Open mike 01/01/2021
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- Property Rights and the Treaty Principles Bill
Property rights – which enable decisions over tangible and intangible assets – are critical to an economy as Why Nations Fail pointed out. Not just private property rights for, as we shall see, they are more complicated than that. Neoliberals argue that private property rights lead to the maximum economic ...13 hours ago - The Hoon around the week to November 22
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Following the 2022 Brazilian general election, election loser Jair Bolsonaro tried to do a Trump, attempting a coup to overturn the election. It failed. But unlike his American friend, he hasn't been allowed to get away with it: The former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and some of his closest ...14 hours ago - Treasury warns deeper recession worsening Budget deficit
The gift that keeps giving: David Seymour has now opened a split in the coalition over the future of National’s promise to build a new medical school. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / TheKakaKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...21 hours ago
- Weekly Roundup 22-November-2024
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Record Numbers: The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, which began at the tip of the North, and the tail of the South, on 11 November, culminated outside Parliament on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, in one of the largest demonstrations in New Zealand’s political history.ACCORDING TO TE ARA, the Ministry of Culture ...22 hours ago - The Rush To Blame “The Activists”
Activists are such easy scapegoats. The right and center have been conditioned for decades to roll their eyes at all protests. The left are easily aggravated over students leading movements they see as belonging to grownups, who have more important concerns like the economy and whether the trains come on ...23 hours ago - Cutting Through An Inundation of Dipshit Racists
Hi,Watching New Zealand from afar offers a strange perspective. It can be a good thing — distance from Aotearoa helped keep me sane while I reported on abuse at New Zealand’s biggest megachurch over the course of a year. It helps fuel my silly podcast. But it can also be ...23 hours ago - This is bad news
The speech yesterday by Treasury’s Chief Economic Advisor warning that the books are in worse shape than forecasted looks like it’s part of a softening-up process for either more cuts or a longer wait to get back into surplus. The speech was a highly unusual public preview of Treasury’s Half-Yearly ...1 day ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024
Open access notables Projected increase in the frequency of extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons, Lopez et al., Science Advances: Future changes to the year-to-year swings between active and inactive North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) seasons have received little attention, yet may have great societal implications in areas prone to hurricane ...1 day ago - Chicken Kiev
Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...2 days ago - The year is 2024 and it’s 1984
This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...2 days ago - The IPCA has failed
Back in 2022, RNZ took an in-depth look at the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority and its handling of killings by police. These are the most serious test of oversight, and you would expect the police's use of lethal force to receive the most severe scrutiny. But despite the police regularly ...2 days ago
- Thursday 21 November 2024
The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...2 days ago - ‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’
I spoke to former Productivity Chair Nana this morning about the letter he and a group of other economists sent to PM Christopher Luxon to urge the Government to urgently suspend cuts to spending and investment for the sake of the economy, struggling businesses and the wellbeing of vulnerable ...2 days ago
- ACT’s Astroturfing & A Co-ordinated Attack on Te Pati Māori
Unity on the Streets / Unity at the TableAfter the Hīkoi, all three right wing Coalition leaders came together to push the idea that the 42,000 - 50,000 + strong Hikoi was somehow less potent and brave, and more illegitimate than the energy and crowd displayed.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 20-November: ...2 days ago - Durability of carbon dioxide removal is critical for stabilizing temperatures
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink The world is emitting over 40 gigatons of CO2 per year, contributing to an accelerating warming of the planet. The world needs to cut emissions rapidly to be remotely on track to meet our Paris Agreement goals of limiting warming to well-below 2C, and we ...2 days ago
- Throwback Thursday: Will “Auckland Transport” Survive?
