Anyone else notice Petulant Bean’s obviously, extremely, annoyingly, and actually unnecessarily over use of the “ly” words. A common problem with motor mouths though it’s actually obviously better than “um” and “ah” – definitely! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIfvzhVzOQQ&feature=player_embedded
In this case it actually Starts about 2′ 00″, actually and really obviously.
The National party has been further implicated in the ACT coup. The Herald has today stated that long time campaign manager Simon Lusk was involved.
He was mentioned in the Hollow men. In June 2005, his email to Brash’s assistant Bryan Sinclair, said “[s]ome of the ads we were discussing in Napier were shown to a selection of MPs yesterday. Apparently there were some very nervous people after hearing them.” Lusk’s email was proof that the upper echelons of the National party knew from an early stage that the Exclusive Brethren was involved. He was Chris Tremain’s campaign manager at the time.
Lusk’s name also pops up during the 2008 campaign. That year he provided campaign advice to Sam Lotu-Iiga in Maungakiekie and was the campaign manager for Louise Upston in Taupo. They both thanked him in their maiden speeches to Parliament.
Lusk (or at least someone with his name) also apparently did a book review for Amazon. The book, “Going dirty: the art of negative campaigning” was described as “a compelling, well written guide to negative campaigning. It provides some strong underpinning theories to negative campaigning from an accute (sic) observer of campaign methodology. Very useful and well worth purchasing.” Obviously, presuming he wrote the review, he has a taste for the negative side of politics.
The Herald article states that the coup has angered some within the National Party and it appears that information is being leaked.
Unknown Earthquake effect? That might be relevant to the knowledge shown by Nats in 2005. This should throw doubts on Key and Brash ability to be truthful. The buggers lied! That’s the truth!
New Zealand has the third-highest rate of children living in single-parent homes, an OECD study says. This means nearly one in four Kiwi children are growing up in single-parent homes as more marriages break up and single women choose to enter motherhood on their own.
What’s being 4’11” and 220lbs got to do with being arrested for loitering for the purpose of prostitution – unless the ‘resisting without violence’ took the form of sitting down and refusing to budge?
The UK is voting overnight in assemblies, council elections and in a referendum on switching from FPP to AV. It is looking like the Liberals are going to be demolished at local council level and also lose the AV vote they were allowed as part of their coalition deal with the Tories.
The sad thing about losing the voting reform referendum is that it will almost certainly not come up again for years, if ever. An historic opportunity has blown because of a public backlash against the Liberals and their spineless support of David Cameron. The choice of AV instead of more sensible options also hurt, but the failure to get official support from Labour doomed the proposition.
Labour are going to be the big winners today and look well set to return to power nationally in 3 years. In Scotland, the SNP and Labour will get nearly 80% of the vote between them, again decimating the Liberals.
The more progressive voices in Labour wanted AV, while the Labour powerbrokers who preferred to keep the system weighted towards the large parties like them, even at the cost of an improved democracy, were heavily against it.
The last polling I saw had Lib voters all in favour, Tories opposed and Labour evenly split. The Labour leadership have effectively allowed this to be a concience vote for their MP’s and many have come out in favour of the change. I suspect UK Labour will take some time to get their heads around it, but will eventually support a form of PR in the same way NZ Labour seems to have eventually done here.
A new Roy Morgan poll is out. Not much change has occurred. National is up to 52.5%, Labour down 1 to 31%, the Greens are on 7.5% and Winnie is up to 4.5%.
ACT is still on 1%. The poll was taken up to May 1, 2011 so some of the ACT drama should have fed into it.
I wonder if Heatley and Gibbs want their money back yet?
There were some comments on this yesterday, I think, Mickey. Gobsmacked I think it was that spotted it first. The gap between the Gov’t and the Opposition is still closing and the ‘is the country heading in the right direction’ question has to be worrying for the Nats, because more and more people are saying ‘no it bloody isn’t’.
No support for Mana shows up and, as you point out, no rise for the new National Party franchise either.
Re: the Close Up poll from last night which asked “Do you think Maori have a special place in New Zealand?”
