Nats in denial about education and poverty

Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, September 11th, 2012 - 57 comments
Categories: class war, education, labour, national, poverty - Tags: , , ,

Shearer’s speech on Sunday has sparked the discussions that this country needed to have about education, about poverty, and about the sad link between them. With every statement the Nats show how deeply in denial they are about these issues:

Labour says New Zealand needs a Minister for Children, and will introduce one if it wins the 2014 election. Leader David Shearer says there needs to be a special focus on children to ensure they have the best start in life, but National says the current policies work and Labour’s proposals are unnecessary.

…”All of our portfolios are focused on how we can attend to our most vulnerable children,” says Education Minister Hekia Parata, “and the result action plan we released three weeks ago talked about an integrated approach.”

National used to talk about “the underclass” too – talk is all they ever do. National have had four years, during which poverty and inequality have increased (a Waikato University professor says that poverty is our biggest growth industry). Report after report after report has condemned the rate of poverty in this country, and called on the government to act.  In a recent summary of the government’s targets and goals John Armstrong wrote: “Glaringly absent is a target for reducing child poverty”…

National also says there’s no need for Labour’s $19 million proposal to provide a free daily meal to all decile one-to-three schools, as there are already mechanisms in place. “For the vast bulk of them we provide fruit in schools, there’s often a breakfast programme and more often than not some sort of emergency lunch,” says Prime Minister John Key.

Education Minister Hekia Parata told Radio New Zealand the government is already doing enough to help families feed their kids.

If the government is already doing enough then why are 40,000 kids are fed by charities and up to 80,000 going to school hungry?

Key in poverty ‘la la land’

Organisations working with the poor and opposition parties say Prime Minister John Key is in ”la la land” if he thinks fruit is enough to get a hungry child through a school day.

Key ‘out of touch’ over hungry kids: Turei

The Green Party is backing Labour’s proposal to provide free food to all kids at low-decile schools, and has slammed the government over its refusal to consider the idea.

… Metiria Turei says Mr Key is out of touch with the facts and “against every good idea to decrease child poverty”.

“Food in schools is needed. According to Kidscan, one in 11 kids in the four lowest deciles are demonstrably hungry at school, and a Ministry of Health survey found that 20.1 per cent of New Zealand households with school-age children did not have enough food for active and health living,” she said.

Before the last election Labour called for a cross party working group on poverty. Key turned the offer down. National is now deeply in denial and doesn’t think anything needs to be done. Labour is offering practical solutions. Your choice.

57 comments on “Nats in denial about education and poverty ”

  1. just saying 1

    I think you are too generous to the government Anthony. I don’t believe they are any less aware of the extent of poverty than the left of the house. The only ‘problem’ poverty presents to National is a public relations one. And their vicious victim-blaming strategy is working a treat.

    They simply don’t care. For many of them it’s not even just “acceptable collateral damage”. Poverty is a warning to workers everywhere, and a just punishment for any kind of failure or dissent. An effective tool of oppression.

  2. Carol 2

    National also says there’s no need for Labour’s $19 million proposal to provide a free daily meal to all decile one-to-three schools, as there are already mechanisms in place. “For the vast bulk of them we provide fruit in schools,

    Bomber refers to it as Key’s Let them eat fruit! response.

    https://twitter.com/CitizenBomber/status/245245214581731328

    John Key’s – ‘let them eat fruit’ isn’t much of a response to child poverty, but then again he isn’t much of a Prime Minister.

    • Steve Wrathall 2.1

      Why don’t one of these parents who send their children to school with no food come to this site and defend why other people should pay more tax in order to remove yet more responsibility from them? Wher are they all? I mean there’s so many of them aren’t there?

      • Colonial Viper 2.1.1

        Why don’t some of the richies who earn 5x or 20x the median NZ income turn up here to defend why they wish to abdicate their responsibility to the rest of society and leave NZ children starving, often just one or two streets away from their own homes?

        Their reason being so self centred, that they don’t want to part with an extra 0.02c per dollar extra of income or asset tax to strengthen the fabric of this country.

      • marsman 2.1.2

        Steve Wrathall. Parents who are too poor to feed their children would not have a computer or be able to afford an internet connection. Perhaps like John Key you too live in a comfy la la land. Shame on you!

