Getting to know Goff

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:06 pm, August 13th, 2011 - 115 comments
Categories: election 2011, labour, phil goff - Tags:

A few weeks back, I wrote that Labour’s policies are popular but it hasn’t secured the trust it needs to sway swing voters, partly people don’t feel they really know Phil Goff. Today’s Herald piece, reminiscent of one on Key in 2008 (except we get a lot more of the substance of Goff, not just carefully targeted anecdotes), should go a long way to fixing that.

115 comments on “Getting to know Goff ”

Comments are now closed

William Watson 1

13 August 2011 at 2:57 pm

Yep. It shows he likes women, can use a gun, and is quite happy to kill animals for food. Good stuff. I’m more likely to vote for him already. (This being The Standard, I probably need to state that I’m not being sarcastic).
burt 2

13 August 2011 at 3:02 pm

Eddie

He’s gotta go. Look I’m never going to vote Labour while the old soiled Clark crew is quietly settling into their self serving prime. Goff in particular hasn’t got a leg to stand on in parliament, he’s voted for and against just about every economic policy based on party colour alone. He’s baggage.

Go for broke this election, sure you gotta do that as it’s the job Her Majesties loyal opposition is obliged to do – but seriously the party needs to revitalise in 2012.
- Eddie 2.1
  
  13 August 2011 at 3:09 pm
  
  The only part of that which is worth reading is “Look I’m never going to vote Labour”
  - Gus 2.1.1
    
    15 August 2011 at 7:48 pm
    
    Not at all like you to take what was said out of context is it Eddie. You are as much a part of the problem as Goff is except your blinkers will never come off. That puff piece doesnt go a long way anyway, it doesnt even go a short way. Until you wake up and realize that we DONT WANT GOFF you will continue pissing in the wind with your misguided attempts to talk him up. Get rid of him.
    - Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1
      
      15 August 2011 at 8:24 pm
      
      Goff destroys Key for PM of NZ material. There’s no contest there in terms of gravitas, professionalism and vision for the country. That’s just the way it is.
      
      Admittedly, Key would hands down be a better NZ Idol host, but I suppose it’s what you’re voting for eh Gus?
- illuminatedtiger 2.2
  
  13 August 2011 at 5:30 pm
  
  You would never vote Labour in the first place burt.
- Luxated 2.3
  
  13 August 2011 at 6:52 pm
  
  He’s gotta go. Look I’m never going to vote National while the old soiled Bolger/Shipley crew is quietly settling into their self serving prime. Key in particular hasn’t got a leg to stand on in parliament, he’s voted for and against just about every policy based on polling alone. He’s baggage.
  
  I could do that for just about every party in parliament if I felt like it, it is the sign of a facile statement, alternatively it just reflects poorly on our parliament as a whole. Either way it is a poor justification for voting for or against any one party.
- mik e 2.4
  
  14 August 2011 at 12:39 pm
  
  Burt your empathy rings through your rant. The latest polls suggest this election is going to be a close run with national slowly but surely loosing support,especially amongst its support parties.With 8.5% undecided and only 6% difference between the voting blocks theres a lot of water to run under the bridge before Novembers election!Nice to see your concern for the left.
felix 3

13 August 2011 at 3:02 pm

Am I the only one a bit concerned that his son is “in refrigeration”?
- Puddleglum 3.1
  
  13 August 2011 at 3:37 pm
  
  No, I was also worried about Kieran.
Bearded Git 4

13 August 2011 at 3:19 pm

“He’s gotta go. Look I’m never going to vote Labour while the old soiled Clark crew is quietly settling into their self serving prime.”

Give the man a break!! Goff comes over as a very smart, incredibly hard-working guy from a family that had to work its way up. Watch him in Parliament and you will see how articulate he is. And he has had the balls to introduce CGT instead of selling the family silver. I’d rather have a beer with Goff than Key any day.
- Colonial Viper 4.1
  
  13 August 2011 at 5:32 pm
  
  Goff is a good guy to have a beer with 😀
  - Rich 4.1.1
    
    14 August 2011 at 5:52 pm
    
    If he resigned, he’d be free to spend a lot more time having beers with people.
    - Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1
      
      14 August 2011 at 5:58 pm
      
      Whereas Key could resign and not have time for ordinary New Zealanders as he’d go straight into a rich foreign money job?
Blue 5

13 August 2011 at 3:32 pm

Good stuff, even if it is buried way down on the Herald’s website where no one will ever find it.

Guess the Granny finally decided that if they don’t want ‘authorised by the National Party’ blazoned across their front page that they’d better do something about ‘balance’.

They made a lot more fuss about Key’s piece back in 2008 though.
- Reality Bytes 5.1
  
  13 August 2011 at 7:55 pm
  
  It was a pretty massive 4 full page spread in the paper itself tho, and this is only part one of two!
  
  I refuse to buy the herald on principle, but one of my flatties has a subscription, so sometimes flick over it in the mornings, though I’m usually done with it before I’ve finished my coffee (<5mins), and most of <5 min is spent reading the comments section and the weather.
  
  The Herald is usually very shite and usually woefully lacking in the actual journalism department, but it does occasionally surprise me and have good articles like this one.
Afewknowthetruth 6

13 August 2011 at 3:35 pm

So Goff will have a comfortable life down on the farm when he gets dropped by the party or decides its time for early retirement.

That is more than can be said for all the people he and Labour have let down and misled over the past 25 years.
Lanthanide 7

13 August 2011 at 3:52 pm

tl;dr
Puddleglum 8

13 August 2011 at 3:54 pm

I think, for any ‘swing voters’ who get to read it, the article will certainly humanise Goff.

He comes across as very likeable but, far more importantly, someone who everyone who knows him sees as having integrity, loyal, trustworthy, caring (in practical terms) and with a lot of those ‘old fashioned’ virtues. This is something, coming out of the SIS argument, that I previously said he should push – if only for the comparison with Key, who is rather more insipid on this in his public character (and in the line that he gets criticised for).

It also helps that most of his family and friends come across, in various ways, as people most New Zealanders would like and respect.

I have to say that I have not been that keen on Goff but I thought he came across well.

(Interesting to see that back in 1976, while still at high school, he suggested a CGT. You could either say he’s been like a yo-yo on that or that he’s returning to where his ‘heart’ is.)
- Afewknowthetruth 8.1
  
  13 August 2011 at 4:18 pm
  
  ‘everyone who knows him sees as having integrity, loyal, trustworthy, caring’
  
  Those are ideal character traits for a Boy Scout leader.
  
  Don’t you think intelligence, knowledge and competence are more important when it cones to the leader of the nation?
  
  Maybe you are quite happy to be lead straight off the cliff by someone ‘you trust’. I am not. I don’t trust him because I know he is either an ignorant fool or is untrustworthy, having seen his response to information vital to the planning of the future of NZ. Platitudes are Goffs style, I’m afraid.
  - Puddleglum 8.1.1
    
    13 August 2011 at 5:21 pm
    
    “Don’t you think intelligence, knowledge and competence are more important when it cones to the leader of the nation?”
    
    I actually think both sets are needed. There are very many intelligent, knowledgable and competent people who would do nothing towards solving the issues you are concerned about.
    - Afewknowthetruth 8.1.1.1
      
      13 August 2011 at 8:02 pm
      
      Unfortunately if we apply the criteria of intelligence, knowledge and competence that rules out all sitting MPs and all candidates, as far as I am aware.
      
      There is not one party or candidate I am aware of that has any policies geared to tackling the horrendous predicament we are in. Indeed, all publicly announced policies are geared to ignoring all the key issues, and therefore are geared to making everything that matters worse!
      
      How can we possibly support any of them?
      - Puddleglum 8.1.1.1.1
        
        13 August 2011 at 10:26 pm
        
        For me it’s kind of a big picture version of tactical voting in places like Epsom.
        
        We have a form of representative democracy. My aim is to do what I can to make the impact of that representational system have the (probably unintended) consequence of creating in our society and economy at least a marginally more fertile ‘soil’ for the kinds of responses in people and communities that might actually help as many people as possible suffer as little as possible in the future – in the face of the issues you and I are both concerned about.
        
        Also, I think there are quite a few intelligent, knowledgeable and competent MPs in parliament – now, that isn’t the same thing as having “policies geared to tackling the horrendous predicament we are in“, unless, of course, we define ‘intelligence’, ‘knowledge’ and ‘competence’ tautologically, to mean having and supporting policies to tackle this predicament.
        
        In that case, it just shortens to the concise claim that there’s no-one in parliament currently pushing policies to tackle this predicament in a more than token way – with which I agree.
        
        But there are some policies that might allow at least some people in our society to enact more effective ways for at least some other people to get through the coming decades in better shape than they might otherwise.
        
        As I think I commented once before in response to Robert Atack, I’m probably more pessimistic than either of you, since my main concern is a palliative one: to try to minimise the pain – even if only by a miniscule amount – by whatever means available to me; that includes attempts to change this government.
        
        Washing my hands of the political system we happen to have (or are stuck with) doesn’t help with that project, so far as I can see.
        
        P.S. I’m not the kind of person to look for leadership or leaders to guide me. But, we do have nominal ‘leaders’ with institutionalised powers. To that extent, I’m concerned about the character of those leaders as well as their policies.
        
        Afewknowthetruth 8.1.1.1.1.1
        
        13 August 2011 at 10:54 pm
        
        Puddlegum.
        
        I totally agree. All policy should be directed towards minimising the suffering that is to come [very soon].
        
        Unfortunately tactical voting just sees one eco-vandal put into office instead of some other eco-vandal. Neither of them addresses any of the issues.
        
        So how is society any better off?
        
        The political-economic system is inefficient, corrupt and dysfunctional. Until the system is fixed or it collapses under the weight of the corruption and dysfuntion, everything must get inevitably get worse, which is exactly what is happening practically everywhere on Earth..
        
        Puddleglum …
        
        13 August 2011 at 11:11 pm
        
        “So how is society any better off?”
        
        My point about the ‘tactical voting’ metaphor is that we have to ask ourselves the question: under which complexion/mix of governing parties will what I think needs to be done be most likely to be achieved?
        
        The answer may be that all possible scenarios are equally unlikely to allow me (or ‘us’) achieve what I/we want to achieve, but that, itself, seems very unlikely to me.
        
        For example, one thing that any community-based self-sufficiency initiatives need is more people with sufficient energy and knowledge to put into practice various of such community initiatives.
        
        So, a little more taxpayer support for community education courses or better health systems so that there are fewer ill or incapacitated people seems like a better ‘soil’ to generate things that might help at least small pockets of people get by better than they would otherwise get by, in terms of putting in place such initiatives.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        13 August 2011 at 11:21 pm
        
        I’ve been talking to a few people about this.
        
        It’s hard to get promises of central funding for “the end of the world is nigh” scenarios. But funding and support for creating closer knit community networks, public transport initiatives, projects which localise food and energy production, well equiped multi-purpose community centres etc. whether under the guise of work schemes, community funding or whatever, is very helpful.
        
        Basically making central and regional government see the sense in smaller, more localised, community involved projects rather than grand schemes which are often dictated by the few.
        
        Vicky32 …
        
        14 August 2011 at 7:42 pm
        
        The political-economic system is inefficient, corrupt and dysfunctional. Until the system is fixed or it collapses under the weight of the corruption and dysfuntion, everything must get inevitably get worse, which is exactly what is happening practically everywhere on Earth..
        
        Given that there’s nothing we can do about it, and there isn’t, don’t you think it’s better to try to ameliorate the pain?
      - Thomas 8.1.1.1.2
        
        13 August 2011 at 11:32 pm
        
        What about Don Brash.
        
        He is the only candidate with both economic knowledge and the guts to implement the required changes.
        
        mik e 8.1.1.1.2.1
        
        14 August 2011 at 12:50 pm
        
        Brash is a broken record stuck on Neanderthal Chicago school economics which no country on this earth has been successful with .Thomas I suggest you start reading about how successful economies are run . You won’t find any Chicago school crap in those economies, thats why brash is on 2% in the polls a worn out dog whistle.NZ has moved on, information on other economies is easy to find on the INTERNET.Take your brainwashed blinkers off and learn something new .The only place you will find pushing this exploitative BS is on FOX, the rich are the only ones that should be in charge and know what to do is mythical BS!
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 1:14 pm
        
        Successful economies are run liberally. You see that everywhere: NZ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogernomics), Australia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Rationalism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Way_%28centrism%29#Australia), UK (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatcherism#Thatcherite_economics), USA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaganomics), China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_economic_reform), India (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_liberalisation_in_India), Hong Kong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Hong_Kong). Here is a global picture http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Index_of_Economic_Freedom_2010.png
        
        Find me one example of a thriving socialist utopia!
        
        Don Brash is an economist and a former Reserve Bank governor—i.e. someone who knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the economy. His ideas are very much correct and up-to-date.
        
        It is his opponents who are peddling outdated ideas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_National_Government_of_New_Zealand#Economic_policy)
        
        Colonial Viper 8.1.1.1.2.2
        
        14 August 2011 at 1:06 pm
        
        He is the only candidate with long falsified neo-classical economic knowledge and the naivety to implement the damaging changes it mandates.
        
        Fixed it for you.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 1:18 pm
        
        Colonial Viper: Do you have any evidence to support your claims?
        
        Do you have any evidence to suggest that his policies are falsified? Do you have any evidence that they damaging?
        
        You assert that the economics profession has it wrong. Do you have anything whatsoever to base this very large conspiracy theory on?
        
        Puddleglum …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:06 pm
        
        Thomas, there is a lot of evidence outside the discipline of economics to suggest that the kind of social restructuring needed to produce a ‘well-functioning’ neo-liberal economy is also the kind of social restructuring that severely damages individuals and communities.
        
        I’m not sure that “the economics profession” speaks with one voice on these issues, but, assuming for now that it does, the problem is that the economics profession is primarily working within a logical model that is set up in such a way that it can answer most criticisms without changing its fundamental premises.
        
