with 2-year-old Luca Namoa.
[…]
Many people waved the flags of political parties and unions in Auckland yesterday but Botes attended on her own.
“This is the first protest I’ve ever been to. I’m here for all New Zealanders.”
She wanted to protect the country from the Government’s “silly and short-sighted” decision and was pleased she had made the effort. “It’s pretty cool. I feel like I’m making a difference, instead of just staying home.”
Auckland businessman Robert Daggar was also at his first protest. The 61-year-old said state-owned assets must be kept “for the good of the people, not sold for profit. This ideology around asset sales is crippling the world.”
Wearing a hat with the message “no asset sales”, 91-year-old Margaret Jones said she was compelled to join the walk because she was angry at the Government. “These assets belong to me just like they do to everyone else.”
Protesters vented their anger when the march reached the Town Hall.
Dummies of John Key, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and ministers Paula Bennett and Judith Collins were beheaded by a makeshift guillotine to cries of “off, off, off” from the crowd.
Pity the author didn’t make the connection with the last description and Bastille Day.
“This is the first protest I’ve ever been to. I’m here for all New Zealanders.”
Good on her for attending and feeling motivated enough, but she was there for herself, not for “all New Zealanders.”
“It’s pretty cool. I feel like I’m making a difference, instead of just staying home.”
If she felt good about “making a difference” then yeah, cool. But I wonder whether the time and energy spent on “we must do something” could find a better goal, one that was achievable and could make a significant difference.
The stark reality is that MOM share floats, or not, will make little difference overall. Anti asset sales has been sold to political consumerists who may think they’re momentarily loving it but smoothing a few wrinkles won’t turn the age old clock back.
The main motivation for anti asset sales seems to have been little more than a consolation campaign for those who lost the last election.
Imagine if all the effort put into being anti was instead focussed on pro positive initiatives, like job generation.
If an enthusiasm for making our country better could be generated then people power may be much better harnessed. At the moment it seems like it’s being sold down the river by politicians lacking positive ideas.
“The stark reality is that MOM share floats, or not, will make little difference overall.”
If it was not so serious an issue, I could laugh at your comments.
So losing hundreds of millions in revenue to private shareholders opting to use their dividends rather for their personal gratification and spending choices makes a “little difference” t o the government?
Losing 49 per cent ownership in assets owned by those enterprises will make “little difference”?
You surely cannot have much understanding of accounting and economics. All it will do is create an even greater hole in the government accounts, which will only lead to yet more asset sales in future, as further “last resort” measures to fill opening gaps.
Come on, the readers of comment s here do have a bit more intelligence than you are prepared to acknowledge. By the way, what do Key, English or Farrar pay you for writing such nonsense in this blog site?
PG you are again obfuscating and sounding triumphalist about “winning” the last election. You are really a National apologistand if you are anything like Dunne you will soon jump ship.
No, wrong assumptions.We need to look ahead, not back. Putting to rest a futile folly and focus on leadership of the future.
Fighting the next election by campaigning early on last years election issues shows how visionless and bankrupt the left are. They even have to use tax payers money to get signitures for their referendum.
Each time the news show the assemblage using the same old worn banners with the same faces it gets more embarrassing.
A lot of energy going nowhere. They need to pick their battles more carefully or maybe this is all they have got.
Wa Wa… I wonder how many on these marches are net tax payers. I’m guessing the number is significantly lower than the national rate. How they can claim that these are “their” assets is beyond me. Freeloaders.
You’re sounding a .little desperate, there, rEDheRring. Any stats to support your fantasy? e.g. polls showing the percentage of Kiwis opposed to assset sales?
Wrong. Just because people voted for those parties doesn’t mean they all support asset sales (Dunne didn’t make it clear to voters where he stood, Maori Party was opposed), and even polls which usually favour the right wing parties show over 50% against asset sales:
Does the Government have a mandate for partial asset sales?
Yes – they campaigned on it and won the election
7134 votes, 47.1%
No – the law only passed by one vote
8010 votes, 52.9%
And the author reporting on this one in April 2012 is ever hopeful for National:
Most people still oppose state asset sales but opinion might be swinging in the Government’s favour, a new poll shows.
It is going to sell 49 per cent of shares in four state-owned power companies, starting around August.
The One News Colmar Brunton poll shows 61 per cent of about 1000 voters questioned oppose asset sales, 30 per cent support them and 9 per cent don’t know.
While this article of July this year says that the asset sales policy is turning away potential National voters:
NATIONAL’S asset sales plan is turning away both loyal and swing voters – and not gaining it any new support.
About half of those who voted National in the last general election say the Government’s handling of asset sales has made them consider changing their vote, according to a NewsWire poll of 51 people on the streets of Wellington.
Anecdotal evidence indicates some people voted for National in the 2011 election for other reasons, and didn’t believe that National would go ahead with their asset sales proposals.
Anyway, it looks like at least 50% of voters are against the asset sales – most of whom are ordinary tax payers.
Dunne didn’t make it clear to voters where he stood
That’s a repeated claim that’s long been debunked. People who didn’t listen to Dunne during the campaign are now hissy he won’t jump at their command.
The Green campaign concentrated (successfully) on three things but omitted making it clear they would employ people to gather petition signatures.
The Labour campaigned concentrated (unsuccessfully) on one anti policy but didn’t make clear:
a) they would change leader just after the election
b) they would continue campaigning unsuccessfully on the same thing for another year or two
That’s right Pete, when Dunne speaks we have to listen very precisely to the exact words, lawyer style, paying no attention to the context or subtext.
Except for those times when he said he wouldn’t let National sell water. In those cases we’re all supposed to infer precisely which bits of water he meant without any specifics given, and pay no attention to his literal words at all.
It’s highly inconsistent, yes, but we forgive him this because he’s been around so very long and achieved so very much (once chaired a group to talk about reports I think) and it’s impossible to imagine how the country would function without his valuable input.
Not that I enjoy defending any politician let alone Dunne but he is actually pretty explicit on this issue.