      • starlight 2.1.3

        To Steve,Could you please explain how you would spend $200-$300 per week on all household
        costs,ie rent,power,bills,petrol,food,insurance,phone.
        Then explain how you would spend $400-500 on the above.
        Then explain how you would spend $500 plus.
        Feel free to do a budget,so we can see where the money goes.

        • mike e 2.1.3.1

          +1 starlight these aloof callous cynics wouldn’t last a week let alone a couple of days put into those circumstances!
          They would be under the mental health act after a week!

      • Urban Raskal 2.1.4

        Steve, you’re seriously misguided. I’ve been reading your comments over the last couple of days and you obviously live in an insular environment away from the realities of the middle and lower classes and their current struggles.

        I’m a 25 year old qualified worker. I worked part-time during my studies to gain experience as I knew it was important to my future job chances. Out of my 4 year degree only around 5 of 30 got a industry job straight from uni. I was one of the lucky ones due to experience. But as a renter at the time and an attitude against living off the government, or my parents good will, I had to take a job quickly. In 2009 the job market was horrible for graduates and I was forced into taking a job with a lower pay to make my rent payments.

        But at least i’m in the industry I studied, better than the other 25 in my class.

        Over the first 2 years working I can say that after rent, water, power, internet, food, gas my expendable income was between 0 – 100 a week. Note: internet was needed for me to do freelance web work to supplement my pittance.
        I was far from living comfortably, but I have no children to feed, and I believe in eating healthy which is a considerably more expensive option.

        So pray tell me (a 25 year old, with a bachelors degree and 5 years work experience). If I could only afford to live with $100 income after expenses, without children and eat healthy. How do you expect a family earning the minimum wage to function in that environment?

        From reading your comments yesterday I conclude you are a most callous person unable to put yourself in someone elses shows.

        • prism 2.1.4.1

          Urban Raskal 2 1 4
          UR you have patiently given Steve some facts so he can gain background to what is being said on this site. After you donating your time to advance his knowledge, I hope he can absorb it and think about it and gain more understanding but I doubt it. It’s likely he’ll pick up some item that seems to reinforce his prejudices. He may be one of those that build their lives and personalities around taking a stand on the basis of one idea and slagging off other people who are considered lacking in the right attitude to life.

          • Urban Raskal 2.1.4.1.1

            I figured the obvious gripe would be a comment along the lines of “you had enough to afford internet”. But no doubt there is something else.

            If your reading Steve, I am not saying in my piece above that I was in a struggling situation. But having children, buying a house, dealing with emergency situations were out of my control and still are in a smaller sense.

            And you are expecting people earning atleast 25% less than me to be able to feed their kids nutritious food. All the while taking their taxes and spending large portions of them on consultants, bail outs and general tom-foolery.

            Either give them back some taxes so they can afford it or use some of that tax money to actually benefit the lowest areas of our society.

            • prism 2.1.4.1.1.1

              UR
              The problem with the down attitude on poor people is to overlook that they are under constant stress and are unhappy and that very little is going right for them. They also have very little money to comfort themselves with – the rich crafty financier can make sure that he is miserable in comfort. Not so the poor people.

              And they have to try and maintain a positive attitude and strong discipline of mind and behaviour yet perhaps feeling hopeless in the midst of this constant wave of difficulties and poverty. The term ‘death by a thousand cuts’ comes to mind. No wonder that the poor become less than ‘efficient and effective’ as Treasury and other economists would probably label their situation.

              • Urban Raskal

                Exactly, when any bump over $50 is going to break the bank or throw out your budget you tend to get pretty stuck in a rut. I would think that everyone can see the psychological impact that would have on a family.

                I’d think that providing a safety net of food for kids is not only in the interests of the children but society as a whole. Removing pressure here could have a positive impact on violent crime and family violence.

                This government seems to enjoy marginalizing people and I don’t see that being good for the well being of anyone. No one wants a pitchfork mob at their door, and long term that seems to get more and more likely if you follow this rhetoric.

        • tracey 2.1.4.2

          “you obviously live in an insular environment away from the realities of the middle and lower classes and their current struggles”

          Are you saying Steve is actually a member of cabinet???