        That would be fine, except that it amounts to being unfalsifiable in logical terms. (As an aside, Popperian falsifiability has been roundly criticised in the philosophy of science, and those who still follow some form of it have modified it substantially.)
        
        As noted by CV, however, it has been falsified in its actual implementations, largely because people, thankfully, show a remarkable unwillingness to have their lives and their communities completely deconstructed, often to marked levels of impoverishment and social dysfunction, by the ‘creative destruction’ unleashed by it.
        
        People are also wisely sceptical about the actually motives – of politicians and business leaders – for promoting such an economic ‘remedy’. It is often simply cover for pillage. It amounts to one of the greatest acts of social engineering in the second half of the twentieth century, affecting more people than did the cultural revolution in China.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:24 pm
        
        “Thomas, there is a lot of evidence outside the discipline of economics to suggest that the kind of social restructuring needed to produce a ‘well-functioning’ neo-liberal economy is also the kind of social restructuring that severely damages individuals and communities. ”
        
        Evidence such as?
        
        “I’m not sure that ‘the economics profession’ speaks with one voice on these issues, but, assuming for now that it does, the problem is that the economics profession is primarily working within a logical model that is set up in such a way that it can answer most criticisms without changing its fundamental premises.”
        
        Economists disagree on some things, but there is little disagreement on these issues. http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2009/02/news-flash-economists-agree.html
        
        Economics is a very empirical science. The general approach is to take reality and try to construct a logical model for it. Unfortunately, there is no single logical theory of economics.
        
        “As noted by CV, however, it has been falsified in its actual implementations”
        
        Again, where is the evidence? History has shown time and again (see the links in my previous post) that free-market economies outperform command economies.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:36 pm
        
        LIES
        
        Shall we start with the neo-classical assumption of rational utility maximising individuals within a free market sector. Let’s debate.
        
        Economics is a very empirical science. The general approach is to take reality and try to construct a logical model for it. Unfortunately, there is no single logical theory of economics.
        
        LIES
        
        No neoclassical economist has ever conducted replication studies on the bullshit theories and mathematisation they come up with.
        
        Why? Because none of it is repeatable or reproducible.
        
        The dishonesty in the economics profession and economics academia has been funded by multinationals and other sources of big money.
        
        History has shown time and again (see the links in my previous post) that free-market economies outperform command economies.
        
        LIES
        
        Unless you are calling China and Singapore more free market than the USA, and less centrally controlled
        
        You are full of shit
        
        Stop talking as if each of us hasn’t seen the damage and blindness caused by Chicago School economics over the last 20 years
        
        Neoliberal economists never even saw the GFC coming their models are so blind and incorrect. The Austrians did and those who understood Minsky did.
        
        You are an idiot and a liar. And a CATO loving paid schill.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:51 pm
        
        CV: First off, calm down!
        
        You keep asserting that I am wrong and a liar, but you have not produced any evidence whatsoever, despite me asking for it and providing my own.
        
        Economics is empirical. The utility maximizing model is used because it conforms to reality. If you have a better model, please publish it!
        
        Replication studies are impossible. You can’t run an entire economy in a lab like a chemistry experiment. Unfortunately, we have to rely on statistics.
        
        My reference to China was to show how their economic growth took off dramatically after they adopted free-market policies.
        
        The only one full of proverbial shit is you. Show me one shred of evidence to support your view and I’ll take you seriously.
        
        Puddleglum …
        
        14 August 2011 at 4:52 pm
        
        Evidence such as:
        
        Diener and Seligman (2004)
        
        Twenge (2000)
        
        Twenge, Zhang and Im (2004)
        
        Kasser (2002)
        
        Keverne (2004)
        
        There are plenty of others, but they all show that the modern world has generated a degree of psychopathology, threats to successful human development, loss of social capital and trust that it would be very difficult to distance from the social changes instituted as we have become a more market arranged society (in relation to work, residential mobility, consumption as lifestyle, etc.).
        
        If you want to discuss whether these problems are a result of structuring our world along market-oriented, economic lines or, alternatively, some other significant social change, I’m happy to continue the debate.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 5:50 pm
        
        Puddleglum: Thank you for finally engaging with some evidence. However, I can’t see how the articles you suggested are relevant.
        
        I read through the abstracts and these are my summaries.
        
        Diener and Seligman (2004) Suggests measuring well-being rather than wealth, but makes no concrete policy observations.
        
        Twenge (2000) Studies increases in anxiety, but says “Economic factors, however, seem to play little role.”
        
        Twenge, Zhang and Im (2004) Observes that youth feel their lives are controlled more by external forces than they did in the 60s.
        
        Kasser (2002) Suggests that materialism makes people unhappy.
        
        Keverne (2004) Neurobiology..
        
        It seems like you are trying to prove that wealth and happiness are not the same. I agree. However, I don’t see how this relates to any particular economic policy direction. The issue I’m debating is whether free-market or command economies perform better.
        
        Puddleglum …
        
        14 August 2011 at 6:54 pm
        
        Thanks for doing a quick scan of the references I linked to. Now let me join the dots so that you can appreciate their relevance to my initial claim, which was:
        
        “Thomas, there is a lot of evidence outside the discipline of economics to suggest that the kind of social restructuring needed to produce a ‘well-functioning’ neo-liberal economy is also the kind of social restructuring that severely damages individuals and communities.”
        
        Notice the emphasis is on the sorts of social restructuring that have been produced as we pursue a ‘well-functioning’ neo-liberal economy. The kind of social restructuring I was referring to involve higher levels of residential mobility, higher focus on consumption (and, hence, the values of materialism), greater social anxiety as part of an economic process that emphasises success as economic success, etc..
        
        You may wish to disown the practical means by which neo-liberal economies have been implemented but you’ll notice a few points in the articles if you care to read them in full some time.
        
        Diener and Seligman, for example, note the increased rates of depression, reduced social capital and reduced levels of trust associated with modern societies/economies (part of the reason they advocate for other measures of well-being beyond the economic measures).
        
        Twenge (2000) indeed notes that economic factors (actually ups and downs in the economic ‘cycle’ in terms of child poverty and unemployment) have not interrupted this increase in rates of anxiety. Rather, the best predictors were low social connectedness and ‘environmental threat’ (we’re not talking climate change here).
        
        To remind you, my claim was about the social restructuring that has, in fact, been required to put in place a neo-liberal economy. My argument is that low social connectedness, lack of trust, divorce rates, high residential mobility are part and parcel of the implementation of neo-liberal economies, in practice.
        
        Twenge, Zhang and Im discuss the possible causes of higher levels of external locus of control and conclude:
        
        “Although a direct causal link cannot be made, the increases in externality may be related to the concurrent trends toward increased depression and anxiety, drug abuse, diminished academic achievement, and voter apathy.”
        
        “The results clearly support the alienation model out- lined in the introduction. As individualism has in- creased, locus of control has become more external.”
        
        “Rather than leading to independence, the increasing individualism of American culture has led people to believe that there is little they can do to change the larger world.”
        
        In later work, including her book ‘Generation Me‘, Twenge discusses the consequences of the individualistic culture that has led, paradoxically, to increases in external locus of control:
        
        “Our growing tendency to put the self first leads to unparalleled freedom, but it also creates an enormous amount of pressure on us to stand alone. This is the downside of the focus on the self – when we are fiercely independent and self-sufficient, our disappointments loom large because we have nothing else to focus on. But it’s not just us: Generation Me has been taught to expect more out of life at the very time when good jobs and nice houses are increasingly difficult to obtain. All too often the result is crippling anxiety and crushing depression.” (pg 109)
        
        As for Keverne, I suggest you read the part about the importance of the social environment on neurodevelopment and then consider the kind of ‘fluid’ and ‘flexible’ world a neo-liberal economy ‘encourages’. He notes that:
        
        “Humans tend to worry about the uterine environment and toxic agents or drugs, which may damage the fingers and toes of babies, but perhaps we should pay more attention to the post- partum period when the social environment exercises its effects on the developing brain and lays down the foundations for future well-being.”
        
        I suspect that we would have very different core explanations for these social trends but I think it is drawing a particularly long bow to conclude that the economic changes over the past 30-40 years are not a significant part of any explanation.
        
        Finally, you finish by saying: “The issue I’m debating is whether free-market or command economies perform better.” I don’t believe I ever made reference to that debate. Perhaps the debate only existed in your own mind?
        
        Vicky32 …
        
        14 August 2011 at 7:53 pm
        
        Economics is a very empirical science. The general approach is to take reality and try to construct a logical model for it. Unfortunately, there is no single logical theory of economics.
        
        Really, I would like to see some proof that economics is a science! From what I see, it’s a magical theory system, a superstition…
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 7:59 pm
        
        Economics is empirical. The utility maximizing model is used because it conforms to reality. If you have a better model, please publish it!
        
        LIES
        
        Behavioural economics buried the body of the rational utility maximising actor a couple of years ago. Get up to date.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 8:14 pm
        
        I should add, look up Kahneman if you really want references.
        
        Or just check out how the USA is going down the drain. That’s mainly occurring due to the ‘buzzwords’ crony capitalism and financial fraud.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 9:45 pm
        
        Puddleglum: Thanks for taking the time to give an insightful response.
        
        The debate about free-market vs. socialist economies was definitely going on with CV. (Though he refused to engage with anything more than “I’m right and you’re wrong”.)
        
        I’m not convinced that there is a strong correlation between social change and the finer points of economic policy. I say finer points, because obviously unemployment, inflation, and prices have a big impact on society, but, on the other hand, policy towards foreign investment is hardly going to affect society directly, only via the aforementioned factors.
        
        The connection between economic policy and society is currently a hot topic in light of the recent English riots (e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14483149). Some have blamed it on excessive welfare, but I don’t buy into that either.
        
        So your assertion is that liberal economic policy necessarily damages both individuals and communities, right?
        
        My first and main objection is that it is an unreasonable connection. If you look at the specific policies being proposed by economists (e.g. http://www.2025taskforce.govt.nz/secondreport/index.htm), then it is hard to imagine how they would damage communities. I just don’t see the logical connection between free markets and low social connectedness, lack of trust, divorce rates, and high residential mobility. Perhaps you can point out a specific economic policy that leads to, say, divorces?
        
        My second objection is to your references. I haven’t read them in detail (yet), but they seem to note a trend over the last 30 or so years. Then the connection is drawn to another trend over that time period—a gradual shift to free-market economics. This is really just circumstantial evidence; the trends could be unrelated. I could equally well connect the trend with growing irreligion. Is there anything more concrete? such as a comparison between countries?
        
        I suspect that a comparison between countries would yield no correlation, or maybe the opposite of what you suggest. Take Australia for example, I don’t think that their society is any worse than ours, but their economy is more liberal than ours. In the other direction, the US, the UK, and most of europe are more controlled than NZ, but I don’t think their societies are better than ours.
        
        One thing that does pop up in your references is the use of words like “individualism”, “materialism”, and “consumerism”. These words get used too often and have lost a lot of their meaning. So I’ll try to diagnose what is going on. These words have a negative connotation—selfishness, greed, and a lack of charity. But these words are also associated with (liberal) economics, as, in microeconomics, agents are “assumed” to be wholly self-interested wealth maximizers and most microeconomic theories/models include that premise. I think that this link is what leads to your assertion.
        
        Let me try to dispel this misconception. Firstly, this is only a simplifying assumption; economists are all too aware that personal wealth and happiness are not the same, but it is simply too hard to analyse the latter directly, so wealth is used as a proxy. Secondly, macroeconomics (the relevant part of economics) is not that closely related to microeconomics (where wealth maximizers are discussed). Macroeconomists talk about supply and demand, prices, and equilibria, not individuals and their preferences. (This disconnect is the source of continued research in economics; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microfoundations.) Thirdly, this is an entirely positive (as opposed to normative) assumption, meaning that economists merely observe a behaviour that already exists, rather than create it.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 10:08 pm
        
        The concept of a rational utility maximising individual is a total falsehood; but without it, neoclassical predictions of market behaviour are also falsified. hdoesn’t matter that neoclassical economists MAY know the concept is a simplification, because it took *behavioural economics* to demonstrate why that simplification was a dangerous and untenable one.
        
        Neoclassical economics = shit.
        
        Please go to Prof Steve Keen’s debtwatch site for a more complete explanation.
        
        And then you mention something about market equilibria.
        
        That’s a joke, we have seen first hand that there are no such thing as rational markets or rational market equilibria.
        
        Greenspan’s ‘Great Moderation’ was based on a completely false neoliberal premise.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 10:57 pm
        
        CV: Again, provide some evidence for your assertions. Don’t just say that everything you dislike is false, shit, or lies and expect me to believe you. You haven’t been able to back up a single one of your assertions.
        
        I just explained why macroeconomics doesn’t collapse in a heap just because people aren’t perfect rational utility maximizers (which everyone knows they aren’t, but they are approximately). At the end of the day, economics is empirical and the evidence is clear.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 11:11 pm
        
        1) markets are not rational, nor do they behave in equilibrium.
        2) market actors are not rational.
        3) when market actors are not rational and markets do not behave in equilibrium, the macroeconomics of neoclassicism fails.
        
        – Minsky provides clear theoretical background on the GFC; Chicago school economists never anticipated the event and cannot explain it.
        
        – Kahneman explains via behavioural economics the serious failures of the rational utility maximising individual model of neoclassicism.
        
        – Keen explains further why neoclassical assumptions around the neutrality of money and the insignificance of debt is absurd.
        
        Basically buddy, your school of economics is sinking, you just haven’t drowned yet. Most of us have lived through decades of neoliberalism; its been great for the top 1% of the population, shit for everyone else.
        
        Go check out Max Keiser or Nassem Taleb and we can talk, OK?
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 11:31 pm
        
        CV: Sure, there is debate about the finer points of economics, but 90% of economists agree on the basics, such as free markets and smaller government being generally beneficial for the economy.
        
        Suggesting that the small flaws in economic theory you have identified falsify the most basic economic facts, is like suggesting that, because physicists don’t know whether the Higgs boson exists or not, gravity has been disproven.
        
