Come on guys be nice we have a good thing going on you are friends I admire your work and support your show Breakfast TVNZ1 as I can see that your reporting is not influenced to much by people with vested interest .I see others were trying to use some dumb attacks on the Breakfast show using that same word I dislike very much race I don’t care who does the reporting so long as the message is factual fair and unbiased sorry about the burn yesterday but you do get a rateings bust from eco Ka pai
The west has a cheek casting stones at China about free SPEECH when I have not seen any articles with headlines of GLOBAL WARMING /CLIMATE CHANGE and this is the person who has influenced this phenomenon the bully .
So Americas can manipulate all New Zealand’s media well I say they can manipulate our Governments policy’s. There manipulation will always be better for the 1% and who gives a stuff about the common people the sheep this is the way I see it plane and clear .
Ana to kai
Come on Mike I can see that your views have been influenced by something else ?? I will keep discrediting national till I see that there policy s change to benefit all the people of Aotearoa not just the 1% In my view the last leader that national had that has the same view as ECO MAORI was The Honorable Jim Bolger and they rolled him out of the Prime Minsters Job . Business do not make a country great Its the people all the people with disposable income to enjoy all the beauty and bounty of
Aotearoa at the minute most people can not afford to take days off for a holiday they also cannot afford to pay for a holiday. Rents need to be included in OUR Consumer price index to fix this iniquity .This is the most expensive item of most peoples lives and its farcical to be left out of the Consumer price index ??????? Ka kite ano
Come on Mike I can see that your views have been influenced by something else ?? I will keep discrediting national till I see that there policy s change to benefit all the people of Aotearoa not just the 1% In my view the last leader that national had that has the same view as ECO MAORI was The Honorable Jim Bolger and they rolled him out of the Prime Minsters Job . Business do not make a country great Its the people all the people with disposable income to enjoy all the beauty and bounty of
Aotearoa at the minute most people can not afford to take days off for a holiday they also cannot afford to pay for a holiday. Rents need to be included in OUR Consumer price index .This is the most expensive item of most peoples lives and its farcical to be left out ??????? Ka kite ano
Many thanks to Breakfast show for interviewing Dean Wicliffe his real life views on OUR Draconian justice system is the same as mine. It sucks our youth in and spits them out a bum in 20 to 30 years because of the fast pace changes in our society they cannot cope . It wont be long before one will need competence computation skills just to survive/ get help in Aotearoa.
As for freedom campers well easy as humane fix charge a bit more at the border and provide the services that are need for the freedom campers . I don’t believe in fines as some bad people can use them as a weapon / tool control ______with people I pumped all my work out in 2 days to limit my exposure to you Know who. Ka kite ano
I see some more photos are going around of me and my whano probable when I was at the pools or the lake entertaining my mokos I am proud of the genetics my tepunas gifted me there is nothing wrong with a big chest I say I could easily tone up if I had the leisure time to exercise I wont buy a ride-on mower as pushing a mower keeps me fit I dont like wasting money on fitness so I get payed for my exercise as for plastic surgery I have seen many stuff ups you don’t get nothing for nothing there is always a cost in the end .
I would rather spend the money on improving OUR mokos lives .Any smart ass comments about my physical appearance is like water off a ducks back . As I have already been conditioned to handle this human trait when I was a child .
Ka kite ano
This is for you greywarshark your pseudonym gives you away even though you try to be a shark and lie about your real motives you should know better than to ______ eco maori you got burned the last times you tried this .This is the proof I have been looking for on your sand fly m8 I have know that they are doing exactly what Richard Graeme has done and more and the people are still blinded by there shiny objects did they give you another big check GWS enjoy I know they are scared and pissed off. I have seen many people benefit from the sandflys dumb ass persecution of ECO MAORI IE bribes to there contracted lyres . here the link.
I think I should have stayed out of that debate GREENS MEDICAL BILL the state is fighting me tooth and nail trying to take the wind out of the sails of my WAKA but sorry its to late now Idiots dont treat people the government will realize that there neo liberal state employees are leading them down the wrong path I see that Jacinda has long term plans in place so thats all good Ka kite ano
CoL politician crying that opposition did not support her bill, rather than asking why the CoL wouldn’t support. Looks like Greens are “Government Window Dressing”
#greensremainlosers
Only made unpleasant by your MP complaining on national media that the bill failed because of National. Silly me, there was I thinking the CoL had a majority
Re your second para, I cannot remember any instance of a major party’s MPs voting in unison in a conscience vote but don’t have time right now to check. I certainly recall a number of times that voting in unison appears to be a requirement of NZF MPs, however!
But last night’s vote in unison by National MPs seemed quite a turnaround from comments in the previous days – and earlier yesterday – by a number of National MPs that they might support the bill to select committee at least.
However, there was indications of a heavy-hand approach in remarks by English and others before yesterday that just a few Nat MPs had been give dispensation to vote for the bill for personal reasons – rather than leaving it as a conscience vote for all Nat MPS.
Then IMHO, the speculation of leadership challenges yesterday morning led to some pretty heavy remarks from English denying any challenges. These included remarks* about internal party discipline, working as a team etc etc which could be read as aimed at Nat MPs rather than just public statements. These may have well persuaded Nat MPs that this was definitely not the time to exercise their conscience vote rights on the Greens’ Bill.
* Heard these on one of the many RNZ news items yesterday pm but cannot identify exactly which one without a lot of time and trawling through these.
Well I hope some of those National MPs have uneasy consciences.
People will suffer unnecessarily because they allowed themselves to be bullied by Bill and Paula.
I presume you’ll be extending your “uneasy consciences” criticism to Labour MP’s who voted against the bill as well as to Labour’s Coalition partner NZ First, who also voted enmass against the bill?
Equally “People will suffer ……because they allowed themselves to be bullied by” Labour MPs and NZ First MPs. I assume you mean this too to be fair?
Looking at the politics of this through a different lens; its curious to me as to why the Greens were not able to get their coalition partners to provide enough support for this bill to at least get it to the committee stages. After all the Greens are bending over backwards to support legislation that is unpalatable to them ( e.g. the waka jumping bill).
My advice to the Greens is to withdraw their support for that piece of legislation in particular (the waka jumping bill) given the disdain by which they have been treated on Swarbrick’s bill..
