Whats the bet the GST increase will be passed AND implemented in the budget. Ie within a few days.
Has to be in the budget to get the Coalition of the willing to vote for it
While all the other offsets , well they would just ‘promises’ which hes very relaxed about.
Cant see the tax cuts coming in till election year budget to take effect say September so you only get 6 months worth in that year
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
Times change guys, the NZ that Key was talking about when he made this statement is not the NZ he inherited, he (Key) certainly had no idea how bad the books were due to Dr Cullens incompetence.
I keep saying it, this is not the way to go about eating into Key’s popularity, you guys are still using the same tactics that did not work at the last election, the more you make small minded attacks on the man the more he will be supported by the public.
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
There is no ban on smacking, never has been, and it is probable that here never could be.
You just have to be able to justify your actions, if charged, to a court. You cannot use a rather stupid defence that used to exist. I realise that you probably think that this is a gross infringement on your ‘right’ to beat children. But that is just tough shit.
Incidentally there is no ban on assaulting people, murdering people, waving your dick in public, or anything else. What there are are consequences for all of these actions in the law. I have no idea where you get the idea of a ‘ban’ from (and I hesitate to suggest possibilities).
So you are just being as pointless as usual, or just bleating one of those wingnut urban myths? Here’s another one for you – “north of $50” tax cuts.
(like global medieval warm periods, global little iceages – for things that appear to have only happened in Europe.)
Where did you get the idea I am defending Key, I suspect I detest the man more than you.
BTW, you are only making a fool of yourself by suggesting there is not a ban on smacking, in other posts I have mentioned that you guys are out of touch and arrogant, this type of hiding behind semantics is a classic example.
There is no ban on smacking kids. There are consequences to doing the action.
If you think that there is a ‘ban’ to stopping someone doing it, then I’d suggest that you have zero idea of what you’re talking about. It is impossible to stop people from doing anything. All society can do is put consequences in for actions.
In this case all that happened was a defence in court was removed.
Use your brain to look at what you said, rather than your mindless slogans. And pleeze stop being such a meathead.
Clark lied to the people of NZ about the smacking ban, you know that, and in an attempt to change the debate you bring in the pathetic ‘child beating” slogan.
You told me that you are a smart person, while I have yet to be convinced it amazes me that you continue to parrot Labour party policy day after day without even suggesting that you can think for yourself.
Show us how smart you are Iprent, show us that you can actually debate an issue (any issue will do) without resorting to abuse or banning those who expose you as a person who is not quite as smart as you like to think you are.
Just being accurate – which you seem to have a real problem doing. Just at present I’m unsure if you could find your arse with your hands as your accuracy rate seems to be so useless.
Tell me exactly how you ‘ban’ anything unless you physically prevent A meeting B. It has never been proposed that would happen between most parents and their children.
This discussion came about because you suggested that Helen lied about ‘banning smacking’. What I’m saying is that you are a moronic idiot who is so in love with your slogans that you fail to see that she said exactly the truth.
Your avoidance behaviour in your last few comments is just that of a miserable serial liar trying to avoid the consequences of your ignorance and gross inaccuracies. You say things without bothering to check them for being correct.
Face it – basically you’re just acting like a dickhead.
I have invited you to debate the issue with me and show that intellect that you so often tell us about.
Your lack of patience with somebody who shares the same goal as you says so much about why Labour is in the basement at the moment.
The nation rejected your superior “we know best” attitude in Nov 08, I would have thought that you might have learnt something from that.
Seems I was wrong.
Let me know when you get over your arrogance Iprent, let me know when you wake up to the fact that the public are not going to come running back to you guys screaming “we got it wrong”.
I have some ideas that might help.
I have invited you to debate the issue with me and show that intellect that you so often tell us about.
Still squirming I see… Lets put the specimen pin in a little deeper…
You made several inaccurate assertions. Now you’re trying to avoid taking responsibility for them by diverting attention. Pretty typical of a meathead Act supporter who’d prefer to lie rather than use their brains. Lets have a look at them again shall we…
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
and Clark lied to the people of NZ about the smacking ban
You followed up on that by saying you are only making a fool of yourself by suggesting there is not a ban on smacking
You are totally inaccurate in all of your statements. Because there never was proposed to be a ban on smacking children. If you have a child in front of you that you want to hit, then you’re perfectly capable of doing so. However, there are consequences to hitting anyone, including children and always have been. The police are entitled to look at your actions and decide if they want to press charges.
The only thing that s59a did was remove a defence in court that the judges had condemned as being too vaguely worded and prevented them from judging appropriately.
Of course hysterical dickheads like yourself seem to fail to understand that. You cling to your inaccurate slogans like a babies safety blanket. Too sacred to face the real word without their comforting embrace.
The lie is your slogan of “banning smacking” – debate that.
Not to mention an Earth Science degree. Now, where could you go with that and an MBA – ENRON?
Thank God for a Carbon Trading Market – not!
Still, he’s one of the more balanced authors on this site – not that it means much!
[lprent: Accurate on both degrees (but there are a number of other part finished ones – I get bored). However, I somehow (obsession) wound up as a high-end computer programmer. It is more fun than Enron. ]
Oh my god. Well put. At LAST a commentator that actually understands the amendment to section 59.
I applaud you, Iprent. Now can you take some of that reasoning over to Farrar’s blog with his band of merry christian child bashers who appear not to have even read s 59???
[lprent: I think that the intellectual inbreeding over there is a bit intense. I’ll concentrate on keeping my home site clean of the same problem. ]
Yeah good point. Fair enough. I must stop reading it actually. The populist, christian-based, uneducated posts and comments over there just wind me up for the entire day!