        You are obsessed with the Chicago school. Newsflash: All mainstream schools of economic thought agree on the basics.
        
        The business cycle is nothing new. Everyone expected a crash; they happen every ten years or so. It is only the size and nature of this one that were surprising.
        
        Also, behavioural economics is almost irrelevant to macroeconomics. Macroeconomists do not base their predictions on the subtleties of the behaviour of individuals. See my earlier microfoundations link.
        
        No one suggests that debt is insignificant.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 11:44 pm
        
        CV: Sure, there is debate about the finer points of economics, but 90% of economists agree on the basics, such as free markets and smaller government being generally beneficial for the economy.
        
        Yeah more bullshit.
        
        TARA mate not TINA
        
        90% of economic schools should be shut down, although Taleb suggests 100% of them until they get a curriculum overhaul.
        
        Maybe he is correct. Quite a few mainstream economics schools should actually be bulldozed, the damage that they have done to the world.
        
        The business cycle is nothing new. Everyone expected a crash; they happen every ten years or so. It is only the size and nature of this one that were surprising.
        
        We are in the Great Collapse now. It is not a business cycle event.
        
        Also, behavioural economics is almost irrelevant to macroeconomics.
        
        That’s not what Greenspan’s confession suggests.
        
        No one suggests that debt is insignificant.
        
        Neoclassical economists do.
        
        You clearly don’t know your neoclassical economics very well at all.
        
        The economic theory that should eventually emerge from the rejection of neoclassical economics and the basic adoption of dynamic methods will come much closer than neoclassical economics could ever do to meeting Marshall’s dictum that “The Mecca of the economist lies in economic biology rather than in economic dynamics” (Marshall 1920: xiv). As Veblen correctly surmised over a century ago (Veblen 1898), the failure of economics to become an evolutionary science is the product of the optimising framework of the underlying paradigm, which is inherently antithetical to the process of evolutionary change. This reason, above all others, is why the neoclassical mantra that the economy must be perceived as the outcome of the decisions of utility maximising individuals must be rejected.
        
        The above is from Prof Steve Keen. Check him out at debtdeflation.com.
        
        Your version of economics tanked a long time ago. Look up Minsky and Fischer. Don’t be a blind man who thinks he can see.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 11:59 pm
        
        90% of economic schools should be shut down, although Taleb suggests 100% of them until they get a curriculum overhaul.
        
        How much more clearly can you say “everyone is wrong but me”? And instead you suggest that we should start following some cranks on the fringe of economics, based on some vague analogy to biology vs. dynamics.
        
        Good night.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        15 August 2011 at 12:06 am
        
        Steve Keen even predicts that followers of neoclassical economists like yourself will carry on as if nothing important has happened in the last few years:
        
        Given how severe this crisis has already proven to be, the reform of economic theory and education should be an easy and urgent task. But that is not how things will pan out. Though the “irresistible force” of the Global Financial Crisis is indeed immense, so to is the inertia of the “immovable object” of economic belief.
        
        Despite the severity of the crisis in the real world, academic neoclassical economists will continue to teach from the same textbooks in 2009 and 2010 that they used in 2008 and earlier (laziness will be as influential a factor here as ideological commitment). Rebels economists will be emboldened to proclaim “I told you so” in their non-core subjects, but in the core micro, macro and finance units, it will be business as usual virtually everywhere. Many undergraduate economics students in the coming years will sit gobsmacked. as their lecturers recite textbook theory as if there is nothing extraordinarily different taking place in the real economy.
        
        The same will happen in the academic journals. The editors of the American Economic Review and the Economic Journal are unlikely to convert to Post Keynesian or Evolutionary Economics or Econophysics any time soon—let alone to be replaced by editors who are already practitioners of non-orthodox thought. The battle against neoclassical economic orthodoxy within universities will be long and hard, even though its failure will be apparent to those in the non-academic world.
        
        http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2009/03/24/neoclassical-economics-mad-bad-and-dangerous-to-know/
        
        Dude you really need to get up to speed and convert to a new economics religion. The one you have is sunk.
  - bbfloyd 8.1.2
    
    13 August 2011 at 9:27 pm
    
    you did read the article far enough to read about his high marks,and thirst for knowledge, didn’t you? i’d bet the farm he got more smarts than johnny sparkle.
    - Afewknowthetruth 8.1.2.1
      
      13 August 2011 at 10:19 pm
      
      All I know is Goff has been advised on numerous occasions that:
      
      1. we are past peak oil, which means that economic growth is no lomger possible.
      
      2. that we are witnessing planetary meltdown due to CO2 emissions (last winter saw the lowest Arctic ice cover ever and this summer has recorded yet another new minimum as positive feedbacks take effect)
      
      3. that we are trapped in an economic system which is predicated on perpetual growth when perpetual growth is both absurd and impossible (and has come to an end).
      
      And I know that he just carries on regardless, churning out platitudes and formulating policy on the basis of nonsene, just like the ‘idiots’ in Natioanal.
      
      There are two kind of people in the world; those who seek the truth and those who run from it.
      
      There are two kinds of organisation in the world; those that embrace the truth and those that try to conceal it.
      
      Goff and Labour fall into the latter category on both counts.
      - Thomas 8.1.2.1.1
        
        13 August 2011 at 11:38 pm
        
        Economic growth is most definitely possible.
        
        Firstly, economic growth is happening here and abroad. So your assertion is at odds with the evidence.
        
        Secondly, the main driver of economic growth is new technology and efficiency improvements. That is speeding up, not slowing down.
        
        Thirdly, our system is not predicated on growth. But, if we fall behind, then we have lower living standards relative to the rest of the world. Though, in absolute terms, our standard of living would not necessarily be affected (except real prices for imports will go up and our economy will no longer be competitive export-wise).
        
        You obvioiusly don’t know the first thing about economics.
        
        mik e 8.1.2.1.1.1
        
        14 August 2011 at 1:00 pm
        
        Thomas you know even less About economics .Its slowing down under National as they have cut funding for research and development, after 2 and 1/2 years they have realized thats its most important so they have reinstated R&D at just half the amount labour was pouring to R&D.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 1:12 pm
        
        Doesn’t Thomas realise that economic growth cannot occur except with plentiful sources of very cheap energy?
        
        Does he not realise that the sectors with the most innovation and profits over the last 10 years has been that of financial fraud?
        
        Does he not realise that real economy industrial capitalism has now been fully replaced by crony capitalism and massive capital misallocation?
        
        In fact, what the hell does Thomas actually realise apart from someone else’s ideology that he is mimicking?
        
        Firstly, economic growth is happening here and abroad. So your assertion is at odds with the evidence.
        
        Tell it to the 46M Americans now on food stamps.
        
        I’ll give you a wee clue for no fee: the markets are not the economy. And you may have noticed that even the big investors have figured that out now.
        
        You really are a throwback to the late 1980’s.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 1:34 pm
        
        Sigh. Where to start…
        
        mik e: You can’t blame the current government for our economic predicament. The problem is the global financial crisis and the fiscal irresponsibility of the previous government.
        
        Colonial Viper: Economic growth has very little to do with oil or resources. Japan has a successful economy, despite having no oil or other mineral resources.
        
        I don’t even know what you mean by “financial fraud” and “crony capitalism”. These are just buzzwords.
        
        Again, unemployment in the US is the result of the financial crisis (which is largely the result of US fiscal irresponsibility) and is compounded by the dysfunctional education and welfare systems in the US.
        
        If I’m a throwback to the 80s, then you are a throwback to the 30s.
        
        Puddleglum …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:20 pm
        
        “Economic growth has very little to do with oil or resources. Japan has a successful economy, despite having no oil or other mineral resources.”
        
        Thomas, I think the point relates to the entirety of economic activity on the planet. I assume you don’t believe that economic activity can happen without any energy or other resources? Even if we assume that Japan doesn’t import any oil, per se, it still imports goods largely made from oil (and other fossil fuel) energy sources and transported using them.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:30 pm
        
        Yes, we do need energy. But the assertion that economic growth is _entirely_ dependent on energy growth is clearly falsified by the example of Japan.
        
        Just to reiterate my points. Economic growth is primarily driven by improvements in technology and efficiency. Energy is plentiful (nuclear, coal, renewables). Oil is only one source of energy that can be substituted by others. Oil is not running out _that_ fast, it is just getting a bit harder to find.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:49 pm
        
        Yes, we do need energy. But the assertion that economic growth is _entirely_ dependent on energy growth is clearly falsified by the example of Japan.
        
        This is the same Japan which has just suffered two lost decades, right?
        
        Man you love falsifying yourself.
        
        Stop taking us for idiots who haven’t seen neoliberalism in actionfirst hand over the last 30 years.
        
        I don’t even know what you mean by “financial fraud” and “crony capitalism”. These are just buzzwords.,
        
        Of course you don’t want us to examine financial fraud and crony capitalism. You are in the service of the financial fraudsters and the crony capitalists, after all.
        
        As a clue here you go
        
        http://reimaginingeconomics.mirocommunity.org/video/25/steinhardt-lecture-2010-at-lew
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:47 pm
        
        More faux news faux economics from Thomas the Astroturfing Schill.
        
        Transfer of wealth from the capital of the people and of the nation to the already rich.
        
        If I’m a throwback to the 80s, then you are a throwback to the 30s.
        
        Did you notice that like the Great Depression, the GFC was also caused by over-leverage and foolishness in the private banking system?
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:57 pm
        
        CV: Despite recent stagnation, Japan is still the world’s third-largest economy—only marginally smaller than China.
        
        You are just a conspiracy theorist. All the professional economists are wrong about economics, but you alone are right. And everyone who disagrees with you is in the service of some nebulous conspiring entity.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 3:08 pm
        
        Thomas = Faux News Faux Economics
        
        I do agree with you however that fiat money printing cannot continue.
        
        So you agree Japan has been stagnating? Because i thought you were using it as an example of economic growth without energy supply growth.
        
        Of course, Japan used to be world’s second largest economy, until a country with superior energy supply growth surpassed it last year. Who was that I wonder.
- Terry 8.2
  
  13 August 2011 at 7:55 pm
  
  He cannot beat Key on the “likeable” stakes, which Key has practiced to perfection. Goff must show fire in the belly and come out with conviction. I cannot see that happening.
prism 9

13 August 2011 at 4:11 pm

Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you,
Getting to like you, Getting to hope you like me.
Getting to know you, Putting it my way but nicely,
You are precisely, My cup of tea.

Getting to know you, Getting to feel free and easy,
When I am with you, Getting to know what to say,
Haven’t you noticed, Suddenly I’m bright and breezy,
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I’m learning about you,
Day by day.

A song for today in the political life of Goff. (From the King and I as sung by an admirer of the king. As we are in a democracy, we might hope that the words apply to what our hopeful PM would sing to us.)
- Colonial Viper 9.1
  
  13 August 2011 at 5:33 pm
  
  🙂
Marjorie Dawe 10

13 August 2011 at 9:05 pm

That was a pleasant surprise. It also shows we have a man who has the courage of his convictions and who will stand up for what he believes in. A bit different from Key who will stand up for the highest bidder and say whatever he believes potential voters might want to hear.
- Reality Bytes 10.1
  
  13 August 2011 at 9:36 pm
  
  Key wouldn’t risk an opinion poll if the country depended upon it.
Drakula 11

13 August 2011 at 9:35 pm

Afewknowthetruth has said what I was going to say, and quite frankly I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him.

I mean I have just read that Herald story and I ask you : what in it had any substance? condescending platitudes, never mind the folks back on the farm how about looking at the way he voted on issues such as privatisation, Emmision Trading scheme , free trade with China and the US, welfare cuts etc.etc. for 9 years with Helen Clark.

He would be quite at home in the National party.

The nearest to the true Labour Party of Savages day (which is what we really need) was the Green Party until Russel Norman made overtures of doing deals with National.

Voters need to look at what is going on behind the scenes and see who is lobbying whom, the Business Round Table obviously lobbies the National Party, Business New Zealand and some of the unions and academic groups lobby the Labour Party and the academics lobby Greens.

How can we be sure that The Business Round Table and Business NZ don’t have the same objectives? If thet is the case we may as well STAY IN BED !!!
- Colonial Viper 11.1
  
  13 August 2011 at 10:12 pm
  
  No party approaches anything close to the Labour Party of Savage’s day. Does NZ need such a thing? Do New Zealanders want such a thing?
  
  The Greens are so-so. Perhaps they are more Left than Labour on some counts.
  
  But in the final analysis they are not a party of the working class for the working class either. They have no ingrained class consciousness nor philosophy of socialism. Appealing to comfortably middle class and upper class environmentalism does little for those in NZ living on less than $30K p.a.
  
  The Greens are also for creeping incrementalism in terms of socioeconomic change. It seems to take the Left 10 years to undo what a Right government can get done in 3.
  
  Viewed from the perspective no wonder we have been losing NZ to the Right.
  - Afewknowthetruth 11.1.1
    
    13 August 2011 at 10:40 pm
    
    CV. I largely agree.
    
    I think we should also note that the Greens persistently promote Greenwash -coprorate ‘solutions’ that do nothing to address the fundamental problems, or actually make them worse.
    
    I gave up on the Greens when they began promoting international tourism as a ‘sustainable industry’ and were pushing hard for ‘biofuels’, which anyone who has studied the topic knows will NEVER be anying more than an irrelevant novelty (though in the US large corporations are being heavily subsidised to large convert food into fuel at the moment, to cover the shortfall in liquid fuels that is a consequence of the peaking of oil extraction).
    
    The fact is, we are in the middle of the biggest discontinuity in all of history, and incrementalism simply will not work.
    - Colonial Viper 11.1.1.1
      
      14 August 2011 at 12:02 am
      
      The fact is, we are in the middle of the biggest discontinuity in all of history, and incrementalism simply will not work.
      