With Auckland Transport’s future up in the air under Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed CCO reform, we’ve dug way back into the archives, to unearth this post originally published in March 2010. As you’ll see, many of the debates that were being had when AT was first proposed continue to ...2 days ago
- I Love My Leather Jacket
I wear my leather jacket like a great big hugRadiating charm - a living cloak of luckIt's the only concrete link with an absent friendIt's a symbol I can wear 'till we meet againOr it's a weight around my neck while the owner's freeBoth protector and reminder of mortalityIt's a ...2 days ago - Economists call on PM to suspend budget cuts for the sake of the economy
Nicola Willis’ budget cuts are under fire from economists for having no clear rationale and worsening the recession. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 21: The news at ...2 days ago
- The end of policing by consent
National has appointed a new police commissioner. And he explicitly rejects policing by consent: Asked if he subscribed to policing by consent, he said he did not. “I don’t talk about policing by consent. I talk about trust and confidence, and it is fundamentally important that the police have ...3 days ago
- The Treaty Principles Bill: A Who’s Who
David Horatio Waterbed SeymourFringe politician and dweeb transformed successfully by ThinkTank money into a well-oiled soundbite robot.Currently programmed to say: Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Was previously programmed to say:I am a proud libertarian andI am a ...3 days ago - Kinleith mill closure shows need for industrial strategy
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa. “The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for ...3 days ago
- 27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year
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This guest post by Tim Adriaansen, an advocate for accessibility and sustainable transport, originally published on LinkedIn and cross posted here with permission. People prefer cars, right? Probably not. Here’s why. Granted, most people in English-speaking countries use a car to get around. This simple reality underpins our transport ...3 days ago
- Young Maori take over
Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...3 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Aftermath
The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. Lest that momentum be lost, the organisers will no doubt be ...3 days ago - Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills
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- We need to talk about Kevin
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family has a Drunk Uncle Kevin in there somewhere. If your Kevin is anything like the ones I know, he was getting along happily enough without having to think too much about the Treaty Principles Bill apart from bloody good job, onya guys ...4 days ago - The hikoi
Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...4 days ago
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4 days ago - Discount Code for Webworm Merch!
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There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...4 days ago
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4 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers
Politicians like to bang on all about the need to heal society’s racial/economic divisions, but in their actions they’re more keen on stoking those divisions, with the Treaty Principles Bill being the classic example. The Bill seeks to dilute the Crown’s responsibilities to Māori at the same time as it ...4 days ago
- Socially Backwards and Fiscally Forwards: the False Ideological Divide and the “Conservative” Li...
4 days ago - Kaamos: Accepted
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This post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission. Auckland is now just a year or so away from having the keystone of its urban rail network complete. As I wrote about here, the City Rail Link will be a literal game changer for ...5 days ago
- National’s support base is wobbling
If ACT leader David Seymour intended the Treaty Principles Bill to drive a wedge into National’s support base, he may well already be succeeding. By midnight on Thursday after the Maori Party haka in Parliament, National MPs were being deluged with emails and messages from their members calling them out ...5 days ago
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- Grifter Eftpos Tamaki at it again
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Self-appointed “Bishop” and proto-fascist, Brian Tamaki was at it again on 16 November, blocking Auckland’s southern motorway, SH1.This time, the target of his ire wasn’t the Civil Unions Act; covid lock-downs; mask mandates; or ...6 days ago - Rip up a bill, lead a haka are words to live by
I cannot stop grabbing people by the lapels, or shoulders, or similar, and raving at them about the tiny miracles in my ears.I can hear again! There could not be a more satisfied customer in all the world.In a noisy cafe I am even catching words that Karren cannot, she ...6 days ago - Unintended Consequences
Take the baitYou pay the priceIt's much too lateFor good adviceYou know and I know that our good things' throughBecause there's consequences for what we doConsequences for me and youWriters: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.Fallout from the first readingOne News began last night by saying that tens ...7 days ago - Thank you, driver!