  3. fabregas4 3

    I asked Parata whether she thought poverty affected learning her response (unsurprisingly) was long winded and waffling. Eventually she begrudgingly said yes. But then added “but it’s no excuse!”.

    I wasn’t able to ask a follow up question so I don’t know who she thought was using poverty as an excuse (usually she refers to lazy, teachers with low expectations in this sort of discussion) but equally it could have meant the kids themselves I guess.

    I really wanted to ask what her government planned to do about poverty then as it affects most of the struggling learners in any school – the very group she always refers too – sadly no opportunity to ask this either. Even more sad – I don’t think she actually cared.

    • Carol 3.1

      I’ve seen John Banks use that “poverty is not an excuse for education failure” line in general debates in the House recently. He claims it’s the line the “opposition” or Labour and the Greens use. Banks argument is that it is the schools that are causing the failure, hence the need for his charter schools.

  4. Matthew 4

    Key is full of shit. I work in a decile 1a High school, we get the breakfast program two days a week, but we get no free fruit (despite being in the biggest fruit-growing region in NZ) & certainly no ’emergency lunches’. Its two weetbix in the morning and a splash of milk, no extras.
    Most of my kids dont have computers at home or internet at home Steve. Also, a good amount of their parents do work but work minimum wage jobs, they pay tax, that have bills. I know some who get food one week & gas up the car the next… they cant do both in one week since the price of gas went through the roof. Power going up, rates going up, doctors costs, etc…. a 40 hour week at minimum wage less tax is barely 400 a week…..
    This isnt about removing responsibility, its about actually paying people enough money to cover their outgoings. Anyone who thinks poverty is a lifestyle choice has obviously never been in it.

    • Craig Glen Eden 4.1

      Excellent post Matthew!

    • tracey 4.2

      Steve and his ilk don’t want facts. They prefer to believe that the world they believe exists, is real and the same for everyone. Facts interfere with that enormously.

  5. Carol 5

    I see from the NZ First website that Paul Sahlberg, author of Finnish lessons is giving a talk in Wellington on Oct 2, hosted by PPTA. They don’t have any other details of location etc.

    http://nzfirst.org.nz/event/paul-sahlberg-author-finnish-lessons

    Aha! It’s at the NZPPTA conference:
    http://www.ppta.org.nz/index.php/annual-conference/2329-annualconf-programme-2012

    The 2012 conference will be held at the Brentwood Hotel, Kemp Street, Kilbirnie, Wellington from Tuesday 2 October to Thursday 4 October 2012.

  6. captain hook 6

    the nats are in denial about everything.
    especially about getting their arses kicked at the next election.

  7. Adrian 7

    Key or Parata claimed that they gave $300,000 to schools for fruit and food. What they didn’t say was that they also give $560,000 to elite private schools to buy sports equipment. Priorities, people, don’t forget the priorities.

    • mike e 7.1

      God that stinks wealthy people who can afford the best equipment while equally or better talented poor children can’t even get equipment or food!
      Grotesque.

    • Dv 7.2

      Re the 300k, it would be interesting to see that figure audited, and to see the ticket clipping (if any) on the way past.

      • tracey 7.2.1

        with 40,000 children in poverty that’s a one-off payment of $7.50 per child. how proud the nats must be. How much fodo the brokers for the asset sales get???

  8. prism 8

    Education is being presented to the public as a focus for attention away from the other yawning holes in our country’s performance leading to deterioration of everything those in the past worked for to achieve. When will New Zealand cease to bear anything but a faint resemblance to the country we had that remains in our memory?

    And education is being presented also as the answer to a future for our young people. In very poor countries it does open the doors to jobs and entrepreneurial activity often for just one child in the family to bring in some money for continued existence. In a ‘developed’ country like NZ more is needed. We have universal education which should flow into jobs and thriving, vital businesses. But where are they and where will they be when the next wave of educated young people emerge?

    Ours are closing down, moving away, or staying here and moving production elsewhere (e.g. Fisher and Paykel which may soon be owned by a Chinese shareholder). Steven Joyce talks airily about businesses of the future say in bioenergy. Sounds just like Roger whatname and his cohorts who were willing to manipulate the business environment so that it fell down, always with the cocky assertion that new more modern and efficient ones would take their place. And the idea that clever business people would save the country and boost its earnings.