      Indeed. Either we consciously shape and form the radical change proactively, or we keep going blindly and have the inevitable radical change shape and form us, in what are likely to be very unpleasant ways.
- Afewknowthetruth 11.2
  
  13 August 2011 at 11:01 pm
  
  Drakula.
  
  Agreed. Goff would be quite at home in the National Party. Free trade, globalisation, money-lender control of society, corporate conrol of society, dig up fossil fuels and burn them quickly as possible, emission trading scams – Goff is in favour of them all.
  - burt 11.2.1
    
    14 August 2011 at 9:05 am
    
    He’s only in favour of them when Labour suggest them – and that’s why he has no credibility.
- Draco T Bastard 11.3
  
  13 August 2011 at 11:45 pm
  
  He would be quite at home in the National party.
  
  I don’t think so. Labour, as a whole, is a centre-right party while National is a radical right party. Although both on the right they do have fundamental differences.
  
  Both are lobbied by business to keep the capitalist paradigm that we have and which is killing the world going. They will do this because they believe that they have no other options available to them. This is true of the Greens as well which is why they said they could work with National.
  
  All this belief in a delusional socio-economic system leaves us with none of our political parties willing or able to put forward a viable vision for the future which will be defined by resource scarcity.
  - higherstandard 11.3.1
    
    14 August 2011 at 9:27 am
    
    If National is a radical right wing party what pray tell are the Labour and Liberal parties in Australia, how about the Dems and republicans in the states …….
    
    You really need to get out more Mr D
    - Colonial Viper 11.3.1.1
      
      14 August 2011 at 9:52 am
      
      Queensland Labor sold off billions in public assets without voter mandate.
      
      Right Wing to the core.
      
      As in NZ the free market neoliberals decided they weren’t going to chance which major party was going to win a fickle election – so they infiltrated both.
      
      That is a dynamic which is also plainly obvious in the USA.
      - higherstandard 11.3.1.1.1
        
        14 August 2011 at 11:03 am
        
        Where one thinks are political party sits on the perceived political spectrum seems to depend more the perceptions of the perceiver than anything else.
        
        The terms thrown about on blogs attributing certain characteristics to the “left” or “right” have become pointless drivel shouted at opponents.
        
        Colonial Viper 11.3.1.1.1.1
        
        14 August 2011 at 11:40 am
        
        I agree wholeheartedly.
        
        IMO the terms Left and Right, originating all the way back to the French Revolution, are well past use by date and need to be given away.
        
        This is now all about the top 1% against the bottom 99%.
        
        higherstandard …
        
        14 August 2011 at 12:09 pm
        
        Also a rather pointless “us and them” game to play…… but if it keeps you happy by all means have fun.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 12:32 pm
        
        Re: “us and them.”
        
        It’s only a game if you truly believe that the very wealthy consider themselves in the same boat in society as the rest of us. That they have values which say that the only way they can succeed is if society as a whole succeeds.
        
        Based on the major financial decisions and the politics that you see, do you think that is actually the case?
        
        higherstandard …
        
        14 August 2011 at 1:04 pm
        
        I don’t spend my time worrying or thinking about “them” whoever “them” is.
        
        Frankly the very wealthy are welcome to their wealth I’ll get on with my own life the only thing that’s certain is all of them and all of us will be long gone in 100 years time (we’ll most of them and us) and a new set of them and us will be moaning about the same things …. and a few new things that we haven’t even imagined yet..
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 1:23 pm
        
        Frankly the very wealthy are welcome to their wealth I’ll get on with my own life
        
        Not sure how you can just “get on with your own life” as ‘they’ continue to extract value out of the society around you and put it into their own pockets.
        
        I know you are politically aware, so I know that you understand that those in charge today benefitted from generous allowances, zero uni fees, nearly full employment and house prices which were only 3x and 4x the average wage.
        
        And what they have done now is create an economy where they have pushed future costs on to the younger generations, are telling all of us to tighten our belts, and to expect to have less in the future than they are getting now.
        
        Notice how the Government slashed Kiwisaver but didn’t slash MP’s own super scheme. Do you still reckon that the top 1% believe that “we are all in this together”?
        
        higherstandard …
        
        14 August 2011 at 1:54 pm
        
        Well you could repatriate all the wealth from “them” and distribute it to “us” over the next century and it will make very little difference as there’s too many of “us” to make the wealth from “them” go very far and there’ll likely be more and more “us” down the track……………. civilization 101 the more things change the more they stay the same, the longer civilizations last the more fatuous, bloated, lazy and corrupt they become, sooner of later they collapse or change to suit their new circumstances.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:01 pm
        
        A lot of that wealth should not be put into our pockets individually, it should be used to create infrastructure, services and commons that we can all benefit from as a society.
        
        However, I take your point that civilisations come and civilisations go. There’s little to stop the decline of a civilisation whose time has come to an end.
        
        higherstandard …
        
        14 August 2011 at 2:19 pm
        
        The lions share of ‘wealth’ in the western world is spent in the public sector creating infrastructure, services and commons, whether we can all benefit from that spend as a society will always depend on your point of view and it will still have little effect on society’s decline when its time is up.
      - Drakula 11.3.1.1.2
        
        18 August 2011 at 10:02 pm
        
        Exactly right Viper it is sad but the Green Party hasn’t been the same since Sue Bradford left.
        and yes there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to suggest that a central cabal of neo liberals are trying to infiltrate all the main political parties to bring about a global corporate dictatorship.
        
        Afewknowthetruth; Sorry mate there is one truth you don’t know, I am getting quite a few petitions via Greens to sign against many of the corn fuel and palm oil industry. To be fair what the Greens are looking into is turning green waste into fuel and that’s a whole different kettle of fish,
        
        So this is my synopsis of of the political spectrum; Green is right, Maori Party is right right, Labour is right right right, National is right right right right and Act is right right right right and right
        
        RIGHT?
        
        I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t vote but the only way we can win back our rights is active protest and keep striking.
        
        Lenin said 1strike = 11 elections! that should be the Standard slogan of the left.
Oligarkey 12

13 August 2011 at 11:39 pm

All true AFKTT – all the leaders of the 5% plus parties know some things we don’t know i suspect. They seem to feel duty bound to follow the US in almost every way that is important. But the US is more a republic than a democracy these days – which means, NZ has become a defacto republic. New World Order.
- Colonial Viper 12.1
  
  14 August 2011 at 9:26 am
  
  It seems to me that following the lead of the US is actually the OWO.
  
  As for the NWO – my theory is that the details are actually being determined by a trans-national community of the 100,000 wealthiest and most influential people in the world.
  
  These people have no allegiences to their neighbours, their employees or even their own countries, only to this supra-elite grouping which they are part of.
Jenny 13

13 August 2011 at 11:42 pm

The fact is, we are in the middle of the biggest discontinuity in all of history, and incrementalism simply will not work.

Afewknowthetruth

Agreed
Afewknowthetruth 14

14 August 2011 at 10:29 am

Replying to Thomas.

Having studied economics on and off for 40 years and written about it in several books, there is a distinct possibility that I know a lot more about the dysfunctional economic theories currently promoted than you do.

Maintream economics is replete with fabrications and false assumptions, and GDP is a faux measure of progress. That is one of the reasons why the world is in the mess it is in, and why everything will get worse.

Simply put, without energy nothing happens. With a declining energy less happens. The peak in per capita energy was around 1979 and we are now past peak net energy.

Due to the unequal distribution of energy sources around the world, there are still some places where economic growth is possible, while in others contraction is very obvious -Japan, Eastern Europe, the US etc. Nevertheless, globally, economic growth is now impossible, and once NZ has dug a deep enough hole for itself via debt, NZ will be unable to import the energy necessary to maintain status quo, let alone have growth

The only growth we will see over the next decade will be growth in poverty, growth in welfare dependency, growth in starvation etc. (since the bulk of the industrialised food supply is dependent on imported energy). In other words a continuation of the trend that began to emerge in the 1970s.

Oh, and one other trend: a widening gaop between the rich and the poor, as those at the top purloin an ever greater share of the diminishing cake….. Phil Goff being an example of someone who already has far more than his fair share…. 20 acres was it?.

I’ll say it again. The problem with mainstream economics is that is is completely detached from reality and is replete with fabrications and false assumptions (it takes no account of energy or pollution) …. which is exactly why the world is in the mess it is in right now.

You will note, I hope, that the peak oil induced crisis which commenced three years ago is now worse than ever. That worsening of the situation is a direct consequence of the dysfuntional economic theories which have been applied since 2008 (and for decades before).

It follows that if we elect anyone who adheres to maintream economic theory everything will get much worse.

All that is before we even mention the environment which is being degraded at an accelerating pace, as promoted by all maintream political parties.
- Thomas 14.1
  
  14 August 2011 at 10:40 am
  
  Reading the communist manifesto doesn’t count as studying economics. You are nothing but a conspiracy theorist. Everyone is wrong but you.
  
  Oil is but one energy source. Coal, nuclear, and renewables are in no danger of running out. Moreover, oil is not running out as quickly as you prophesize; perhaps the middle east is drying up, but Canada’s oil sands are only getting started. The “peak oil” of the 1970s you refer to was just the introduction of OPEC—an artificial increase in the price of oil.
  
  Apple recently overtook ExxonMobil as the largest company in the US. That’s a good anecdote for the importance of technology over oil.
  
  The collapse of society is only going to happen if we follow half-baked economic theories like yours.
  - Drakula 14.1.1
    
    18 August 2011 at 10:40 pm
    
    Thomas: Einstein said that ‘there are two things that are infinate one the universe and two human stupidity, and I am not too sure about the former!’
    
    Resources of this earth are FINITE and the neo liberals don’t seem to understand this immutable fact even if there is plenty of coal and oil shale they will give off more CO2 than the earths forrests can absorb.
    
    Corporate capitalism is the most destructive in that it has no checks and balances to address obscene profiteering that is the driving force behind a consumer society that demands far more than the earths resources can supply.
    
    The profit motive needs to be dealt with but I don’t feel that it should be completely rejected as Marx suggests but somhow contained along with our population growth and our consumption of natural resources.
    
    I don’t think Afewknowthetruth would disagree with that?
- nadis 14.2
  
  14 August 2011 at 10:43 am
  
  errrrr, you are forgetting to mention productivity improvement. If marginal improvement in energy efficiency increases faster than usage then there shouldn’t be a problem right?
  
  The world has plenty of energy (nuclear, solar) just need better price signals to stimulate those industries.
  - Puddleglum 14.2.1
    
    14 August 2011 at 2:54 pm
    
    nadis and Thomas, both of you seem to discount the effect of this pursuit of unending growth on people, their lives, their communities and on a functioning ecosystem. There are many ways for a society/culture to destroy itself. The pursuit of growth and expansion at all and any costs is a tried and true method.
    
    Good luck with it.
    
    But how to I opt out of that choice since your recipe affects the people I interact with and the physical and natural world I depend upon? My bad luck I guess, that things have been so engineered that I’m unable to make my choice.
    - Thomas 14.2.1.1
      
      14 August 2011 at 3:04 pm
      
      Economic growth means we can afford better things. In particular, it means we have a higher quality of living and can afford to spend more on health, education, and environmental protection—it is no coincidence that wealthier countries have better health, better education, and environments.
      - Colonial Viper 14.2.1.1.1
        
        14 August 2011 at 3:19 pm
        
        Most economic growth leads to worsening unemployment in western nations and environmental degradation in China and the developing nations.
        
        Further, most of the income from economic growth goes to the already wealthy. Ordinary workers get no increases in real income.
        
        Further, increases in GDP over the last 10 years have been fuelled not by real growth but by increasing leverage, indebtedness and financial fraud.
        
        The pipe dream is over mate. We’ve seen through your lies.
        
        Thomas 14.2.1.1.1.1
        
        14 August 2011 at 3:41 pm
        
        If you were right that economic growth raises unemployment, then we would have 99% unemployment as a result of centuries of economic growth. This is generally referred to as the Luddite fallacy.
        
        Evidence please. It is true that unskilled labour is becoming less valuable, compared to skilled labour. However, on an absolute scale, the purchasing power/quality of life of most “ordinary workers” has increased.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 3:45 pm
        
        Labour, skilled and unskilled, professional or unprofessional is becoming less valuable.
        
        The more corporations make money, the more people they layoff.
        
        Where have you been hiding last 18 months?
        
        However, on an absolute scale, the purchasing power/quality of life of most “ordinary workers” has increased.
        
        Real wages in the US flat since about 1975.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 3:49 pm
        
        Please provide data/evidence, rather than rhetoric and assertions.
        
        You are spouting the Luddite fallacy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite_fallacy) and the lump of labour fallacy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lump_of_labour_fallacy).
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 4:07 pm
        
        both those fallacies are false.
        
        The US middle class is being crushed, lowered prices do not help increase demand for goods other than toilet paper when no one has jobs; the banks can’t even give away low interest loans now because so few people have good credit left.
        
        Its the slaughter of the middle class.
        
        The lump of labour fallacy does not take into account globalisation. The job may still exist but it is done in India, Thailand or China, not in NZ.
        
        It is now more profitable to fire someone than to keep them at work or hire another worker. Spiralling down the drain now, faster and faster.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 4:14 pm
        
        I have asked you again and again and again to provide evidence. Since you have provided none, I can only assume that it doesn’t exist. You are coming across as raving lunatic and I’m going to wind down my wasting of time trying to talk to you reasonably.
        
        You seem to be opposed to change in and of itself. You must be a fan of Muldoon; NZ First is the party for you.
        
        You continue to follow the Luddite/Lump-of-labour fallacy. I gave you two links that refute your reasoning that economic progress leads to unemployment. I’m not going to explain it here.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 4:26 pm
        
        Those fallacies are false.
        
        Look around you. Offshored jobs offshores GDP and offshores the tax base.
        
        I’m glad you’re not going to waste my time any more.
        
        You continue to follow the Luddite/Lump-of-labour fallacy. I gave you two links that refute your reasoning that economic progress leads to unemployment. I’m not going to explain it here.
        