The question was a deliberate trap – the same trap set by Brash & Co at Orewa in 2004. The problem being that there are different ways to interpret the question.
As evidenced by the poll result, most NZers (having just had their one law for all frame triggered) interpreted it as, “do you think Maori (or any other culture) is superior to you?”
Whereas most Maori viewers likely read it as “do you think Maori have a unique culture, language and history and do you think you have the right to pass it on to your children?”
So the answer to the question is both “no” (if interpreted the first way) and “yes” (if interpreted the second way).
I find it hard to belive that 81% of NZers really think Maori have no right to cultural survival! Let’s not forget that this is the only place in the world Maori culture can call home.
Mark Sainsbury is no doubt stoked with his ratings the last couple nights but he got there by stoking those old hater flames. And Willie Jackson who is usually on point messed up by answering Mark’s dodgy question seriously. He shouldn’t have jumped through the hoop, he should have forced Mark to clarify what he really meant by that vague ass question.
I find it hard to belive that 81% of NZers really think Maori have no right to cultural survival!
Depends upon how you define “cultural survival”. If you define it as not changing then it doesn’t have such a right. If you define it as having some legitimate effect upon our cultural development then of course it does.
John Armstrong wrote on Monday that the Maori Party have little to gain from standing in any by-election, and if they did they would split the anti-Harawira vote. It is sage advice. The Maori Party should not stand a candidate.
If Harawira does trigger a by-election, Labour should contest it. They don’t want to be associated with Hone Harawira and his hangers on like John Minto. Phil Goff was criticised by some for ruling out dealing with Harawira, but the Hitler and bin laden comments this week have justified his stance. If Davis could actually beat Harawira, it would give Labour a huge morale boost just when they need it most – with the general election looming.
Sounds very reasonable to me. Something positive to work on and focus on rather than resorting to incessant bitchiness. A good test run – little to lose, and something, possibly a lot, to gain.
Saw that come through. It was for the bloody stupid conviction for flag burning. The reported reasoning follows what I’d have expected…
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that offensive behaviour within the context of the Act must give rise to a “disturbance of public order”.
Although the judges agreed disturbance of public order was a necessary element of offensive behaviour under the Act the judges disagreed about its meaning outside the Act.
The majority, with the Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias dissenting and Justice Sir Noel Anderson not entirely concurring on the point, ruled “offensive behaviour” must be capable of wounding feelings or arousing real anger, resentment, disgust or outrage, objectively assessed, provided it was to an extent which impacted on public order and was more than those subjected to it should have to tolerate.
In other words is it was so offensive that it is likely to drive someone to disturb public order, then it is offensive behavior. If that is reached then the police should arrest them for offensive behavior. On the other side, if it isn’t offensive behavior, but someone acts like a idiot and disturbs public order then they should arrest them instead.
I wonder how long before this ruling permeates into the police force’s operational behavior.
I really really like this decision in that it will really really piss off the small community of NZ rightwing fuckwits that outsource their thinking to the US right and drag over the rhetoric no matter how badly the fit.
The RSA spokesperson condemned the burning of the flag because it upset the veterans and their families. If people made the burning of a flag the most aggressive thing they ever did the world might be a nicer place to live in for huge numbers of refugees and dead civilians and ‘fighting’ people.
To state the obvious, it’s a bit of coloured material that is used as a recognisable symbol and rallying point. We in NZ care so little about what is on our flag that we have one that is an amalgam of British and something very similar to Australian.
What’s all the fuss about? It should be a convention that people who want to protest burn the flag to make their point. Dramatic and eye-catching, and non-violent to people, dogs, cats, police, and politicians. And as for inciting other people, they should have to answer for their own adult but questionable behaviour, the plea of provocation is no more.
In 2007 the IPCC 4th assessment report estimated that seas were likely to rise by between 18 and 59 cm by 2100. Well, now a new study estimates that the sea rise will be between 0.9m and 1.6m.
I certainly won’t be buying land in any low lying coastal area such as Westport.
Can someone please tell Phil Goff to stop saying ‘mate’ in every sentence. He was on Radio Live with J.T. and W.J. this PM for an hour and he must of said ‘mate’ a 100 times – ‘listen mate’, ‘hay mate’, ‘wait a minute mate’ etc. It becomes very ingratiating after a while.