I presume you’ll be extending your “uneasy consciences” criticism to Labour MP’s who voted against the bill as well as to Labour’s Coalition partner NZ First, who also voted enmass against the bill?
Yes.
Equally “People will suffer ……because they allowed themselves to be bullied by” Labour MPs and NZ First MPs.
What bullying?
Looking at the politics of this through a different lens; its curious to me as to why the Greens were not able to get their coalition partners to provide enough support for this bill to at least get it to the committee stages.
Considering the support out in the population the Greens shouldn’t have needed to get support. As a ‘democracy’ the people’s representatives should have followed the people wishes and supported it.
After all the Greens are bending over backwards to support legislation that is unpalatable to them ( e.g. the waka jumping bill).
I think that you’ll find that the waka jumping bill isn’t unpalatable to the Greens no matter how much you would like to think it is.
The difference I see is that Labour and NZF allowed for a true conscious vote, whilst English said it wasn’t, just that any could cross the floor if they wanted (and were willing to go see him and say they didn’t like what he said)… One was freedom of choice for the MPs and one was not
And I will add to that in respect of English and National by referring Grantoc etc to my comment at 2.1.1.1. above on what appears to be a major turnaround about midday yesterday in the ability of those National MPs who were considering voting for the Green Bill to exercise their free will – without possible repercussions.
Ed has better things to do like advocate for a plant based diet. Now that Veganuary has ended there is never a better time to reconsider one’s eating habits.
You know something? The MPs are their to represent the people. 80% of the people want medicinal cannabis and more than 50% want full legalisation including recreational use.
By not voting for this bill those MPS failed to do their job of representing us.
Ny not voting for it they proved that we do not live in a democracy.
Yes the type of attitude that lauds over their destructive behaviour as ‘winning’ with an overuse of the first person like it’s ‘your’ MP rather than an MP.
Labour should have been whipped on this. It is disgraceful that they are supporting everything Winston wants (all weather race tracks) but won’t see this through to select committee.
Any more Labour votes would have been completely irrelevant.
Without any support from New Zealand First for it it would merely have failed by 65 to 55.
Isn’t it wonderful how New Zealand First can simply ignore anything the Green Party wants while the Greens must get immediately into line and vote for NZF proposals like fishing the Kermadecs and passing a Waka jumping bill?
Even if NZF supported it, those extra Labour votes would have been vital.
“Isn’t it wonderful how New Zealand First can simply ignore anything the Green Party wants while the Greens must get immediately into line and vote for NZF proposals like fishing the Kermadecs and passing a Waka jumping bill?”
It points to Peters experience and ability to negotiate. And leaves questions surrounding what are the Greens going to get for swallowing some dead rats.
It seems to be easy for you chris 73 to back National in any disagreement. But simply, if National had allowed a conscience vote, some of them would have found one and supported medical cannabis.
Winston needs to see a utube clip of 20 clean-cut older folk speaking of the pain relief they find in cannabis that end their cameos with… ‘and I vote for Winston’s lot.’
The groundswell of support in our country indicates that it’s just a matter of time. Astute politicians strive to surf the crest of new waves.
Don’t you think it speaks volumes that all of NZFirst and some of Labour didn’t support the bill
It speaks volumes that all of NZ First and all of National didn’t – just goes to show that both are parties of small-minded parochial conservatives who are drastically out of step with the NZ population and shouldn’t be put in charge of running a country. Not seeing anything much about Labour in there.
No, the Greens aren’t selling their principles. They’ve obviously thought about it since Rod Donald’s time and realised that supporting waka jumping is the unethical position.
The Greens have said they will compromise on policy but not on the core principles. You’d have to demonstrate that what the Greens are doing undermines their core principles for your statement to be meaningful.
Are these “core principles” actually documented anywhere?
Is there a single place that spells out the things they would die in the ditch for as opposed to things they will abandon?
What are the things they will not comprise on in pursuit of the baubles of office.
I know that Psycho.
It is here. https://www.greens.org.nz/
I goes on and on and on with policies but that doesn’t help.
Weka is saying that they will compromise on policies but not on core principles. I cannot find anywhere where it says what the “core principles” are. If they aren’t listed anywhere a statement about them is being sacrosanct is quite meaningless.
Then complain that there’s not a list of bullet points labelled “core principles” to help you autofill the “waste time” fields in your “distraction troll” interaction module.
I’m very confident the Greens don’t intend to die in a ditch. But, seeing as how you appear to be interested,
The charter is the founding document of The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand accepts Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand; recognises Maori as Tangata Whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand; and commits to the following four Principles:
Ecological Wisdom:
The basis of ecological wisdom is that human beings are part of the natural world. This world is finite, therefore unlimited material growth is impossible. Ecological sustainability is paramount.
Social Responsibility:
Unlimited material growth is impossible. Therefore the key to social responsibility is the just distribution of social and natural resources, both locally and globally.
Appropriate Decision-making:
For the implementation of ecological wisdom and social responsibility, decisions will be made directly at the appropriate level by those affected.
Non-Violence:
Non-violent conflict resolution is the process by which ecological wisdom, social responsibility and appropriate decision making will be implemented. This principle applies at all levels.
In order to understand what those things meant to the Green Party, you would need to listen to what *they say about them, not just jump in with your own superficial interpretations based on your own thinking. I’ve written posts about this shit. Matt writes about it frequently. There’s plenty of discussion around about it if you pay attention.
Edit, Charter is linked at the bottom of the GP website front page.
Along with eight Labour MPs. Living in the past also? Good on them, God Bless, sanity prevailed. The Greens sold their soul to Winston for power, they traded nothing, could have worked out a deal for their support of the undemocratic Waka Jumping Bill…could have.
Parliament showing its inadequacy again. They were quick enough to legalize the infinitely more dangerous synthetics. It’s a sisyphaen task get anything past these backward numpties.
It’s hard to be sure how much, but some degree of legalization should displace the synthetics, which despite the change in their legal status continue to kill and sicken people.
I could give it a go, but it would have more authority coming from a physician with expertise in the clinical issues and the standing of having had to treat the victims of the synthetic product. Mark Reeves (in Nelson) has spoken against it before.
I saw a 60 Minutes interview with the whizz kid plucked from nowhere that was responsible for creating millions of different facebook ads targeted at the individual selling Trump.
A template email to express a particular concern is a rudimentary starting point but us humans work on emotions.
If writing to Kelvin Davis an intelligent template could pluck at his heartstrings.