        Economic progress leads to unemployment because the free market for labour which the neoliberals organised allows wage arbitrage to occur.
        
        What is it about this that you do not get? Look at fraking Detroit for gods sakes.
        
        Your links are worth shit. Neoclassical economics has no bearing on real economics i.e. what people and countries experience in the real world.
        
        Simple misconceptions around rational actors and the price/demand curve are sufficient to undermine the entire foundation of neoclassical economics.
        
        it is a failed intellectually corrupt enterprise you support.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 5:23 pm
        
        CV: This is getting repetitive.
        
        “Wage arbitrage” is just another made-up buzzword; I presume you mean competition. Perhaps you can give some evidence to clarify what it means.
        
        Again, if progress leads to unemployment, then centuries of economic growth would mean massive unemployment. This is not the case.
        
        Detroit and the problems of the American automotive sector are an excellent example. They have been struggling since the 70s. The US government tried to keep them afloat with import restrictions, despite them producing inferior products. This of course was at great cost to the average American. Eventually their competitors avoided the import restrictions by setting up plants in the US. The reason the recent layoffs were so severe is because rather than gradually letting these companies decline, the US govt tried to oppose the market and keep them at their original size until finally everything caved in. Companies like Toyota would otherwise have gradually picked up the slack with more plants in the US.
        
        What are you on about? Mainstream economics is “real economics”. There is certainly no better economic theory around. The foundations of economics are empirical evidence, plain and simple.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        14 August 2011 at 5:33 pm
        
        The only evidence “mainstream economics” has left is the decline of the west and the destruction of the western middle class consumer.
        
        Highly centrally planned economies in Asia and East Asia are on the rise.
        
        The neoliberal project is a failure.
        
        Do you really expect everyone to fall for the same shit twice
        
        “Wage arbitrage” is just another made-up buzzword
        
        Wage arbitrage is the phenomenon where multinationals take advantage of a free market for labour to relocate jobs to countries where the lowest cost basis exists. Over the last few years those places have typically been China and India.
        
        Maybe you should get up to date with a few more “buzzwords” eh buddy?
        
        You would understand real economics better than failed Chicago school voodoo economics.
        
        Thomas …
        
        14 August 2011 at 6:01 pm
        
        The west is not being destroyed. We are simply seeing former socialist states catch up by adopting free-market policies. China is still much poorer than the west. But they have enjoyed good growth since the 80s because they gradually moved away from a planned economy.
        
        The “neoliberal project” is a stunning success. Most countries liberalized their economies in the 80s and they have seen continued economic growth, low inflation, and low government debt. The current crisis is the result of abandoning that path and endulging in debt.
        
        Google didn’t really know what wage arbitrage meant. (It directed me to strange sites.) That makes it made-up. The standard name for what you describe is outsourcing.
        
        What is “real economics”? does it actually lead to well-reasoned policy? or is it just a hot air from cranks like you?
      - Puddleglum 14.2.1.1.2
        
        14 August 2011 at 7:03 pm
        
        Thomas, I think you’re conflating economic growth as a necessary condition for the improvements in health, education and (local) environments with economic growth as a sufficient condition.
        
        Economic growth without a willingness to tax, redistribute and invest in people and alleviate the harm caused by what has had to happen to provide that growth, would not have resulted in those improvements you note. The omitted necessary condition was democratic pressure to carry out these improvements through redistribution and through the regulation of economic activity.
- Jenny 14.3
  
  14 August 2011 at 4:02 pm
  
  Having studied economics on and off for 40 years and written about it in several books…..
  
  Afewknowthetruth
  
  Afew.. Could you recommend me one of the books you have written?
  
  Just send an email to the moderator at lprent@primary.geek.nz and tell Lynn that I have approved the release of my contact email details to you. Refer to this comment.
  
  I assure you that your privacy will be respected as I would hope you will respect mine.
  
  Yours Jenny
randal 15

14 August 2011 at 11:32 am

he cant get any traction while the kiddy-corps in the press are stil besotted by an image with no substance as they are wont in this post modern era.
Jenny 16

14 August 2011 at 11:38 am

The series

The Phil Goff story is based on interviews by Catherine Masters, Claire Trevett and Geoff Cumming with 40 people who knew and worked with him over the years including childhood friends and teachers as well as political colleagues and opponents.

In part 2 next week Claire Trevett tells of the many political lives of Phil Goff, from a student politician calling on all senior MPs to resign, to a Rogernome and then one of the most senior ministers of the Clark years.

New Zealand Herald

Having lived through the “Rogernomics Revolution” and witnessing the public loathing* including protests aimed against Phil Goff the “Rogernome”.

It will be particularly interesting to followers of politics, to see how the Herald covers this aspect, of what the Herald calls “the many political lives of Phil Goff.”

*(a public loathing so strong as to cost Phill Goff the normally safe Labour seat of Roskill)

There are several possible editorial approaches that the Herald writers may choose to take regarding this period.

1. Will the Herald writers openly praise Goff for his role then, and express the hope that Goff has not made a full break with the tenets of neo liberalism now?

2. Will the Herald writers do an honest in depth investigation of how Phill Goff has since distanced himself from the Rogernomics experiment and neo-liberalism generally?

Will there be an examination of the promises made at the time by Labour Cabinet ministers including Goff, of ” Short term pain, eventually leading to long term gain”?

In the decades since, will the Herald writers explore whether the above promise was ever realised?

And if so, what were the gains?

Or were the detractors of neo-liberalism right in their claim, that Rogernomics would make things worse, not just in the short term as the above Labour Government promise acknowledged, but in the long term as well?

3. In the cold light of the morning after the economic melt down and long term economic and social failure of neo-liberalism generally. Will the Herald writers examine Phill Goff’s reapraisal of his support for Rogernomics?

Or will the Herald writers of this piece do no analysis at all and instead, try and gloss over this period, with the once over lightly treatment. Minimising Phil Goff’s leading cabinet role in implementing Rogernomic policies, particularly in tertiary education.

Will the questions of the affordability or not of a tertiary education and student indebtedness particularly for children ofMaori and Island and other generally blue collar families be examined – Outcomes resulting from Goff’s personal decisions then?

Have these young people’s aspirations been raised, or constrained?

Was this good for the economy?

Or made things worse?

Will the then student leaders opposed to Goff at the time be interviewed?

What do the economic and education experts say?

The Fourth Labour Government’s attack on social spending was also an attack on workers, students, beneficiaries and pensioners. And tertiary education was one area that suffered. While there had always been a nominal tuition fee prior to 1990 (averaging about $129), this was offset by the fact that most students had access to allowances and wages in New Zealand that were higher in real terms than they are today.
Up until the introduction of Labour’s $1250 standard tertiary tuition fee, the fee for full-time full-year study at a New Zealand university was less than $300. However, for most students, 90% of the cost of this was met by the government through a fees grant that was paid through the student support system.

Nick Kelly

From ‘The Salient’: <a href='http://www.salient.org.nz/features/the-great-fee-debate-pt1-why-student-fees-must-go'The Great Student Fee Debate, Part 1, 2006
randal 17

14 August 2011 at 3:04 pm

fundamentally Phill Goff is a decent bloke while john key is still and unproven politician.
However the National Party has shown themselves to be a party of ditherers who think that their bold strokes constitue some sort of historic occasion when mostly they come nowhere near to addressing any of the real issues.
They talk about boldness and challenges but they have taken no risks whatsoever and cringe behind pr excesses to divert attention from their basic inability.
National will get a big fright at the election and Phil Goff will triumph as his own man and someone really capable of steering the ship.
Jenny 18

14 August 2011 at 6:19 pm

‘
My apologies to all, for mucking up the Salient link.

If you still wish to read the full Salient article, try clicking, here.
Sam 19

14 August 2011 at 6:36 pm

Anyone else alarmed by the fact that National party spinstress and Chief Conflict-of-Interest Claire Trevett is to write part two?
- Jenny 19.1
  
  14 August 2011 at 7:35 pm
  
  Anyone else alarmed by the fact that National party spinstress and Chief Conflict-of-Interest Claire Trevett is to write part two?
  
  Sam
  
  Hi Sam, since part two, is the section covering Goff’s controversial “Rogernome” period. I imagine that Claire Trevett as an apologist for neo-liberalism, will chose to go for option 3. (Minimising Goff’s Rogergnome period). Or possibly Claire Trevett may go for option 1. (Praising Goff’s Rogergnome period.)
  
  As a died in the wool tory, Claire Trevett will avoid as much as she can, option 2. (Impartially examining history’s judgement of Goff’s Rogergnome period. Not to mention Phil Goff’s own judgement of this period.)
Drakula 20

18 August 2011 at 10:48 pm

REVOLUTION ! ! ! !

Links to post

Getting to know Goff 2 « The Standard: posted on 20 August 2011 at 3:55 pm

Comments are now closed

Articles RSS

CommentsOpinions

FeedsPartyGovtMedia

The PM gets some extremely valuable legal advice for free

You can pay a great deal of money for the services of a KC. So just what would some peerless legal writing from 40 or so of them be worth, do you reckon?Priceless, that’s what. It’s not even the half of it, but this is my favourite part of the ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

4 hours ago
D-day for the government

The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

7 hours ago
97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...

Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

8 hours ago
Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to vote down an ACT Party Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights by making it easier for employers to fire workers. Last week ACT MP Laura Trask’s Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill was ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

9 hours ago
Seymour causes thousands of unjustified absences by forcing kids to fight for their rights instead o...

The State would like to remind you that they are in control. They manage your employment prospects, and can destroy the job market you and yours rely on by mass-cancelling construction projects, cutting funding, and firing a good chunk of our public servants. They wield the mechanisms that provide scrutiny ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

10 hours ago
The Weight of the World

As the weight of the world Hangs on your shoulders The weight of the world Starts to take over again And over again All that you once loved, now you hate So slowly relearn how to meditate To have and to hold And never let go Can you feel it ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

10 hours ago
Thursday 14 November 2024

The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

11 hours ago
Trump’s return to White House brings the climate’s ‘find out’ phase closer

As we absorb the news of Trump's victory in the US Presidential election, here’s a wrap compiled just before the result of what it might mean for climate action: The UN Secretary General says the prospective departure of the United States would cripple the Paris Agreement, likening it to the ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

11 hours ago
Time and Space in the City Centre

Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel. The header image is from Walthamstow, London The city centre now has a few stretches of street where the space has been repurposed to a people and place focused design from full time traffic use. These are a great ...

Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds

12 hours ago
An opportunity for a pro-growth tax switch

As the Hikoi against it swells into the tens of thousands, KCs call on National to kill off ACT’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 14: The ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

13 hours ago
Dealing to the big Aussie banks

The big question hovering over the Select Committee Inquiry into banking is what the Government will do with its findings. If yesterday’s hearing is anything to go by there is a tidal wave of discontent about the four big Australian Banks crashing through the Committee which may force it to ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

15 hours ago
20 fact briefs published in collaboration with Gigafact!

In April 2024 we announced the (renewed) collaboration between Gigafact and Skeptical Science to create fact briefs, short but credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. Our initial plan had been to publish one fact brief per week on Saturdays but - as happens ...

Skeptical Science

1 day ago
Instead of axing the HRC, ACT corruptly installed a racist, transphobic “Gay Human Rights Commissi...

On November 5th, the Spinoff published a very interesting article on Stephen Rainbow, the Human Rights Commission’s latest recruitment, and how he came to get the controversial appointment. Naturally because of the excitement of the US election, it’s flown a little below the radar. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/05-11-2024/i-didnt-get-the-hrc-job-stephen-rainbows-human-rights-commission-appointment-just-got-weirderThe article details evidence of the ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 day ago
Injustice for torture

Between 1950 and 1993 the New Zealand government tortured and abused up to 250,000 children in residential care facilities. Yesterday, following formal findings from a royal commission, it finally apologised for that abuse. The next step is redress and restitution - compensating the surviving victims for the appalling harm they ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

1 day ago
Voices echo

Back onto the harbour bridge I go, my happy place for protesting.And it truly is a happy place, this day.Protests can bristle a lot, but this one is all heart. The WOMAD of protest marches. Families are safe and happy and a little one is pushing the trolley her older ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

1 day ago
Hīkoi over the Harbour

Kia mau ra, kia mau raKi te mana motuhakeMe te arohaHold fast, hold fastTo your sovereigntyAnd to love and compassionLyrics: Hīrini Melbourne. “Ngā Iwi E passionately calls for unity among the peoples of the Pacific, a cause deeply cherished by Melbourne himself.”I sat at my desk this morning and thought ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

1 day ago
Western Express turns one in style

The Western Express, the precursor to a proper busway, and other changes to West Auckland bus services are now a year old and Auckland Transport says they’ve been a smashing success, with ridership up 45 per cent higher than what was expected. Auckland Transport’s (AT) new North West bus network ...

Greater AucklandBy Matt L

2 days ago
Victims of abuse want Una Jagose to go

Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, November 13: The Lead: The Government and Opposition apologised yesterday for the abuse of hundreds of thousands of children in state care over decades. But PM Christopher ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

2 days ago
Sabin 33 #2 – Are toxic heavy metals from solar panels posing a threat to human health?

On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...

Skeptical Science

2 days ago
Peaceful Māori Hikoi Advances – In Pictures

Today the Hikoi moves from Whangarei and makes its way to Auckland Flag: McKinley Rd Creatives ShareFor official updates and information, including schedules, go to:https://toitutetiriti.co.nz/The Waitangi Tribunal Cheat Sheet:When asked what the Treaty Principles Bill contravenes these are some of the points highlighted by our judiciary:The Crown's process to develop the Bill ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

2 days ago
Media Link: “A View from Afar” on the US elections.

The latest “A View from Afar” with Selwyn Manning and I follows the lines drawn in my most recent post here at KP. Because the podcast is basically a dialogue between Selwyn and I on the subject of the day, … Continue reading → ...