“…… but in the event National putst up its mixed ownership model for the electricity companies and Air New Zealand we would be prepared to support that, provided the maximum was 49%, with a cap of 15% on any indivudual’s holdings. We would never support the sale of Kiwibank, Radio New Zealand or control of water assets.”
We’ve been told over and over that we can only take Dunne’s words on the subject strictly at face value, strictly literally, and with no regard for the context or presentation.
Furry muff, but it applies here too then.
No selling control of water assets. Black and white mate.
1. PG lists “United Future” as his employer. I’m glad someone can be bothered nailing and emphasising every single one of his attempted deceits. Has no-one explained to you that you can’t trust politicians?
2. What’s “hard of comprehension” in pointing out that a promise not to sell “control of water assets” has been broken?
Peter Dunne has as many priciples – if not less – as a street prostitute waiting for a client offering the most dosh for a “deal” of sorts.
Re the Greens: What relevance has their recent decision to employ two persons collecting signatures to a petition against asset sales full time to their election campaign? NONE, really, as it is up to the Greens or any other party to choose how to best spend the money they as party and their MPs are entitled to.
Re Labour: The problem Labour had was to sufficiently convince traditional and prospective voters that they had truly “changed’ from the also somewhat “laizzez faire” economics following party they had become since the late 1980s.
Having Goff as leader, who was and is one of the more “right wing” Labour MPs, in the past himself involved in supporting some asset sales, was not successful. Changing leaders after the election was a natural and logical step to take, given Goff did not deliver the result they had hoped for. Regrettably Shearer is not the most suited future leader, so he will only serve as temporary leader.
You try to deliver stuff as arguments for your position, which are really quite irrelevant and even wrong.
Funnily enough, if a lot of people feell surprised by his commitment to asset sales, then his position was unclear to them – probably due to conflicting messages about keeping national in check, etc.
Surprising that a politician who keeps getting elected to his rotten borough is such a crap communicator. A cynic would say that it’s why he keeps getting elected.
That’s a repeated claim that’s long been debunked. People who didn’t listen to Dunne during the campaign are now hissy he won’t jump at their command.
Dunno about that Pete, If I remember rightly back in the day when you refused to say who you’d vote for you were arguing that Dunne was not ‘for’ asset sales. If you, as a UF candidate couldn’t work it out at that stage then I son’t know why you’ve spent so long arguing that others less involved in politics should have been able to.
Asset sales are not United Future policy. If partial sales are a part of coalition negotiations UF have bottom lines. Full asset sales will not be supported (non are proposed anyway). Apart from that it depends on priorities in negotiations, and which parties are involved in those negotiations.
Obviously it’s possible UnitedFuture may agree to partial sales but they are not party policy.
Your now arguing that partial asset sales were always UF policy. Can we end this now?
There was a great one last october. after months of advertising against asset sales being foisted on the politically engaged sector of the electorate and six weeks of it being foisted on the entire electorate, the electorate spoke in favour of asset sales.
But of course the main point is that we live in a democracy, not a plutocracy, and the voices of the poor still count, not just the voices of those who can work the system (fairly or otherwise) for financial gain…
Wa Wa… I wonder how many on these marches are net tax payers. I’m guessing the number is significantly lower than the national rate. How they can claim that these are “their” assets is beyond me. Freeloaders.
hey prick, guess how much your “net tax paying” mates would be making a month without the rest of society.
Oh that’s right, zero. Because many of the top 0.1% are the true unproductive parasites of society.
The sad thing is that they’re probably not even his mates. He’ll be some fuckwit that couldn’t get an education but got a slightly larger TV than his neighbours. The idiot will be licking the boot that smashes his face.
The diverse group of people that are heading the thrust against Asset Sales do not appear to be poor. They seem to be the well educated middle class. Their age grouping looks predominantly between 30 and 45yrs of age.
The quality of their short speeches, both in content and use of words, is amazing when compared to that of members of Parliament.
They do not agree with wealthy Mr Key that Assets which belong to New Zealanders should be sold to the already very wealthy, and given to overseas sovereign nations.
I saw only one small placard with the word Labour on it yesterday – in Queen St. This in keeping with the fact that the Labour Party has settled for an existence which resembles a shadow.
Unlike Mr Key, the leaders of “Aotearoa is Not for Sale” are not smug or frivolous or cynical. Neither do they engage in sensationalism or spin. They don’t fudge their figures like Mr English. Nor do they offer blatant share bonus bribes in the manner of Key – “buy one get one free”.
It may take them years to get back the Assets from the wealthy friends of Mr Key, but I sense an educated determination in this middle class movement to achieve their goals. I further think they have learned enough from the legal (but disgustingly immoral) practices of corrupt bankers/traders to drive a very hard bargain against the investors.
They have 160,000 supporters now and the number is rising daily.
The very wealthy don’t care much about anything. Just themselves. That’s why they are so unbelievably tiresome.
Hey, but Treetop they will turn to dust just as truly as the rest of us. Having led their useless, sour and selfish lives. Their sad kids will claw at their corpse for their share of the stagnant wealth.
Have you seen them bleat and whinge on this site here? They always at it. Same old funless shells.
I have filled a page with relatives’ signatures and sent it off. I have another untapped resource of friends and associates to fill another referendum page at least. Screw this government and its cheesy, cynical wishlist. Screw low wages/salaries. Screw educating future Australians.
The troll roll always increases here when there is some public action giving capital and its flabby toupee wearing rep ShonKey, a bit of a serve. The right tends to fill its pants at the mere thought of citizens behaving collectively rather than the individualists they have been trained to be.
Suck it up Gozzie, “asset steals” is a slow burner issue but it is becoming increasingly apparent who will be charcoal in the end.
Dave Brown above identifies a trend, young people in numbers are adopting a class analysis and activism, I smile every time I see a young person in a Mana T-shirt.
Some public action. Not a very apt description. A few die hards and activists with misty eyed visions of the glory days when protests where sticking it to the man hardly constitutes public.
Look I rest my case TR, the number of right wing whingers on this thread is suitable evidence, complete with the same old arguments about numbers and what it all means.
Watch this space because the “man” is going to get a good old “sticking to” during the next few months over Asset Steals.
Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “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 ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
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 ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
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. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
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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Good demonstration on Cuba st today, with some hilarious John Key pantomime street theatre. Also got plenty of signatures beforehand, so worth it to be out in the rain.
Just felt good to be there. They’re always such a ‘family’ reunion.
Got a few (80-100?) signatures here, and great reaction/support too.
PS tried to edit: no permission…was going to say lots of people had already signed.
Good on ya all for being there. Hopefully next time I can book some time off work.
Go the King! Looked good on TV3 just now.
Yes Carol, I have the same problem. Work on a Sat. It’s frustrating not being able to take part.
Me to, and today as well.
Was great to be there in Auckland. Good mix of people and determined atmosphere. To celebrate Bastille Day nice Guillotine action on ShonKey cutout. Viva le resistance.
Key is toast, he is really ignoring the public on this one. Bye Bye in 2014, yay for that. What arrogance!
Bastille day ended feudalism in France.
This may be the beginning of the end of modern day feudalism in NZ.
Where the Neo con man Key stops handing wealth to a lucky few!
Anyone see any actual Members of Parliament there at the Auckland march beside Twyford and Goff?
I saw Dave Clendon, a really underrated Green MP and also Russell Norman.
I am surprised I did not see the other Auckland Green MPs there and I am disappointed that no other Auckland Labour MPs were there.
One or two Auckland Labour MPs are on the Speaker’s latest overseas parliamentary ‘research’ trip weren’t they? 😉
I thought Jacinda was there too?
I did not see her but it was a decent sized march. I should rephrase that I would be disappointed if there were not any other Auckland MPs there.
Julie Anne Genter was there and also spoke (before Russel Norman).
David Shearer was on an interview on ‘Focus on Politics’ on National Radio tonight. He had a good questionner, but that did not make him sound too convincing and good at all. Again too much “generalism”, distraction by simply criticising the government, but avoiding real questions about what Labour would do instead. I am sorry, but that “honest” and “nice” man is too “fluffy” and unconvincing to me. He should seriously let someone else take over!
One comment from David Shearer was about the criticisms of his performance from the Left. His reasoning was that this fractures the Left, and is almost more than the criticism from the Right. And of course the Left does this apparently everywhere – questions and forms factions that support individual causes.
But he misses the point. Those who want the NZ Left to resume the ‘sinister’ approach that would excite and enthuse the public don’t want the same old stuff that has had its day, which the country has rejected. If Shearer is to please the critics on the Left he needs to invigorate and enthuse his approach. If he can get excited about his policies that are backed by good advice, the Left will get ahead in the polls.
Shearer is clearly not comfortable with the left, as he is happy to be a middle class swing voter himself. Labour happens to be the party he was born into or just happened to be affiliated with, not that he really has thought that much about it, I am afraid. Not good enough, really.
“One comment from David Shearer was about the criticisms of his performance from the Left. His reasoning was that this fractures the Left, and is almost more than the criticism from the Right.”
He could at least answer to the criticisms, rather than evade and equivocate. If criticisms fracture the left, and he is the leader of a main party that is still broadly described as centre left, then he holds some responsibility for any fracture that occurs. Hence he should be either meeting the concerns of the critics, or explaining why he thinks they cannot be met, not just shrugging them off. We saw much the same thing when rumour had it that Cunliffe got told off for making a heartening speech, and Trotter wrote about it. “Well, I don’t find it particularly helpful to read Chis Trotter,” he said. Not “Trotter is mistaken for reasons A, B and C,” or anything else that would squarely address the concern that had arisen.
Labour at present, David Shearer in particular. Teflon opinions, like the easi-fold storage units sold that hinges and collapses flat after use. What should used is a good old soapbox, firmly built, that lifts him to obvious prominence and allows him to declaim policies that offer some intelligent AND practical AND pragmatic moves going forward etc.
Why would Shearer be worried about any fracturing of the left? He’s not part of it.
Indeed.
Perhaps Shearer is such a super fantastic secret weapon, counter-intuitive tactic, to unite the Left ?
Julie Anne Genter was also there Mickey.
I am surprised to see this posted here. Given how low the numbers were, the left should want as little attention on these marches as possible. Maybe 1000-1500 people in Auckland, hundreds in Christchurch/Wellington? Many waving Green/Tino Rangatiratanga flags?
National will be breathing a sigh of relief. This is the latest in a string of clear indications that, despite what they say when pollsters insist on a for/against answer, most voters don’t really care that much about asset sales.
They’ll care when their power bills shoot way up though. And the assets once gone, are gone forever. People do care.Ask Winston.
power bills shot up under labour some 70 odd % when power companies were publically owned.
That was due to large scale population growth due to migration, expansion of business and households needing urgently more electricity, which the existing networks were unable to deliver, hence additional, gas and coal powered stations had to be built in a very short time, thus necessitating large investments, which had to partly be passed on to the consumers in the way of electricity charges.
I hope that this will explain to you the reason for this.
Also did National and ACT show great enthusiasm for the additional migration and growing economic activity at that time, so if you belong to their lot, you should think twice before trying to make this an argument against Labour and other parties that were running affairs then.
, so if you belong to their lot, you should think twice before trying to make this an argument against Labour and other parties that were running affairs then.
Spoken like a true commie. Democracy at its best!
What time period was that?
I won’t deny that power prices went up under Labour – as we all know, power prices (and other living costs) continue to go up under National.
* The difference is wages went up under Labour and wages have stagnated under National *
People’s disposable income (ie. income after living costs are taken away) increases under a Labour government which in turn allows consumers to help NZ businesses. Businesses, consumers, and the economy win.
“…the assets once gone, are gone forever.”
That is just scaremongering nonsense. Stop the blantent lies if you want to be taken seriously.
Yes, look at Argentina for examples of how to deal with situations like this.
So you agree it is a lie to argue that once the assets are sold they are gone for good do you?
More accurate to say it’s bloody expensive to get them back.
In some countries that means literally expensive in blood, but hopefully it never comes to that here.
That’s not necessarily true either. Still you and facts aren’t exactly best mates recently are you felix. I’m still waiting to see some sort of evidence that the BNZ was bailed out by the Government in 1945.