“Saw you at the Taipa ramp last Tuesday Kelvin, you suggested I write.”
We can blame National, NZ First or Labour MPs who didn’t vote for the medical cannabis bill but the big picture is that New Zealand is run by “straights” as much as it was 40 years ago and based on this result it will be no different in another 40 years’ time. There is the expectation that as more and more people will accept cannabis use as okay, it will eventually become legal, especially as this is already happening in the United States and elsewhere but this is purely an assumption. It could indeed be accepted by half or more of the population but the people who control New Zealand society are conservative and will likely continue to have the power to keep it illegal. One only has to look at Jamaica which is known for its cannabis smokers where it remains highly illegal.
Back in the seventies they used to say “never trust a straight” and this remains true to this day.
esoteric p
+100
Sinking back into our cowpat ruts and school of mumbles about ivory-tower academics as in mid 1960’s it seems. Advance and be recognised – New Zealanders
who care about their country and their fellow citizens. Well? (Silence.) Oh heck!
Israel (or people acting in their defense) yet again display their epic levels of double standards without even pausing for breath,…
As usual, their argument…Israel is the most democratic country in the middle East.
Their actions….Sue ( read threaten) activists who wrote an open letter to a artist asking them not to tour ( and by default support) the apartheid regime of Israel.
But then again, what else could one expect from a country that regards Donald J. Trump as it’s greatest and closest US presidential ally in generations…this one fact alone speaks volumes as to the depths to which Israel has allowed itself to sink.
Norman Finkelstein “called” this approach by the state of Israel – the claim that BDS wants to destroy Israel. It made him unpopular with the BDS movement. Thing is, although some might not “like” what he says, he’s bang on the money. He lays it out in this video interview from 2012. It’ll be difficult listening for some.
Finkelstein is supportive of BDS tactics. But he condemns their goal – the elimination of Israel.
And having quickly read the Chomsky piece, he makes the same point. Anarchist that he is, he also suggests a “no state” as a preferred alternative to a “two state” solution. 😉
While there is near-universal international support for (1), [Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands occupied in June 1967 and dismantling the Wall] there is virtually no meaningful support for (3) beyond the BDS movement itself.[Respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN Resolution 194.] Nor is (3) dictated by international law. The text of UN General Assembly Resolution 194 is conditional, and in any event it is a recommendation, without the legal force of the Security Council resolutions that Israel regularly violates. Insistence on (3) is a virtual guarantee of failure.
I am in agreement with both Finkelstein and Chomsky, I think this is more about Israel (through proxies) threatening anybody,anywhere, even some young girls on the other side of the planet, for showing any kind of solidarity with Palestine through any action whatsoever, and is only about the BDS movement by default.
I’m thinking it’s the BDS agenda that’s giving the Israeli state its required leverage and it’s irrelevant in terms of pubic perception whether “Dayenu” (New Zealand Jews Against Occupation) that Justine Sachs set up agrees or endorses BDS’s agenda.
Seems it’s a Mossad affiliated wingnut welfare scam that supports it self by running “Intellitours” to Israel which include meet ups with Shin Bet assassins.
Her arguments are regularly rejected by courts. About 90 percent of the $1.6 billion in default judgments against no-show defendants including Iran, Syria, North Korea and the militant Palestinian group Hamas have not been paid.
[…]
Critics call it “lawfare,” abusing the courts to score political points. Some on the left have refused to face off with Ms. Darshan-Leitner on Israeli talk shows after she made what they saw as ridiculous statements, like suggesting that Israel drop a nuclear bomb on Tehran.
“She’s definitely a nuisance,” said Jonathan Arnon, an Israeli lawyer who has represented the Palestinian Authority opposite her. “She has a lot of resources. She tries and finds every niche and note and every possible argument whether it is relevant or not, to make fatigue.”
Even American lawyers who work on the same side have clashed with Ms. Darshan-Leitner over costs, and say she is a tangential part of the process.
“She’s pretty good at filing cases and putting out news releases, but she has really no involvement in actual litigation,” said one, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of ongoing cases. “There are U.S. lawyers who are actually litigating the case, putting up all the expenses, and then there’s this person in Israel who has her own narrative.”
[…]
Her organization, Shurat HaDin, Hebrew for letter of the law, was founded in 2003, and in 2012, the latest year financial reports were available publicly, had 11 employees, three with salaries topping $100,000. It retains not one but two public relations firms, in Israel and New York, pitching Ms. Darshan-Leitner’s perspective on the news. She said the annual budget was $2.5 million, but declined to name her donors, citing security concerns.
The group requires a $600 to $5,000 donation for participants in its mission to Israel, featuring briefings by intelligence agents and observations of military court trials. This summer, it is offering an activist lawyer’s training seminar, with an agenda that includes combating boycotts of Israeli products and defending Israeli soldiers against charges of war crimes.
She claims to have collected $150 million from the various court victories but would not specify which clients got what, citing security again. And she asked that the West Bank settlement where she and her American-born husband, also a lawyer, built a large, immaculate home, not be named, for fear of reprisal.
The so-called foreign buyer house ban (unless you are Australian or from Singapore or are buying a new house or…)
Input from the Auckland Law Society…
“Lawyers fear $20,000 fines for failing to give information on foreign investors’ citizenship status and say they would be forced into an impossible position by the Government’s planned foreign house-buyer ban.”
“A strongly-worded 23-page Auckland District Law Society submission has gone to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, objecting to putting the onus on lawyers and conveyancers for checking the citizenship status of trusts, companies and people if the new law is passed.”
Sure but the solution seems to be a better register of companies and people ensuring citizenship can easily be checked rather than throwing the whole lot out as the lawyers seem to want to do.
It would, of course, be simpler and better to ban offshore ownership.
I’m not sure if the lawyers are bleating about a change in law made when they were finally brought under money laundering legislation … after years and years of delay.
Lawyers are a major part of the money laundering and tax evasion networks ….
In Britain they escaped reporting obligations under their supposed ‘tightening’ of tax haven & money laundering regulations ….. Lawyer client confidentiality
Which would be the same loop-hole they will try and use here …..
Save the anti Chinese propaganda. I’d say the NZ government is so frightened of offending the Chinese that they are leaving most of NZ open for sale. The bill does not go far enough – learn from the Chinese government who do not sell land at all and make sure that any assets are partnered with Chinese only.
