– I had Jinty MacTavish (an environmental activist turned Dunedin City Councilor) on a radio show I host and she was very proud of the fact that she had helped persuade the DCHL to have a statement of intent that was aligned with the goals of the DCC and took into account the four well-beings of the city – environmental, cultural, social and economic – instead of just the profit motive. Something that Auckland Council should look at doing – that way they can tell POAL to behave like normal human beings and not how they are behaving right now.
All the way! POAL represent the 1% and are driving slave conditions. They want the workers to be at the beck and call of the port and have no security of hours or pay. Imagine the stress of that on your daily life.
– Can you pay the bills this week?
– Can you feed your family this week?
– Are you going to miss your kid’s school play or help out with taking them on school trips?
– How about if you are a single parent? This would stop you being able to look after your child. You would have to leave your job and then how do you look after your child?
For a Christian (Peter Dunne is one I believe) I would ask you what is more important – their family life or the supposed “flexibility” that is demanded? None of these rich managers would work like this. It is called hypocrisy and we all know what Jesus thought of hypocrites.
I understand the problems with wage insecurity – but if POAL and MUNZ were able to work together properly that should be able to be minimised. Instead they are both making a mess of it – I’d be very surprised if that level of dysfunction in a relationship is all one-sided. Hence Len Brown’s and David Shearer’s positiions?
Are Greens being deliberately quiet or are just not reported much on this?
I really don’t know what Peter Dunne’s religious situation is, that’s his private life. The PoA dispute is not a religious issue anyway.
Work ‘flexibility’ has become very common, it has disadvantages for sure, but also advantages – even for some workers.
What would be better generally for society – 300 workers earning 90k a year, or 400 workers earning 67k?
Pete – when you are a Christian you are always a Christian as far as I was told… I am not one myself you understand but I was well versed in theology by my family many of whom were priests and nuns. 🙂 So Peter D can’t get away with that excuse 🙂
POAL have had an agenda from the beginning to break the union – the union has negotiated in good faith and was working constructively with management to improve productivity. This is purely generated by the management – MUNZ have simply done what any union would do in this situation.
The Greens have been very supportive and have condemned POAL and I have pasted one of our latest Press Releases for your perusal… The press have not been publishing our statements. It happens sometimes 🙂
“Ports Of Auckland actions in sacking workers disgraceful
The Ports of Auckland’s actions in sacking 300 staff sets a terrible precedent for all workers in New Zealand, Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.
The Ports of Auckland today announced it is making its striking workers redundant and will contract the work out.
“The Ports of Auckland’s actions in dismissing staff because they are in a union and willing to stand up for decent work practices, including regular shifts and time with family, is appalling,” said Dr Norman.
“The Government’s legislative changes in the last term have set the scene for employers such as the Ports of Auckland to clamp down hard on workers and unions.
“John Key should realise that we will never catch Australia by driving down New Zealand wages and working conditions. We will just make New Zealand workers poorer.
“The Mayor of Auckland Len Brown and the Auckland Council have sat on their hands over this dispute for too long.
“It’s time for Mayor Brown to take a stand in support of the workers that voted for him,” Dr Norman said.”
The man that was voted in by the left cant be involved in this dispute. He has to take into account 1.5 million Aucklanders. Not just the wishes of 290 workers, and a few Union delegates who want to keep outdated practises that dont fit in with a competive economic environment. ( mods by the way my week is up)
[lprent: you missed this one.. Don’t disrespect the moderators because I need them more thn I need you. ]
James 111 is just saying that any group of 300 workers and their families can be fucked over using the justification “its for the greater good, really it is”.
That would be the Kiwiblog post in which Fatty Penguin also reiterates his support for David “Holocaust! What Holocaust?” Irving to come and speak in New Zealand?
People who stand for nothing but their own gain always struggle to understand, why those with a social conscience do care about others .
Len Brown is a disgrace Im not sure he could ever redeem himself.
Peter George would never be able to get his head around the lefts disgust of Browns inaction after all this is the guy that thinks Dunn ( the traitor) is doing no wrong while selling his Nations assets which will only make its citizens poorer.
Whoever is free should come to Auckland university at 12pm today, Len Brown will be there to answer questions. We need more support for the workers there!
I once supported Len, but no longer. I am, in fact, even beginning to wonder if John Banks could have been any worse! Of course, Brown appeals to the law to justify himself. Even if this is true (which I doubt) he would do well to remember morality, humanity, natural justice. On Campbell Live he meekly admitted that he wishes that the wharf workers had complied with their stinking bosses demands. How convenient for him this would have been. The only thing I would pity Brown about is that he has to contend with the likes of Christine Fletcher and her pals.
The trouble is QSF the Labour party is failing to fall into the cunning trap that we have laid for it. It is refusing to stay still long enough for our allies in the MSM to blast it with the anti-Union rhetoric we’ve been storing up. Still, enough pressure from the left wing activists might encourage it to change their position.
Not actually correct, Sprout. Shearer has at least been on the picket line, has talked directly with MUNZ and the CTU and both those organisations are happy with his level of involvement, at this point.
Brown is not a scab, either, by the way. That’s a very loose use of the word which has a pretty well understood definition in the union movement. Coward and Judas I have no problem with, because they accurately fit his behaviour.
I’m told that Brown will not now be invited to the EPMU conference in Auckland later this year, where it was intended he be a key note speaker again. Given the large number of unionists who campaigned on his behalf, that might well be the final nail in his electoral coffin.
At this stage, international pressure is needed . If dollars and cents are all that Gibson, Key, et al, can understand – then that is their weak point.
Short term it will inconvenience and even cause us economic “pain”. My response is,
a. Long term we will benefit from a Union victory
b. Any economic pain can’t be worse than the savage cuts to the state sector – 2,500 jobs lost already and more planned – and slash social services.
Ummm… might I suggest you actually read some basic economic textbooks first before attempting to articulate any concepts (simple or otherwise). Then you might not mistake Balance of Trade with Balance of Payments for a start.
People can make up examples of anything they like. It doesn’t mean it actually reflects economic reality. I prefer some real world examples.That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
Keep it up then we can confirm how people with an up-close and personal relationship with economic textbooks rarely have had the same with social, geographic and political history.
and good on Shearer going to the picket, when the cameras weren’t around, and quietly talking to MUNZ behind the scenes. but why will he not come out more publicly with a statement of clear and unequivocal support for workers’ rights and the right to organize? is he ashamed of labour’s union roots or is it that he doesn’t actually support unionization? wouldn’t this be one time when it’s actually quite important to support a principle rather than a flawed focus group driven campaign ‘strategy’ of terminal invisibility and neutrality in the hope of sleep walking to victory on the back of National’s unpopularity? that just seems gutless to me.
the term scab is used broadly and is a reference to the point made by the graphic illustrating this post, which is taken from the Save our Port facebook site, where references to Brown being a scab are common. in the sense of the graphic’s point, and in the sense that he’s working against the strikers’ interests, Brown is a scab.
Yes, well, using the word scab “broadly” tends to devalue the force of its specific meaning. All sorts of people are called all sorts of things in all sorts of places – that doesn’t make give one carte blanche to do the same. Rather, it suggests a rather limited vocabulary of abuse on the part of the union. Brown is not actually “working in spite of an ongoing strike” as most dictionaries define the term. He’s a political whore/Judas/Iago/traitor to principle/hypocrite, but he is not a scab.
Good to see the direction of your anger is now targetted towards the correct place. I can understand your frustration. I mean here is a guy that was elected on a broad left platform to counter the right’s efforts to control the Auckland supercity and he is acting like a common centrist. Almost as bad as the Labour Government between 1999 and 2008 who did nothing really to fundamentally alter the employment law landscape. Just diddled around the edges.