You presented it yourself. Pity you didn’t read it.
Any article I linked to NEVER mentioned any bail out of BNZ by Government in 1945. This is what YOU claimed and which you fail to back up with any facts.
Nice derail, dude
@ Than:
How does it feel to be part of the ignorant mass, putting filling their stomachs, filling the tanks of their cars, sliming to their bosses, dobbing in their neighbours, cutting down others they “compete” with and allowing their own country or adopted country to be sold bit by bit to self serving business and speculator’s interests?
Maybe you feel so good like that, but to me that is a mentality of a self destroying society, not worth anything anymore, where one goes against his neighbour, work-colleague and business partners.
By the way, the mainstream media are doing the usual, trivialising protests, presenting wrong numbers and only mentioning the events within 1 to 2 minutes of “news”, where more time is spent on commercial advertising for products and services, catering for the lost majority, that does feel “entertained” while the bloody Titanic is already sinking.
“Enlightenment”, common sense and intelligence are rare these days, and I am waiting now for the ruling circles to also cut down and throw out the very last bastions of any form of still marginally informative public broadcasting, represented by only Maori TV and Triangle TV.
Total control, dumbind down, manipulation, selling out, dividing and ruling under such conditions, that is the agenda, and the 3,000 to 4,000 that actually went out on Queen St today, are the spear head of a sizeable part of the NZ public, that have chosen NOT to put up with any more of this bull-crap.
Have a nice evening in your litlle corner, possibly sitting in front of another screen, indulging in less enlightening and real stuff!
Maybe 1000-1500 people in Auckland,
Bullshit. The police estimate was 4000, and my experience of police estimates is that they are invariably conservative.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/110680/thousands-march-against-asset-sales
Nah. You watched the Nat. poodle channel TV1 didn’t you Than. They always under-estimate protest matches except when there is a Labour govt., then they over-estimate! Remember the so-called anti-smacking bill wot wasn’t an anti-smacking bill? Thousands were going to march according to TV1. There were 500, but that didn’t stop TV1 giving them wall to wall coverage as though the numbers were closer to 50,000.
Oh, and don’t you ever read the opinion polls? Consistently around 80% opposition to Asset Sales? Yeah, that’s right, voters don’t really care that much about Asset Sales
I tell you that TVNZ is now a “poodle” to National Party and government influences represented on their board or directors or management!
That is why their news have for months been quite dismissive of anything that opposition politicians added to political debate, while TV3 and their news have actually moved a bit towards the opposite direction. This is really strange, but maybe Joyce did after all not catch on that well with Mediaworks, well, are TV3 not now owned by a bit different a set of investors?
It is shocking to even have to mention all this, as the mainstream media always has little time for protests, and that has been so for many, many years.
They are more “commercially” focused and want to “appeal” to sentiments of a more trivial kind, being crime, weather shocks, overseas horror stories, trying to imply: “Well, how good and glad to be in NZ.”
I have bad news, because apart from exorbitantly expensive mining towns in Western Australia, rents, housing and consumer goods are cheaper in very many places on the globe, including “developed” countries, where people do not get ripped off quite as badly as in little, dear ol Kiwiland.
Don’t forget that Labour was very happy for TVNZ to be commercial in nature, and that it left behind any thoughts of true public broadcasting for the public good a very long time ago.
In other words, “the left” set this bugbear up for themselves.
I do not disagree with this comment at all. That is why I insist on Labour to offer and maintain a true “game changer”, away from anything near the “right” or “right of centre”, for sure. And I may add, I did detect that there was a total absence of David Shearer as speaker at the end of the event today, while there were Russel Norman and Julie Ann Genter speaking for the Greens, and only Phil Twyford afterwards addressing the crowd with some words.
Twyford created a bit of a “scene”, as some students appeared to challenge him on “free speech”. Then a know Labour activist or organiser charged towards them and had to be restrained. I am afraid there is something really bad happening within Labour at present.
Better sort this out. My opinion is: Shearer is a nice chap, may make a good minister of education or similar, but as leader, he is ambiguous, uncertain and not competent.
Open the Labour membership base to vote for a future leader, please, we may see something positive after all. At least one must hope.
Hey xtasy, not sure exactly how you interpreted the ‘scene’ in that way. A man started yelling when Twyford began speaking, and wouldn’t stop when asked to by the AINFS organizers, so some youngish guys (not actually students) challenged him to let Twyford speak; in the name of free speech. I was fairly close and I’m pretty sure the guy who was yelling was actually talking about how Labour is not too different at all from National, rather than defending Twyford.
Anne: I totally agree, Radio NZ is probably giving the most correct figures here. That tells us something again. It is a “balanced” broadcaster still in public hands, so neither Nats, Labour or others can run it to their pleasure, and that is how it bloody well should be, same with TVNZ, which though has gone astray too long ago.
Anne, I don’t watch TV news. I get my information primarily from the internet (Stuff, Herald, Scoop, etc.). The 1000-1500 figure I gave was from Stuff (“estimated at well over 1000 people”), and the Herald put the number at 3,000. Could you give a source for that 4,000 police estimate? Because I can’t find it anywhere.
But even 4,000 is still a pretty low turnout compared to the 50,000 for the anti-mining protest at the start of this year, or the 3,000-8,000 for the last anti-asset sales protest. In his opinion piece for the Herald Matt McCarten claims “growing protests in the streets”, but this march was actually smaller than the first. The protesters are also doing their cause no favours with the vehemence of their anti-National rhetoric. All it does is show this wasn’t a march of everyday kiwis against asset sales, it was a march of the far left against John Key.
… it was a march of the far left against John Key.
But it wasn’t just a cutout of John Key that was guillotined.
Than: This just shows how “reliable” and misleading internet based information can be!
I was there in Auckland, I was at the previous march against asset sales, I was at the anti mining march too. I have some good estimating experience of crowd sizes.