    Well we know that the clever guys struggle in our environment trying to get, and keep going without any government support to match what other developed countries have. Many of our clever guys are just trained accountants, playing with other peoples real money and turning it into play money at the end. The clever guys don’t want the hard graft of starting, running, owning a business. They want to be successful like asset stripper Ron Brierley, to be financiers and gather in others hard earned savings like the finance company owners, then throw it to the winds, on a nice jet or yacht on an extremely fancy car, on all the baubles that man can think of, and occasionally woman.

    That’s why we don’t have much venture capital in this country. A casino culture is what we do have. It’s all going to happen on the next spin of the wheel, we are in the hands of fate and nothing we can do about it. What a despicable lot we have in NACT and Labour had better take a good shower, freshen themselves up, then get in to the policy gym and get sweaty with some real work on the right muscles, then go through that same process repeatedly until they are fit for their purpose.

  9. fnjckg 9

    social causation social drift
    choices and determinations
    loneliness and solitude
    social construction of meaning

    READ Thomas Szasz

    and btw, one of the highest authorities on mental health at the HBDHB assures me after many chats that i AM on the way…Left in charge

    …to them who hath understanding (Santa)
    -tuition
    -board
    -food
    -living allowance
    -primarily precis and oral examination (assessment, assessment, assessment) is unnecessary when u can cover the material in a summers’ pre-reading and sit wondering why u arewasting all this time cycling, pacing, and enduring vacant tutorials
    =One free servant (in this day and age i can be found) awaiting

    as, it would appear i have an auto-biographical memory as well as comprehension for any-thing i
    CHOOSE TO READ

    To The Trolls,
    i understand your desire and suffering
    -born to teens
    -typical bullshit kiwi male shot the gap to Oz
    -adopted
    -subsequent brothers to adopted parents followed
    -Father died when boys 9, 7, 3 ya
    -Authoratarian, emotionally, psychologically and physically abusive parenting (outcome of her own developmental deficits and insults)
    -Pedant teachers
    -the great NZ bully culture
    -biological inheritance of fathers predisposition to anasthetic (sensation seeking and all that)
    -biological inheritance of mothers ‘hysterical’ (old term) temperament
    -childhood social isolation
    -childhood labour
    -alcohol can come to grip one like heroin
    -nicotine one of the most addictive substances in the pharmacopeia
    -cannabis has been interesting, but work to be done

    Well we sure showed them did we. Not! (outcome. Hyper-vigilence and Acute cyclic emotional Intensity)

    Reading, and being read to + a little wairua = resilience

    There are at least 10 Benefits from gettin enough Sleep in a Therapeutic Milieu

    so on the same authority (see above) i have concurrence that much (almost all) is determined
    with a little freedom to choose following behind if u are courageous enough-it is the cowards that breed fear

    “Lets Dance” too Poppy for me (and it sure gets hot around hare)(poission recurrence)

    sacred.pearls.
    Done?

  10. captain hook 10

    we cant feed our kids and we cant keep our jobs.
    who elected this government?

  11. 50 more jobs lost at the port of timaru at the end of this month, so what do those
    families do? basher bennett will punish them again, more for the ‘poverty’ train.

  12. BLiP 12

    .

    Heh! National Ltd™ 2007 Press Release:

    National Party Leader John Key has announced the first initiative in what will be a National Food in Schools programme.

    “National is committed to providing practical solutions to the problems which Helen Clark says don’t exist,” says Mr Key.

    During his State of the Nation speech on Tuesday, Mr Key indicated National would seek to introduce a food in schools programme at our poorest schools in partnership with the business community . . .

    “. . . “We are going to put together the package while in Opposition. We are not waiting to be in Government, because all our kids deserve better.” [says King John The Clueless of Charmalot]

    Last year National Ltd™ spent $562,874 on sports funding for private schools, yet spent barely half that ($317,000) on support for organisations providing free food in low decile schools

  13. Basher bennett has just released more attacks on solo mums,their benefits will be
    slashed if they dont comply with her rulings,where the hell does she get off?
    this needs to be sent to the human rights office,surely there is someone in labour
    that can halt all her attacks on beneficiaries via the human rights commission and
    the un,surely she must be stopped,she has crossed the line with the privacy breach
    where she should have been dismissed as a politician,now a banal attack on mums
    and beneficiaries en’ mass, she is out of control.