People can make up examples of anything they like. It doesn’t mean it actually reflects economic reality. I prefer some real world examples.That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
Apologies, Gosman. It appears that even my “banana metaphor” above was too complex for you. No wonder you couldn’t apply a solution.
(Disclaimer: I haven’t been following this dispute as closely as I might because I experienced a certain ‘sinking feeling’ when I first heard of it as I imagined the union would embark on the same tried and tested strategies of failure it initially employed last time casualisation was on the cards.)
About ten years ago, a similar ‘casualisation’ drive was unleashed on some of the ports in the S. Island. It was thwarted back then. But success was achieved…or succesful stategies deployed…in spite of union officials (some of whom are still ‘in office’).
And ten years ago there was no involvement from the Labour Party and as far as I remember, no involvement from local government either. (I believe the Dunedin council has a stake in Port Chalmers, though I could be wrong)
I’m curious as to why the union has apparently failed to learn from its own recent history and employ the successful strategies that won them the day back then.
As I said, I haven’t been following the dispute at all. But if it’s the case that scab labour is being used to work the port, then that scab labour has to get on site. And if that is the case, then that is the same scenario as existed ten years back.
And ten years back, it just didn’t seem to cross the minds of those union officials who were calling the shots to simply prevent or obstruct any vehicles carrying scab labour. When initailly non-wharfies blocked scab vehicles, certain union officials were less than impressed. And those same union officials kept telling their members to not impede the access of vehicles.
That situation eventually broke down and wharfies also began to obstruct vehicles. And it constituted a cost to the company in terms of money and efficiency. And when the company resorted to hiring vans to ferry scabs into the ports and those vans somehow attracted measures of damage, then that too cost the company and had hire firms thinking twice about who they’d hire vans to.
And when CHH ships were going to be delayed in US ports, that wasn’t because of any action or request by the union or the CTU, but because of initiatives taken by people within their public support.
It was the same story for just about every tactic, strategy or counter strategy employed. They came from outside the ranks of the union and the union officials only eventually got on board and lent their support (and even then, often very unwillingly from some…regardless of evidence highlighting how successful any given tactic or ploy was.)
In a nutshell, a lot of direct action was used and the knowledge of how to deploy direct actions effectively and safely (from both a physical and legal perspective) came from outside the union.
And it was the same for dealing with the media. The fact of the matter was that the union just didn’t seem to have much of a clue on that front either. And so the job of generating positive media coverage (or of avoiding negative coverage) fell largely to people outside the union.
That was ten years ago. Some of the officials involved are still officials today. They could or should have learned something from all the input given back then, and yet…well, it just seems that nothing has changed.
I agree that the MUNZ’s PR has been quite bad and needs a bit of an overhaul.
However I don’t see how you could stop contracted workers from entering the port completely. Certainly the Port could look to ferry them in directly from locations in Auckland that would be difficult to picket.
Alternatively there could be a blockade of the port from the landward side stopping cargo getting in and out. Might be a bit bad PR wise though.
Gos, you have all the time in the world (your output is prodigious)….so why dont we get you to run the POA? You profess to have all the answers, why waste them here, its all intellectual property. Get the job and do the damage.
Should not be too long before POA resembles a Zimbabwean copper mine with requisite employment conditions……
Well, I don’t even know the general layout of Auckland’s port. But I’m guessing there are multiple entry/exit points. So, yup. Compared to the smaller ports of Bluff, Port Chalmers and Nelson, the logistics would be more challenging.
But where there’s a will there’s a way.
Maybe shipping containers could somehow ‘magically appear’ and obstruct a number of entrance/exits? And maybe ignition keys for any lifting gear get ‘lost’ or misplaced or said machineries suffer mysterious and ‘hard to diagnose’ break downs?
I don’t know.
But the type of nonsence I’ve heard recently whereby other ports weren’t going to handle scab loads but subsequently caved because a court said it ‘wouldn’t be cricket’ has to stop.
If a scab loads are prevented from leaving their port of destination…or at least delayed (which might be an easier thing to do if preventing it getting loaded in the first place is too problematic), then might that not encourage companies to ‘request’ their shipments be loaded by union labour?
There must be a million and one ways to introduce chaos and delay to shipments. The union should at least be exploring its options and making it clear to members that it does not in any way condone actions such as x, y or z that members might feel inclined to involve themselves in with regards scab loads, as such actions would effectively cost port authorities money and have a negative impact on the port’s customer relations.
Maybe shipping containers could somehow ‘magically appear’ and obstruct a number of entrance/exits? And maybe ignition keys for any lifting gear get ‘lost’ or misplaced or said machineries suffer mysterious and ‘hard to diagnose’ break downs?
Indeed. There are a million and one imaginative ways forward.
Obvious. Mass solidarity strikes went for 151 days in 1951. MUA mass community picket won in 98. Dunedin community picket won ten years ago.
Two months ago threat of ILWU plus Occupy mass picket won at Longview, Oregon.
Results. Mass pickets win. Why don’t the union leaderships recognise this?
The union leaderships don’t want to break the labour law which is the basis of their existence. They control the ranks unless and until the wider militant layers of workers intervene and rescue their struggle. They are ‘won over’ only when the ranks wake up and force them to move, until the next time when repeat performance as unions get weaker and weaker.
Conclusion. Unions need to be controlled by the members and act independently of both the bureaucrats and the labour law. Occupy was born as an outlaw wildcat movement.
Union ranks + Occupy = new labour movement, both democratic and militant (potentially).
Will enough workers realise this and stand up in time? http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/new-zealand-auckland-port-employers-out.html
Damn – the delete button doesn’t work.
Just a misunderstanding when I thought you were replying to my comment. I thought I’d deleted it before it was even seen.
As you were.
[lprent: Yeah the crazies who took over the re-edit code are playing silly buggers. Weekend fixup. ]
Why have the unions folded before the neo-liberal attacks. They all havnt, but they were bashed about by Labour’s Rogernomic counter-revolution that destroyed full employment the basis of the welfare state. Bill Anderson once admitted that he made a mistake in shutting down the dispute at Marsden Point to help Labour get elected in 1984! LOL
Then Nats ECA in 91 was met by staunch union resistance like the seafarers and timberworkers but sold out by Ken Douglas of CTU who said a general strike would undermine his power to negotiate with the Nats. What he meant was he would try to do a deal with Nats by getting workers to be more productive (more exploited) and allow the bosses to take most of the increased value.
In truth the labour movement has never been strong outside the militant breakawys of the Red Fed 1908-1913 and the TUC walkout of the FOL in 1951 because its been run by bureaucrats who are the loyal servants of NZ national capitalism.
Nearly 30 years of neoliberal crisis economics has weakened the unions to the point where they use the ERA as a crutch and wouldnt know a wildcat if they fell over one.
MUNZ was chosen by the NACTs as one of the few holdout unions that has put up a rearguard action in defending their historic gains.
This is a 1951 type campaign by the bosses to destroy the unions and ride roughshod over workers rights and all resistance to total domination of the economy. Unless the working class rises up to stop it welcome to the rip, shit and bust return to the colonial 1890s.
Remember it well Bill,
Might’ve seen you there when I joined in once or twice, but I tended to try and hide in the tea tent, due to the inflammable levels of testosterone from police and protesters alike.
As I recall the dispute was won because the workforce stood firm, and the scabs who were bussed in were, I think, all out of towners.
It took/takes support from the wider community. Lot less of that in general in Auckland imo. It would have been resolved sooner with better politcal and union support.
Yes it is disappointing. It makes me wonder what current politician (if any) would have stepped in. Based upon what Brown says, it makes him look like just another neo-liberal. Or maybe it was just the characteristics of this situation that turned him away from doing anything.
This is unfolding at the same time that more is becoming understood about the link between a falling labour share of wealth and inequality and poverty. Stronger collective bargaining laws for workers is probably what’s needed rather than a relliance on any polly of the day stepping in to steer a dispute one way or other.