KiwipoliticoBy Pablo

2 days ago
Jagose doesn’t get it

The government held a formal apology ceremony this morning to victims of child torture and abuse-in-care. One of those "apologising" was Solicitor-General Una Jagose, who had played a key role in devising and implementing the government's legal strategy of aggressively minimising its liabilities, slandering its victims, and waiting for them ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

2 days ago
Oranga Tamariki is beyond saving, and always has been

How do you continue an organisation widely known for the abuse and torture of children, for wrongfully separating them from their parents, for the neglect and death of actually vulnerable children they failed to support and uplift, and for creating a cycle of trauma that has led to multi-generational state ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

2 days ago
The Majority is Wrong

Freak outAnd give inDoesn't matter what you believe inStay coolAnd be somebody's fool this year'Cause they knowWho is righteous, what is boldSo I'm toldWho wants honey?As long as there's some moneyWho wants that, honey?Lyrics: Billy CorganJust because the majority support something doesn’t make it right. Yes, in a democracy, the ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

2 days ago
Tuesday 12 November 2024

Today Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will formally apologise to those who experienced abuse in state and faith-based care at Parliament. The apology is long overdue, and many are saying it’s not enough and are still waiting on the details of redress. There are also criticisms about the decision to give ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

2 days ago
3 Takeaways from Christopher Luxon’s Press Conference

Highlights of Chris Luxon press conference yesterday (video at end):1. Christopher Luxon maligns Newsroom’s investigative journalist Aaron Smale for what he called behavioural issues. Yesterday, it was revealed Speaker Gary Brownlee had withdrew Smale’s accreditation, preventing Smale from attending the Abuse in Care apology at Parliament today. Smale is an ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

2 days ago
The 30/30 fiscal rule that rules us all

Fonterra is selling off brands made up of decades of R&D and marketing spend. Why? Because farmers need to repay debt so banks can increase mortgage lending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

2 days ago
2024 will be the first year above 1.5°C

This is a re-post from The Climate Brink, and an excerpt from a much more detailed State of the Climate Q3 2024 report that I published over at Carbon Brief today. See that for more details on climate model/observation comparisons, sea ice extent, and other climate variables. The warmest year on record In my ...

Skeptical Science

2 days ago
150 days of rail disruption to come

Kiwirail and Auckland Transport have revealed that the rail network will be closed or partially closed for nearly 149 days between Christmas this year and the end of January 2026, almost 38% of the time, as part of what they’re calling the final push to get the rail network ready ...

Greater AucklandBy Matt L

3 days ago
How Netflix Got Cold Feet

Hi,I’m not sure if you’ve noticed recently, but discovering stuff on Netflix can be kind of hard.Sure — you’re presented with a bunch of categories like “Top 10” when you login, but outside of those initial lists, finding things that are compelling and worth your time seems close to impossible. ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

3 days ago
Seymour is only beginning

ACT Leader David Seymour is undeterred by the likelihood that his Treaty Principles Bill will die in the House when it returns from the Select Committee sometime in the first half of next year. He believes the debate has only just begun and will continue to eventual success even though ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

3 days ago
Gordon Campbell on the Crown’s sorry excuse for an apology

The world over, politicians are finding “sorry” to be the easiest word. Without disclosing the size and formula of the monetary compensation that the government is prepared to offer to those abused while in state care, a mere apology verges on being another form of abuse. It’s not as if ...

WerewolfBy ScoopEditor

3 days ago
Let Aaron Smale take his rightful seat, you dismal dismal people

This is Aaron Smale.Journalist Aaron Smale appearing as a witness at the Royal Commission. Newsroom Screenshot.For eight years he has covered the abuse of children and others in state institutions.For eight years he has helped to bring to light the many lies and coverups by the Crown.He has written some ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

3 days ago
Monday 11 November 2024

Today the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti set off from Te Rerenga Wairua and is making its way through the North, stopping in Whangārei for the night. In union news, it has been announced that plastic factory Sistema is likely to cut up to 100 jobs. A new report written by ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

3 days ago
National suppresses the media

The government is doing its formal apology to victims of abuse-in-care at Parliament tomorrow, along with introducing a (still secret) bill addressing restitution. It will obviously be a big media event. But Newsroom's Aaron Smale, a journalist who has played a key role in exposing crown failure and wrongdoing in ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

3 days ago
Speeding toward a lethal legacy

A few weeks ago I wrote on how the Minister of Transport Simeon Brown had misrepresented cities overseas in his crusade to make our streets and roads more dangerous. Since then, his speed rule has been finalised and signed. Also, the summary of public feedback has been released after many ...

Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp

4 days ago
Dawn Chorus for Monday, November 11

Diabetes rates are rising, yet the government remains hyper-focused on short-term cost reduction and is not considering wider prevention measures. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, November 11: Diabetes rates are ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

4 days ago
New Zealand was the training ground for the 2024 US election

Much of the internet is bots.There are more bots every day. Every site that's in any way bot-trainable has bots scraping posts and chats.We have AI. It can auto-recognise voices. It can mine text for information which it can categorise and file, but cannot process it or use to further ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

4 days ago
2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #45

A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 3, 2024 thru Sat, November 9, 2024. Summary of this week's topics We asked Google's Gemini again for help categorizing the articles we shared during the week, but ...

Skeptical Science

4 days ago
The Enemy Within – Maire Leadbeater & Nicky Hager

Like so many others involved in social justice movements, Maire Leadbeater was subjected to state surveillance during a long life of activism. With the help of archival material, released SIS files, and other formerly secret material, she has been able to examine the depth of stateintrusion into the lives of ...

Fabians

4 days ago
Sympathy of Distraction

You take a mortal manAnd put him in controlWatch him become a GodWatch people's heads a-rollJust like the pied piperLed rats through the streetsWe dance like marionettesSwaying to the symphony of destructionSong: Dave Mustaine.Look over there, not here.The problem is, I told myself this morning as I contemplated that Q&A ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

4 days ago
Nicola Deflects As National Spend Big on Roads

Nicola Willis says the multi-generation i-Rex ferries were too expensive for her - and has reportedly thrown away ~$1bn of taxpayers money in the process, and offended NZ's sixth largest trading partner.But Willis and National have now committed a minimum of $3bn to build:"less than 2km of one car lane ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

5 days ago
You have to do something

A jolting moment in a movie a can stay with you for the longest, longest time. Those Hitchcock birds; human remains in Cambodia’s Killing Fields; what remains of the Statue of Liberty on the beach; Thelma, Louise, their Thunderbird.Sometimes we’re simply taking our imagination for a ride into a dark ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

5 days ago
Fact brief – Is there an expert consensus on human-caused global warming?

Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is there an ...

Skeptical Science

5 days ago
Hatching (Pahanhautoja)

2022, directed by Hanna Bergholm Hatching is a movie that I can genuinely imagine being used to teach film analysis in high school English. I know it’s not actually in English, but unless the rules have changed that doesn’t disqualify it – after the comparatively insipid The Sixth Sense in ...

The little pakehaBy chrismiller

5 days ago
Making It Make Sense – What Happened, and What We Need To Look Out For With Media

Until Nicola Willis used the phrase to describe her 2024 Budget, this phrase “It’s Always Darkest Before The Dawn” was one of comfort - and often - truth.“It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn”I think ultimately, it stands true - even if we don’t know how long a period of upheaval ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

5 days ago
We Need The Journalists & Newsrooms That Remain

This is a repost of an article I wrote on social media. It was published before this week’s announcement of TVNZ cuts.I often reflect on how much hysteria there was around Golriz Ghahraman - journalists parked outside her home for a week after she admitted fault.The hyper-attention and headlines they ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

5 days ago
Pelosi turns on Harris, low key

Like everyone else, Nancy Pelosi is looking for reasons for why the Democrats lost the election. Her preferred candidate seems to be Kamala Harris, though she disguises this by making it look like she is swiping at Joe Biden:“We live with what happened,” Pelosi said.Pelosi was speaking to the Interview, ...

Left hand palmBy lurgee

5 days ago
Happy Freedom Day

Wastee little weaselWants cheap tricksLiberty bell cracked in halfA bacon steakA perfect matchFreedom of '76Song: Ween, Ed WilsonToday is World Freedom Day, an American commemoration that began in 2001 to recognise the fall of the Berlin Wall, some 12 years earlier. Seems odd timing to start acknowledging something in late ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

5 days ago
Dawn Chorus for weekend of Nov 9/10

Here’s my top six news and other links on Saturday, November 9 for your weekend reading pleasure:Scoop: 'The risk of death is higher': What Cabinet knew when it raised speed limits on our roads NZ Herald-$$$’s Simon WilsonScoop: Five firms to review retrofit of Dunedin hospital, rather than new build ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

6 days ago
The End of Austerianism?

Does the Autumn 2024 British budget point to a change in fiscal strategies?Many countries found their fiscal position was unsustainable, following the 2008 Global Financial Crash. Their public spending was well in excess of their public revenue and they had to borrow more heavily than lenders thought prudent. Almost unanimously, ...

PunditBy Brian Easton

6 days ago
The Trump victory – do people accept democracy?

Image Credit: Council of Europe. Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People I didn’t have a dog in the fight—if I were a US ...

Open ParachuteBy Ken

6 days ago
Sifting through the wreckage.

Although I shared some thoughts about the US election on other social media platforms, here are some items that emerged from the wreckage: Campaigns based on hope do not always defeat campaigns based on fear. Having dozens of retired high … Continue reading → ...

KiwipoliticoBy Pablo

6 days ago
Sissy

2022, directed by Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes You know that thing where a character just keeps on making bad decision after bad decision as everything goes to shit around them? I can’t stand that thing. Snowballing consequences can be done really well when all of a character’s choices make ...

The little pakehaBy chrismiller

6 days ago
Friday 8 November 2024

The Treaty Principles Bill has been introduced to Parliament, with its First Reading set down for next week. A large hīkoi is set to depart from Te Rerenga Wairua on Monday, with events planned as they head down the motu to Parliament. In employment news, NZDF staff have escalated strike ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

6 days ago
Just Let Them Walk All Over You

Just let them walk all over youLaugh through the punches and the painLet the life-blood drain away from youThey're right, you're wrongAnd you can see it in the way they look at youFeel it in the way they treat youAlways the last to knowAlways the first to leaveBetween Two Points ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

6 days ago
Economic Bulletin November 2024

The post Economic Bulletin November 2024 appeared first on NZCTU. ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

6 days ago
Weekly Roundup 7-November-2024

Happy Friday, there’s been some significant world events this week but welcome to another round-up of interesting stories about what’s happening in Auckland and other cities. Feel free to add your links in the comments! This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

7 days ago
The Hoon around the week to November 8

The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including how Donald Trump’s re-election and sweep of the Congress changes the equations; on the US ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

7 days ago
It’s OK To Feel Shitty

Hi,For any of you panicking, Webworm is not going to become a newsletter endlessly ranting about the results of this week’s US election.We’ll get back to Luka Magnotta sending me letters from prison and Hare Krishna’s calling me “c**t face” eventually, but just bare with me as I wrap my ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

7 days ago
Curbing the power of the Beehive

The Constitutional Lw Professor and former Prime Minister, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, yesterday pointed out an anomaly in what is supposed to be Parliament’s gold-standard legislation to empower itself.The Parliament Bill is currently before a special Select Committee chaired by the former Speaker, Adrian Ruawhe and aims to simplify the legislation ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

7 days ago
Geoffrey Miller: Trump victory could spark New Zealand rethink at APEC in Peru

Donald Trump’s sweeping election victory has set the stage for this year’s APEC summit in Peru. At least 14 leaders have so far confirmed their attendance at the leaders’ summit in Lima from November 15-16. China’s Xi Jinping, Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Canada’s Justin Trudeau will all ...

Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller

7 days ago
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #45 2024

Open access notables Anthropogenic warming has ushered in an era of temperature-dominated droughts in the western United States, Zhuang et al., Science Advances: Historically, meteorological drought in the western United States (WUS) has been driven primarily by precipitation deficits. However, our observational analysis shows that, since around 2000, rising surface ...

Skeptical Science

7 days ago
Cheap distracting games

Sometimes it’s hard to stop doomscrolling. One thing that can help is having something else to focus on, like video games! I’m not exactly the most tuned in to the industry, but I follow enough variety content creators to know of a pretty decent range of games that are easy ...

The little pakehaBy chrismiller

1 week ago
Climate Change: Raising the bar

One of the obligations of the Paris Climate Change Agreement is for every country to set a "Nationally Determined Contribution" - an NDC - of emissions cuts. The Key government initially set an unambitious NDC of a 30% cut (from 2005 levels) by 2030. The Ardern government later increased this ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

1 week ago
Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm

Photo by Julian Zwengel on UnsplashWe’re back. Come and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with special guests:5.00 pm - 5.10 pm - ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
Don’t think I’ve ever moved through the stages of grief so swiftly

I spent yesterday afternoon watching the New York Times election dashboard needle steadily move towards the worst possible result. It was more or less the same dashboard they had in 2016, and it was telling more or less the same tale. You end up hating the NYT and its damn ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

1 week ago
This One’s Just For You, Martyn.

Hard Hat & A HammerAlan JacksonVideo courtesy of YouTubePosted on Bowalley Road on Thursday, 7 November 2024. ...

Bowalley Road

1 week ago
The Age of (Dis)Information

Don’t want to be an American idiotOne nation controlled by the mediaInformation age of hysteriaIs calling out to idiot America—Greenday, American IdiotSapphi’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.What just happened?Nothing. Yesterday was a momentous election. The ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 week ago
Drawn

A ballot for two Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill (Laura Trask) Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill (Kahurangi Carter) The first is ACT bullshit aimed at undermining basic employment rights. The ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

1 week ago
The planet is ‘on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster,’ scientists warn

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections A person rides past a destroyed church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene flooding on October 6, 2024, in Swannanoa, North Carolina. Scientists say that climate change increased the storm’s deadly rainfall by about 10%. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Earth’s ...