    • Carol 13.1

      Well, some here predicted another Basher Benefit distraction following Shearer’s education speech-grabbing headlines:

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7653313/Welfare-reforms-target-kids-education-health

      It’s all blame and punish parents for the abysmal way society has treated them, and avoid dealing with the wealthy rorters that dominate the system.

      NAct truly is the nasty party.

    • As David Slack just said on Facebook Paula has a standard press release that goes like this:

      “[Date] We will SLASH your benefit if you [insert maximum of one], you scum.” Issue weekly, as necessary.”

    • BLiP 13.3

      .

      Labour gets traction on child poverty: cue Basher Bennet dog-whistle, hey presto – headlines, concerned Editorials, unemployed = druggie TV “human interest”, rabid talkback-taliban blethering . . . oh, what was that about our kids living in poverty, must mean that spawn of criminals breeding for profit and leeching off the taxpayer. Fuck ’em.

    • Hayden 13.4

      Well, it’s easier than doing anything about jobs.

    • marsman 13.5

      ‘Paula Pop-Up Bene-Basher Bennett the Ugly Face of National Party Heartlessness’ on your screen weekly.

  14. Tab 14

    The Conservatives are gaining on National yay for Colin Craig, a Key with a moral code!!

    • Tracey 14.1

      Thanks TAB, I needed a belly laugh after a hard day…

      • Tab 14.1.1

        Was not a joke. Colin Craig has the heart and integrity that John Key does not. He is truly conservative and cares about what the electorate thinks, unlike the bendable Key.

        • Colonial Viper 14.1.1.1

          Do you think Colin Craig views homosexual activity as a sin against God, Tab?

          How about sex outside of marriage? Is that a sin against God?

          • Tab 14.1.1.1.1

            Yes to both questions Colonial Viper. Funny that Mr Craig has now had a bounce in the polls that even Labour has not. Course he does. Just because gay marriage is legislated into law, it does not make it morally right, because man is now manipulating and changing good law.

  15. mike e 15

    Next poverty will be against the law.

    • prism 15.1

      mike e 15
      I don’t like what you say, soothsayer. Begone with your tales of bad fortune going forward.
      Poverty or the ‘simple life’ did go through a time of popularity in the 70’s. Courtney Love’s parents brought her out here to live on a farm in our green land, though they kept their bank a/cs on the west coast just to be canny.

    • Colonial Viper 15.2

      Next voting will be against the law. Oh yeah, they’re doing that too.

  16. Tracey 16

    Could someone in politics or the media please ask Ms Bennett how much enforcement of all her new sanctions will cost? Don’t let her announce another empty peace of nothingness without holding her to the costing. If she hasn’t done the costing why hasn’t she?

    Given the Nats aim to reduce the public service who will be following up parents to make sure they have their children in school? Consultants?

    • Dv 16.1

      No problem, all bene kids will be barcoded on the forehead for tracking in a central database.
      The kids will have an 0800 no to call is they are gong to absent or late.

  17. georgecom 17

    I have in mind a simple question for the people who support the Nat Government ‘get tough’ on beneficiaries stance. If the cause of hungry children is due to (along these lines) ‘lousy bludging parents who can’t be bothered getting jobs and use benefits as a lifestyle choice’:

    How many children do you think go without a meal in this country every day?
    How many of those children do you think come from families where the parents are ‘lousy bludgers’?

    Put a figure on your position. We can then debate the veracity of your figure before turning our minds to the matter of how to meet the needs of the ‘non lousy’ parents, who don’t ‘bludge’, who would like to work and do make an active contribution to society through a variety of means including bringing up their children and other social works.

  18. Tracey 18

    george don’t make sense, that’s contrary to the only plan this government has…

    Ms Bennett is going to scare everyone into agreeing with their diversionary tactics today by saying how much the current crop of beneficiaries will cost NZers… it appears 10% of beneficiaries are the unemployed. That suggests a large proportion of beneficiaries are ill or invalid. Isn’t that exactly what the welfare net is for?

    The ill, infirm, disabled, and those who from time to time find themselves without work?