I think the clip is the Radio Rhema interview with Bob McCrostie, and now you are playing the political game of symantics. A very crafty politician can get out of almost any statement by using symantics. And for me it is extremely poor that “we’ have to resort to this. Once an arguement has entered this stage it has been won/lost for the majority. We are not dumb, even if we do not get into politics
John English siad the books were brilliant.
Let us konw if you ever find the Clark clip {irrelevant anyway as we are talking $$$ now, so dear to the right}
So replaying his old words is ‘small minded’ and will make him ‘more popular’
The context of the interview was that the books would be looking so bad and of course the tax cuts had to be reversed as well.
Two broken promises! Let us be the judge of what the voters want to hear
Please watch your language. And it’s not nice wishing that others were deceased. UPDATE: Deleted other abusive comments. You’re not welcome here Moon Goddess – MF
You and I agree on one thing, we both want Key gone.
But, you can bash him as much as you want it is going to get you anywhere, you need to drop the tired old aggressive socialist style of attack and think a bit smarter.
Kiwis rejected that style of politics and that style of leader, sure these type of attacks might raise the morale of your hard line supporters but they are not the ones you need to convince, middle NZ is where it is at Ghost and while you might feel better with attack politics the average voter is turned off by it.
Your line of reasoning as as tired as I am of dicussing it with the closed minded right.
I really could not give a rats ass what you think I or people you think I am associated with (read: I am not) should do.
You are just another disingenuous righty come to these here boards to make trouble. Your mind has been made up and is thus CLOSED to all further discussion.
You seem to assume that you have some wisdom to impart here. Your tired old cliches and insults really are pathetic and do not add one iota to the debate.
My mind is not closed, I was a supporter of Key, now I see him as the most dangerous man in the country.
Those with closed minds are the Labour people who refuse to admit that they are on the wrong track and have not yet accepted that the nation turned away from their style of politics.
Gee Big bruv , wonder why the Dom is running the video clip on its web page.
I suggest TVNZ or TV3 will do the same on the news. Its such an easy story to do.
Showing Key is a liar-eventually the wider public get it. Its not rocket science.
But will Key go on Q+A this week and will Espiner have the nerve to confront him over the broken promises and the tax cuts which are paid for with tax increases
Are you going to rely on the mindless NZ media to do your job for you?
The Nat’s had to battle nine years of media bias to defeat Clark, the sooner you learn that you no longer set the rules of the game the better.
You highlight exactly my point Ghost, you are a hard lefty, you are going to get all excited about this clip showing on the news, middle NZ or the floating voter does NOT CARE LESS.
You comments are kind of ridiculous. They sound an awful lot like the US republican propaganda to be honest. You don’t watch/read a lot of fox news per chance??
– liberal use of “socialist” (pun intended)
– liberal media bias
– clueless
Always allowing for the fact that I work for a living and from time to time I have to pop out and administer a beating to my non union employees for not increasing productivity.
I have to work as well. However I’m usually beating software into submission. Right now it is a recalcitrant IIS7 server that is failing to deliver my WPF xaml application, and prefers sending me 401 ‘Unauthorised’ errors instead. The IIS6 server serves it perfectly, and so would Apache if I tried that.
Fortunately there was a convenient target blathering slogans to offload the Mickeysoft frustration into, while I had a wee think about what they’d screwed up this time.
Bruv, nothing you could ever say would ever embarrass anyone on the left. I’d say that it embarrasses people on the right but they’re far to inconsistent to realise that they should be embarrassed.
I am sorry your post is out of context. Nat are not increasing GST to cover debt, so John Key is technically correct. Even so I still believe that it is not a step in the right direction. His actions are that of a 2nd term government I was looking for someone to have a positive radical change in philosophy, but this appears not to have occurred. What I see is a tampering of the deck chairs.
His comments are to be taken as the same as Labours “Free” childcare, Michael Cullen NZ cannot afford taxcuts (pre 2005 electon) then giving them to us,& Helen Clarks interview with Bob McCoskie on Radio Rhema re S59.
I want more for NZ and what I can see Lab are not displaying anything that will move us forward. I was hoping Nats had a great plan (Like Obama) there is none, and the left have nothing to offer as well.
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New Zealand is making a further significant deployment of 120 New Zealand Defence Force personnel to the United Kingdom to help train Ukraine soldiers, as part of an international effort to help Ukraine continue to defend itself against Russia’s illegal war. It follows a completed deployment of 30 NZDF personnel ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta will visit Niue and Tonga this week to engage kanohi ki te kanohi with counterparts, and progress work on Aotearoa New Zealand’s Pacific Resilience and climate action priorities. “After the disruption caused by COVID-19 border closures, this is another opportunity to connect in-person with our ...
Our new approach to public transport will: Support ‘on-demand’ public transport services Allow councils to own and operate services in house Improve pay and working conditions Deliver routes and services that reflect community needs Incentivise the decarbonisation of the fleet Workers and public transport users are at the heart of ...
As-salamu alaykum, Tena tatou katoa, Thank you all for being here today. To the Afghan human rights defenders and your family members, welcome to Aotearoa. And thank you Your Excellency for hosting us all here at Government House. We have with us today from Afghanistan, human rights advocates, journalists, judges, ...
It’s my great pleasure to be able to speak with you about a really positive move for the Build-to-Rent sector. As you know, we announced changes last year to help steer property investors way from the existing pool of housing and toward solving New Zealand’s grave housing shortage - by ...