Skeptical Science

1 week ago
Making America Gross Again

I should be crying, but I just can't let it showI should be hoping, but I can't stop thinkingOf all the things I should've saidThat I never saidAll the things we should've doneThat we never didAll the things I should've givenBut I didn'tOh, darling, make it goMake it go awaySongwriter: ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

1 week ago
The Day After

This morning, there will be plenty of reflections on why and how Donald J. Trump won the US election for a second time.Melania agrees to hold her husband’s hand after his historic victoryThere will be pithy lines, astute observations, and anger and disbelief from some. And for others, celebration - ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

1 week ago
Throwback Thursday: 10 Years

At the start of 2018, Patrick penned this post thinking about how Auckland might look in 10 years. We are almost 7 years through that, and so we thought it might be interesting to think about what came true, and what was unforeseen? What has changed in Auckland and does ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

1 week ago
What Donald Trump’s second Presidency means for us financially

Trump busts out his signature move at a celebratory election night party. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 7: Donald Trump’s re-election as US President overnight has already driven global ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago

Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill

The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...

Greens

3 hours ago
Stand Up for Te Tiriti

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...

Labour Blog

7 hours ago
Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon

As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Labour Blog

8 hours ago
Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation

The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...

Greens

1 day ago
Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned

The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

1 day ago
Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors

...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors

Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care

Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill

The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

3 days ago
Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect

The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...

Greens

3 days ago
Without action, an apology will be empty air

For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...

Greens

3 days ago
Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference

Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...

Labour Blog

6 days ago
Urgent wake-up call on climate

The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...

Greens

6 days ago
Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world

Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...

Greens

6 days ago
Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies

Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...

Labour Blog

6 days ago
Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill

The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...

The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
NZ must pursue independent foreign policy

The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Release: Winston Peters must apologise

The Deputy Prime Minister should apologise to the public servant he named and blamed for something they did not do, and for misusing the rules of Parliament. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Release: Government continues to fail small business

The Government is leaving small businesses high and dry in difficult economic times, by letting big business get away with not paying their bills. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Release: Unemployment rising under National

Nicola Willis’ policies continue to slow the economy with more Kiwis out of work as a result. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Near four-year high unemployment reveals dire need for new direction

Today, Statistics New Zealand’s latest labour market report revealed that unemployment has reached 4.8 per cent, the highest rate since late 2020, during the COVID pandemic. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Release: Shovels in the ground this term unlikely

National looks set to break another election promise, this time by not beginning construction on a second Mt Victoria tunnel this term, Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Not too late to abandon the Bill, Christopher

The Green Party is urgently calling on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to abandon the Treaty Principles Bill following reports it will be introduced on Thursday. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Coalition Govt’s expensive tunnel vision for Wellington comes at the expense of the regions

A second Mount Victoria tunnel, a duplicate Terrace tunnel alongside highway widening will dump more traffic in the centre of Wellington and result in more pollution. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Release: Government’s disgrace for Christchurch homeowners

The Government is backtracking on existing commitments to do the right thing by homeowners let down by EQC (now the Natural Hazards Commission). ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Release: National’s FamilyBoost a colossal flop

Nicola Willis continues to over promise and under deliver, with most families receiving only $30 a week from National’s flagship FamilyBoost flop. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Ngarewa-Packer Demands Support for Palestine Ceasefire from New Plymouth Mayor

Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader and MP for Te Tai Hauāuru, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer is calling on the Mayor for New Plymouth, Neil Holdom, to do the right thing. “I am shocked at his decision to disregard the petition presented by Palestine Solidarity Taranaki calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire”, said ...

Māori Party

1 week ago
Release: Trade deal with Gulf states welcomed

Labour welcomes the conclusion of a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that was restarted under a Labour government after languishing for many years. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
Release: Labour welcomes OAG fast track inquiry

The Government should consider the outcome of an Auditor-General report into conflicts of interest before progressing the Fast track Approvals Bill through Parliament. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
Greens reignite call for free dental

A new report detailing the enormous social and economic costs of our dental system has reignited the Greens' call for free dental care. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Greens call for bottom trawling ban and call out Minister for lacklustre response

The Green Party is urgently calling on the Government to ban bottom trawling, following news a New Zealand bottom trawler caught 37kg of coral in international waters, prompting the suspension of all fishing in the area until 2026. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Mark Patterson: Farmers understand we have their backs

Spring is here which means the start of the A&P show season. Those treasured community days where town meets country. There's no rural-urban divide here, just a chance to meet up with family and old friends and celebrate all things that make rural New Zealand so special. I'm embarking on ...

NZ First Press Release

2 weeks ago
Release: Funding for Gumboot Friday should pause

The National Government should review its support for Gumboot Friday after unacceptable comments by its leader and champion Mike King. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
Louise Upston cherry-picks data to punch down on the poor

The Government has very conveniently cherry-picked data from the latest MSD projections to justify its cruel agenda and punch-down policy when it comes to people living in poverty. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Luxon needs to address the cow in the room

The Green Party was appalled to hear Prime Minister Christopher Luxon claim we are “doing everything we can” on climate change, while his government does nothing to address emissions in our most polluting sector. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Govt Must Clean Up ‘Its Shit’ From Sunken HMNZS Manawanui

Te Pāti Māori is calling out the Government and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) for their inaction and disgraceful downplaying of the impact caused by the sunken HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa. “We demand the Government move without further delay to clean up its shit from the sunken HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa,” said co-leader Debbie ...

Māori Party

3 weeks ago
Jamie Arbuckle: Inquiry into Banking Competition

This week was the start of the bank inquiry hearings into banking competition. The inquiry was confirmed in the NZ First/National Coalition agreement. 140 submissions were received on the inquiry, and we will hear from over 60 submitters including all the major banks. ANZ, New Zealand's largest bank, was first ...

NZ First Press Release

3 weeks ago

Treaty Principles Bill passes first reading

Associate Justice Minister David Seymour says all New Zealanders will now be able to have their say on the Treaty Principles Bill after it passed its first reading and was sent to the Justice Committee to be considered. “I look forward to seeing what Kiwis have to say on the ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 hours ago
Antarctic cooperation at centre of Scott Base visit

Finance Minister and Associate Climate Change Minister Nicola Willis will travel to Antarctica next week to engage with international partners and scientists and to assess latest steps in the redevelopment of Scott Base. “New Zealand has important interests in Antarctica and our longstanding presence at Scott Base is a key ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 hours ago
RIF funding supports aquaculture development

The Coalition Government is backing the development of an aquaculture centre of excellence in Southland with an investment of $2.2 million, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. South Island Industrial Fund Ltd will use the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) loan towards its $6.3m project to upgrade infrastructure at the Ocean ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

8 hours ago
Safeguarding Kiwis with modern insurance law

Modernised insurance law will provide Kiwis with confidence that they will be treated fairly by insurance providers, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “A secure insurance market is integral to New Zealand’s economic success. It enables consumers and businesses to access finance and gives them the assurance to ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

8 hours ago
When the going gets tough ‘Get Through’ with Farmstrong

An online hub with mental wellbeing tools and resources designed to help farmers and growers deal with the stress of adverse weather events has been officially launched by Minister for Mental Health, Matt Doocey. “Adverse weather events are an increasingly common reality for our farmers and growers. It’s vital that ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

10 hours ago
Government exploring new energy source

Up to $60 million will be ring-fenced from the Regional Infrastructure Fund to invest in exploring the potential of supercritical geothermal technology which could help secure New Zealand’s future energy needs, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Science, Innovation, and Technology Minister Judith Collins say. Having a secure and resilient energy supply ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

12 hours ago
Pay Gap Calculator toolkit launched

New Zealand businesses can now take meaningful action to drive down the gender pay gap with the launch of an online calculator today, Minister for Women Nicola Grigg says. “Women are paid, on average, 8.2 per cent less than men and this gap has barely moved since 2017 - which ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Government launches refreshed Public Private Partnership framework

The Government has released a refreshed Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework that provides a blueprint to the market outlining how the government will approach future PPP transactions, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “Refreshing New Zealand’s PPP model is an important part of our plan to ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Further decisions taken on regulating online casino gambling

Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to further details of a new system to regulate online casino gambling. “A new Online Gambling Bill will be drafted with the purpose to regulate online casino gambling to facilitate a safer and compliant regulated online gambling market. More importantly, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Tailored support for people in emergency housing

Ka mate kāinga tahi, ka ora kāinga rua. An innovative Government trial will tailor support to people with a diverse range of complex needs to move out of emergency housing and into more permanent housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “The Government has set a target of reducing the ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Getting ready for bird flu

Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard is encouraging New Zealanders to take steps to be ready for the possible arrival of bird flu.“While high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) is still some distance from New Zealand and we’ve never had a case here, it’s important that we take a cautious approach. “If you’re one ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Harbour closure supports mussel reseeding

A two-year ban on the take of kuku/mussels from Ōhiwa Harbour in eastern Bay of Plenty will support local efforts to restore mussel beds in the area, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa requested the closure, Te rāhui kuku ki tua o Kanawa, to ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Government awards primary sector scholarships to tertiary students

The coalition Government has awarded scholarships to six tertiary students as part of efforts to boost on-the-ground support for farmers and growers Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard announced today. “We are reducing the regulatory burden on farmers and growers and providing support to adapt and innovate, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Tax work programme focused on rebuilding the economy

Rebuilding the economy and improving fiscal sustainability is the key focus of the Government’s new Tax and Social Policy Work Programme for Inland Revenue, Revenue Minister Simon Watts says. “New Zealand has been grappling with significant economic challenges over the last few years with many businesses and households feeling the ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Omnibus Bill First Reading for Royal Commission of Inquiry National Apology

Mr Speaker, as the Minister for Children, it is my priority to ensure that children and young people in the care system are safe. The thousands of survivors who shared their experiences with the Royal Commission have been clear that the system must improve its protections against abuse and neglect. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Clarifying the protection of disabled people in care

The Government is amending the Crimes Act to ensure the protection of disabled people in care is made more explicit, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As part of the Government’s response to the recommendations of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission, the word ‘disability’ is being added to the definition ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Oranga Tamariki Act changes a step in the right direction

Changes to the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 included in an Omnibus Bill are long overdue and a positive step in the right direction, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. As part of the National Apology today, the Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Bill had its first reading. “I am ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Improvements to Government record-keeping in response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse ...

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is making changes to the Public Records Act, to improve the record-keeping practices of government agencies. “These changes will allow the Chief Archivist to audit an agency more frequently where required and will also allow the Chief Archivist to work ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Minister Peters completes successful visit to Chile

New Zealand and Chile have reaffirmed their strong partnership, including on security, trade, Antarctic issues, and people-to-people links, says Foreign Minister Winston Peters. “Chile is one of New Zealand’s closest and most like-minded partners in Latin America, and it is the gateway to the region for many New Zealanders,” Mr ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
‘Foreign policy views from an Indo-Pacific neighbour’ – Speech on New Zealand fore...

Kia ora. Tēnā koutou katoa. And greetings from New Zealand. Thank you to Rector Devés and the University of Chile for hosting us today, and to Undersecretary de la Fuente and Professor López for the warm welcome and introductions. When a much younger person, walking on a bridge ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Prime Minister apologises for abuse in care

Ngā kura mōrehu, Treasured survivors, kua ngaro, haere atu rā. those that have passed, farewell. Ngā kura mōrehu, Treasured survivors E whakawhaiti nei that have gathered here. Kei ngā rangatira To the esteemed leaders Tēnā koutou katoa. Greetings. I’d like to welcome you ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Government apologises for abuse in care

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has apologised to all New Zealanders who were abused in the care of state and faith-based institutions. “This is a significant and sorrowful day in New Zealand,” Mr Luxon says. “Today, I am apologising on behalf of the Government to everyone who suﬀered abuse, harm and ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Climate Change Minister to attend COP29 in Baku

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will attend the 29th annual United Nations Climate Change Summit (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, this week. “New Zealand is fully committed to meeting our climate targets and reducing the impacts of climate change. Every country has a role to play, and New Zealand will continue ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Crown Observer appointed to Wellington City Council

Experienced local government practitioner Lindsay McKenzie has been appointed as a Crown Observer to Wellington City Council, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Wellington City Council is facing significant challenges in delivering services to its community, while balancing its debt and insurance obligations,” Mr Brown says.“The decision to appoint a Crown ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Govt strengthens protection for people in state care

The Government is introducing several law changes to better protect people in state care, in response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. “The magnitude of the abuse detailed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry was heartbreaking, and as a Government we will do everything in our ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Prime Minister to attend APEC Leaders’ Meeting

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon departs for Peru this week to attend the annual APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting from 15-16 November. “The APEC Summit is a key moment in the regional calendar. It’s an opportunity to meet with counterparts who are also grappling with cost-of-living challenges and choices about driving more ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
First kina barren special permit approved

New rules allowing local communities to take direct action against kina barrens are starting to bear fruit, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. “I’ve made kina barrens a priority, which is why I introduced a new special permit purpose this year to allow the removal and translocation of kina ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Faster 110km/h speed limit to accelerate Kāpiti from 13 November

The new 110km/h speed limit on the Kāpiti Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS) will come into effect on 13 November 2024, more than two weeks earlier than expected, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Boosting economic growth and productivity is a priority for the Government. The new 110km/h speed limit will ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Largest ever number of graduate vets to boost rural productivity and support farmers

Thirty-five graduate vets will join rural communities this year through the Voluntary Bonding Scheme (VBS) for Veterinarians, marking the largest intake in the scheme’s history, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, and Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard, announced today. “The Government is committed to enhancing primary sector productivity and delivering direct benefits ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Stalking to become illegal and jailable offence

The Government has agreed to introduce legislation this year that will make stalking illegal with a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Every New Zealander deserves to feel safe in their community and this Government is committed to making sure victims are ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Nationally significant sites to be upgraded

Me mihi ngakaunui ki a Tā Robert Gillies e ngaro nei ki tōna nui o Te Rua Tekau Mā Waru. Farewell to Sir Robert Gillies of the 28th (Māori) Battalion. The Government will provide $20.3 million in funding to improve two sites that have a special place in the hearts ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Unions shouldn’t get in the way of student learning