Shocking, inspite of a recording of the scam the immigration service did not bother to pursue it! Cheating is cheating and exploitation is exploitation!
I feel sick when I go around and increasingly you are seeing beaten down migrants toiling away in cafes, restaurant and hotels all around the country, probably caught up in this slavery practise that has been allowed to flourish for years.
For every reason, human rights to the victims, criminal activity, our lower and lower waged economy from this slavery practise and our NZ’s business reputation and tourism, this practise should be stamped out, immediately, and under cover operations started to catch the corrupt immigration officials and agents and the employers.
I concur utterly! I see sensible commentary from the likes of Alistair McClymont and some at RNZ who’ve maintained an interest and continue to monitor things.
The past 9 years have encouraged exploitation….even today anybody is encouraged to become an ‘immigration consultant’and many are at the healm of the exploitation – with cosy little links and alliances to some of the dodgy PTEs, recruitment and labour supply companies, even now in building and home improvement scams.
What gets my goat most is that the victims get the blame whilst the exploiters continue on their merry way! The IAA should have been keeping a closer watch, but like the Labour Inspectorate and INZ itself, it’s been under resourced.
I doubt some of them actually quite understand how many lives they’ve come close to destroying whether through financial loss or respect in the communities they now live in.
FFS! NZ….do something about the exploiters without destroying their victims. That in itself would lower immigration numbers.
Currently I am travelling around places where I see the bullshit promises and claims made daily.
It really is quite pathetic.
And at the same time, I know of cases where people have already made a valuable contribution to NZ at great personal cost, and who are being put through hoops in order to stay.
I’m yet to be persuaded too that INZ and associated entities like the IAA should remain under MBIE. The record so far is very very ugly … but then maybe they’re relying on a new CEO. IF IT DOES, it’ll still be the ‘business of immigration’ based on economic imperatives rather than wider concerns.
About time the government cracked down on this too….
Student visa scheme exploited for residency
“New Zealand’s new permanent residents are now less skilled than five years ago, due to some international students exploiting the student visa scheme, official documents say.”
New Zealand’s new permanent residents are now less skilled than five years ago, due to poor international students courses operating in NZ, bad immigration legislation, zero oversite and crack down of the practise, bizarre ‘skilled’ categories like restaurant managers or cafe workers for fast food and low level IT workers being labelled as a way to get residency, employers wanting cheaper labour rather than quality and immigration agents exploiting the student visa scheme…
See 7.1 above @savenz.
One thing I’ve noticed between working in the public service in the 70s and post 80s reforms is that snr mngmnt Do Not like criticism – offered construcyively or not.
And sometimes pointing out the bleeding obvious can invite the full force of the state apparatus.
It’s quite pathetic at times.
MBIE’S FAILINGS are a matter of record under its previous CEO.
I sincerely hope things will change.
Considering the Green’s bill failed to get over the line. And seeing as the need for urgency still remains (i.e. Labour’s medicinal cannabis bill fails to protect the majority of the ill seeking to use it from prosecution). Evidently, it’s clear the cannabis referendum requires to be brought forward.
Shocking, the waterfront belongs to the Aucklanders and the harbour is being sacrificed to benefit certain business interests – it’s 2.0 – going from bananas to parking and less and less harbour.
BTW – it costs a lot to maintain man made wharves so not only will Aucklaners have to bear the cost of the wharves, have their harbour stolen, but there are also lasting costs – and who knows how much they will cost to maintain with climate change.
Government should step in and stop the Auckland council who when last polled got less than 20% satisfaction rate from ratepayers as well as doing complete balls up constantly for the environment and local business in their quest to concrete Auckland to provide big business more $ and opportunities at the expense of small and medium business and the community that funds them.
Even worse then to be looking to steal the harbour and reclaim the land. Remember America’s cup is a billionaire fringe sport we are talking about…. but everyone has to drop everything and destroy Aucklander’s heritage for this one off event, which will then probably be donated or sold off cheap to corporate interests for parking, ferries etc by stealth.
Given the shortage of time, shouldn’t the powers that be, look at other locations or why can’t they do what they did last time? Who bothered planning ahead, obviously not the America’s cup governance body or they would have something in place that did not involve stealing and creating a new wharf with public money with is obviously filled with pit falls and public opposition.
America’s cup is being used as a means to hijack public money and resources. Obviously a lot of snouts in the trough using the America’s cup to steal the harbour.
Just look at Tamaki drive, climate change is here. The north western highway had years of road works, millions of $$$ and delays to raise part of it, but flooded last time.
Whatever AT and NZ Transport does seems to be a disaster. Something wrong with their culture and ability to plan effectively and with minimal disruptions. They seem to be opportunists with little planning ability and more interest in grabbing money and taking away community say using excuses and using poor advice, that their strong arm tactics are working. I’d say not at all, transport wise, value for money and public satisfaction.
No hijack – all options were debated and voted in open Council session.
AT and NZTA have nothing to do with it.
Increased harbour footprint is tiny. Most of Auckland’s CB D, all of Victoria Park, and the whole rail system is on thousands of hectares of reclaimed land. So not even the fish will miss a few more metres.
All global sport is run by billionaires.
Deal with.
And don’t forget Phil Goff who was pretty much gifted the Mayoralty when the righties ran two righties against each other to split the vote so that super right TPPA posing as leftie supporting Goff could win.
Goff also campaigned on NOT taking more of the harbour but now back tracking with weasel semantics.
I love how lefties and politicians seems to be concerned about the lack of people voting and the loss of democracy, but don’t actually factor in the constant betrayals of what politicians campaign on, and political tricks to gain power.
People on the North Shore tell me there seems to be a load lot of cars there the last week or two, so traveling around the shore and along the northern motorway is becoming very time consuming.
There’s a long commute from Orewa – 2 hours this morning it took 1 person from Orewa to Takapuna. The queue of slow moving traffic southwards on the northern motorway was still there after 10am – and a long queue at the same time from Takapuna of people trying to head southwards at the same time
They’ve recently opened a new car park, and added buses for park and ride from Silverdale. new housing developments on the Hibiscus Coast, Warkworth, and Wellsford attracting more Aucklanders – so way more people commuting to the CBD because that’s where the work is.
And some corporate entities want another centralised attraction in the CBD.