“Just as the Scottish people have restored trust in us, we must trust the people as well,” [Alex Salmond] declared. “Which is why, in this term of the parliament, we will bring forward a referendum and trust the people on Scotland’s own constitutional future.”
The Jackal Monitor site was set up to monitor New Zealand right-wing websites. It has a number of RSS feeds from well known right wing political commentators. I have just added a quick synopsis of the linked sites and details of the contributors. If you have any requests or edits, please let me know.
That was spooky; I had just linked into Jackal Monitor and was looking at David Farrar and Rodney Hide on the steps of Parliament and this NZ drama Rude (Awakenings) actress on the tele was saying ‘who, that fat and ugly pig?’ and I sat back and thought wow. Is Karma linking through the tv into Jackal Monitor? I’ll have to take a bigger interest.
The web message says…‘May 5 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar gained after government figures showed the unemployment rate dropped to 6.6% in the first quarter, narrowly beating market expectations.’
No, the $ reacts to short, medium and long-term economic trends in NZ. The employment rate is definitely an important measure of the short, medium and long-term economic performance of NZ.
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The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Anyone else notice Petulant Bean’s obviously, extremely, annoyingly, and actually unnecessarily over use of the “ly” words. A common problem with motor mouths though it’s actually obviously better than “um” and “ah” – definitely!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIfvzhVzOQQ&feature=player_embedded
In this case it actually Starts about 2′ 00″, actually and really obviously.
The National party has been further implicated in the ACT coup. The Herald has today stated that long time campaign manager Simon Lusk was involved.
He was mentioned in the Hollow men. In June 2005, his email to Brash’s assistant Bryan Sinclair, said “[s]ome of the ads we were discussing in Napier were shown to a selection of MPs yesterday. Apparently there were some very nervous people after hearing them.” Lusk’s email was proof that the upper echelons of the National party knew from an early stage that the Exclusive Brethren was involved. He was Chris Tremain’s campaign manager at the time.
Lusk’s name also pops up during the 2008 campaign. That year he provided campaign advice to Sam Lotu-Iiga in Maungakiekie and was the campaign manager for Louise Upston in Taupo. They both thanked him in their maiden speeches to Parliament.
Lusk (or at least someone with his name) also apparently did a book review for Amazon. The book, “Going dirty: the art of negative campaigning” was described as “a compelling, well written guide to negative campaigning. It provides some strong underpinning theories to negative campaigning from an accute (sic) observer of campaign methodology. Very useful and well worth purchasing.” Obviously, presuming he wrote the review, he has a taste for the negative side of politics.
The Herald article states that the coup has angered some within the National Party and it appears that information is being leaked.
Unknown Earthquake effect? That might be relevant to the knowledge shown by Nats in 2005. This should throw doubts on Key and Brash ability to be truthful. The buggers lied! That’s the truth!
Unknown Earthquake Effect #312;
Earthquakes are like snowflakes, each is entirely unique (in their own pretty and delicate way…)
Garth McVicar’s creepy little idol from Arizona in even more trouble…
http://politicalcorrection.org/blog/201105040011
Vicious little twerp – as in Totally Witless Extreme Rightwing Psycho
That’d be Arpaio – McVicar’s got a wee way to go before he makes it down to the sadistic Sheriff’s level.
The week that was 30 April – 6 May
http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/05/week-that-was-30-april-6-may.html
New Zealand has the third-highest rate of children living in single-parent homes, an OECD study says. This means nearly one in four Kiwi children are growing up in single-parent homes as more marriages break up and single women choose to enter motherhood on their own.
220 pound woman, Judith “Collins was arrested on charges of loitering for the purpose of prostitution and resisting without violence.”
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/oct/27/220-pound-woman-faces-loitering-purpose-prostituti/
What’s being 4’11” and 220lbs got to do with being arrested for loitering for the purpose of prostitution – unless the ‘resisting without violence’ took the form of sitting down and refusing to budge?