Today, Saturday 16th of November, is Auckland Transport’s Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Saturday 16 November marks the third annual Auckland Transport (AT) ‘Bus Driver Appreciation Day’, and this year we are encouraging all of New Zealand to thank their driver or let the bus go first if you are in ...7 days ago
- Totally Normal: Holiday Edition
Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...7 days ago - We Are Not Listening
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
1 week ago - More lawlessness from National
On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...1 week ago
- National’s tyrannical “foreign interference” law
Yesterday, under cover the the biggest political fight of the year, National quietly - covertly, even - introduced anti-foreign interference legislation. The bill is the product of a years-long work-program aimed at countering shit like this and this, and there's unquestionably a need to do something to counter foreign states' ...1 week ago
- The Haka Represents The Best Of Us
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- Adding up the climate cost
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- Auckland chafing at Bishop’s housing intensification orders
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The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dominate political news, with it passing its first reading in the House. Parliament was briefly suspended and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for 24 hours after leading a haka that was joined by opposition MPs and the public in the gallery. Willie ...1 week ago
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Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #46 2024
Open access notables Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe, Peixoto et al., Nature Communications [comment]: The climate crisis is escalating. A multitude of microbe-based solutions have been proposed, and these technologies hold great promise and could be deployed along with other climate mitigation strategies. However, these solutions have ...1 week ago
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The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...1 week ago
- 97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...
Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...1 week ago - Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights
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- Seymour causes thousands of unjustified absences by forcing kids to fight for their rights instead o...
The State would like to remind you that they are in control. They manage your employment prospects, and can destroy the job market you and yours rely on by mass-cancelling construction projects, cutting funding, and firing a good chunk of our public servants. They wield the mechanisms that provide scrutiny ...1 week ago - The Weight of the World
As the weight of the world Hangs on your shoulders The weight of the world Starts to take over again And over again All that you once loved, now you hate So slowly relearn how to meditate To have and to hold And never let go Can you feel it ...1 week ago - Thursday 14 November 2024
The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...1 week ago
- Release: Government should be transparent on live exports
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The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...1 day ago - Failed boot camp experiment must end
As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...2 days ago
- Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing
The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...2 days ago
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The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...2 days ago
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- Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister
Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...2 days ago
- Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards
National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...2 days ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...2 days ago
- Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’
The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...2 days ago
- Release: A historic win for Samoan communities
Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...2 days ago
- Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”
The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...2 days ago
- Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading
Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...2 days ago
- Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills
The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...3 days ago
- Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach
A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...3 days ago
- Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch
National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...3 days ago
- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...3 days ago
- Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions
Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...4 days ago
- Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament
Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...4 days ago
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The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...1 week ago
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Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...1 week ago
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- Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors
...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors
Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...2 weeks ago
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Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect
The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
- Without action, an apology will be empty air
For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference
Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent wake-up call on climate
The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...2 weeks ago
- Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world
Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
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The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
Is this thing on?
As the former Green MP, and now a hermit on Quarantine Island, would say.
"Hey Clint! Are we in favour of this thing being on or off?"
trying to write a post, not sure I am getting very far.
The "ironising radiation", "holistic dentistry", and "innate intelligence of the universe" modules have apparently shut down. But the anti-alcohol module has apparently rebooted, likely soon to be followed by the pro-vegan and 9/11 modules.
Your comments are noted.
As a matter of interest.
1. Do you think the regulations surrounding alcohol are fit for purpose?
2. Do you think we should be concerned about animal welfare in industrial farming?
2. As far as I can tell, animal welfare standards in New Zealand are quite high by international comparisons, although I'd certainly be happy to see them improve further. Where I think we let ourselves down badly is in how we allow farmers to discharge significant wastes off the farm into the atmosphere and waterways, as well as allowing extractive practices (such as irrigation) that result in significant effects to areas off the farm. Thereby trashing areas and environments that are part of the commons we should all be able to enjoy.
On both those topics, I think your hectoring approach with a side of high-horsery is unlikely to change any minds or behaviours, and is more likely to actually be counterproductive through just getting people's backs up.
Thank you for your reply.
The 2010 Law Commission report, Alcohol in Our Lives: Curbing the Harm, made some key recommendations.
Key policy recommendations included:
_ raising the price of alcohol by an average of 10% through excise tax increases;
_ returning the minimum purchase age for alcohol to 20
_ moving over time to regulate alcohol advertising and sponsorship.