· Tax changes aimed at growing quality, secure rental supply · New and existing build-to-rent developments exempt from interest limitation rules in perpetuity, when offering ten-year tenancies · Exemption to apply from 1 October 2021. The Government is encouraging more long-term rental options by giving developers tax incentives for as ...
The Government has marked another milestone in its push for better rural connectivity, welcoming the delivery of Rural Connectivity Group’s (RCG) 350th tower. Waikato’s Te Ākau, which sits roughly 50 kilometres out of Hamilton is home to the new tower. “The COVID 19 pandemic has highlighted the ever-increasing importance of ...
Biosecurity co-operation topped the agenda when Australia and New Zealand’s agriculture ministers met yesterday. Australia’s Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Senator Murray Watt met with his New Zealand counterpart, Damien O’Connor, Minister of Agriculture, Biosecurity, and Rural Communities in a conference call, which had particular focus on foot and ...
People could spend less time in hospital, thanks to a smart new remote device that lets patients be monitored at home, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “Technology has the potential to really change the way we do things – to do things that are better for patients and at the ...
Concrete steps to clarify inclusive, evidence-informed teaching practices Strengthen capability supports along the professional pathway Enhance partnerships between the education system and whānau, iwi, communities Embed equitable additional learning supports and assessment tools that help teachers effectively notice and respond to the needs of students Improved student achievement is a ...
Aotearoa New Zealand has committed to strengthen global prevention, preparedness and responses to future pandemics with seed funding for a new World Bank initiative, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We cannot afford to wait until the next pandemic. We must all play our part to support developing countries ...
A law change to ensure that forestry conversions by overseas investors benefit New Zealand has passed its final reading in Parliament. Previously, overseas investors wishing to convert land, such as farm land, into forestry only needed to meet the “special forestry test”. This is a streamlined test, designed to encourage ...
International tourism recovery well underway with higher level of overseas visitor arrivals than previously expected UK and US card spend already back at pre-COVID levels Visitors staying in New Zealand longer and spending more compared to 2019 Govt support throughout pandemic helped tourism sector prepare for return of international ...
The Ministry for Ethnic Communities has released its first strategy, setting out the actions it will take over the next few years to achieve better wellbeing outcomes for ethnic communities Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Priyanca Radhakrishnan announced today. “The Strategy that has been released today sets out ...
The Prime Minister has officially opened the Hawke’s Bay Regional Aquatic Centre today saying it is a huge asset to the region and to the country. “This is a world class facility which will be able to host national and international events including the world championships. With a 10-lane Olympic ...
The Associate Minister of Education, Aupito William Sio, has today announced the recipients of the Tulī Takes Flight scholarships which were a key part of last year’s Dawn Raids apology. The scholarships are a part of the goodwill gesture of reconciliation to mark the apology by the New Zealand Government ...
96% of estimated menstruating students receive free period products 2085 schools involved 1200 dispensers installed Supports cost of living, combats child poverty, helps increase attendance Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti today hailed the free period products in schools, Ikura | Manaakitia te whare tangata, a huge success, acknowledging ...
The Tourism Industry Transformation Plan outlines key actions to improve the sector This includes a Tourism and Hospitality Accord to set employment standards Developing cultural competency within the workforce Improving the education and training system for tourism Equipping business owners and operators with better tools and enabling better work ...
Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications Dr David Clark welcomes Google Cloud’s decision to make New Zealand a cloud region. “This is another major vote of confidence for New Zealand’s growing digital sector, and our economic recovery from COVID 19,” David Clark said. “Becoming a cloud region will mean ...
A package of changes to NCEA and University Entrance announced today recognise the impact COVID-19 has had on senior secondary students’ assessment towards NCEA in 2022, says Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti. “We have heard from schools how significant absences of students and teachers, as a result of COVID-19, ...
Te Reo Māori tauparapara… Tapatapa tū ki te Rangi! Ki te Whei-ao! Ki te Ao-mārama Tihei mauri ora! Stand at the edge of the universe! of the spiritual world! of the physical world! It is the breath of creation Formal acknowledgments… [Your Highness Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II and Masiofo] ...
The Government’s commitment to combatting firearms violence has reached another significant milestone today with the passage of the Firearms Prohibition Order Legislation Bill, Police Minister Chris Hipkins says. The new law helps to reduce firearm-related crime by targeting possession, use, or carriage of firearms by people whose actions and behaviours ...
Minister for Veterans, Hon Meka Whaitiri sends her condolences to the last Battle for Crete veteran. “I am saddened today to learn of the passing of Cyril Henry Robinson known as Brant Robinson, who is believed to be the last surviving New Zealand veteran of the Battle for Crete, Meka ...
Legislation to repeal the ‘Three Strikes’ law has passed its third reading in Parliament. “The Three Strikes Legislation Repeal Bill ends an anomaly in New Zealand’s justice system that dictates what sentence judges must hand down irrespective of relevant factors,” Justice Minister Kiri Allan said. “The three strikes law was ...
Work is under way on preliminary steps to improve the Government’s support for survivors of abuse in care while a new, independent redress system is designed, Public Service Minister Chris Hipkins says. These steps – recommended by the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry – include rapid payments for ...
Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki Online Forum 77 years ago today, an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Three days earlier, on the 6th of August 1945, the same fate had befallen the people of Hiroshima. Tens of thousands died instantly. In the years that followed 340,000 ...
An agreement signed today between the New Zealand and United States governments will provide new opportunities for our space sector and closer collaboration with NASA, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash said. Stuart Nash signed the Framework Agreement with United States Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman. The signing ...