    There is an awful lot of blather for the actual numbers.

    To show how even handed I am. I have a story.

    Mt brother-in-law was born physically and mentally disabled as a result of medical negligence in the 1950’s. His parents didn’t sue the hospital or the doctor, largely because they were in shock (not having been told their son would probably never walk or live beyond his teens, until ten days after he was born, as they were leaving the hospital). No ACC. So, they looked after him. No state assistance until after his father died and his widowed/retired mum sought some respite and utilised the state respite care system for ten days each year.

    She cared for him, in her home until she died at age 74.

    He lives in Christchurch (we live in Auckland). We searched long and hard for residential care in Christchurch because that is his home. He knows the transport routes and the libraries and hates Auckland(ers) :D. A good Canterbury man you might say.

    He didn’t want to come to us. After the second earthquake he came to us for 7 weeks for 2 reasons. He was disturbed by the constant aftershocks and it would free up a bed in his home for those needing respite care in the time of crisis.

    My point, and I do have one. Is that twice under the labour government he was fully re-tested to see if he was “capable” of working. He has had work in what we used to call “sheltered workshop” and once worked for Zip industries but was first to lose his place when the job losses began. I won’t go into how badly he was treated by fellow workers.

    So his mother was put through the worry twice under Labour, the worry that he would have to go to “work” and he wouldn’t be able to find a job, and would get depressed as he did during the zip layoff.

    To our knowledge there is no cure for what ails him… this would be known to anyone in WINZ, MOH and so on. The stress his mother was put through was awful to watch. She who had never asked for any support from the state which shielded the doctor who let the family down.

    SO, even when there are people, like my brother-in-law who can never work (he’s 55 now) at what we would call a “real job”, he gets periodically re-tested to ascertain his ability to work. Now surely with the millions spent on computer systems over the years a simple checked box beside names like his would remove him from future testing…

    Sorry if I strayed into compassion and common sense for a moment..

    Yes he is now state subsidised. BUT I can tell you from experience that his fellow residents on the whole ONLY have the allowance to live on. Yes, they have food, shelter and the bare necessities. BUT no extras, including extra clothes, day trips, holidays, books, film visits and so on. We contribute all of that for my brother-in-law and often for others too.

    Some might say well where are those other resident’s families and why aren’t they helping out? Well many may now be retired and on a pension, many may have low income jobs, many struggle to pay their own rents let alone boost their child in care.

    So, my brother-in-law is a beneficiary and IF he were left to his state care only his life would be quite bleak. Like many who find themselves in receipt of benefits I suspect, also battling with the mental impact of not being able to work or find work, or having worked and now being disabled.

    All of these people far outnumber the alleged bludgers and life-long rorters governments conjure up to win votes and divert from real issues.

    The Opposition needs to starting shouting long and hard when this welfare crap starts

    “where are the jobs”
    “what jobs?”
    SHOW ME THE JOBS

    and as for the rorter argument, accept that some people gip the system, like people who use the company shield to build and sell a house for profit, wind up the company and move tot he next and on and on, leaving a trail of poorly built houses in their wake and no one to sue… BUT we leave the shield because we want to encourage “entrepreneurs”. Like Mark Bryers and I deal with these guys on a daily basis in my job. Safely stowed away their money out of reach and wound up company after wound up company behind them. Where is the political will to fight this rort?

    In leaky homes alone, I estimate the cost to tax/ratepayers (because Councils have to pay the developers share which is usually at least 40% of the cost of repair, over $150m on claims made. That doesn’t count those who couldn’t sue council and there were no other viable parties.

    So don’t tell me about how important it is to weed out every rorter on a benefit. The numbers DO NOT STACK up.

    Ms Bennett’s figures today will not identify the number of “lazy bludgers” receiving benefits. That will be left for those without compassion or knowledge to conjure up. And conjure up they will.

    • georgecom 18.1

      Its not really about the Nats sas such Tracey, but more for those who see every effort to alleviate poverty as assisting ‘bludgers’ and ‘welfare lifestylers’. Its a challenge to them to, rather than resort to their simple catch phrases and prejudices, be specific about the issue. How many exactly. Some specificity puts their catch phrases and prejudices under some scrutiny. It allows us all to seperate fiction from some fact.