Having searched various media re any news about the protests last night I found:
1. The NZ Herald online edition had NO mention of it at all;
2. the Dominion Post online edition had only a very brief report, which was only about the start of the march;
3. TVNZ had only about a minute or minute and a half of a “leading” news item at 06 pm, giving no other info but “thousands marched”;
3. TV3 had a bit more of footage and reporting, but also only barely 2 minutes long, but at least showing a sizeable crown half way down Queen St in Auckland;
4. Radio Live bizarrely said in late news, “up to a thousand” marched in Central Auckland (??);
5. National Radio did not mention a number in the read out news, but also stated “thousands”;
6. apart from this, I found little or no news at all in MSM!
I am certain that there were at least 3,000, yes rather close to 4,000 on that Auckland march, and most who were there will agree. There were fewer at the end where speeches were held, as some do not bother staying for listening to pollies telling them what they usually tell them.
Scoop, the NZ Herald and other online media are treating any protests and increasingly social issues in general with neglect and even indifference or ignorance. As they increasingly present “infotainment” rather than quality journalism. Look at some of the young journos, also in broadcasting, who re pre-occupied with “lifestyle” issues, fad type opinions, crime, weather and “entertaining” stuff. Also many are “over groomed” for appearances, like corporate type employees trying all to “fit in” rather than think independently and talk openly. Crap really!
I do not think the first march against asset sales had about 8,000 participants, and the anti mining march never reached 50 k. It was rather 20 to 30 k who attended that one.
xtasy, forgive me, but I completely ignore “I was there” estimates. For one thing people who participate in a march are not objective. By definition they support the cause being marched for, they want the march to be perceived to be as large as possible. For another, their physical viewpoint (ground level, walking along in the same segment of the march) simply gives them less information than bystanders watching the march go past.
While I can’t disagree with your criticisms of online media, they are unfortunately the best numbers we have. And based on them this march was at most the same size as the first anti-asset sales march, probably slightly smaller.
Estimating large crowd sizes is actually very difficult from any perspective, whether you’re in the crowd, watching it go by, or observing it from a great height.
I pretty much just listen to newly created single-issue internet personalities, especially ones with an apparent interest in rubbishing whatever the crowd has gathered for.
What an idiotic comment!
Have you not noticed, that I put to you the more realistic figure of 20 to 30 thousand that marched against mining on conservation land, and that I considered the first asset sale march not having had as many as even you quoted?
Cyberspace allows anything these days, and if you rely on certain media sites, run as commercial businesses with profit motives, not wanting to offend advertisers, often even being “warm” with the National Party and ACT, then you choose to live in a world of your own and their own imagination.
I am not member of any party or particular group that organised the march, and as an independent minded individual, I take offence by such criticism of real figures, proved by others, even independent public media like Radio NZ and – forget it not – the Police!
A further thing to acknowledge is the fact that there was NO mention of the upcoming march by any of the “main stream media” at all, apart from just a brief mention on a website of 1ZB a day before.
The largely privately owned and as businesses operated, profit focused media enterprises do virtually never mention anything about upcoming events like the anti asset sale protests, as they simply do not show much interest in such. They are pre-occupied with delivering headline news of more sensationalist a nature, like stories about murder, rape, child abuse, alcohol excesses by the youth, car crashes, freak weather, celebrity gossip and so forth, which are considered more adrenalin generating, “catchy” and thus good “sellers”.
While this happens, few people get informed, and each time I have been on a protest, I see hundreds or thousands stand on the footpaths, gazing in confusion, wondering what all this is about. So given this is the challenge organisers face, they did fairly well after all.
felix; I agree, estimating march sizes is always difficult. It is effectively impossible for an individual in the march, walking along with no perception of how long the march is or overall density.
But difficult does not mean it cannot be done, and both the police and media try. It is never going to be particularly accurate (for the previous anti-asset sales march I read numbers between 3,000 and 8,000), but we can get a broad indication. And the broad indication for this march is, it was the same size or smaller than the first anti-asset sales march.
The “broad indication” is that Key is going to get his ass handed to him via referendum.
lolz Than. Forgive me, but I completely ignore “newly created single-issue internet personality” estimates.
Especially when those personalities are so painfully similar to so many others.
felix, good for you.
Don’t let the fact that I post on a wide range of subjects (on this site, Bowalley Road, Kiwiblog, WhaleOil, and others, all using the same username) get in your way. Just keep the fingers in your ears and I’m sure you’ll be fine.
I gave a link at 14 July 8:39pm. “Radio NZ gave police estimate at close to 4000 people.”
All you do is left click on link and hey presto… it will appear. 🙁
Reply to Than @ 9:53am.
Some people choose to walk through life with blinkers on. Others choose to be colourbling or totally blind to the truth. I have some relatives like that, and I think we all know a fair number of such examples.
This phenomenon will continue to exist, and the person you comment back on appears to be a prime example of such a human specimen.
If you put your fingers in your ears, close your eyes and loudly say lalala you will find it easier to block out reality Than.
the interesting thing about Aotearoa Not For Sale is that they have no pre-existing organisation. They call a bunch of protests but, unlike say Greenpeace and Forest and Bird, they don’t have a database of tens of thousands of members to attempt to mobilise.
It has to spread by word of mouth, Facebook blogs – that it did and thousands showed up through out New Zealand despite the weather on short (and vague) notice is a testimony to the strength of feeling.
3 news said 3,000 in Auckland which was also my guess. Someone else heard 4,000 on the media, probably Radio NZ.
National Radio News yesterday said Police estimated about 4000 marched in Auckland.
Than.
You are either living in fantasy land or your blue tinted glasses need cleaning.The marches attracted huge crowds every where .It was an example of what happens when the Left co-operates .,A lesson there I think.If the political left gets its act together (and I think they will) Key and his band of neo-Cons are mincemeat,
Thank you RedBlooded. Your suggestion will come in very handy when reading replies on this site.
Intelligent people are not falling for shallow and unsubstantiated nonsense, that is why you feel uncomfortable, dear matey!
Well at least he admits it.
Christchurch had a good turnout despite of not the best weather, but Wellington was a bit disappointing.
I just heard the news on Radio Live, which must still be Steven Joyces propaganda channel, because they had the cheek to say, that “up to a thousand protesters marched up Queen St”!