The fundamental recommendations of Palmer and his team have been ignored.
https://m.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1004/S00315/alcohol-in-our-lives-curbing-the-harm.htm
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/114924043/major-report-into-reducing-alcohol-harm-ignored-for-almost-a-decade
How much more Excise do you want? I grow about 75,000 litres of wine a year and if all sold in NZ it garners around $225, 000 + 33,750 GST for a total of $262,550 for Grant to play with and we get paid $190,000 of which my wages are about $45,000 (min wage, my wife is the CFO ) and we have made a profit of around $11,000 about 3 times in the last 5 years, the others have been losses. Why ? Ask all sorts of growers in Motueka and the Bay of Plenty and grape growers in Canterbury this year. It's a hard road growing shit.
I'm not complaining I'm proud to be able to produce something that pays for vaccines and such like, but just think how much the cost of living would be if taxes of this ilk were added to other selected items.
Sheesh, you're not wrong there.
Nursing sore heads……
Might see a burst of life around noon. Me? I'm off to feed the family cats.
New Zealand has a serious problem with alcohol.
The reporting in this article about this riot in Whangamata is part of the issue. At no stage does it address the issue of this class A drug's vice like grasp over the levers of control in this country. The liquor industry, politicians and a liberal culture is responsible for this.
While I agree with the words Sandra Goudie about rich self-indulgent teenagers, it would be interesting to see what her voting record is on alcohol.
Equally, I can predict the way many of the parents of these teenagers spent their evening….
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/self-indulgent-brats-6000-of-stock-stolen-blackies-cafe-roof-damaged-in-whangamata-riot/KMHGM26BXN7Q3L5AN5FAMOUR64/
Experts like Doug Sellman have been telling our politicians to act for years. The Herald is part of the problem.
Just one finding .
“Alcohol is a cause of cancers of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, liver, large bowel and breast.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/83179106/doug-sellman-an-irresponsible-alcohol-industry-is-doing-its-best-to-confuse
Class A drug? Link?
Alcohol should be classified as one. Many independent experts think so.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-444081/Alcohol-considered-Class-A-drug-say-experts.html
https://www.verywellmind.com/alcohol-is-the-most-harmful-drug-3969483
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/nov/01/alcohol-more-harmful-than-heroin-crack
So it's not actually a class A drug, as you stated, then.
No, you are correct. In New Zealand, it is not a class a drug.
However, it should be. And that is the view of many drug experts.
You don't dispute the damage it does, do you?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/health/2018/05/challenging-new-zealand-s-harmful-drinking-culture.html
An agenda is one thing, lying is another. Poor form, [deleted]
[please don’t do that, pretty sure we’ve been over this before – weka]
Fair enough, won't do it again, but the point about lying in comments stands.
Indeed.
Heaps of people manage to drink and get drunk on NYE without trashing a cafe. Even young people.
I am very suspicous of those who want an effective return to Prohibition.
I agree Millsy.
And the cost to New Zealand is way wider and deeper than a Whangamata cafe.
The cost to New Zealand of alcohol is extreme.
At no stage did I recommend prohibition. Like Sellman and other experts, I advocate we treat alcohol as if it is a serious drug
New Year's Day is always a touchy time to challenge one of New Zealand's sacred cows……
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new-zealands-alcohol-toll-8000-premature-deaths-70-billion-social-cost/5LBJBWYYSNR6PNE37FNPTRFCME/
New Year's Eve is probably a good time to eat some cow, however.
https://nypost.com/2019/12/18/vegans-may-get-worse-hangovers-than-meat-eaters/
I do not eat meat or drink alcohol.
Consuming one is devastating for our planet and the other is detrimental to our society.
Fuck that's a boring life.
so sayeth the alcohol-pusher..
and kinda sad you consider eating flesh and getting drunk to be what constitutes a life..
and that you are unable to conceive of a life minus eating flesh and consuming alcohol to be of any worth..?
and hey..! a heads-up..!..pissheads are amongst the most boring people on the planet..
and don't get me started on wine bores…
they are out on their own..