An agreement signed today between New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will strengthen global emergency management capability, says Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty. “The Government is committed to continually strengthening our emergency management system, and this Memorandum of Cooperation ...
New Zealand will remain at the Orange traffic light setting, while hospitalisations remain elevated and pressure on the health system continues through winter. “There’s still significant pressure on hospitals from winter illnesses, so our current measures have an ongoing role to play in reducing the number of COVID-19 cases and ...
Streets will soon be able to be transformed from unsafe and inaccessible corridors to vibrant places for all transport modes thanks to new legislation proposed today, announced Transport Minister Michael Wood. “We need to make it safe, quicker and more attractive for people to walk, ride and take public transport ...
More young minds eyeing food and fibre careers is the aim of new Government support for agricultural and horticultural science teachers in secondary schools, Agriculture and Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Government is committing $1.6 million over five years to the initiative through the Ministry for Primary ...
Kākāpō numbers have increased from 197 to 252 in the 2022 breeding season, and there are now more of the endangered parrots than there have been for almost 50 years, Conservation Minister Poto Williams announced today. The flightless, nocturnal parrot is a taonga of Ngāi Tahu and a species unique ...
The relationship between Aotearoa New Zealand and Malaysia is to be elevated to the status of a Strategic Partnership, to open up opportunities for greater co-operation and connections in areas like regional security and economic development. Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta met her Malaysian counterpart Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah today during a ...
With additional trains operating across the network, powered by the Government’s investment in rail, there is need for a renewed focus on rail safety, Transport Minister Michael Wood emphasised at the launch of Rail Safety Week 2022. “Over the last five years the Government has invested significantly to improve level ...
The Foreign Minister has wrapped up a series of meetings with Indo-Pacific partners in Cambodia which reinforced the need for the region to work collectively to deal with security and economic challenges. Nanaia Mahuta travelled to Phnom Penh for a bilateral meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and Aotearoa New Zealand, ...
Kia ora koutou Firstly, thank you to the President of the Criminal Bar Association, Fiona Guy Kidd QC, for her invitation to attend the annual conference this weekend albeit unfortunately she is unable to attend, I’m grateful to the warm welcome both Chris Wilkinson-Smith (Vice-President, Whanganui) and Adam Simperingham (Vice-President, Gisborne) ...
Extension of Aotearoa Touring Programme supporting domestic musicians The Programme has supported more than 1,700 shows and over 250 artists New Zealand Music Commission estimates that around 200,000 Kiwis have been able to attend shows as a result of the programme The Government is hitting a high note, with ...
Minister of Defence Peeni Henare will depart tomorrow for Solomon Islands to attend events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. While in Solomon Islands, Minister Henare will also meet with Solomon Islands Minister of National Security, Correctional Services and Police Anthony Veke to continue cooperation on security ...
The Government is partnering with Ngāi Tahu Farming Limited and Ngāi Tūāhuriri on a whole-farm scale study in North Canterbury to validate the science of regenerative farming, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The programme aims to scientifically evaluate the financial, social and environmental differences between regenerative and conventional practices. ...
52.5% of people on public boards are women Greatest ever percentage of women Improved collection of ethnicity data “Women’s representation on public sector boards and committees is now 52.5 percent, the highest ever level. The facts prove that diverse boards bring a wider range of knowledge, expertise and skill. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The only credible explanation for Scott Morrison personally installing himself, as an undisclosed ministerial partner, in several portfolios is the former prime minister’s passion for control. The fact he didn’t tell senior colleagues, let ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linden Ashcroft, Lecturer in climate science and science communication, The University of Melbourne Mike Marrah/Unsplash, CC BY-SA On August 14 1912, a small New Zealand newspaper published a short article announcing global coal usage was affecting our planet’s temperature. ...
In the wake of the emotionally draining sagas that have dominated the mainstream media for the past week or so — -first the allegations of bullying within Parliament and by parliamentarians, and then the All Blacks’ triumph and turmoil over the coach’s future employment — can any relief be found? ...
Auckland mayoral hopeful Viv Beck should throw in the towel to give rival and former Far North mayor Wayne Brown a better go, says former Auckland mayor and National MP John Banks. ...
The government reduced pay parity funding for early childhood teachers in its May Budget to keep its education spending within agreed limits, briefing documents show. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Sydney Lukas Coch/AAP It has been reported that, during the pandemic, the then prime minister, Scott Morrison, swore himself in as a minister to several portfolios, including health, finance and resources. ...
The polytechnic sector has been getting a bad press in recent times. Former Otago Polytechnic chief executive Phil Ker has demanded an apology from Education Minister Chris Hipkins for turning the country’s polytechnic education system into “a national disgrace”. The Otago Daily Times has described the centralising of New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University Glen Carrie/Unsplash Social media platforms have had some bad press in recent times, largely prompted by the vast extent of their data collection. Now Meta, the parent company of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Sandeman, Honorary Professor, Federation University Australia Shutterstock As a parent, it might feel like you are constantly giving your children worm treatments – usually in the form of chocolate or sweetened chewable tablets. In fact, most kids in ...
New Zealand will send another 120 Defence staff to the UK to help train Ukraine soldiers to defend against Russia after the completion of the previous 30-strong deployment. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Rubenstein, Professor, Academic Director, 50/50 by 2030 Foundation, University of Canberra With more independents, women, Indigenous Australians and MPs from a multicultural background than ever before, federal parliament seems ready to deal with issues that have been lying dormant for years. ...
LGNZ welcomes the Government’s move to allow councils to own bus services. The Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) has been replaced with the new Sustainable Public Transport Framework. The new framework gives councils the ability to own and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evangeline Mantzioris, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, University of South Australia Shutterstock If you wake up in the morning feeling thirsty, you might be dehydrated. There are a few things which might be at play ...