Is it the union part of Labour that runs the “it’s always someone else’s fault” lines?
That neither Len Brown nor David Shearer have backup the union actions (as well as just about everyone else outside some of the unions) could suggest something? Just possibly?
Workers should stand up for their rights and if they choose should lobby their cases in unison. But as Bill suggests, it might just be union leaders shitting in their member’s nest.
As could have been expected, like almost every other politician, Len Brown is making excuses – afraid that if he took action and did what is right he will encounter blow back. No pollie wants blow back and they will work against what they know is right in order preserve their career.
They kid themselves with excuses like “You have to pick your battles” or “The law doesn’t allow me to do anything”.
Meanwhile, workers and their families are callously jettisoned to keep afloat a career, (one that may sink after all).
Len Brown is not a conscience-driven leader but a big cry baby.
My understanding is that Len doesn’t operate in isolation. He’s got around 20 advisors of various capabilities in his office to help drive his vision. Such advisors include the so-called whiz kid Conor Roberts, who helped Len get elected. Others include PR experts like Glyn Jones and policy wonks like James Bews-Hair.
It’s simply atrocious – where are the Labour advisors in Len’s office, and what the hell are they thinking?
As you will have heard, our port company has announced it intends to introduce competitive stevedoring. I am disappointed the two parties down at the port have so far failed to settle their dispute and achieve a new collective agreement. I continue to be in contact with both sides and they are very aware of my concerns about the consequences both for Auckland as a whole and for the families directly involved. My powers to intervene are severely limited.
My response to him, left on his Page,
Mr Brown, you say your “powers to intervene are severely limited”. Yet, Auckland City Council is the shareholder.
Can you then explain how the Shareholding Ministers of SOEs are able to instruct the Boards of SOEs to prepare their Enterprises for sale?
How can some shareholders have “severely limited powers” whilst others have the power to sell bits of New Zealand willy-nilly? This is what folk cannot understand because it simply makes no sense.
If your powers are so “severely limited” – what the heck is the difference between electing you, or that muppet John Banks??? We might as well put Fozzi Bear in the mayor’s seat and be done with it.
Primarily, I think that history will remember Len Brown as a liar.
“The issue is, there is a huge temptation for me to throw myself into the middle of this, and I could.
As the mayor of this city I’ve got a mandate and we certainly have the power
because the company is 100% owned by our council on behalf of you all, and so I could get in amongst that.”
“The real challenge if I step into this, we have six other companies that we own that manage Auckland assets, like Watercare and Auckland Transport.
Every time they have a problem, do I step myself into that?”
After originally claiming that he had “a mandate” to, “on behalf of you all…. get in amongst that” Len Brown has changed tack and is now claiming that as the Mayor of Auckland City “My powers to intervene are severely limited.”
No mention of “I’ve got a mandate” or “Certainly hav(ing) the power” here.
Len Brown choses to be a liar, because he knows being open in his support for this brutal attack on the ports workers, would dismay those mostly working people who supported and voted for him in the Mayoral elections.
Len Brown is a social democrat. Selling out the workers who support them is what social democrats always have to do when the going gets tough because they are capitalists and the needs of capital will always come first.
Capitalists need to wage class war to maintain their priviliged position within the unfair society their system creates.
Those who pretend there can be a fair capitalism are either liars or deluded.
You cannot serve two masters. You are either for or against the capitalist system. If you are for it you have no right criticising Len because you would ineveitably end up selling out workers if you were in a position of power.
If you are not a capitalist you should not be surprised at Len’s actions.
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This is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blogIn last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...
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Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be expected now that she has resigned. I noted that the level of threat she has been exposed to is unprecedented ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is able to steer ...
The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey Lynn and Wellington Central towards the ...
Following the surprise resignation of Jacinda Ardern last week, her replacement, Chis Hipkins, has said: Over the coming week, Cabinet will be making decisions on reining in some programs and projects that aren’t essential right now That messaging is similar to what Jacinda Ardern said late last year and as ...
Much of what will mark the early days of Chris Hipkins’ Prime Ministership would have happened anyway. By December, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister were making it clear the summer break and early days of this year were going to be spent on a reset of government policy. ...
Going to try to get into the blogging thing again (ha!) what with an election coming up and all that. So today I thought I'd start small and simple, by merely tackling the world's (second) richest man.I'm no fan of Elon Musk. You don't want to know why, but I'll ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 15, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 21, 2023. Story of the Week State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2022With a new year underway, most of the climate data for ...
Well, that was a disappointment. As of today, the New Zealand Labour Caucus opted for Chris Hipkins as our new Prime Minister, and I cannot help but let loose a cynical cackle. ...
Get ready for a major political reset once Chris Hipkins is sworn in as Prime Minister this week. Labour’s new leader is likely to push the Government to the right economically, and do his best to jettison the damaging perceptions that Labour has become “too woke” on social issues. Overall, ...
Things have gone sideways… and it’s only the third week of January? It was political earthquake time. For some the Prime Minister made a truly significant announcement. For others – did you have this on your bingo card? – a body double did so (sit tight, you’ll understand later, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Because our hard-working Ministers of the Crown are engaged in Labour Party caucus stuff in Napier, no doubt jockeying to ensure they keep their jobs or get a better one, Point of Order was not surprised to find no fresh news on the Beehive website this ...
By the end of 2019, Jacinda Ardern was a political superstar heading towards an election defeat. She was an icon, internationally beloved, on track to be an ex-prime minister before the age of forty. It was the year of the Christchurch terror attack when Ardern’s response to the atrocity saw ...
People complain about their jobs being meaningless. Does it matter?David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It, would have smiled at Elon Musk’s sacking half the Twitter workforce. Musk seems to be confirming the main thesis of the book, that ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. ...
Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. So, although Ardern has named an ...
I warned about the trap of virtue signaling in my article Virtue signaling over Ukraine. This video is still relevant – but have we moved on since then? The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was universally condemned at the time. Or was it? Certainly, the political atmosphere ...
Earlier this week Point of Order carried a post by Geoffrey Miller on how Japan under a new security blueprint is doubling its defence spending. The plans see Japan buying up advanced weaponry – including long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US – and spending more on ...
Anyone else suffering back-to-work-blues? We’re battling, but still upright. Haere tonu! Today’s cover image is of sunset over Tirohanga Whānui Bridge, sourced from Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Jolisa pondered the fate of AT’s ‘Statements of Imagination’. Tuesday’s post was a guest post by Grady ...
Open access notables Bad news delivered by an all-star cast of familiar researchers: Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans. From the abstract: In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum. According to IAP/CAS data, ...
The resignation of Jacinda Ardern has already made more global headlines than you might expect for that of the PM of a small commonwealth nation like say Sierra Leone (population 6.5 million) or Singapore (population 5.5 million). But international observers might not be too surprised by Ardern’s announcement that ...
One of my earliest political memories is the resignation of Prime Minister David Lange in August 1989. I remember this because of a brown felt-tipped pen drawing I did of the Beehive, the building that houses the Executive of the New Zealand Government. More than thirty years later, we ...
Buzz from the Beehive Hard on the heels of our Buzz from the Beehive earlier today, the PM has made two announcements – the 2023 general election will be held on Saturday 14 October and she will not be campaigning to win a third term as Prime Minister. She will ...
Jacinda Ardern had an outsized impact on New Zealand’s international relations. While all Prime Ministers travel internationally, Ardern’s calendar was fuller than most. Ardern’s first major foreign trip came within weeks of her election in 2017, to the APEC summit in Vietnam. The meeting gave Ardern her first in-person encounter ...
She gave it her all. No New Zealand Prime Minister has ever dominated the political scene at home as she has done, or has established an international profile to match hers. No New Zealand Prime Minister has had to confront such a sequence of domestic and international catastrophes – from ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
The Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...