..and that's a 'life'..?..really..?
So what did you get up to over New Year's Eve? I went to a party with some friends. Didn't drink alcohol because I was driving, but we all had fun.
So did you reject all the invites to NYE parties, or did you just not receive any? The teetotalling veganism is all good, it's the wowserism that poops the party.
I would question your use of wowserism…
pointing out the health outcomes from consuming new zealands' (and yours..?) favourite drug..
is just stating a fact..
one that might make you uncomfortable..
so lash out at the messenger..
and..having used more than my fair share of most intoxicants..
..and thinking alcohol is a really crap drug..that has those cancer outcomes..
does that make me a wowser..?
you are sounding like an addict defending their drug of choice
I don't actually drink, so not defending any drug of choice.
apologies for confusion…comment was directed @ mcflock..
Yeah, I realised that soon after I hit "Submit". Sometimes I like to read from the bottom upwards. And no, I dont get confused.
Did you know that we produce alcohol inside our bodies?
no..I didn't know that.
why..?
Why?
Dunno, you’ll have to ask the Great Watchmaker.
I note you didn't answer the question.
Frankly, the fact that alcohol causes harm does not make me uncomfortable. I can even put up with a decent vegan meal.
But what would make me choose to not invite you to a party (or indeed, your attendance would be a vote against me turning up to that event) is the idea of spending a few hours in your constantly-judgemental presence. I was mildly curious as to whether you had any real life social interactions. You might be a genuinely happy, entertaining and likeable chap in real life, but it sure doesn't come through in your comments.
Personally, my waning desire for alcohol is unexpected and actually a bit unwelcome. I like being tipsy, especially with tipsy friends who aren't angry drunks. I just always seem to be driving these days, or when I'm not driving I don't feel like drinking. I'm hoping it's just a phase.
@ andre 3.2.11….From yr link..
'lacks serious scientific backup..'
and it's the new york post…
which is essentially tabloid-crap..
so you linked to a pile of bullshit in a notorious tabloid…
you having a laff..?
It appears the dim bulb of vague comprehension is starting to get a faint glow.
I'm glad to hear that is happening for you..
who knows where it might lead..?…eh..?
One of your black hole emissions? lol
Well hopefully 2021 is a better year than 2020 was, especially for any one that lost their job due to Covid.
Happy New Year Standard posters.
I was going to rattle off a whole list of predictions, but I cannot really be bothered.
Enjoy the rest of your break everyone. Looking forward to reading more interesting posts on here in the next 12 months. I might even write some if I can get motivated.
I have been helping friends move flat with the annual end of the year shift, since my car has a towbar. Friends; plural, from a couple of different places. Due out of their old homes on New year's eve, and one at least was just moving stuff to storage with a big question mark about getting anything more than a slot in a rooming house ever again.
The housing crisis is bad enough. The timing of fixed term leases (not many periodic nowadays) seems unnecessarily cruel. Say; the first of February, would be a lot easier (& more humane) than 31st of December for changeover, with no downside that I can see.
I had a couple of special visitors today; delightful barely describes them! To my great embarrassment, it wasn't till our garden ramble was nearing its end, and through some subtle prompting, that I realised I was in the company of one of The Standards Very Finest Commenters! In a way I was pleased not to have remembered who was due to visit, as I'd have wanted to talk politics, rather than gardens; I'm pretty naive at the former and a bit less so with the latter, so it all went well; we wandered about the place, deeply immersed in my leafy world. I did very much enjoy the visit, even though the topic of commenting here was only very lightly touched upon 🙂
A video in support of Mental Health gets a little profane and a little mention of God's Own!
https://cdn.musebycl.io/2020-12/Public%20Work%20%23EFF2020%20A%20Holiday%20Campaign%20%28Uncensored%29.mp4
https://musebycl.io/advertising/agencys-end-2020-psa-wins-prize-most-f-bombs-ever