The Free Speech Union has released the first Annual Universities Ranking Report , taking a critical look at the policies and practices of New Zealand’s universities with regards to free speech, and “grading” them on whether they suppress or encourage ...
Buzz from the Beehive The big announcement from the Beehive so far today is that workers and public transport users are at the heart of a new approach to public transport branded the Sustainable Public Transport Framework. This is great news, although when you take workers and public transport users ...
The New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association (NZCA) is again calling for the government to end COVID-19 mandates for private primary healthcare practices, as the continuing restrictions are unjust and unsubstantiated now that the Omicron variant is at large ...
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster is encouraging New Zealanders to have their say on the use of biometric information in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner today launched its consultation paper, Privacy Regulation of ...
Jacinda Ardern doesn't believe there are widespread issues of bullying across the party, but says employment matters will be raised from time-to-time in a large workplace. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ross Pain, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Philosophy, Australian National University Shutterstock In the early 1990s, British neuroscientist Karl Friston was poring over brain scans. The scans produced terabytes of digital output, and Friston had to find new techniques to sort and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amitabh Mattoo, Honorary Professor of International Relations, The University of Melbourne Mohandas Gandhi, who led India’s fight for independence, talks to a crowd in Ahmedabad, India in 1931. AP On this day 75 years ago, after a long battle for self-government, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward C Holmes, ARC Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor, University of Sydney My colleagues and I published the most detailedstudies of the earliest events in the COVID-19 pandemic last month in the journal Science. Together, these papers paint a coherent evidence-based ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Ottenhaus, Lectuer in Structural Timber Engineering, The University of Queensland Developer Thrive Construct recently announced the world’s tallest steel-timber hotel to be built at Victoria Square, Adelaide. Australia has caught onto the trend of building taller in timber, with other plans ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tamara May, Psychologist and Research Associate in the Department of Paediatrics, Monash University HBO While we all like to be prepared for what might happen in the future, like those difficult conversations and life choices, some go to extraordinary lengths ...
Labour MP Gaurav Sharma is doubling down on his claim a colleague misused taxpayers' money despite the Parliamentary Service determining no spending rules were broken. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Big business wants a “catch up boost” to permanent migration, with at least two thirds of the places going to skilled workers, In proposals for next month’s jobs and skills summit, the Business Council ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND Australia’s top economists are divided about how to tackle ballooning inflation of 6.1% that’s forecast to climb to a three-decade high of 7.75% by ...
ANALYSIS:By Shailendra Singh of the University of the South Pacific In Fiji’s politically charged context, national elections are historically a risky period. Since the 2022 campaign period was declared open on April 26, the intensity has been increasing. Moreover, with three governments toppled by coups after the 1987, 1999 ...
RNZ Pacific The Queen’s Representative in the Cook Islands, Sir Tom Marsters, has confirmed Mark Brown as the Prime Minister. In a statement issued from Mark Brown’s office, Sir Tom said he was “satisfied” that Mark Brown had the majority of the MPs elected to Parliament. Following the final count ...
Former list MP Aaron Gilmore, who resigned in 2013 after he used his position as a threat to a hotel employee, says there has been "outrageous behaviour" by those in Parliament. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pasi Sahlberg, Professor of Education, Southern Cross University Federal Education Minister Jason Clare and his state colleagues met in Canberra on Friday.Lukas Coch/AAP Last Friday, Australia’s state and federal education ministers met with emotional teachers, who spoke of working on weekends ...
Despite an 11th-hour rush of nominations for this year's local body elections, Local Government New Zealand says the numbers could still be too low. ...
A political analyst says people who would have voted for Leo Molloy in Auckland's mayoral election may now turn to Efeso Collins, because both candidates have working-class appeal. ...
Podcast - After one of the fastest political downfalls in New Zealand's history, Political Reporter Katie Scotcher examines how both major parties now face bullying accusations. ...
The government has unveiled what it is calling a radical plan to overhaul reading, writing and maths teaching after two decades of sliding literacy rates. ...
ANALYSIS:By Russel Norman, executive director of Greenpeace Aotearoa Only people power can ensure genuine enduring progress on climate and people need to know the truth if they are to act on it. For that reason greenwashing is the enemy of progress on climate and where you stand on ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai says he will seek a further extension from the Governor-General for the return of writ for Southern Highlands provincial seat which has faced protracted delays in counting. He said any discussions and talks of “failing” an election and calling for a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University Shutterstock Australia’s energy ministers on Friday voted to make emissions reduction a key national energy goal, in a major step forward in the clean energy transition. Federal, state and territory energy ministers agreed to ...
Labour MP Gaurav Sharma has launched another broadside at his own party, posting a lengthy statement on social media that details his interactions with Parliamentary Service and the Labour whips. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Wadham, Director, Open Door: Understanding and Supporting Service Personnel and their Families, Flinders University The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has released its interim report after more than 1,900 submissions and 194 witnesses. It includes recommendations considered so urgent ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mathieu O’Neil, Associate Professor of Communication, News and Media Research Centre, University of Canberra GettyImages Donald Trump derided any critical news coverage as “fake news” and his unwillingness to concede the 2020 presidential election eventually led to the January 6, 2021 ...