The UK is voting overnight in assemblies, council elections and in a referendum on switching from FPP to AV. It is looking like the Liberals are going to be demolished at local council level and also lose the AV vote they were allowed as part of their coalition deal with the Tories.
The sad thing about losing the voting reform referendum is that it will almost certainly not come up again for years, if ever. An historic opportunity has blown because of a public backlash against the Liberals and their spineless support of David Cameron. The choice of AV instead of more sensible options also hurt, but the failure to get official support from Labour doomed the proposition.
Labour are going to be the big winners today and look well set to return to power nationally in 3 years. In Scotland, the SNP and Labour will get nearly 80% of the vote between them, again decimating the Liberals.
Live updates at the beeb:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13280105
The more progressive voices in Labour wanted AV, while the Labour powerbrokers who preferred to keep the system weighted towards the large parties like them, even at the cost of an improved democracy, were heavily against it.
Basically as simple as that.
The last polling I saw had Lib voters all in favour, Tories opposed and Labour evenly split. The Labour leadership have effectively allowed this to be a concience vote for their MP’s and many have come out in favour of the change. I suspect UK Labour will take some time to get their heads around it, but will eventually support a form of PR in the same way NZ Labour seems to have eventually done here.
A new Roy Morgan poll is out. Not much change has occurred. National is up to 52.5%, Labour down 1 to 31%, the Greens are on 7.5% and Winnie is up to 4.5%.
ACT is still on 1%. The poll was taken up to May 1, 2011 so some of the ACT drama should have fed into it.
I wonder if Heatley and Gibbs want their money back yet?
There were some comments on this yesterday, I think, Mickey. Gobsmacked I think it was that spotted it first. The gap between the Gov’t and the Opposition is still closing and the ‘is the country heading in the right direction’ question has to be worrying for the Nats, because more and more people are saying ‘no it bloody isn’t’.
No support for Mana shows up and, as you point out, no rise for the new National Party franchise either.
Right you are TVOR. I had most of a day off yesterday …
You took a day off and didn’t spend it on teh blogs? Outrageous!
The greens always poll higher than the actual votes they get, if they arent polling around 8-9% come the election they are in serious trouble.
A pessimists view of the future.
Re: the Close Up poll from last night which asked “Do you think Maori have a special place in New Zealand?”
The question was a deliberate trap – the same trap set by Brash & Co at Orewa in 2004. The problem being that there are different ways to interpret the question.
As evidenced by the poll result, most NZers (having just had their one law for all frame triggered) interpreted it as, “do you think Maori (or any other culture) is superior to you?”
Whereas most Maori viewers likely read it as “do you think Maori have a unique culture, language and history and do you think you have the right to pass it on to your children?”
So the answer to the question is both “no” (if interpreted the first way) and “yes” (if interpreted the second way).
I find it hard to belive that 81% of NZers really think Maori have no right to cultural survival! Let’s not forget that this is the only place in the world Maori culture can call home.
Mark Sainsbury is no doubt stoked with his ratings the last couple nights but he got there by stoking those old hater flames. And Willie Jackson who is usually on point messed up by answering Mark’s dodgy question seriously. He shouldn’t have jumped through the hoop, he should have forced Mark to clarify what he really meant by that vague ass question.
Seems they took a leaf out of Xtra’s book – how to phrase a poll question to make sure you get the result you want.
David Round offended me – as he always does. If that man got any more slimy he’d slide off his chair.
‘Scum rises to the top’ – hmm? That how you got where you are David?
This is the man who thinks that, as a ‘6th generation South Islander’ – he has as much right to be classed as indigenous as Ngai Tahu.
He got elevated to TWERP status again last night. Had forgotten how much he annoyed me.
Rant over.
Depends upon how you define “cultural survival”. If you define it as not changing then it doesn’t have such a right. If you define it as having some legitimate effect upon our cultural development then of course it does.
Nats spin mister Farrar gets a gig at NZ Herald.
I am know embarrassed to say I delivered that rag for 4 years, 6 days a week as a kid.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10723784
Maybe you didn’t read to the end:
Sounds very reasonable to me. Something positive to work on and focus on rather than resorting to incessant bitchiness. A good test run – little to lose, and something, possibly a lot, to gain.