Now that is scandalous, but what do you expect of a privately run talk back radio station having Michael Laws as prime entertainer, broadcasting about a third of airtime on commercial advertising, letting many extreme nutters comment and otherwise cater for largely crime, rape, pillage, sports and low level entertainment style information?
What has NZ come to, I ask again?
xtasy “What has NZ come to, I ask again”
I would say that yesterdays protest was mostly the hardcore who are prepared to go on fighting. Down on numbers from the last march because many people will have lost hope of stopping the sales at this point. This drop in numbers happened during the marches against the 2001 and 2003 Afghanistan and Iraq invasions, before and after.
The big difference is that asset sales and the rip, shit, bust plan to recolonise NZ will not go away. The TPPA signals this logic. This means that the opposition to that barbaric future will only grow stronger and draw more and more into activity. The NACTs have no choice but to go for broke and they are breaking down everywhere.
For example, Operation 8 was a total failure to divide the nation against Maori ‘terror’. The big plans to ‘reform’ education have been temporarily shelved. The huge opposition to asset sales has forced the NACTs to repackage its sales pitch several times and its now coming up against a worsening global crisis and facing legal challenges that could put off any buyers.
But most important, these setbacks are temporary and part of an ongoing austerity across the board and this is not something that the NACTs can resile from. What makes the current resistance bound to increase and strengthen is the courage and political inventiveness of a growing youth movement who understand that their generation must lead the austerity the fightback against the attacks of the international banksters. When the capitalist system begins to eat its young, its days are numbered. Yesterdays march showed the youth anti-capitalist left in the lead.
The no-show of Labour’s leaders reflects its unwillingness to be identified as part of a movement lead by anti-capitalists. The Green and Labour MPs who spoke are pro-capitalists and conscious of the need to keep the anti-capitalists in parliament. They are on a losing streak. Because to stop the asset sales the movement has to go beyond referenda and legal challenges to direct action which must come into conflict with parliament.
Mana is shaping up to lead that resistance and can do when it overcomes its historic division between Tinorangatiratanga and the Pakeha left and unites the majority of the NZ working class. I look forward to the demos and direct actions when I see Mana banners and flags declaiming “Renationalisation without Compensation” behind which the various left currents and single issue campaigns are willing to march.
The reason that NZ politics is being re-aligned is that Aotearoa/NZs economic role in the Pacific is being permanently realigned under The NACTs as US lackeys. This political realignment will see a huge polarisation between the NACT rightwing and a growing left around Mana, a left labour split, and a Green split along class lines that unites the left fragments reminiscent of Syriza in Greece. Its agenda will be to defeat the right drift towards NZ as a locked down US neocolony and fight for Aotearoa/NZ as sovereign, republic and socialist. That would be a good start.
http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2012/06/aotearoa-sold-out.html
Had enough of debate for tonight:
Musica Popular do Brasil:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eyifabluiM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG_hNwcb-sg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb4RauhteFA
enjoy one or the other.
Boa Noite
Just a little more madness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0MEJ9lh3jo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ORkB1eKWE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrgWeR0xwj8&feature=related
do not really like the last one.
Again everyone has it all wrong. Those were the good old days, we are now well and truly on the down side of the global peak in energy invested on energy returned, from now on life is going to get worse for all of us. The rich are going to be less comfortable when all the global paper wealth burns to nothing, and might becomes right. We are on a non stop ride to reality.
So once the av gas runs out and flying just stops every airport will just be a waste land covered in rotting planes. And once all the coal power dependent factories in China stop manufacturing all the wingdings our electricity grid needs, and I’m including all the end products we use electricity to run. Not only are we at peak energy we are fast reaching peak washing machine and flat screen TV, though just like the Easter Islanders with their 3/4 carved Moi in their quarry, ‘we’ will still be manufacturing crap as the lights are going out. We are not quite at peak stupid yet, though 1.4 million Kiwi Savers would be hard to beat. Installing heat pumps, and thinking ‘assets are worth shit are just symptoms of an uninformed society, sadly being stupid is no excuse, but most people will go out of their way to remain uninformed.
Political blogs being another example. sorry just winding you up
I am afraid until that happens, there are still a few decades left, where they can destroy the last remnants of life on the planet. Really, and forgive me all those humane thinking readers, the most agressive, hostile and destructive being on this planet now is the human being.
We will follow the exploitative conduct to the very end, I am afraid. No stone, soil and whatever unturned, nothing sacred, all open to exploitation, just to get the oil, coal, gas, iron, aluminium, platinum, rare earth minerals, and whatsoever, out of the ground and sea, that is what will happen. It will be done, to keep the totally brainwashed, manipulated, conditoned, manicured, air conditioned, chemically constructed and otherwise artificially wrapped “humans” (?) able to continue to consume til they die. Lipstick, finger nail polish, wrappers, tissues, one way this and that, pills, clothing, fast food, other food, decorations, silly presents, but of course also really essential goods and services, that will continue to be produced, sold and marketed.
Fuck the whales, dolphins, sharks, snappers, tuna, the wild animals on grounds, the soil, the earth, the air, and the whole damned environment, it is only to be used to get those resources and products made.
Hardly anybody sees, hears and feels those environments anyway, so they are totally disconnected, not aware, do not give a damn and only see all the “nature” as a source for exploitation for their benefit.
That is what goes on now, will get worse, and it will mean the human species going to go that far, that it will cut the umbilical cord, to nature, where we all come from. It is all screwed, fucked and the rest. Consider cyanide or other emergency measures, because once the Arabian Gulf gets into turmoil and cut off, nothing will go anywhere anymore. That is the reality dumb people do NOT get.
Come on Robert, you can do better than that. We can live without flatscreen TVs, and we can live without washing machines. We can even learn how to live without electricity on tap. We can live without kiwisaver when that falls over. We can’t live without water. We can’t live without land that is capable of growing food. Resistance to asset sales is about sovereignty.
Weka get a copy of this post collapse movie http://theroad-movie.com/ and show me the sovereignty, in the end it will not matter who owns the defunked rotting infrastructure.
But the clowns can keep hoping I guess.
John Key is pushing the message: All groups that oppose asset sales are wasting their time. He is scared and trying to increase apathy.