The Government’s esteem for science and science-based research findings can be gauged from a press statement released by the Ministry for Primary Industries. The statement gives a progress report on a New Zealand Forest Services’ partnership with a marae-based tree-growing project and its grant of nearly $500,000 over two years ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stan Karanasios, Associate professor, The University of Queensland Rob Hampson/Unsplash On August 9 2022, Australia’s COVIDSafe app was officially decommissioned, and all its features removed. People were encouraged to uninstall the app. Reports of its closure have made international news. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Paddy Nixon talk about this week in politics. They discuss Australia’s relationship with China as tensions rise over Taiwan, the inquiry into ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominique Allen, Associate Professor, Monash University Photo by Sora Shimazaki/Pexels, CC BY You might have heard of jobseekers being asked to complete a “personality test” as part of a job application, or been through the process yourself. The questions can ...
Buzz from the Beehive Some readers might be surprised to learn from Associate Finance Minister David Parker that the law has been changed to ensure forestry conversions by overseas investors benefit New Zealand. Did the law previously allow forestry conversions by overseas investors that would be to ...
The government is giving long-term build-to-rent developments a tax break in a bid to increase secure rental supply for tenants for at least 10 years. ...
Aucklanders now have a clear choice between continuing the failing status quo or choosing a candidate who can fix Auckland, Mayoral candidate Wayne Brown says. “They can choose more of the same from current councillor Efeso Collins, or a new proactive ...
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What a difference less than a week can make: National lurching from success to controversy and Labour facing its own bombshell, Political Editor Jane Patterson writes. ...
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Te Pāti Māori co-leader and list MP based in Te Tai Hauāuru will this weekend share in the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Pātea Māori club anthem, Poi E. “Iwi of Taranaki and Ngāti Ruanui will be reminiscing ...
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North of fifty dollars a week.
I put this on another thread, but it’s worth repeating:
Bill English told the same porkie: asked about an increase in GST …
“We won’t be doing that … It is not our policy”.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/politics/747758
We are leaving them in the dust – for GST
He was talking about Australian GST.
ha! nice reference
Whats the bet the GST increase will be passed AND implemented in the budget. Ie within a few days.
Has to be in the budget to get the Coalition of the willing to vote for it
While all the other offsets , well they would just ‘promises’ which hes very relaxed about.
Cant see the tax cuts coming in till election year budget to take effect say September so you only get 6 months worth in that year
I’ll take that bet and say 1 October for both.
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
Times change guys, the NZ that Key was talking about when he made this statement is not the NZ he inherited, he (Key) certainly had no idea how bad the books were due to Dr Cullens incompetence.
I keep saying it, this is not the way to go about eating into Key’s popularity, you guys are still using the same tactics that did not work at the last election, the more you make small minded attacks on the man the more he will be supported by the public.
I seem to remember something about “contrary to human nature”…
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
There is no ban on smacking, never has been, and it is probable that here never could be.
You just have to be able to justify your actions, if charged, to a court. You cannot use a rather stupid defence that used to exist. I realise that you probably think that this is a gross infringement on your ‘right’ to beat children. But that is just tough shit.
Incidentally there is no ban on assaulting people, murdering people, waving your dick in public, or anything else. What there are are consequences for all of these actions in the law. I have no idea where you get the idea of a ‘ban’ from (and I hesitate to suggest possibilities).
So you are just being as pointless as usual, or just bleating one of those wingnut urban myths? Here’s another one for you – “north of $50” tax cuts.
(like global medieval warm periods, global little iceages – for things that appear to have only happened in Europe.)
Iprent
Where did you get the idea I am defending Key, I suspect I detest the man more than you.
BTW, you are only making a fool of yourself by suggesting there is not a ban on smacking, in other posts I have mentioned that you guys are out of touch and arrogant, this type of hiding behind semantics is a classic example.
There is no ban on smacking kids. There are consequences to doing the action.
If you think that there is a ‘ban’ to stopping someone doing it, then I’d suggest that you have zero idea of what you’re talking about. It is impossible to stop people from doing anything. All society can do is put consequences in for actions.
In this case all that happened was a defence in court was removed.
Use your brain to look at what you said, rather than your mindless slogans. And pleeze stop being such a meathead.
Iprent
Please stop being so precious.
Clark lied to the people of NZ about the smacking ban, you know that, and in an attempt to change the debate you bring in the pathetic ‘child beating” slogan.
You told me that you are a smart person, while I have yet to be convinced it amazes me that you continue to parrot Labour party policy day after day without even suggesting that you can think for yourself.
Show us how smart you are Iprent, show us that you can actually debate an issue (any issue will do) without resorting to abuse or banning those who expose you as a person who is not quite as smart as you like to think you are.
Just being accurate – which you seem to have a real problem doing. Just at present I’m unsure if you could find your arse with your hands as your accuracy rate seems to be so useless.
Tell me exactly how you ‘ban’ anything unless you physically prevent A meeting B. It has never been proposed that would happen between most parents and their children.
This discussion came about because you suggested that Helen lied about ‘banning smacking’. What I’m saying is that you are a moronic idiot who is so in love with your slogans that you fail to see that she said exactly the truth.
Your avoidance behaviour in your last few comments is just that of a miserable serial liar trying to avoid the consequences of your ignorance and gross inaccuracies. You say things without bothering to check them for being correct.
Face it – basically you’re just acting like a dickhead.
I have not avoided anything Iprent.
I have invited you to debate the issue with me and show that intellect that you so often tell us about.
Your lack of patience with somebody who shares the same goal as you says so much about why Labour is in the basement at the moment.
The nation rejected your superior “we know best” attitude in Nov 08, I would have thought that you might have learnt something from that.
Seems I was wrong.
Let me know when you get over your arrogance Iprent, let me know when you wake up to the fact that the public are not going to come running back to you guys screaming “we got it wrong”.