What does that have to do with anything? Farrar often says reasonable things.
Unfortunately he uses them as camouflage for his spin work. Just like you do.
The supreme court are earning their money.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10723795
Saw that come through. It was for the bloody stupid conviction for flag burning. The reported reasoning follows what I’d have expected…
In other words is it was so offensive that it is likely to drive someone to disturb public order, then it is offensive behavior. If that is reached then the police should arrest them for offensive behavior. On the other side, if it isn’t offensive behavior, but someone acts like a idiot and disturbs public order then they should arrest them instead.
I wonder how long before this ruling permeates into the police force’s operational behavior.
I’ll just make sure that next time I see some fatuous jerk try a stunt like this that I wander across and throw some dog shit at them.
There’s no doubt that she was trying her damnedest to disturb the peace.
I really really like this decision in that it will really really piss off the small community of NZ rightwing fuckwits that outsource their thinking to the US right and drag over the rhetoric no matter how badly the fit.
Tryin to think of a name for them.
The Fred Birch society?
The RSA spokesperson condemned the burning of the flag because it upset the veterans and their families. If people made the burning of a flag the most aggressive thing they ever did the world might be a nicer place to live in for huge numbers of refugees and dead civilians and ‘fighting’ people.
To state the obvious, it’s a bit of coloured material that is used as a recognisable symbol and rallying point. We in NZ care so little about what is on our flag that we have one that is an amalgam of British and something very similar to Australian.
What’s all the fuss about? It should be a convention that people who want to protest burn the flag to make their point. Dramatic and eye-catching, and non-violent to people, dogs, cats, police, and politicians. And as for inciting other people, they should have to answer for their own adult but questionable behaviour, the plea of provocation is no more.
In 2007 the IPCC 4th assessment report estimated that seas were likely to rise by between 18 and 59 cm by 2100. Well, now a new study estimates that the sea rise will be between 0.9m and 1.6m.
I certainly won’t be buying land in any low lying coastal area such as Westport.
Can someone please tell Phil Goff to stop saying ‘mate’ in every sentence. He was on Radio Live with J.T. and W.J. this PM for an hour and he must of said ‘mate’ a 100 times – ‘listen mate’, ‘hay mate’, ‘wait a minute mate’ etc. It becomes very ingratiating after a while.
Interesting.
http://johnpagani.posterous.com/was-national-in-on-the-b-team-coup-contd
Aye. I made a comment at 2 which is related. The name Simon Lusk is going to get some coverage and analysis over the next couple of weeks.
If there was proof that National was instrumental in putting Brash in as leader of ACT I wonder what the repercussions would be?
So I now see, cheers 🙂
Scots wha hae!
🙂 Next up referendum on independence.
“Just as the Scottish people have restored trust in us, we must trust the people as well,” [Alex Salmond] declared. “Which is why, in this term of the parliament, we will bring forward a referendum and trust the people on Scotland’s own constitutional future.”
Welcome to the Jackal Monitor – Updated
http://jackalmonitor.blogspot.com/2011/03/welcome-to-jackal-monitor.html
The Jackal Monitor site was set up to monitor New Zealand right-wing websites. It has a number of RSS feeds from well known right wing political commentators. I have just added a quick synopsis of the linked sites and details of the contributors. If you have any requests or edits, please let me know.
Todd,
That was spooky; I had just linked into Jackal Monitor and was looking at David Farrar and Rodney Hide on the steps of Parliament and this NZ drama Rude (Awakenings) actress on the tele was saying ‘who, that fat and ugly pig?’ and I sat back and thought wow. Is Karma linking through the tv into Jackal Monitor? I’ll have to take a bigger interest.
The web message says…‘May 5 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar gained after government figures showed the unemployment rate dropped to 6.6% in the first quarter, narrowly beating market expectations.’
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1105/S00152/nz-dollar-gains-after-jobless-rate-undershoots-forecasts.htm
The $ feeds off people being in or out of jobs – how sick is that?
No, the $ reacts to short, medium and long-term economic trends in NZ. The employment rate is definitely an important measure of the short, medium and long-term economic performance of NZ.