A vaccine for people at risk of mpox (Monkeypox) will be available if prescribed by a medical practitioner to people who meet eligibility criteria from Monday 16 January, says Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. 5,000 vials of the vaccine have been obtained, enough for up to 20,000 ...
Auckland's mayor says lessons have been learned following the region's highest ever rainfall over 24 hours, which left four people dead and forced hundreds of people out of their homes. ...
Oceans are at their warmest state ever and that has consequences, Kevin Trenberth writes I am a climate scientist who has been around watching the climate crisis grow from one of little concern to one where enough extremes of weather have grabbed the attention of the public. It is now ...
The deputy prime minister, Carmel Sepuloni, and transport minister Michael Woods spoke Sunday afternoon and updated on the government’s response to the state of local emergency in Auckland. Today there will be 70-80 case managers supporting those calling the MSD helpline for assistance. Sepuloni encouraged anyone needing any assistance (food, ...
Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni says it has been "incredibly heartening" to see the way Aucklanders had helped each other out over the past few days. Sepuloni and Transport Minister Michael Wood have provided today's government update on the ongoing state of emergency in Auckland. Sepuloni thanked the many organisations ...
The deputy prime minister says it has been "incredibly heartening" to see the way Aucklanders had helped each other out over the past few days. Watch the latest government update here. ...
The deputy prime minister and the transport minister are providing today's government update on the ongoing state of emergency in Auckland. Watch it live here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Welch, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, University of Auckland Getty Images We’ve built our cities to be vulnerable to – and exacerbate – major weather events such as the one we saw in Auckland on Friday. While almost no ...
If you’ve managed to secure some eggs, here’s a tasty dish from the Parsi cuisine which essentially revolves around eggs… Even if they were an acquired taste for Perzen Patel. I’ve always been mentally allergic to eggs. I’ll eat cakes that have eggs and dishes where I can’t see or ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s Service Improvement Programme worth more than K1 billion (NZ$440 million) has become a major cash cow for “irresponsible” leaders, says the monitoring agency. In the past decade, the Provincial and District Services Improvement Programme has delivered much but has not achieved what it set out ...
Twice a week, church bells ring out through Auckland’s CBD. Sam Brooks meets the people who make it happen.If you happen to be on the Victoria Park side of the CBD on a Tuesday night or a Sunday morning, you’ll hear the sound of eight bells ringing clear as, ...
An excerpt from a keynote speech delivered in November last year to mark Ben Brown’s time as Te Awhi Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador.We imagine ourselves into existence and a universe comes with us. This is the first and most important function of language, revealed to us ideally ...
Or if he did, it might read something like thisVexed, defensive, shouty, Mayor Brown the Second wore the countenance of a man who had just discovered, to his irritation and horror, that he is, you know, the mayor of Auckland. At Saturday’s press conference in response to the record-breaking, ...
When you consider their remote location, perilous terrain and dark, sometimes ugly history, it seems incredible that anyone still lives on Pitcairn Island. But almost 50 people do and, as Graeme Lay discovers, they live very well. The supply ship Claymore II stands off the north coast of Pitcairn Island. ...
Heavy rain has hit Bay of Plenty and Coromandel overnight and there's more rain on the way for Auckland, but people are beginning to take stock of the damage. A home has collapsed in Tauranga and residents have been evacuated. There are a number of road closures mainly in the ...
In the second of a three-part series on Labour's leadership transition, Elliot Crossan focuses on how Labour's economic handling of the Covid crisis created an explosion in inequality. Read part one here.Opinion: In her emotional resignation speech, Jacinda Ardern described how she no longer had “enough in the tank to do ...
ANALYSIS:By James Renwick, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The extraordinary flood event Auckland experienced on the night of January 27, the eve of the city’s anniversary weekend, was caused by rainfall that was literally off the chart. Over 24 hours, 249mm of rain fell — well ...
RNZ News Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has acknowledged the way Aucklanders have come together and opened their homes to those in need, with the New Zealand government focused on providing the resources needed to get the city back up and running. The new prime minister — just four days into ...
RNZ News Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty has asked for communication on support after the severe thunderstorm in Auckland to be stepped up. It comes after a Civil Defence warning text failed to be sent out, and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told RNZ they will be reviewing the response, ...
RNZ News Three people are dead and at least one person is missing following the flooding overnight in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. About 1000 people were still stranded today after Auckland Airport was closed last night because of flooding of the arrival and departure foyers. Flights were cancelled for ...
Wayne Brown has doubled down on his decision last night to shun the media until close to midnight and only order a state of emergency at 9.30pm. In a defensive display to the media this afternoon, the Auckland mayor was questioned on comments other councillors made last night, including some ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed there are three deaths linked to the extreme weather event in Auckland over the past 24 hours. There is also at least one person missing. Speaking at a press conference in Auckland, Hipkins said the priority was to make sure Aucklanders were safe, housed ...
*This story was first published on The Conversation and is republished with permission*Until New Zealand's stormwater drain system adapts to our rising climate, it will never be able to cope with the level of flooding seen in Auckland on Friday night, writes James Renwick The extraordinary flood event Auckland experienced ...
Chris Hipkins has experienced his first major event as prime minister, just days into his tenure. He’s spent the day in Auckland alongside emergency services, surveying the damage and assessing next steps. He’s due to speak at 3.15pm alongside Auckland mayor Wayne Brown. Thanks to Stuff, here is a livestream. ...
Due to the “unprecedented weather event” in Auckland, organisers have confirmed the “heartbreaking decision” to cancel this year’s Laneway Festival. “We were so excited to deliver this show to our biggest crowd ever in New Zealand, our team has been working around the clock to do everything they can to ...
With the rain easing for a moment, many will be beginning the arduous task of cleaning out their flooded property. Auckland council has release advice for cleaning up after a flood. Cleaning up after a flood It is important to clean and dry your house and everything in it. Floodwater ...
Air New Zealand Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan says the airline’s domestic flights in and out of Auckland resumed from 12pm today as Auckland Airport re-opens. But he said with a backlog of flights and customers, the priority is those who need to travel urgently. “Those ...
Festival-goers holding on hope for Laneway, set to take place at Western Springs on Monday, will have to wait a bit longer for an official update. A brief post on Facebook this afternoon stated: “Safety is Laneway Festival’s number one priority. With the large weather event Auckland is currently experiencing, ...
Wayne Brown has defended the timing of a declaration of a state of emergency last night following record rainfall in Auckland. “The state of emergency is a prescribed process, it’s quite formal, and I had to wait until I had the official request from the emergency management centre. The moment ...
After the 11th hour cancellation last night, Elton John has cancelled the second concert of his farewell tour at Mt Smart, which had been scheduled for this evening. In a statement, John said: “Following the instruction of the emergency services, we have no option but to cancel tonight’s show in ...
The member of parliament for Mt Albert, Jacinda Ardern, has posted a message on Facebook following the flooding in Auckland. “I’m very conscious that it’s been a while since I posted, and there have been a few big things happening. But today the most important thing is everyone’s wellbeing and ...
Flooding of the runway, the check-in and arrivals areas on the ground floor and surrounding roads has disrupted operations at Auckland International, halting all departures until at least 5pm today, with no arrivals before 4:30am tomorrow. “People are asked not to come to the International Terminal at this time for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Victoria Park near the Auckland CBD on January 27.Getty Images The extraordinary flood event Auckland experienced on the night of January 27, the eve of the ...
New Zealand’s largest insurance group, IAG, says it is on track to receive more than 1,100 claims from Aucklanders by lunchtime after the city was deluged in the wettest day on record. Those claims, said the group which includes AMI, State and NZI Insurance, span property damage to homes and ...