“Remember America’s cup is a billionaire fringe sport we are talking about…. ”
Thats bullshit, America’s cup is a spectator sport. There are more than 120 affiliated yacht clubs in New Zealand – and more than 300,000 members.
Name one current America’s cup sailor who is a billionaire?
this is a reply to the above post
It’s not about the number of teams in the event.
This is the F1 of yachting, in the city of sails. The city with more boats per capita than any other city in the world. You can try to pretend its not a big deal but millions of fans will be watching.
It’s more akin to the PGA tour, watching skilled professionals perform moderately boring tasks on rich-people’s facilities that only recently allowed someone other than white men to join.
So to support your F1 comparison, you link to a TV channel’s marketing page for the AC. Not only that, the marketing blurb you linked to explicitly states that AS has more in common with flying than actual sailing, so your “120 affiliated yacht clubs” line is less relevant than “46 Aero clubs in NZ”.
But then planes are also pricey things, too, so there’s that in common as well…
But how does your F1 (because you brought it in here, even if it’s a term invented by an AC marketing firm) comparison negate the fact that it’s primarily a rich person’s event?
A DIY/hardware store sponsors rugby competitions.
A designer luggage firm sponsors the AC precursor.
“But how does your F1 (because you brought it in here, even if it’s a term invented by an AC marketing firm) comparison negate the fact that it’s primarily a rich person’s event”
Its not a rich persons event.
Some professional sports people are well paid, that is not a reason not to watch football, tennis, golf, rugby, cricket etc
Plenty of sports people are paid shit loads more than these sailors.
@Naki Man If so many are so interested in America’s cup, get them to get their hands in their pockets and pay for the venue build rather than ratepayers and taxpayers. Nope not happening. Thought so. User pays seems so arbitrary in NZ.
And also maybe the America’s cup fans can fund the ongoing maintenance cost of the project which will be unknown due to climate change.
Most Aucklander’s would like our council to focus on daily issues facing Aucklanders, like constant road works, construction, detours and chaos and the constant resource constants ready to decimate a place near you so that someone can make a $$.
But nope, it’s all about looking good for other people for one off televised events and support offshore big business like SkyCity, and then back handedly give over assets to COO’s or the like, which have been somehow created to be the worst of both worlds, being funded by ratepayers and having no responsibility to ratepayers.
Here’s another area in which information collected is woefully inadequate.
The effect Airbnb is having on our rental stock.
I’m not talking about the spare room or even the granny flat Airbnbs, but the apartments and three bedroom houses removed from the rental market because owners of these secondary properties find being amateur hoteliers more attractive than being amateur landlords.
8000 Airbnb properties were listed in Auckland over the summer. That’s a huge amount of rental property not available long term. Same goes for other areas where there is a housing crisis, Queenstown and Taupo.
The issue I have, like the lack of information about foreign resident house buyers highlighted by Phil Twyford, there is absolutely no information about how much Airbnb is damaging the rental market in NZ. We hear the rental listings are down 50% from last year alone but absolutely no questions nor inquiry as to why. It’s not house sales because volumes are down and first home buyers are locked out.
on what? What MB was talking about? Or your interpretation? If you’re going to drop stupid comments when someone has raised a perfectly valid political issue, then expect to be called on it.
Your smug answer is why I dislike the right wing so much. The world literally starts and finishes with themselves, and no regard is shown for anyone else.
I haven’t seen the details but the initial impression I got was that that move was more about protecting the hotel sector rather than the rental market.
It’d be interesting to know what the average Airbnb stay is in NZ, and region by region. All essential data for a country struggling with housing but like offshore purchase data, seemingly suppressed.
The commercial accomodation sector here seems ambivalent about short term rentals from a competition perspective. But they are being fucked over as hard as prospective tenants by the properties being removed from the rental pool.
It’s their staff that can’t find accomodation because of Airbnb houses and appartments. The lack of rental properties affects all sectors, but hospo has less scope to pass the cost on to customers. Tradies and the like just pass it on or think they can absorb it.
I’d agree but I guess you still need to let these operations run for the sake of tourists wanting some choice and for people wanting to let their place for a week when they are away, or for people who have a spare room or granny flat which is suitable for short stays.
The problem is when houses owned by amateur landlords needed for medium to long term rentals are taken out of the market. They need the shit regulated out of them so they think twice about being hoteliers.
Solutions, well the new rules in Queenstown will pretty much prohibit whole property / unit short term rentals in residential areas. Might be a few that would get a non-complying consent, but very few. Letting the spare room won’t be affected but that doesn’t seem to be a problem. There’s a couple of proposals for high density worker’s accomodation, one seems to be go http://www.newground.co.nz/remarkables-park-apartments/ . There’s proposals for the same sort of thing in Gorge Road including the old HIgh School. They are coming rather late in the cycle so might not happen, or struggle and end up as something else, but there’s plenty of other developments with that potential outcome around here.
The last worker accomodation complex built here followed similar timing last cycle. 2nd mouse got the cheese with that one.
A ballot for four Member’s Bills was held this morning. One of the bills drawn from the biscuit tin was:
Psychoactive Substances (Increasing Penalty for Supply and Distribution) Amendment Bill: Simeon Brown (N) *
– This bill amends the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 to increase the penalty for selling or supplying psychoactive substances that are not approved products in line with the penalties for the supply of Class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.
Now such substances are not my area of expertise, but possibly in my ignorance it seemed somewhat ironic/cruel that this bill was drawn today, after the failure to get Chloe Swarbrick’s Members bill through first reading last night.
Correct me if I am wrong, but would this bill, if passed, increase the penalties on green fairies for supplying and distributing medicinal cannabis ?
Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill : Kieran McAnulty (L)
– This bill would ensure that employees employed by one employer, but working under the control and direction of another business or organisation, are not deprived of the right to coverage of a collective agreement covering the work being performed for that other business or organisation, and ensure that such employees may join the other business or organisation that is party to any personal grievance action.
Crimes (Offence of Blasphemous Libel) Amendment Bill :Angie Warren-Clark (L)
– This bill amends the Crimes Act 1961 to repeal section 123, removing the offence of blasphemous libel from New Zealand statute.
Accident Compensation (Recent Migrants and Returning New Zealanders) Amendment Bill : Melissa Lee (N)
– This bill amends the Accident Compensation Act to ensure that migrants and returning New Zealanders who are not eligible for superannuation at the qualification age remain eligible for weekly compensation.