I have some ideas that might help.
big bruv:
Still squirming I see… Lets put the specimen pin in a little deeper…
You made several inaccurate assertions. Now you’re trying to avoid taking responsibility for them by diverting attention. Pretty typical of a meathead Act supporter who’d prefer to lie rather than use their brains. Lets have a look at them again shall we…
I wish I could find the clip of Clark saying she would never support a ban on smacking.
and
Clark lied to the people of NZ about the smacking ban
You followed up on that by saying
you are only making a fool of yourself by suggesting there is not a ban on smacking
You are totally inaccurate in all of your statements. Because there never was proposed to be a ban on smacking children. If you have a child in front of you that you want to hit, then you’re perfectly capable of doing so. However, there are consequences to hitting anyone, including children and always have been. The police are entitled to look at your actions and decide if they want to press charges.
The only thing that s59a did was remove a defence in court that the judges had condemned as being too vaguely worded and prevented them from judging appropriately.
Of course hysterical dickheads like yourself seem to fail to understand that. You cling to your inaccurate slogans like a babies safety blanket. Too sacred to face the real word without their comforting embrace.
The lie is your slogan of “banning smacking” – debate that.
Iprent
I really seem to have hit a raw nerve don’t I.
I note that in true Alinsky fashion you are now accusing me of doing what you yourself are doing.
I am not incorrect Iprent, and frankly, you look like an idiot by hiding behind semantics.
But lets move on….
Nope – this is more fun….
Using stupid slogans instead of thinking is sort of your trademark. Lets keep looking at what you say…
You really do make the most stupid statements without thinking. I’m sure it is a habit we can cure you of.
Careful BB, in an unguarded moment some time ago lprent let slip he has an MBA.
A lefty with an MBA – how can he live with himself?
“A lefty with an MBA how can he live with himself?”
Because according to his own words he is “brilliant”.
Must be hard to be that smart and modest at the same time.
Not to mention an Earth Science degree. Now, where could you go with that and an MBA – ENRON?
Thank God for a Carbon Trading Market – not!
Still, he’s one of the more balanced authors on this site – not that it means much!
[lprent: Accurate on both degrees (but there are a number of other part finished ones – I get bored). However, I somehow (obsession) wound up as a high-end computer programmer. It is more fun than Enron. ]
Ken Lay – is that you?
I thought you were still inside?
[lprent: no need to repeat. We get around to releasing stuff from the auto-moderation/auto-spam eventually if they get in there by accident. ]
Point taken Ken, but no need to be so touchy. You wouldn’t be the first white collar wrong doer to be retrained into IT by the Government.
But it’s the radical change in politics that puzzles me.
Iprent
Are you sure you find this fun?, it is highly embarrassing for you, I would have thought you might have had enough by now.
I am not one given to acts of cruelty, but if you insist on carrying on then so be it.
Now, how about we chat about the appalling way you guys are going about being the opposition?
Nope, I’ll just keep an eye out for you substituting slogans for understanding.
I always find it appalling and irritating that people turn their brains off in favour of their prejudices when they hear a good slogan.
You’re one of the worst offenders. Care to debate that?
“you look like an idiot by hiding behind semantics”
Depends on your point of view.
Or are YOU accusing HIM of doing the same as what YOU are doing??
Or maybe you are both accusing each other of doing what you both are doing and this is just a tangled web of hypocrisy?!
Ok sure, they have banned smacking “for the purpose of correction”.. congratulations you win the obtuse medal of the day.
I suppose they never banned smoking in workplaces either, because there is no smoking guards armed with water pistols walking the corridors.
lprent theres no clip – it was an audio. DO you want it?
Oh my god. Well put. At LAST a commentator that actually understands the amendment to section 59.
I applaud you, Iprent. Now can you take some of that reasoning over to Farrar’s blog with his band of merry christian child bashers who appear not to have even read s 59???
[lprent: I think that the intellectual inbreeding over there is a bit intense. I’ll concentrate on keeping my home site clean of the same problem. ]
Yeah good point. Fair enough. I must stop reading it actually. The populist, christian-based, uneducated posts and comments over there just wind me up for the entire day!
I have to support iprent.
Smacking is permited under quite a range of circumstances. Read the law bro.
I think the clip is the Radio Rhema interview with Bob McCrostie, and now you are playing the political game of symantics. A very crafty politician can get out of almost any statement by using symantics. And for me it is extremely poor that “we’ have to resort to this. Once an arguement has entered this stage it has been won/lost for the majority. We are not dumb, even if we do not get into politics
John English siad the books were brilliant.
Let us konw if you ever find the Clark clip {irrelevant anyway as we are talking $$$ now, so dear to the right}
So replaying his old words is ‘small minded’ and will make him ‘more popular’
The context of the interview was that the books would be looking so bad and of course the tax cuts had to be reversed as well.
Two broken promises! Let us be the judge of what the voters want to hear
Like my grandad always said..
“Never trust a tory!”
Funny that, mine always told me never to trust a socialist and always check your wallet when you have been in their company.
funny, that was exactly what an Aussie mate of mine used to say about Key in the 1990’s (the checking your wallet bit after being in his company)
grandfathers tend to be a bit too attached to cliches..
A bit like my last sentence.
However every analysis I have seen of Right vs Left politicians and keeping their promises, the Right falls short.
This is no surprise to anyone, including the Right. They know what they are doing. They are just disingenuous.
When asked about his change of stance, Key replied, “I’m pretty relaxed about it”.
Please watch your language. And it’s not nice wishing that others were deceased. UPDATE: Deleted other abusive comments. You’re not welcome here Moon Goddess – MF
Mr Key? Is that you?