The rampant flooding in Auckland didn’t just detonate its provincial public holiday weekend – it coincided with the biggest weekend of the year to date for live events. A pair of Elton John concerts at Mt Smart stadium had a combined capacity of over 80,000, while both Laneway at Western ...
Auckland is beginning a clean-up after its wettest day since records began. “Auckland was clobbered on Friday,” said emergency management duty controller Andrew Clark. “We won’t start to get a good idea of numbers affected until later today and, even then, this will take time, with information still coming in ...
The prime minister, Chris Hipkins, is travelling to Auckland after devastating floods hit the city overnight. With the airport out of operation until at least midday, he is landing at Whenuapai air base on a New Zealand Defence Force Hercules aircraft from Wellington. ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has arrived in Auckland for a daylong visit to the city following its catastrophic flood on Friday night. Flying in an Air Force Hercules to Whenuapai, Hipkins will spend roughly three hours on the ground assessing flood damage in the city before returning. He will receive ...
A quirk of timing left all Auckland’s institutions on the back foot. But social media, particularly TikTok, graphically showed just how bad the situation was. Late afternoon on a Friday is known as time to quietly drop bad news. You have the plausible deniability of it happening during work hours, ...
It’s a common sight during summer. It’s also a recipe for disaster.I recently drove with my family from New Plymouth to Tāmaki Makaurau and, just like how I lost count of how many cows I saw on the way, I lost count of how many cars had a passenger ...
Opinion - Election year has begun with a bang, and already the punditry and speculation are ramping up, but Grant Duncan warns not to treat polls as gospel. ...
New Zealand’s new prime minister, Chris Hipkins, is formally facing down an emergency just a few days after being sworn in, summoning the National Crisis Management Centre to the Beehive. The Beehive Bunker is being stood up to help with coordination of the emergency response in Auckland. I’ve asked ...
Analysis - Jacinda Ardern is one of New Zealand's most historically significant leaders. But she did not achieve the grand vision for Aotearoa her outsized rhetoric promised. ...
Brits abroad can be an asset to Aotearoa - but only if we make an effort to engage with te ao Māori, writes Scottish expat Fran Barclay Earlier this week, the UK High Commissioner signalled a promising intention to address the barriers facing young Māori and Pasifika who aspire to ...
"They want the Māoris out": provincial life in NZShe hadn’t learned to shut her mouth. Howard was tired of Councillor Kemp harping on and on and on. He pushed himself deeper into the boardroom chair and leaned back as far as he could force it. This woman had ranted ...
Positive affirmation quotes often aren’t helpful for tāngata whai ora. But taking the piss out of them can be. Early in January, on the first day of what would be a week of staying in bed with the curtains pulled, I put a disappointingaffirmations Instagram post up on my stories. ...
Ellen Rykers visits Mahakirau Forest Estate, ‘a crown jewel in the Coromandel Range’, where pest control is serious business.This is an excerpt from our weekly environment newsletter Future Proof – sign up here. The Mahakirau Forest Estate is not your average subdivision. Enter through its tall ...
As Auckland tackles severe floods and the city’s airport emerges from a deluge on both the runway and in terminals, Air New Zealand has confirmed that no flights will leave or arrive before noon on Saturday at the earliest. In a statement, the airline said anyone booked for a flight ...
RNZ News Mayor Wayne Brown has shut down criticism that he was too slow in declaring a state of emergency after severe flooding in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. In a media stand-up late on Friday evening, Brown said he was following advice from experts and as soon as they ...
The Prime Minister has gone down to the Beehive bunker to help coordinate the emergency response, as the Insurance Council warns some Aucklanders whose homes and business are flooded face very hard times ahead. Jonathan Milne reports.Comment: Standing by the south-western motorway, I watched in dismay as hundreds of cars ...
A state of emergency has been declared in Auckland as severe weather causes major flooding across much of the city. It’s expected the rain will continue into the morning. This post will be updated as more information is shared.What does a state of emergency mean? A state of emergency ...
Auckland’s mayor Wayne Brown said he declared an emergency in Auckland as soon as he possibly could – and he made the decision without listening to the “clamour” of the public. There has been some criticism of the mayor for his relative silence today throughout the deadly flooding that’s hit ...
Welcome to a special late night edition of The Spinoff’s live updates as Auckland enters a state of emergency. Stewart Sowman-Lund is on deck, with help from our news team.The top linesAuckland is in a state of emergency. It will remain in place for seven ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins is pleased the call was made to declare a state of emergency in Auckland. All government agencies were working “flat out” to help in what was an “extraordinary set of circumstances”, Hipkins said in a tweet. “The emergency response is underway and the government is ready ...
Auckland’s mayor Wayne Brown has released a statement following the decision to declare a state of emergency in Auckland. Brown has faced criticism this evening for his relative silence throughout today’s major flooding, with the first public pronouncement of the state of emergency coming from his deputy. Brown said the ...
Christopher Luxon has criticised the time it took for the state of emergency in Auckland to be declared. The National Party leader is currently in Southland, but told Today FM he intends to get back to Auckland as soon as possible. Earlier in the night, Luxon sent a tweet “urging” ...
Here is, verbatim, that latest information we have from Civil Defence on tonight’s state of emergency in Auckland: Auckland Emergency Management has opened a Civil Defence Centre to assist those that have been displaced or need assistance following today’s severe weather. The centre is open now and is based at ...
Severe flooding has ravaged Auckland today but the mayor of the city is barely visible. As I write, the airport has flooded, check-in areas looking like a public pool. Motorways are overflowing and cars have been seen floating down streets like a river. A person has died in floodwaters in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has laid out an economic blueprint for pursuing “values-based capitalism”, involving public-private co-investment and collaboration and the renovation of key economic institutions and markets. In a 6000-word essay in The Monthly ...
This is live coverage of the developing situation in Auckland. We will continue to update this with photos and information as it comes to hand. After a day of torrential rain, and new reports of at least one death in the flood water, a state of emergency has been declared ...
Fans are describing Auckland Transport's plans to help them get to and from Elton John's concerts in the supercity this weekend as a fiasco with tonight's concert now cancelled due to the weather. Two concerts were due at Mt Smart Stadium before tonight's concert was called off in the face ...
A state of emergency has been declared in Auckland due to severe flooding that has caused people to evacuate their homes. It was officially declared at 9.54pm. Meanwhile, Auckland Airport has closed its international terminal check-in due to flooding inside the building. The airport says it is sincerely sorry to ...
RNZ News Residents in flood-prone areas of West Auckland are being asked to prepare to evacuate as bad weather causes power cuts and car crashes across Tāmaki Makaurau, with a severe thunderstorm watch in place for the north of Aotearoa New Zealand. Auckland Emergency Management said the severe weather across ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Ward, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland Five years ago, bulldozers with chains cleared forests and woodlands almost triple the size of the Australian Capital Territory in a single year. Brazil? Indonesia? No – much closer: Queensland. In 2018-19, ...
Auckland Transport has apologised for confusing messaging that suggested attendees of tonight’s Elton John concert should drive. In a post on Facebook last night, AT said “driving to the concert is recommended” – a suggestion that prompted backlash due to the lack of parking options near the stadium. The announcement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Tingay, John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University Asteroid 20223 BU’s path in red, with green showing the orbit of geosynchronous satellites.NASA/JPL-Caltech There are hundreds of millions of asteroids in our Solar System, which means new asteroids are discovered ...
In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry revealed he attended the future King and Queen of England’s wedding with a frostbitten penis. A veteran of Antarctic expeditions says it’s not an issue that crops up often, if at all.Now that the avalanche of coverage about the Duke of Sussex’s memoir ...
A new poem by Wellington poet and publisher Ash Davida Jane. objects in the mirror are closer than they appear if a dog digs in the right spot and unearths a rib what do I care if a woman grows from that bone take her in and tend to her ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Grove Press, $25) Everyone’s chowing down on fiction ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide schankz/Shutterstock Have you ever worried if the play between your cats was getting too rough? A new study published in Scientific Reports has investigated play and fighting ...