The Government is urging the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put the education of their students first. “Between 9am and 3pm, parents expect their children to be at school to learn. Our Government is relentlessly focused on ensuring the value of achievement and attendance are at the centre of ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
Compensation scheme levies to be risk based

The levies that banks, building societies, credit unions and finance companies pay to the new Depositor Compensation Scheme (DCS) fund will reflect the size and riskiness of the institutions, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Under the scheme, deposits up to the value of $100,000 per depositor will be protected in ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
New Child Centre will improve mental health outcomes in Tauranga

Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey today opened Te Waka Aorangi Child Wellness Centre at Tauranga Hospital, marking a significant milestone in the Government’s commitment to enhancing the health of children and whānau in the Bay of Plenty region. “Te Waka Aorangi is leading the way by providing a ‘one-stop-shop’ ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
Dr Daniel Tulloch appointed to FENZ board

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden has today announced that Dr Daniel Tulloch has be appointed to Fire and Emergency New Zealand board. “I am pleased to announce that Dr Daniel Tulloch has been appointed for a three-year term of office” says Ms van Velden. “Dr Tulloch is a ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
Social Investment Board appointed

Former Treasury Secretary Dr Graham Scott has been appointed as chair of the newly established Social Investment Board, alongside a group of highly skilled individuals, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. The board will advise on the implementation of the social investment approach across the public sector and the work ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
Poroporoaki: Sir Robert ‘Bom’ Gillies

E te Ikanui a Whiro kua mau nei i te kupenga a Aitua. Kua turakina e te hoariri e kore nei e tāea te karo, mōrehu mutunga o te hokowhitu a Tū ki te Riri Tuarua o te Ao, unuhia tō kōuma, whakairihia tō patu ki tara-ā-whare, whītikihia te tatua ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
New Zealand and Irish Governments partner to support farming through research

New Zealand and Ireland are investing $9.6 million in targeted research to deliver practical solutions that reduce emissions for New Zealand’s primary producers, announced Agriculture Minister Todd McClay today. The joint effort, led by New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
Rail Network Rebuild to be delivered ahead of City Rail Link opening

The Government has confirmed a programme of upgrades to Auckland’s rail network that will complete the Rail Network Rebuild ahead of the City Rail Link (CRL) opening, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Acting Auckland Mayor Desley Simpson say. “The last National Government started the City Rail Link to transform public transport ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
Foreign Minister to visit Latin America

Foreign Minister Winston Peters will visit Chile, Mexico and Peru next week. “Chile and Mexico are two of New Zealand’s closest partners in Latin America and we are pleased to be visiting them next week,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will have bilateral programmes in Santiago and Mexico City involving ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago

Collins and Rocket Lab challenged over satellites linked to Israeli war crimes

Asia Pacific Report The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) has written to the Minister for Space Judith Collins and Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck to warn that satellites being launched from the Māhia Peninsula are “highly likely” to conduct surveillance for Israel. And also to assist in the commission of ...

Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report

1 hour ago
OzAsia festival 2024: a celebration of Asian culture and art – and what it means to be Asian-Austr...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tets Kimura, Adjunct Lecturer, Creative Arts, Flinders University Xplorer Media/Adelaide Festival Centre The well-documented history of Asian mass migration to modern Australia dates from the gold rush era in the mid-19th century. With a history that is longer a century and ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

2 hours ago
Major parties making gains in TPU-Curia poll

The major parties have gained - with National regaining 3.9 points - at the expense of the minor parties. ...

Radio NZ – political

2 hours ago
NZ’s Treaty Principles Bill passes first reading after Māori MP evicted over haka

RNZ News New Zealand’s controversial Treaty Principles Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today and will now go to the Justice Committee for consideration as the national Hīkoi continued its journey to the capital. Opposition Te Pati Māori’s Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was suspended from the House following a haka. Maipi-Clarke ...

Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report

2 hours ago
Watch: Labour’s Willie Jackson ejected from house for calling David Seymour a liar during Trea...

Labour's Māori Development spokesperson was the first to be ejected from the House after calling David Seymour a "liar" - breaking Parliament's rules. ...

Radio NZ – political

3 hours ago
There is reliable evidence social media harms young people – debates about it are a misdirection

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Einstein, Adjunct Fellow, School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University Tanya Gorelova/Pexels The Australian government is developing legislation that will ban children under 16 from social media. There has been a huge public debate about whether there is sufficient direct evidence ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

3 hours ago
Politics with Michelle Grattan: shadow communications minister David Coleman says misinformation leg...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government has embarked on a raft of new online safety measures aimed at protecting Australians from the excesses of misinformation and social harm online. However, these policies have been met with backlash. Experts ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

3 hours ago
ASIC’s lawsuit against Cbus has put the big super funds on notice

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natalie Peng, Lecturer in Accounting, The University of Queensland Yuri A/Shutterstock Does your superannuation fund also provide you with insurance? Many of us are automatically enrolled without even realising. Now, the way super funds handle such claims has been thrust into ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

3 hours ago
Live: The Treaty Principles Bill has passed its first reading

Te Pāti Māori's Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was suspended from the house for interrupting the vote on the Treaty Principles Bill's first reading with a haka. ...

Radio NZ – political

4 hours ago
Uniformed Defence Force Should Not Be Used As Strike Breakers

“In a modern liberal democracy, any deployment of the armed forces in employment relations is a drastic step, and should be avoided at all costs,” said Wagstaff. ...

Scoop politics

4 hours ago
House suspended as haka interrupts first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill

Speaker Gerry Brownlee has suspended the House of Representatives after a haka, led by Te Paati Māori and performed by members in the public gallery, interrupted the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill. As thousands continue to protest and hīkoi around Aotearoa, the first reading of the Treaty Principles ...

The SpinoffBy Liam Rātana

4 hours ago
Watch: Haka interrupts vote for the Treaty Principles Bill

As Opposition MPs and the public gallery stood to perform Ka Mate, Speaker Gerry Brownlee suspended the sitting. ...

Radio NZ – political

4 hours ago
Labour’s Willie Jackson ejected from house for calling David Seymour a liar during Treaty Prin...

Labour's Māori Development spokesperson has been ejected from the House after calling David Seymour a "liar" - breaking Parliament's rules. ...

Radio NZ – political

4 hours ago
Live: Labour MP Willie Jackson excused from house after calling David Seymour a liar

A fiery debate has begun as the bill has its first reading in the House, and thousands continue a hīkoi towards Wellington. ...

Radio NZ – political

5 hours ago
Australia will impose a ‘digital duty of care’ on tech companies to reduce online harm. It’s a...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa M. Given, Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University MART PRODUCTION/Pexels In an escalation of its battle with big tech, the federal government has announced it plans to impose a “digital duty of care” ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

5 hours ago
To move or not to move: is it cheaper to find a new place or stay when your rent increases by 10%?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Park Thaichon, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Southern Queensland fizkes/Shutterstock Your landlord has just raised your rent by 10% and your mind starts running the numbers – should you cop it sweet or look to move? It’s a familiar scenario ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

5 hours ago
What causes the itch in mozzie bites? And why do some people get such a bad reaction?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor and Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney Arthur Poulin/Unsplash Are you one of these people who loathes spending time outdoors at dusk as the weather warms and mosquitoes start biting? Female mosquitoes need blood to ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

5 hours ago
If our hot water heaters ran off daytime solar, we would slash emissions and soak up cheap energy

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Baran Yildiz, Senior lecturer in Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW Sydney nikkytok/Shutterstock Your hot shower or bath uses 15-30% of your household’s total energy, second only to the heating and cooling of air. More than half of all Australian households rely ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

5 hours ago
Live: Parliament sits to debate Treaty Principles Bill

A fiery debate has begun as the bill has its first reading in the House, and thousands continue a hīkoi towards Wellington. ...

Radio NZ – political

6 hours ago
Hundreds of Israel lobbyists ‘writing America’s news’, reveals new probe

Pacific Media Watch Hundreds of former employees of Israel lobbying groups such as AIPAC, StandWithUs and CAMERA are working in top newsrooms across the United States, writing and producing America’s news — including on Israel-Palestine, reports a new investigation. These outlets include MSNBC, The New York Times, CNN and Fox ...

Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report

6 hours ago
Review: Crowded House gets Ōtautahi breaking the rules

Last night at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch, Crowded House did the unthinkable – they got a polite New Zealand concert crowd to break the rules. Here’s something I’ve observed about concert attendance in the north vs the south. Where most Aucklanders will bustle in just as the main act takes ...

The SpinoffBy Alex Casey

6 hours ago
Christopher Luxon gives scathing appraisal of Treaty Principles Bill ahead of first reading

The Prime Minister has given a scathing appraisal of the bill on the day of its first reading. ...

Radio NZ – political

7 hours ago
The House: It’s all politics

In Parliament, anything and everything can be political including things as innocuous as playground equipment, clothing, colours, and even eating takeaways. ...

Radio NZ – political

7 hours ago
Waitangi Tribunal demands release Te Aka Whai Ora documents

A treaty lawyer says she can't recall the tribunal issuing a directive like this before. ...

Radio NZ – political

7 hours ago
Christopher Luxon gives scathing appraisal of Treaty Principles Bill at its first reading

The Prime Minister has given a scathing appraisal of the bill on the day of its first reading. ...

Radio NZ – political

8 hours ago
Nationalism is surging – changing the way companies do business overseas

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sihong Wu, Lecturer, School of Business, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau The resurgence of nationalism across the globe is not just a political issue. It’s emerging as a powerful force that multinational companies cannot afford to ignore. Recent events such ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

8 hours ago
Menopause is having a moment. How a new generation of women are shaping cultural attitudes

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bridgette Glover, PhD Candidate in Media and Communications, University of New England From hot flashes to hysteria, film and TV have long represented menopause as scary, emotional and messy. Recently, celebrities have been sharing their personal menopause experiences on social media, ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

8 hours ago
The case for reading books about animals wearing clothes

In light of Gloriavale’s reluctant acceptance of Winnie-the-Pooh, Claire Mabey argues in favour of the wider canon of anthropomorphic animal literature. There is nothing more bleak than the banning of books and the curtailment of reading. Control what people read and you control what they think, and how they behave. ...

The SpinoffBy Claire Mabey

8 hours ago
Hīkoi day four: Setting off from Huntly on way to Wellington – bill reading

RNZ News Thousands of people are continuing their North Island hīkoi as the legislation they are protesting against, the Treaty Principles Bill, gets its first reading in Parliament today. The hīkoi enters day four and headed off from Huntly, destined for Rotorua today, after it advanced through Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau ...

Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report

8 hours ago
Coldplay and 57,000 babies at Eden Park

Review: Everything happens all at once at Coldplay’s sold-out show. About 15 minutes into Music of the Spheres, I realised that we were all just big babies. When Coldplay emerged for their first song, our compostable plastic wristbands lit up around Eden Park, delighting us all. Minutes later, Chris Martin ...

The SpinoffBy Madeleine Chapman

9 hours ago
Health NZ Commissioner steps in to stop staff losing Milo

The man in charge of the country's public health system has stepped in to ensure all staff can still have a drink of Milo at work. ...

Radio NZ – political

9 hours ago
Inland Revenue calls in debt collectors over overseas student debt

Around 1000 Kiwis working in Australia have begun repaying some of their student loan debt in the last three months, an IRD manager says. ...

Radio NZ – political

9 hours ago
Incorrect patient data found during system upgrades at Auckland’s hospitals

A team is working to correct and update this, Te Whatu Ora spokesperson says. ...

Radio NZ – political

9 hours ago
Dear Donald, here’s why you should cut NZ a break in the tariff torrent

Ten irrefutable reasons for the incoming president to exempt plucky little New Zealand from import tax hikes. The former and future president, Donald J Trump, has been re-elected on a platform pledging new and universal import tariffs of 10%-20%. The challenge for New Zealand politicians and officials is to somehow ...

The SpinoffBy Toby Manhire

10 hours ago
Donald Trump picks Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general

The congressman, who remains under investigation for sexual misconduct, said it would "be an honour to serve" in the role. ...

Radio NZ – political

10 hours ago
A 41-million-digit prime number is the biggest ever found – but mathematicians’ search for perfe...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Voight, Professor of Mathematics , University of Sydney Imagine a number made up of a vast string of ones: 1111111…111. Specifically, 136,279,841 ones in a row. If we stacked up that many sheets of paper, the resulting tower would stretch into ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

11 hours ago
Elon Musk has turned X into a globally influential media platform – and there’s more to come

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lewis Mitchell, Professor of Data Science; Director, Adelaide Data Science Centre, University of Adelaide kovop/Shutterstock During the recent United States presidential election campaign, tech billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) saw record high usage. The platform – ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

11 hours ago
The NZ government’s plan to withhold COVID inquiry findings until 2026 leaves the country ill-prep...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shaun Hendy, Professor of Physics, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Getty Images The first report from a Royal Commission of Inquiry to review New Zealand’s response to the COVID pandemic was due to be released this month. ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

11 hours ago
6 things to do if your child’s weight is beyond the ideal range – and 1 thing to avoid

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Fuller, Clinical Trials Director, Department of Endocrinology, RPA Hospital, University of Sydney JPC-PROD/Shutterstock One of the more significant challenges we face as parents is making sure our kids are growing at a healthy rate. To manage this, we take them ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

11 hours ago
‘Catastrophic declines’: massive data haul reveals why so many plants and animals suffer after f...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Don Driscoll, Professor in Terrestrial Ecology, Deakin University The megafires that tore through Australia’s forests in 2019–20 burnt more than ten million hectares. The tragedy prompted a massive research effort to understand how plants and animals were affected. So what did ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

11 hours ago

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.

Getting to know Goff

Related Posts

115 comments on “Getting to know Goff ”

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Getting to know Goff

Share this:

Related Posts

115 comments on “Getting to know Goff ”

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Share this:

Related Posts

Share this:

Related Posts

Share this:

Related Posts

Share this:

Related Posts