Ghost
You and I agree on one thing, we both want Key gone.
But, you can bash him as much as you want it is going to get you anywhere, you need to drop the tired old aggressive socialist style of attack and think a bit smarter.
Kiwis rejected that style of politics and that style of leader, sure these type of attacks might raise the morale of your hard line supporters but they are not the ones you need to convince, middle NZ is where it is at Ghost and while you might feel better with attack politics the average voter is turned off by it.
You need to drop the tired old socialist-as-an-insult cliche.
Just because people are to the left of you does not make them a socialist.
And being called a socialist is not an insult. I would be far more insulted being called a neo con than a socialist!
But seriously. Using the loaded S word just makes everything else you say kind of vanish in a right-headed haze.
Use what ever you like Magoo, but prepared to be on the opposition benches for years and years to come.
You guys need to change….big time.
Your message is not getting through, the public are yawning at what you have to say and the people who are saying it.
Oh you are so banned – MF
ahh….and here is a classic example of what I was talking about.
To be fair, our new friend “Moon Goddess” seems to be quite non-partisan.
Your line of reasoning as as tired as I am of dicussing it with the closed minded right.
I really could not give a rats ass what you think I or people you think I am associated with (read: I am not) should do.
You are just another disingenuous righty come to these here boards to make trouble. Your mind has been made up and is thus CLOSED to all further discussion.
You seem to assume that you have some wisdom to impart here. Your tired old cliches and insults really are pathetic and do not add one iota to the debate.
Go back to your cave.
Got any more cliché’s you want to toss in ?
My mind is not closed, I was a supporter of Key, now I see him as the most dangerous man in the country.
Those with closed minds are the Labour people who refuse to admit that they are on the wrong track and have not yet accepted that the nation turned away from their style of politics.
Ahh another enlightened Act supporter.
You were fooled into thinking key would lie through his teeth and then sell NZ out to the Neo-Con Way(TM) but it turns out he fooled you instead.
Good for you….
Gee Big bruv , wonder why the Dom is running the video clip on its web page.
I suggest TVNZ or TV3 will do the same on the news. Its such an easy story to do.
Showing Key is a liar-eventually the wider public get it. Its not rocket science.
But will Key go on Q+A this week and will Espiner have the nerve to confront him over the broken promises and the tax cuts which are paid for with tax increases
So bloody what?
Are you going to rely on the mindless NZ media to do your job for you?
The Nat’s had to battle nine years of media bias to defeat Clark, the sooner you learn that you no longer set the rules of the game the better.
You highlight exactly my point Ghost, you are a hard lefty, you are going to get all excited about this clip showing on the news, middle NZ or the floating voter does NOT CARE LESS.
Last time I checked neither do you.
You comments are kind of ridiculous. They sound an awful lot like the US republican propaganda to be honest. You don’t watch/read a lot of fox news per chance??
– liberal use of “socialist” (pun intended)
– liberal media bias
– clueless
yep..I am smelling Fox in there….
keys nose is growing as we speak – i wish i could do pinocchiokeyphotoshop
from wikipedia
The name Pinocchio is a Tuscan word meaning “pine nut” – says it all really
That nice Mr Key is having a terrible time in the house.
Repeating his lie over and over isn’t helping either.
And the nzherald reported it, so much it for being in keys back pocket.
It took them a whole year to get out of it.
Oh FFS. This thread resembles Kiwiblog.
[lprent: Yep. Idiotic isn’t it. But look at the participants. ]
Iprent
This is your place, I will play by your rules.
Fire away….
Always allowing for the fact that I work for a living and from time to time I have to pop out and administer a beating to my non union employees for not increasing productivity.
I have to work as well. However I’m usually beating software into submission. Right now it is a recalcitrant IIS7 server that is failing to deliver my WPF xaml application, and prefers sending me 401 ‘Unauthorised’ errors instead. The IIS6 server serves it perfectly, and so would Apache if I tried that.
Fortunately there was a convenient target blathering slogans to offload the Mickeysoft frustration into, while I had a wee think about what they’d screwed up this time.
Iprent
My reply seems to have vanished into the ether…
Or did you delete it because I embarrassed you again?
Bruv, nothing you could ever say would ever embarrass anyone on the left. I’d say that it embarrasses people on the right but they’re far to inconsistent to realise that they should be embarrassed.
I don’t know, I often feel embarrassed for him.
Ken Lay!, Is that you – I thought you were still inside?
Last time I checked, Lay had been dead for quite a while.
Who bloody cares, The world has changed since 1988 or haven’t you lot noticed.
Shows how desperate Goff is getting bringing this crap up
Um, this vid is from 2008, not 1988.
You might recall there was an election coming up at the time.
I am sorry your post is out of context. Nat are not increasing GST to cover debt, so John Key is technically correct. Even so I still believe that it is not a step in the right direction. His actions are that of a 2nd term government I was looking for someone to have a positive radical change in philosophy, but this appears not to have occurred. What I see is a tampering of the deck chairs.
His comments are to be taken as the same as Labours “Free” childcare, Michael Cullen NZ cannot afford taxcuts (pre 2005 electon) then giving them to us,& Helen Clarks interview with Bob McCoskie on Radio Rhema re S59.
I want more for NZ and what I can see Lab are not displaying anything that will move us forward. I was hoping Nats had a great plan (Like Obama) there is none, and the left have nothing to offer as well.
Not a good look.
The Two Faces of John Key
Politians, they have lied in the past, they are lying today and they will be lying tomorrow. When will we ever learn!