And sending his puppets to comment on blogs like this, by the looks of things. Funny how they appear in groups.
Well, at the moment, NZ Herald is reporting on first time protesters who were moved to go to yesterday’s protest – and estimates the crowd in Auckland as 3000:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10819671
Pity the author didn’t make the connection with the last description and Bastille Day.
“This is the first protest I’ve ever been to. I’m here for all New Zealanders.”
Good on her for attending and feeling motivated enough, but she was there for herself, not for “all New Zealanders.”
“It’s pretty cool. I feel like I’m making a difference, instead of just staying home.”
If she felt good about “making a difference” then yeah, cool. But I wonder whether the time and energy spent on “we must do something” could find a better goal, one that was achievable and could make a significant difference.
The stark reality is that MOM share floats, or not, will make little difference overall. Anti asset sales has been sold to political consumerists who may think they’re momentarily loving it but smoothing a few wrinkles won’t turn the age old clock back.
The main motivation for anti asset sales seems to have been little more than a consolation campaign for those who lost the last election.
Imagine if all the effort put into being anti was instead focussed on pro positive initiatives, like job generation.
If an enthusiasm for making our country better could be generated then people power may be much better harnessed. At the moment it seems like it’s being sold down the river by politicians lacking positive ideas.
Politicians lacking positive ideas – your weird hair boss won’t like that description of him, Pete.
“The stark reality is that MOM share floats, or not, will make little difference overall.”
If it was not so serious an issue, I could laugh at your comments.
So losing hundreds of millions in revenue to private shareholders opting to use their dividends rather for their personal gratification and spending choices makes a “little difference” t o the government?
Losing 49 per cent ownership in assets owned by those enterprises will make “little difference”?
You surely cannot have much understanding of accounting and economics. All it will do is create an even greater hole in the government accounts, which will only lead to yet more asset sales in future, as further “last resort” measures to fill opening gaps.
Come on, the readers of comment s here do have a bit more intelligence than you are prepared to acknowledge. By the way, what do Key, English or Farrar pay you for writing such nonsense in this blog site?
PG you are again obfuscating and sounding triumphalist about “winning” the last election. You are really a National apologistand if you are anything like Dunne you will soon jump ship.
No, wrong assumptions.We need to look ahead, not back. Putting to rest a futile folly and focus on leadership of the future.
Those stuck in a campaign rut won’t like being told, but it needs to be said.
Wa Wa… I wonder how many on these marches are net tax payers. I’m guessing the number is significantly lower than the national rate. How they can claim that these are “their” assets is beyond me. Freeloaders.
You’re sounding a .little desperate, there, rEDheRring. Any stats to support your fantasy? e.g. polls showing the percentage of Kiwis opposed to assset sales?
Probably less than the 51% votes given to National and their coalition partners in the recent General Election?
Wrong. Just because people voted for those parties doesn’t mean they all support asset sales (Dunne didn’t make it clear to voters where he stood, Maori Party was opposed), and even polls which usually favour the right wing parties show over 50% against asset sales:
Like Stuff’s online poll of June this year:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7175222/Asset-sales-fight-not-over-vows-Opposition
And the author reporting on this one in April 2012 is ever hopeful for National:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Opposition-to-asset-sales-dropping—poll/tabid/1607/articleID/249058/Default.aspx
While this article of July this year says that the asset sales policy is turning away potential National voters:
http://www.newswire.co.nz/2012/07/asset-sales-to-cost-national-at-next-election/
Anecdotal evidence indicates some people voted for National in the 2011 election for other reasons, and didn’t believe that National would go ahead with their asset sales proposals.
Anyway, it looks like at least 50% of voters are against the asset sales – most of whom are ordinary tax payers.
Dunne didn’t make it clear to voters where he stood
That’s a repeated claim that’s long been debunked. People who didn’t listen to Dunne during the campaign are now hissy he won’t jump at their command.
The Green campaign concentrated (successfully) on three things but omitted making it clear they would employ people to gather petition signatures.
The Labour campaigned concentrated (unsuccessfully) on one anti policy but didn’t make clear:
a) they would change leader just after the election
b) they would continue campaigning unsuccessfully on the same thing for another year or two
That’s right Pete, when Dunne speaks we have to listen very precisely to the exact words, lawyer style, paying no attention to the context or subtext.
Except for those times when he said he wouldn’t let National sell water. In those cases we’re all supposed to infer precisely which bits of water he meant without any specifics given, and pay no attention to his literal words at all.
It’s highly inconsistent, yes, but we forgive him this because he’s been around so very long and achieved so very much (once chaired a group to talk about reports I think) and it’s impossible to imagine how the country would function without his valuable input.
Not that I enjoy defending any politician let alone Dunne but he is actually pretty explicit on this issue.
“…… but in the event National putst up its mixed ownership model for the electricity companies and Air New Zealand we would be prepared to support that, provided the maximum was 49%, with a cap of 15% on any indivudual’s holdings. We would never support the sale of Kiwibank, Radio New Zealand or control of water assets.”
Sorry I’m a little hard of hearing. Can you repeat the last four words?
No, you’re a little hard of comprehension and too immersed in your troll attack of PG which is cute but becoming a bit tedious.
With all due respect I think you’ve missed it hs.
We’ve been told over and over that we can only take Dunne’s words on the subject strictly at face value, strictly literally, and with no regard for the context or presentation.
Furry muff, but it applies here too then.
No selling control of water assets. Black and white mate.
“troll attack”?
1. PG lists “United Future” as his employer. I’m glad someone can be bothered nailing and emphasising every single one of his attempted deceits. Has no-one explained to you that you can’t trust politicians?
2. What’s “hard of comprehension” in pointing out that a promise not to sell “control of water assets” has been broken?
Pete George:
Peter Dunne has as many priciples – if not less – as a street prostitute waiting for a client offering the most dosh for a “deal” of sorts.
Re the Greens: What relevance has their recent decision to employ two persons collecting signatures to a petition against asset sales full time to their election campaign? NONE, really, as it is up to the Greens or any other party to choose how to best spend the money they as party and their MPs are entitled to.