FENZ is responding multiple fires around the region. Here is their update on what’s happening.
Old Tai Tapu Road – Fire is under control, monitoring stage.
Clark’s & Hudson’s Road, Tai Tapu – Multiple crews and helicopter in attendance.
Cass Bay – Multiple crews and helicopter in attendance.
Carter’s Road, Lincoln – reignition of small fire, 1 tanker in attendance.
Rotherham – reignition of burn off, crews currently responding.
Weedons Ross Road – Large hedge fire, crews currently responding.
Newtons Road – Scrub fire, crews currently responding.
“Because they the politicians know ,… that if they tried on that fascist shit too hard,… we would take them out the back against the wall , execute them, and go home to have a cup of tea. NZ is more heavily armed than the US per capita.”
I think you need to have a good lie down
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I think you are showing you dislike harmless comedy as a way to keep these wannbe fascists in line and advocate instead , … what goes on in a large number of countrys today as we speak…
You’d rather have actual bloodshed in the streets rather than simple humour where no one gets hurt but a few errant wankers who thought they could misuse their elected officialdom as a leverage for self serving own gains learn ( albiet slowly as they are generally slow thinkers ) that no , they cannot force a public to believe their lies ?
What is it that scares the hell out of powerheads, fascists, liars, frauds and political manipulators about guns?
And honesty?
Is it the fact the they need to answer to the public they claim to serve ?
Or is it the likes of the American Constitution that states that is the public’s right to bear arms against a government that has been deemed to be working against the people in an oppressive way?
Are you some sort of lilly livered gutless communist , freak boy?
Dont you believe in a balanced democracy ?
Hint : people all over the world use guns , – yes guns, – to fight for a democratic election.
Are you saying that’s wrong you anti democratic freak ?
USA and Oz are the two nations with a majority receiving fluoridated water (near 50% here).
In 2010, a U.S. study determined that “40.7% of adolescents aged 12–15 had dental fluorosis. In response, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reduced the recommended level of fluoride in drinking water to the lowest end of the current range, 0.7 milligrams per liter of water (mg/L), from the previous recommended maximum of 0.7 to 1.2 mg/L in recognition of the increase in sources of fluoride such as fluoridated toothpastes and mouthwashes (Wikipedia).
In 2016 in a move to better align with international best practice, Watercare has reduced Auckland’s target fluoride levels from 0.85 parts per million to 0.7ppm.
Yet the national recommendation remains for .7 to 1.0.
Most Europeans do not have fluoridation in their water, they take the mass medication argument more seriously – people can get fluoride in their toothpaste, or in tablets (placed in water they clean their teeth with) or in mouthwash.
The advantage once gained from fluoridating water is nullified by negated by modern dental care practice in areas without fluoridation of water – in the so called risk areas the real problem is sugar in drinks.
IMO there is a good case for moving our national recommendation to reduce fluoridation levels to the 0.5 to 0.7 range. A .7 max, later reduced to .5 over time. So it better reflects what it now is, a support for proper dental care. And in line with that bring in nationwide provision of dental care to the public.
Out of a population of about three-quarters of a billion, under 14 million people (approximately a mere 2%) in Europe receive artificially-fluoridated water. Those people are in the UK (5,797,000), Republic of Ireland (3,250,000), Spain (4,250,000), and Serbia (300,000).
The first water fluoridation in Europe was in West Germany and Sweden in 1952, bringing fluoridated water to about 42,000 people. By mid-1962, about 1 million Europeans in 18 communities in 11 countries were receiving fluoridated water.
Many European countries have rejected water fluoridation in general. This includes: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Scotland,Iceland, and Italy. A 2003 survey of over 500 Europeans from 16 countries concluded that “the vast majority of people opposed water fluoridation”.
Winnie wins again, with the defeat of Swarbrick’s drug bill. Awesome stuff, and boy, did she throw her toys out of the cot. Why should National grant the Greens any favours? The Greens would not even phone Bill for a chat post electiion. Who was playing politics then? Not to mention, they sold out the Kermedecs for power Ethics not, and Green, not.
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
“Instead of following along countries that are investing in death and better ways of killing people faster, we need to invest in life and in making Aotearoa a fair, just and equitable place where everyone has what they need for a dignified life.” ...
MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI, TPM MP FOR TAI TOKERAU This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori. CHRISTOPHER LUXON Oh well look you know I don’t think that hard-working Kiwis want to hear language like that. It’s just really unhelpful rhetoric. My Government is genuinely committed to advancing outcomes ...
The body positivity movement started with women confronting the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of them in media and advertising. Men weren’t part of it … their bodies hadn’t been sexualised to the same extremes and they didn’t really need it. But now that’s changed. And in a warped sort ...
The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. In 1981, Ginette McDonald stood on the stage of Auckland’s St James Theatre and directly addressed Queen Elizabeth II. It was a ...
An essay by Lily Duval from the just-released anthology Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child adjacent.I was 22 when my friend Alice gave birth in the living room of our pokey Addington flat. She laboured in the blow-up pool for hours. Garish fish swam along the inflated ...
Ella Borrie on the best books about motherhood she’s come across so far. Over the past few years I’ve been drawn to books about motherhood. I’m fascinated by the joys and horrors of becoming a parent. The question of children also feels more pressing than it used to. It’s like ...
Out of gift ideas for mum? You can’t go wrong with a bottle of toilet cleaner and a new squeegee. Emily Writes is the writer and editor of Emily Writes Weekly. This week marks five years since I published a post on The Spinoff about Mother’s Day marketing titled ‘A ...
My husband is posted overseas for 12 months and I’m armed with an expensive, newfangled vibrator. Will I miss him? The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.A few days after my husband leaves, a new sex toy arrives at the front door. Nestled ...
Jaimie Baird’s new book Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a record of four decades of graffiti and street art in Wellington, told through more than 1,200 photographs. He spoke with Joel MacManus about what inspired the book. How did you first get interested in photographing street art? I remember ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at a busy week where food of all political leanings dominated. Sometimes you’re just going about your week thinking you’ve got a good handle on what might be coming as far as news topics and then someone (usually a politician) says something so ridiculous that ...
In a week of cold rain and frost, the climate in courtroom four upstairs at the Invercargill courthouse was simmering with restrained indignation. At times it felt like the famous Mexican standoff scene from Reservoir Dogs, or, as someone watching the proceedings described it, there was so much throwing of ...