More water than anything else, the cucumber is the perfect counter to intense and fiery flavours. Cucumber is without a doubt the most refreshing vegetable*, the antidote to hot summer days. At 95% water, a cucumber is basically an edible, crunchy, waste-free water bottle. Beside water, the cucumber has almost ...
REVIEW:By Rowan Callick Radio Australia was conceived at the beginning of the Second World War out of Canberra’s desire to counter Japanese propaganda in the Pacific. More than 70 years later its rebirth is being driven by a similarly urgent need to counter propaganda, this time from China. Set ...
The yellow brick road to Mt Smart stadium looks to be packed this weekend as thousands travel to dual Elton John concerts In the words of pop royal Elton John, “I think it’s going to be a long, long time” - in this case for the 40,000 odd concert-goers driving ...
Within five years no one will remember much of him – nor of the current Auckland port strife.
Pretty much this. Move on.
No wonder Helen wouldnt touch the Greens
+1
?
A reference to the emotive headline and sprout’s political leanings, Shane.
that’s how i interpreted it – despite my not actually being a green, although i’ve appreciated their willingness to speak up on the issue
Oh okay! 🙂 Good post!
– I had Jinty MacTavish (an environmental activist turned Dunedin City Councilor) on a radio show I host and she was very proud of the fact that she had helped persuade the DCHL to have a statement of intent that was aligned with the goals of the DCC and took into account the four well-beings of the city – environmental, cultural, social and economic – instead of just the profit motive. Something that Auckland Council should look at doing – that way they can tell POAL to behave like normal human beings and not how they are behaving right now.
Shane, do you think it’s POAL bad, MUNZ good?
All the way! POAL represent the 1% and are driving slave conditions. They want the workers to be at the beck and call of the port and have no security of hours or pay. Imagine the stress of that on your daily life.
– Can you pay the bills this week?
– Can you feed your family this week?
– Are you going to miss your kid’s school play or help out with taking them on school trips?
– How about if you are a single parent? This would stop you being able to look after your child. You would have to leave your job and then how do you look after your child?
For a Christian (Peter Dunne is one I believe) I would ask you what is more important – their family life or the supposed “flexibility” that is demanded? None of these rich managers would work like this. It is called hypocrisy and we all know what Jesus thought of hypocrites.
I understand the problems with wage insecurity – but if POAL and MUNZ were able to work together properly that should be able to be minimised. Instead they are both making a mess of it – I’d be very surprised if that level of dysfunction in a relationship is all one-sided. Hence Len Brown’s and David Shearer’s positiions?
Are Greens being deliberately quiet or are just not reported much on this?
I really don’t know what Peter Dunne’s religious situation is, that’s his private life. The PoA dispute is not a religious issue anyway.
Work ‘flexibility’ has become very common, it has disadvantages for sure, but also advantages – even for some workers.
What would be better generally for society – 300 workers earning 90k a year, or 400 workers earning 67k?
Pete – when you are a Christian you are always a Christian as far as I was told… I am not one myself you understand but I was well versed in theology by my family many of whom were priests and nuns. 🙂 So Peter D can’t get away with that excuse 🙂
POAL have had an agenda from the beginning to break the union – the union has negotiated in good faith and was working constructively with management to improve productivity. This is purely generated by the management – MUNZ have simply done what any union would do in this situation.
The Greens have been very supportive and have condemned POAL and I have pasted one of our latest Press Releases for your perusal… The press have not been publishing our statements. It happens sometimes 🙂
“Ports Of Auckland actions in sacking workers disgraceful
The Ports of Auckland’s actions in sacking 300 staff sets a terrible precedent for all workers in New Zealand, Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.
The Ports of Auckland today announced it is making its striking workers redundant and will contract the work out.
“The Ports of Auckland’s actions in dismissing staff because they are in a union and willing to stand up for decent work practices, including regular shifts and time with family, is appalling,” said Dr Norman.
“The Government’s legislative changes in the last term have set the scene for employers such as the Ports of Auckland to clamp down hard on workers and unions.
“John Key should realise that we will never catch Australia by driving down New Zealand wages and working conditions. We will just make New Zealand workers poorer.
“The Mayor of Auckland Len Brown and the Auckland Council have sat on their hands over this dispute for too long.
“It’s time for Mayor Brown to take a stand in support of the workers that voted for him,” Dr Norman said.”
You think? I have had only casual work for the past 3 years, and there are no advantages to it that I can see. (Nor to my ’employers, really.)
It’s better than no work isn’t it?
false dichotomy. the choice isn’t crappy work or no work. They have good conditions and the company is profitable now.
The man that was voted in by the left cant be involved in this dispute. He has to take into account 1.5 million Aucklanders. Not just the wishes of 290 workers, and a few Union delegates who want to keep outdated practises that dont fit in with a competive economic environment. ( mods by the way my week is up)
[lprent: you missed this one.. Don’t disrespect the moderators because I need them more thn I need you. ]
And it’s about to start again?
I thought it was two weeks?
Actually, 2 weeks on top of the one week =3.
Math is fun! 🙂
James 111 is just saying that any group of 300 workers and their families can be fucked over using the justification “its for the greater good, really it is”.
I thought lefties were big on ‘For the greater good’.
Definitely are. That’s why we understand that an injury to one is an injury to all.
+1
Of which 1m or so support the workers and are rather pissed off both with PoAL management and Len Brown.
Rubbish, the vast rump of Auckland couldn’t give a crap because it hasn’t affected them.
I see you’ve read Farrar’s piece, James. Good recall and summary. Try your own thoughts next time.
That would be the Kiwiblog post in which Fatty Penguin also reiterates his support for David “Holocaust! What Holocaust?” Irving to come and speak in New Zealand?
And when they turn on their own it’s even less pretty.
People who stand for nothing but their own gain always struggle to understand, why those with a social conscience do care about others .
Len Brown is a disgrace Im not sure he could ever redeem himself.
Peter George would never be able to get his head around the lefts disgust of Browns inaction after all this is the guy that thinks Dunn ( the traitor) is doing no wrong while selling his Nations assets which will only make its citizens poorer.
Ah! But they will make us richer before they make us poorer (If you catch my drift).
True Pete
Whoever is free should come to Auckland university at 12pm today, Len Brown will be there to answer questions. We need more support for the workers there!
It’s being held in the quad by the way.
I once supported Len, but no longer. I am, in fact, even beginning to wonder if John Banks could have been any worse! Of course, Brown appeals to the law to justify himself. Even if this is true (which I doubt) he would do well to remember morality, humanity, natural justice. On Campbell Live he meekly admitted that he wishes that the wharf workers had complied with their stinking bosses demands. How convenient for him this would have been. The only thing I would pity Brown about is that he has to contend with the likes of Christine Fletcher and her pals.
David Shearer has certainly taken a very neutral stance. Here’s the opening words of David Shearer’s interview with Larry Williams the other day:
WILLIAMS: You’re backing the union here, Mr Shearer, are you?
SHEARER: No, I, what I said, and you ah you, you ah quoted me correctly is that I was really disappointed to see where it had got to today.
Are you saying that history will remember David Shearer’s Labour Party as scabs and cowards too?
The trouble is QSF the Labour party is failing to fall into the cunning trap that we have laid for it. It is refusing to stay still long enough for our allies in the MSM to blast it with the anti-Union rhetoric we’ve been storing up. Still, enough pressure from the left wing activists might encourage it to change their position.
There are certainly lessons in what will become of len brown that david shearer and his caucus would be wise to take note of.
A handful of labour MPs that have shown some solidarity with workers’ rights on this issue and good for them, david shearer however isn’t one of them.