Re Labour: The problem Labour had was to sufficiently convince traditional and prospective voters that they had truly “changed’ from the also somewhat “laizzez faire” economics following party they had become since the late 1980s.
Having Goff as leader, who was and is one of the more “right wing” Labour MPs, in the past himself involved in supporting some asset sales, was not successful. Changing leaders after the election was a natural and logical step to take, given Goff did not deliver the result they had hoped for. Regrettably Shearer is not the most suited future leader, so he will only serve as temporary leader.
You try to deliver stuff as arguments for your position, which are really quite irrelevant and even wrong.
Funnily enough, if a lot of people feell surprised by his commitment to asset sales, then his position was unclear to them – probably due to conflicting messages about keeping national in check, etc.
Surprising that a politician who keeps getting elected to his rotten borough is such a crap communicator. A cynic would say that it’s why he keeps getting elected.
That’s a repeated claim that’s long been debunked. People who didn’t listen to Dunne during the campaign are now hissy he won’t jump at their command.
Dunno about that Pete, If I remember rightly back in the day when you refused to say who you’d vote for you were arguing that Dunne was not ‘for’ asset sales. If you, as a UF candidate couldn’t work it out at that stage then I son’t know why you’ve spent so long arguing that others less involved in politics should have been able to.
See in particular, this from Nov 2011:
Your now arguing that partial asset sales were always UF policy. Can we end this now?
Absolutely. Bloody. Brilliant.
Ooops….*don’t, *you’re
The link doesn’t appear to go directly to PG’s comment on that thread. It’s number 3.2.1.2
There was a great one last october. after months of advertising against asset sales being foisted on the politically engaged sector of the electorate and six weeks of it being foisted on the entire electorate, the electorate spoke in favour of asset sales.
Pillock. I saw a number of well heeled people on the march.
But of course the main point is that we live in a democracy, not a plutocracy, and the voices of the poor still count, not just the voices of those who can work the system (fairly or otherwise) for financial gain…
We’re all human, not just the wealthy.
Which number, Mickey? Two? And one of them was you?
Let’s see, an idiot who was not on the march makes a really stupid statement. I disagree with him because:
1. I was on the march.
2. I knew quite a few people who were also on the march and their backgrounds.
You, who was also not on the march, and who obviously do not know who was on the march let alone what their backgrounds are, back him up.
Tell me, who is the idiot here?
hey prick, guess how much your “net tax paying” mates would be making a month without the rest of society.
Oh that’s right, zero. Because many of the top 0.1% are the true unproductive parasites of society.
The sad thing is that they’re probably not even his mates. He’ll be some fuckwit that couldn’t get an education but got a slightly larger TV than his neighbours. The idiot will be licking the boot that smashes his face.
Aotearoa is Not for Sale
The diverse group of people that are heading the thrust against Asset Sales do not appear to be poor. They seem to be the well educated middle class. Their age grouping looks predominantly between 30 and 45yrs of age.
The quality of their short speeches, both in content and use of words, is amazing when compared to that of members of Parliament.
They do not agree with wealthy Mr Key that Assets which belong to New Zealanders should be sold to the already very wealthy, and given to overseas sovereign nations.
I saw only one small placard with the word Labour on it yesterday – in Queen St. This in keeping with the fact that the Labour Party has settled for an existence which resembles a shadow.
Unlike Mr Key, the leaders of “Aotearoa is Not for Sale” are not smug or frivolous or cynical. Neither do they engage in sensationalism or spin. They don’t fudge their figures like Mr English. Nor do they offer blatant share bonus bribes in the manner of Key – “buy one get one free”.
It may take them years to get back the Assets from the wealthy friends of Mr Key, but I sense an educated determination in this middle class movement to achieve their goals. I further think they have learned enough from the legal (but disgustingly immoral) practices of corrupt bankers/traders to drive a very hard bargain against the investors.
They have 160,000 supporters now and the number is rising daily.
Only 140,000 to go. Easy.
well, let’s just leave it that progress is extremely promising…
I don’t care too much for this protest, but I will say this much.
What does it say about NZ in general when we can’t agree on the size of a protest?
NZ becoming more truly pathetic everyday.
What was last months pathetic distraction, oh thats right whether or not a casino can get 400 extra pokies.
I attended the march in my area. I would have liked to have written on a placard “Egocentric PM”
Good on you – Treetop
The very wealthy don’t care much about anything. Just themselves. That’s why they are so unbelievably tiresome.
Hey, but Treetop they will turn to dust just as truly as the rest of us. Having led their useless, sour and selfish lives. Their sad kids will claw at their corpse for their share of the stagnant wealth.
Have you seen them bleat and whinge on this site here? They always at it. Same old funless shells.
I just wonder how long the troll supporters are intending to hold onto any energy asset shares?
You call that a fuss? Same old faces, same old bullshit. Hardly a day of action. Ponsonby rd is busier than that.
indeed – nothing to see here, move along, nactional can’t be challenged, buy a big tv…
nom nom nom
meow?
I have filled a page with relatives’ signatures and sent it off. I have another untapped resource of friends and associates to fill another referendum page at least. Screw this government and its cheesy, cynical wishlist. Screw low wages/salaries. Screw educating future Australians.
Re pro-Government media
Nothing in the Com Post this morning
Perhaps this is because it was so pathetically attended in Wellington.
The troll roll always increases here when there is some public action giving capital and its flabby toupee wearing rep ShonKey, a bit of a serve. The right tends to fill its pants at the mere thought of citizens behaving collectively rather than the individualists they have been trained to be.
Suck it up Gozzie, “asset steals” is a slow burner issue but it is becoming increasingly apparent who will be charcoal in the end.
Dave Brown above identifies a trend, young people in numbers are adopting a class analysis and activism, I smile every time I see a young person in a Mana T-shirt.
Some public action. Not a very apt description. A few die hards and activists with misty eyed visions of the glory days when protests where sticking it to the man hardly constitutes public.
Look I rest my case TR, the number of right wing whingers on this thread is suitable evidence, complete with the same old arguments about numbers and what it all means.
Watch this space because the “man” is going to get a good old “sticking to” during the next few months over Asset Steals.