A banner notification alerts me to the fact that I’ve received an Instagram message from @felicity.loves. She always comments on my posts. I shouldn’t have opened the message, but clicked on the notification before rationalising this. OMG! Are you in Wellys? X I debate not replying, but Instagram will inform ...
In Melbourne’s hardscrabble western suburbs where AFL – Aussie rules football – is a state religion, Callum Donaldson has been quietly grafting away, four months into an odyssey that he hopes will take him to another promised land: the NRL. It was a solid 2023 for the softly spoken 20-year-old ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
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 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
In 2021 the Public Interest Journalism Fund launched the Te Rito Journalism project, a $2.4 million initiative to boost diversity in New Zealand’s newsrooms. The initiative was in response to the decades-long shortage of Māori and Pacific journalists in the media industry. It was billed as New Zealand’s ...
The Black Ferns Sevens appeared to be a mile behind Australia at the halfway point of the 2023-24 SVNS international circuit. Winless in three tournaments, a cup quarter-final exit in Perth was one of their worst results. To add insult to injury, talismanic skipper Sarah Hirini had been ruled out ...
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Successive governments have tried, and failed, to count Māori. But with the return of social investment, it’s more important than ever to get good data. The post Government looks for a better way to count Māori appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Experts in financing social investment initiatives say New Zealand is in a prime position to tackle social issues via a social investment approach The post What will Willis’ social investment fund look like? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Come on guys be nice we have a good thing going on you are friends I admire your work and support your show Breakfast TVNZ1 as I can see that your reporting is not influenced to much by people with vested interest .I see others were trying to use some dumb attacks on the Breakfast show using that same word I dislike very much race I don’t care who does the reporting so long as the message is factual fair and unbiased sorry about the burn yesterday but you do get a rateings bust from eco Ka pai
The west has a cheek casting stones at China about free SPEECH when I have not seen any articles with headlines of GLOBAL WARMING /CLIMATE CHANGE and this is the person who has influenced this phenomenon the bully .
https://i.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/101060523/us-president-donald-trumps-state-of-the-union-a-diatribe-against-immigrants
So Americas can manipulate all New Zealand’s media well I say they can manipulate our Governments policy’s. There manipulation will always be better for the 1% and who gives a stuff about the common people the sheep this is the way I see it plane and clear .
Ana to kai
Come on Mike I can see that your views have been influenced by something else ?? I will keep discrediting national till I see that there policy s change to benefit all the people of Aotearoa not just the 1% In my view the last leader that national had that has the same view as ECO MAORI was The Honorable Jim Bolger and they rolled him out of the Prime Minsters Job . Business do not make a country great Its the people all the people with disposable income to enjoy all the beauty and bounty of
Aotearoa at the minute most people can not afford to take days off for a holiday they also cannot afford to pay for a holiday. Rents need to be included in OUR Consumer price index to fix this iniquity .This is the most expensive item of most peoples lives and its farcical to be left out of the Consumer price index ??????? Ka kite ano
Come on Mike I can see that your views have been influenced by something else ?? I will keep discrediting national till I see that there policy s change to benefit all the people of Aotearoa not just the 1% In my view the last leader that national had that has the same view as ECO MAORI was The Honorable Jim Bolger and they rolled him out of the Prime Minsters Job . Business do not make a country great Its the people all the people with disposable income to enjoy all the beauty and bounty of
Aotearoa at the minute most people can not afford to take days off for a holiday they also cannot afford to pay for a holiday. Rents need to be included in OUR Consumer price index .This is the most expensive item of most peoples lives and its farcical to be left out ??????? Ka kite ano
Many thanks to Breakfast show for interviewing Dean Wicliffe his real life views on OUR Draconian justice system is the same as mine. It sucks our youth in and spits them out a bum in 20 to 30 years because of the fast pace changes in our society they cannot cope . It wont be long before one will need competence computation skills just to survive/ get help in Aotearoa.
As for freedom campers well easy as humane fix charge a bit more at the border and provide the services that are need for the freedom campers . I don’t believe in fines as some bad people can use them as a weapon / tool control ______with people I pumped all my work out in 2 days to limit my exposure to you Know who. Ka kite ano
I see some more photos are going around of me and my whano probable when I was at the pools or the lake entertaining my mokos I am proud of the genetics my tepunas gifted me there is nothing wrong with a big chest I say I could easily tone up if I had the leisure time to exercise I wont buy a ride-on mower as pushing a mower keeps me fit I dont like wasting money on fitness so I get payed for my exercise as for plastic surgery I have seen many stuff ups you don’t get nothing for nothing there is always a cost in the end .
I would rather spend the money on improving OUR mokos lives .Any smart ass comments about my physical appearance is like water off a ducks back . As I have already been conditioned to handle this human trait when I was a child .
Ka kite ano
You had better download the images you are talking of ecomaori otherwise it is mystifying.
This is for you greywarshark your pseudonym gives you away even though you try to be a shark and lie about your real motives you should know better than to ______ eco maori you got burned the last times you tried this .This is the proof I have been looking for on your sand fly m8 I have know that they are doing exactly what Richard Graeme has done and more and the people are still blinded by there shiny objects did they give you another big check GWS enjoy I know they are scared and pissed off. I have seen many people benefit from the sandflys dumb ass persecution of ECO MAORI IE bribes to there contracted lyres . here the link.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11985283
ANA TO KAI
here is some thing to
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11983979
I think I should have stayed out of that debate GREENS MEDICAL BILL the state is fighting me tooth and nail trying to take the wind out of the sails of my WAKA but sorry its to late now Idiots dont treat people the government will realize that there neo liberal state employees are leading them down the wrong path I see that Jacinda has long term plans in place so thats all good Ka kite ano
I am still mystified eco maori but will withdraw from communication with you if it brings on paranoia.
CoL politician crying that opposition did not support her bill, rather than asking why the CoL wouldn’t support. Looks like Greens are “Government Window Dressing”
#greensremainlosers
What an unpleasant comment.
Only made unpleasant by your MP complaining on national media that the bill failed because of National. Silly me, there was I thinking the CoL had a majority
I note that David Farrar advocated that MPs send Swarbrick’s bill to select committee.
Quite unusual in a conscience vote for one of the major party’s MPs to vote in unison. I wonder whether it’s ever happened before.