Not actually correct, Sprout. Shearer has at least been on the picket line, has talked directly with MUNZ and the CTU and both those organisations are happy with his level of involvement, at this point.
Brown is not a scab, either, by the way. That’s a very loose use of the word which has a pretty well understood definition in the union movement. Coward and Judas I have no problem with, because they accurately fit his behaviour.
I’m told that Brown will not now be invited to the EPMU conference in Auckland later this year, where it was intended he be a key note speaker again. Given the large number of unionists who campaigned on his behalf, that might well be the final nail in his electoral coffin.
At this stage, international pressure is needed . If dollars and cents are all that Gibson, Key, et al, can understand – then that is their weak point.
Short term it will inconvenience and even cause us economic “pain”. My response is,
a. Long term we will benefit from a Union victory
b. Any economic pain can’t be worse than the savage cuts to the state sector – 2,500 jobs lost already and more planned – and slash social services.
We can’t back away from this one.
Yes, I’m waiting to see the Solidarity Union coming out in a mass action over this. No more Polish sausages for us for a while I imagine.
By the way when are you going to do that blog posting on the current situation with the Gdansk shipyards Frank?
“By the way when are you going to do that blog posting on the current situation with the Gdansk shipyards Frank?”
I’ll let you know, Gosman.
By the way, how are you coming along on the current situation with your social skills? 😀
Much better thanks. I don’t instinctively bite people who spout economic BS, so you should be okay. 😉
I’m ecstastic to hear that.
And next time I’ll keep my “economic BS” simpler, with single-syllables, so you don’t get so confused.
Ummm… might I suggest you actually read some basic economic textbooks first before attempting to articulate any concepts (simple or otherwise). Then you might not mistake Balance of Trade with Balance of Payments for a start.
No… that’s too complex for you.
Let’s start you off with basics…
Given;
(A)If a rich man has 100 bananas and a family of four; and a poor man has ten bananas for just him and his wife;
(B) the rich man owns the banana plantation
(C) the poor man has already earned 10 bananas for the rich man by picking him 100 bananas, and his labour is no longer required.
(D) and the Libertarian State has a flat tax of 10%, and no welfare.
1. How many bananas will the rich man pay in tax? How many will he have left?
2. How many bananas will the poor man pay? How many will he have left?
3. How long will the rich man and his family survive, @ 2 bananas each, per day?
4. How long will the poor man and his wife survive, @ 2 bananas each, per day?
5. Do you actually care about the poor man – or is he a “casualty of the economic system”?
What economic textbook is that from Frank?
People can make up examples of anything they like. It doesn’t mean it actually reflects economic reality. I prefer some real world examples.That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
Keep it up then we can confirm how people with an up-close and personal relationship with economic textbooks rarely have had the same with social, geographic and political history.
Economics text books = peer reviewed collections of lies and misunderstandings
and good on Shearer going to the picket, when the cameras weren’t around, and quietly talking to MUNZ behind the scenes. but why will he not come out more publicly with a statement of clear and unequivocal support for workers’ rights and the right to organize? is he ashamed of labour’s union roots or is it that he doesn’t actually support unionization? wouldn’t this be one time when it’s actually quite important to support a principle rather than a flawed focus group driven campaign ‘strategy’ of terminal invisibility and neutrality in the hope of sleep walking to victory on the back of National’s unpopularity? that just seems gutless to me.
the term scab is used broadly and is a reference to the point made by the graphic illustrating this post, which is taken from the Save our Port facebook site, where references to Brown being a scab are common. in the sense of the graphic’s point, and in the sense that he’s working against the strikers’ interests, Brown is a scab.
Yes, well, using the word scab “broadly” tends to devalue the force of its specific meaning. All sorts of people are called all sorts of things in all sorts of places – that doesn’t make give one carte blanche to do the same. Rather, it suggests a rather limited vocabulary of abuse on the part of the union. Brown is not actually “working in spite of an ongoing strike” as most dictionaries define the term. He’s a political whore/Judas/Iago/traitor to principle/hypocrite, but he is not a scab.
It would be fair to say that Brown has gone dog and is now a flea.
Good to see the direction of your anger is now targetted towards the correct place. I can understand your frustration. I mean here is a guy that was elected on a broad left platform to counter the right’s efforts to control the Auckland supercity and he is acting like a common centrist. Almost as bad as the Labour Government between 1999 and 2008 who did nothing really to fundamentally alter the employment law landscape. Just diddled around the edges.
Apologies, Gosman. It appears that even my “banana metaphor” above was too complex for you. No wonder you couldn’t apply a solution.
Shall we try something simpler?
1 banana + 1 banana = ?
(Disclaimer: I haven’t been following this dispute as closely as I might because I experienced a certain ‘sinking feeling’ when I first heard of it as I imagined the union would embark on the same tried and tested strategies of failure it initially employed last time casualisation was on the cards.)
About ten years ago, a similar ‘casualisation’ drive was unleashed on some of the ports in the S. Island. It was thwarted back then. But success was achieved…or succesful stategies deployed…in spite of union officials (some of whom are still ‘in office’).
And ten years ago there was no involvement from the Labour Party and as far as I remember, no involvement from local government either. (I believe the Dunedin council has a stake in Port Chalmers, though I could be wrong)
I’m curious as to why the union has apparently failed to learn from its own recent history and employ the successful strategies that won them the day back then.
Anyone got any answers?
So what were the strategies that appeared to be successful down in the South Island Bill?
As I said, I haven’t been following the dispute at all. But if it’s the case that scab labour is being used to work the port, then that scab labour has to get on site. And if that is the case, then that is the same scenario as existed ten years back.
And ten years back, it just didn’t seem to cross the minds of those union officials who were calling the shots to simply prevent or obstruct any vehicles carrying scab labour. When initailly non-wharfies blocked scab vehicles, certain union officials were less than impressed. And those same union officials kept telling their members to not impede the access of vehicles.
That situation eventually broke down and wharfies also began to obstruct vehicles. And it constituted a cost to the company in terms of money and efficiency. And when the company resorted to hiring vans to ferry scabs into the ports and those vans somehow attracted measures of damage, then that too cost the company and had hire firms thinking twice about who they’d hire vans to.
And when CHH ships were going to be delayed in US ports, that wasn’t because of any action or request by the union or the CTU, but because of initiatives taken by people within their public support.
It was the same story for just about every tactic, strategy or counter strategy employed. They came from outside the ranks of the union and the union officials only eventually got on board and lent their support (and even then, often very unwillingly from some…regardless of evidence highlighting how successful any given tactic or ploy was.)
In a nutshell, a lot of direct action was used and the knowledge of how to deploy direct actions effectively and safely (from both a physical and legal perspective) came from outside the union.
And it was the same for dealing with the media. The fact of the matter was that the union just didn’t seem to have much of a clue on that front either. And so the job of generating positive media coverage (or of avoiding negative coverage) fell largely to people outside the union.
That was ten years ago. Some of the officials involved are still officials today. They could or should have learned something from all the input given back then, and yet…well, it just seems that nothing has changed.
I agree that the MUNZ’s PR has been quite bad and needs a bit of an overhaul.
However I don’t see how you could stop contracted workers from entering the port completely. Certainly the Port could look to ferry them in directly from locations in Auckland that would be difficult to picket.
Alternatively there could be a blockade of the port from the landward side stopping cargo getting in and out. Might be a bit bad PR wise though.
Gos, you have all the time in the world (your output is prodigious)….so why dont we get you to run the POA? You profess to have all the answers, why waste them here, its all intellectual property. Get the job and do the damage.
Should not be too long before POA resembles a Zimbabwean copper mine with requisite employment conditions……
I don’t think Zimbabwe has any copper mines. Perhaps that was your point.
What is your preoccupation with Zimbabwe, Gosman?!
You do realise there are approximately 280 other countries on this planet?