  19. An email I sent to Ms Bennett regarding her current so-called “welfare reforms”,

    To: “[email protected]

    Kia ora Ms Bennett,

    Regarding your proposals to compel the unemployed, solo-mothers, etc, to undertake various obligations, or face having their welfare payments cut, I have some questions to put to you;

    * Will recipients of Working for Families – which some call a “welfare benefit – also be expected to compulsorily enroll their children in Early Childhood Education and doctors? If not, why not?
    * Will superannuitants who are caring for children also be expected to compulsorily enroll their children in Early Childhood Education and doctors? If not, why not?
    * Will children of all families, regardless of financial and/or employment circumstance also be expected to compulsorily enroll their children in Early Childhood Education and doctors? If not, why not?

    If compulsory early childhood education and doctor’s visits for children of unemployed, solo-mums, and other welfare recipients is such a good idea that National is willing to enact legislation, and financially penalise parents for failing to carry out this policy – why are other parents also not being compelled to enroll their children in Early Childhood Education and medical clinics?

    Is there a basis upon which only the unemployed who have been made redundant from companies, government departments, and SOEs, are being targetted? What is that basis?

    If unemployed or low-income families are financially unable to enroll their children in Early Childhood Education, doctors, etc, what steps will National take to offer additional financial assistance?

    Do you still stand by your comment that you made on TVNZ’s Q+A on 29 April 2012, that, “there’s not a job for everyone that would want one right now, or else we wouldn’t have the unemployment figures that we do”.

    And lastly; is this propopsal – plus your other so-called “welfare reforms” – simply not an attack on the unemployed and solo-mothers to deflect attention away from your government’s inability to generate the 170,000 new jobs that Prime Minister John Key promised us at the last election?

    I await any possible answer you might be able to provide to these questions.

    Regards,
    -Frank Macskasy
    Blogger

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      Bryce Edwards writes – As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 hours ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: A conundrum for those pushing racist dogma
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – The heavily promoted narrative, which has ramped up over the last six years, is that Maori somehow have special vulnerabilities which arise from outside forces they cannot control; that contemporary society fails to meet their needs. They are not receptive to messages and ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 hours ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  The greater of two evils
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.   Chris Trotter writes – THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 hours ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 30
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Labour presented a climate manifesto that aimed to claim the high ground on climate action vs National, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    9 hours ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    9 hours ago
  • Climate Change: The wrong direction
    This week the International Energy Association released its Net Zero Roadmap, intended to guide us towards a liveable climate. The report demanded huge increases in renewable generation, no new gas or oil, and massive cuts to methane emissions. It was positive about our current path, but recommended that countries with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    24 hours ago
  • “Racism” becomes a buzz word on the campaign trail – but our media watchdogs stay muzzled when...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Oh, dear.  We have nothing to report from the Beehive. At least, we have nothing to report from the government’s official website. But the drones have not gone silent.  They are out on the election campaign trail, busy buzzing about this and that in the hope ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    24 hours ago
  • Play it, Elvis
    Election Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t have time for. You’re welcome, etc. Let us press on, etc. 1.  What did Christopher Luxon use to his advantage in ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Pure class warfare
    National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don't. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits: The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
    Photo by Anna Ogiienko on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour, including:duelling fiscal plans from National and Labour;Labour cutting cycling spending while accusing National of being weak on climate;Research showing the need for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    2 days ago
  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    2 days ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    3 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    3 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    4 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    4 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    4 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    4 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    4 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    5 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    5 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 17, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 23, 2023. Story of the Week  Opinion: Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth A relentless focus on economic growth has ushered in ...
    6 days ago
  • The End Of The World.
    Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
    Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...
    1 week ago
  • Has There Been External Structural Change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • Another Labour bully
    Back in June, we learned that Kiri Allan was a Parliamentary bully. And now there's another one: Labour MP Shanan Halbert: The Labour Party was alerted to concerns about [Halbert's] alleged behaviour a year ago but because staffers wanted to remain anonymous, no formal process was undertaken [...] The ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Ignoring our biggest problem
    Its that time in the election season where the status quo parties are busy accusing each other of having fiscal holes in a desperate effort to appear more "responsible" (but not, you understand, by promising to tax wealth or land to give the government the revenue it needs to do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
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