Quite right. Here’s 20
I don’t think Zimbabwe has any copper mines
It does…
http://www.indexmundi.com/minerals/?country=zw&product=copper&graph=production
Well, I don’t even know the general layout of Auckland’s port. But I’m guessing there are multiple entry/exit points. So, yup. Compared to the smaller ports of Bluff, Port Chalmers and Nelson, the logistics would be more challenging.
But where there’s a will there’s a way.
Maybe shipping containers could somehow ‘magically appear’ and obstruct a number of entrance/exits? And maybe ignition keys for any lifting gear get ‘lost’ or misplaced or said machineries suffer mysterious and ‘hard to diagnose’ break downs?
I don’t know.
But the type of nonsence I’ve heard recently whereby other ports weren’t going to handle scab loads but subsequently caved because a court said it ‘wouldn’t be cricket’ has to stop.
If a scab loads are prevented from leaving their port of destination…or at least delayed (which might be an easier thing to do if preventing it getting loaded in the first place is too problematic), then might that not encourage companies to ‘request’ their shipments be loaded by union labour?
There must be a million and one ways to introduce chaos and delay to shipments. The union should at least be exploring its options and making it clear to members that it does not in any way condone actions such as x, y or z that members might feel inclined to involve themselves in with regards scab loads, as such actions would effectively cost port authorities money and have a negative impact on the port’s customer relations.
Indeed. There are a million and one imaginative ways forward.
I’d also add that it’s Len Brown’s office which needs to be picketed, and every Council meeting which is held.
Obvious. Mass solidarity strikes went for 151 days in 1951. MUA mass community picket won in 98. Dunedin community picket won ten years ago.
Two months ago threat of ILWU plus Occupy mass picket won at Longview, Oregon.
Results. Mass pickets win. Why don’t the union leaderships recognise this?
The union leaderships don’t want to break the labour law which is the basis of their existence. They control the ranks unless and until the wider militant layers of workers intervene and rescue their struggle. They are ‘won over’ only when the ranks wake up and force them to move, until the next time when repeat performance as unions get weaker and weaker.
Conclusion. Unions need to be controlled by the members and act independently of both the bureaucrats and the labour law. Occupy was born as an outlaw wildcat movement.
Union ranks + Occupy = new labour movement, both democratic and militant (potentially).
Will enough workers realise this and stand up in time?
http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/new-zealand-auckland-port-employers-out.html
I was talking about the SI dispute ten years ago.
Your clarification (of what?) has confused me 😉 Are you referring to your comment (9.3) below ?
Damn – the delete button doesn’t work.
Just a misunderstanding when I thought you were replying to my comment. I thought I’d deleted it before it was even seen.
As you were.
[lprent: Yeah the crazies who took over the re-edit code are playing silly buggers. Weekend fixup. ]
Why have the unions folded before the neo-liberal attacks. They all havnt, but they were bashed about by Labour’s Rogernomic counter-revolution that destroyed full employment the basis of the welfare state. Bill Anderson once admitted that he made a mistake in shutting down the dispute at Marsden Point to help Labour get elected in 1984! LOL
Then Nats ECA in 91 was met by staunch union resistance like the seafarers and timberworkers but sold out by Ken Douglas of CTU who said a general strike would undermine his power to negotiate with the Nats. What he meant was he would try to do a deal with Nats by getting workers to be more productive (more exploited) and allow the bosses to take most of the increased value.
In truth the labour movement has never been strong outside the militant breakawys of the Red Fed 1908-1913 and the TUC walkout of the FOL in 1951 because its been run by bureaucrats who are the loyal servants of NZ national capitalism.
Nearly 30 years of neoliberal crisis economics has weakened the unions to the point where they use the ERA as a crutch and wouldnt know a wildcat if they fell over one.
MUNZ was chosen by the NACTs as one of the few holdout unions that has put up a rearguard action in defending their historic gains.
This is a 1951 type campaign by the bosses to destroy the unions and ride roughshod over workers rights and all resistance to total domination of the economy. Unless the working class rises up to stop it welcome to the rip, shit and bust return to the colonial 1890s.
Remember it well Bill,
Might’ve seen you there when I joined in once or twice, but I tended to try and hide in the tea tent, due to the inflammable levels of testosterone from police and protesters alike.
As I recall the dispute was won because the workforce stood firm, and the scabs who were bussed in were, I think, all out of towners.
It took/takes support from the wider community. Lot less of that in general in Auckland imo. It would have been resolved sooner with better politcal and union support.
Yes it is disappointing. It makes me wonder what current politician (if any) would have stepped in. Based upon what Brown says, it makes him look like just another neo-liberal. Or maybe it was just the characteristics of this situation that turned him away from doing anything.
This is unfolding at the same time that more is becoming understood about the link between a falling labour share of wealth and inequality and poverty. Stronger collective bargaining laws for workers is probably what’s needed rather than a relliance on any polly of the day stepping in to steer a dispute one way or other.
Is it the union part of Labour that runs the “it’s always someone else’s fault” lines?
That neither Len Brown nor David Shearer have backup the union actions (as well as just about everyone else outside some of the unions) could suggest something? Just possibly?
Workers should stand up for their rights and if they choose should lobby their cases in unison. But as Bill suggests, it might just be union leaders shitting in their member’s nest.
I’m sure Len will be very worried that some 1% -ers no longer feel the love.
As could have been expected, like almost every other politician, Len Brown is making excuses – afraid that if he took action and did what is right he will encounter blow back. No pollie wants blow back and they will work against what they know is right in order preserve their career.
They kid themselves with excuses like “You have to pick your battles” or “The law doesn’t allow me to do anything”.
Meanwhile, workers and their families are callously jettisoned to keep afloat a career, (one that may sink after all).
Len Brown is not a conscience-driven leader but a big cry baby.
My understanding is that Len doesn’t operate in isolation. He’s got around 20 advisors of various capabilities in his office to help drive his vision. Such advisors include the so-called whiz kid Conor Roberts, who helped Len get elected. Others include PR experts like Glyn Jones and policy wonks like James Bews-Hair.
It’s simply atrocious – where are the Labour advisors in Len’s office, and what the hell are they thinking?
From Len Brown’s Facebook page;
My response to him, left on his Page,
http://www.facebook.com/lenbrownformayor
I didn’t realise YOU elected Len Brown Frank.
How amazing that you seem to live in Wellington but vote in Auckland local body elections.
0/10 comprehension Gos
[deleted]
[lprent: still banned.]
When you “quote”, you might consider using “quotation marks“. Just FYI.
Primarily, I think that history will remember Len Brown as a liar.
http://static.stuff.co.nz/files/Counciltranscript.pdf
http://static.stuff.co.nz/files/Counciltranscript.pdf
After originally claiming that he had “a mandate” to, “on behalf of you all…. get in amongst that” Len Brown has changed tack and is now claiming that as the Mayor of Auckland City “My powers to intervene are severely limited.”
No mention of “I’ve got a mandate” or “Certainly hav(ing) the power” here.
Len Brown choses to be a liar, because he knows being open in his support for this brutal attack on the ports workers, would dismay those mostly working people who supported and voted for him in the Mayoral elections.
http://static.stuff.co.nz/files/Counciltranscript.pdf
static.stuff.co.nz
Len Brown is a social democrat. Selling out the workers who support them is what social democrats always have to do when the going gets tough because they are capitalists and the needs of capital will always come first.
Capitalists need to wage class war to maintain their priviliged position within the unfair society their system creates.
Those who pretend there can be a fair capitalism are either liars or deluded.
You cannot serve two masters. You are either for or against the capitalist system. If you are for it you have no right criticising Len because you would ineveitably end up selling out workers if you were in a position of power.
If you are not a capitalist you should not be surprised at Len’s actions.
Social Democracy
Oh, pardon me.