Re your second para, I cannot remember any instance of a major party’s MPs voting in unison in a conscience vote but don’t have time right now to check. I certainly recall a number of times that voting in unison appears to be a requirement of NZF MPs, however!
But last night’s vote in unison by National MPs seemed quite a turnaround from comments in the previous days – and earlier yesterday – by a number of National MPs that they might support the bill to select committee at least.
However, there was indications of a heavy-hand approach in remarks by English and others before yesterday that just a few Nat MPs had been give dispensation to vote for the bill for personal reasons – rather than leaving it as a conscience vote for all Nat MPS.
Then IMHO, the speculation of leadership challenges yesterday morning led to some pretty heavy remarks from English denying any challenges. These included remarks* about internal party discipline, working as a team etc etc which could be read as aimed at Nat MPs rather than just public statements. These may have well persuaded Nat MPs that this was definitely not the time to exercise their conscience vote rights on the Greens’ Bill.
* Heard these on one of the many RNZ news items yesterday pm but cannot identify exactly which one without a lot of time and trawling through these.
I note that today English is also making statements to the effect that he does not expect leadership to be discussed at the Nat Party Caucus two day retreat in Tauranga next week. We will see. (When and where was that Bridges’ BBQ?)
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/349382/english-remains-confident-of-leadership
Well I hope some of those National MPs have uneasy consciences.
People will suffer unnecessarily because they allowed themselves to be bullied by Bill and Paula.
Ed
I presume you’ll be extending your “uneasy consciences” criticism to Labour MP’s who voted against the bill as well as to Labour’s Coalition partner NZ First, who also voted enmass against the bill?
Equally “People will suffer ……because they allowed themselves to be bullied by” Labour MPs and NZ First MPs. I assume you mean this too to be fair?
Looking at the politics of this through a different lens; its curious to me as to why the Greens were not able to get their coalition partners to provide enough support for this bill to at least get it to the committee stages. After all the Greens are bending over backwards to support legislation that is unpalatable to them ( e.g. the waka jumping bill).
My advice to the Greens is to withdraw their support for that piece of legislation in particular (the waka jumping bill) given the disdain by which they have been treated on Swarbrick’s bill..
Yes.
What bullying?
Considering the support out in the population the Greens shouldn’t have needed to get support. As a ‘democracy’ the people’s representatives should have followed the people wishes and supported it.
I think that you’ll find that the waka jumping bill isn’t unpalatable to the Greens no matter how much you would like to think it is.
Draco
Ed made the “bullying” comment in his original post – I’m quoting him.
But you make a good point – what bullying? – and that is unclear to me to.
Perhaps Ed can enlighten us.
The difference I see is that Labour and NZF allowed for a true conscious vote, whilst English said it wasn’t, just that any could cross the floor if they wanted (and were willing to go see him and say they didn’t like what he said)… One was freedom of choice for the MPs and one was not
And I will add to that in respect of English and National by referring Grantoc etc to my comment at 2.1.1.1. above on what appears to be a major turnaround about midday yesterday in the ability of those National MPs who were considering voting for the Green Bill to exercise their free will – without possible repercussions.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-02-2018/#comment-1442111
Ed has better things to do like advocate for a plant based diet. Now that Veganuary has ended there is never a better time to reconsider one’s eating habits.
No you weren’t. Ed made it quite clear that he was referring to the National party being whipped on a conscience vote.
You know something? The MPs are their to represent the people. 80% of the people want medicinal cannabis and more than 50% want full legalisation including recreational use.
By not voting for this bill those MPS failed to do their job of representing us.
Ny not voting for it they proved that we do not live in a democracy.
Yes the type of attitude that lauds over their destructive behaviour as ‘winning’ with an overuse of the first person like it’s ‘your’ MP rather than an MP.
By a person’s name shall they be known.
SoD = “born-to-ruler” ethos. Still grieving loss of power.
Meanwhile, those in pain and in need of cannabis are still suffering.
Good effort by new MP outside of government.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/101038343/controversial-medicinal-cannabis-bill-expected-to-come-down-to-wire
“The bill lost 47 votes to 73, with both every National and NZ First MP voting against it”
“Of the 46 Labour MPs in Parliament 38 voted for the bill, along with every Green Party MP and ACT leader David Seymour.”
I guess its easier for her to blame National rather than blame NZFirst and the Labour MPs that didn’t vote for it
Swarbrick had her instructions – be blind to any Labour or NZF rejection of the bill.
Therefore, are you saying we shouldn’t expect the Greens to pressure the Government to bring forward the cannabis referendum?
The Greens should be calling out NZF and Labour (the MP’s who voted against). Not just National.
I want the Greens to pressure the Government on this issue.
“I want the Greens to pressure the Government on this issue”.
Ditto.
And seeing as Labour’s bill fails to protect the majority of suffering ill seeking to use it, the need for urgency still remains.
But do Shaw and the Greens have enough fight in them to apply that pressure?
Last I heard he was softening up supporters for the swallowing of some dead rats.
Yep.
Labour should have been whipped on this. It is disgraceful that they are supporting everything Winston wants (all weather race tracks) but won’t see this through to select committee.
It is disgraceful that some of Labour and all of NZF failed to get this to select committee.
Any more Labour votes would have been completely irrelevant.
Without any support from New Zealand First for it it would merely have failed by 65 to 55.
Isn’t it wonderful how New Zealand First can simply ignore anything the Green Party wants while the Greens must get immediately into line and vote for NZF proposals like fishing the Kermadecs and passing a Waka jumping bill?
Even if NZF supported it, those extra Labour votes would have been vital.
“Isn’t it wonderful how New Zealand First can simply ignore anything the Green Party wants while the Greens must get immediately into line and vote for NZF proposals like fishing the Kermadecs and passing a Waka jumping bill?”
It points to Peters experience and ability to negotiate. And leaves questions surrounding what are the Greens going to get for swallowing some dead rats.
And leaves questions surrounding what are the Greens going to get for swallowing some dead rats.
Breath that smells of rodent.
Price of power. Funny but sad, as we now go back to the days of Muldoon.
It seems to be easy for you chris 73 to back National in any disagreement. But simply, if National had allowed a conscience vote, some of them would have found one and supported medical cannabis.
More to the point: National Party MPs uniformly opposed to cannabis law reform, still living in the 1950s.
+1000000000
At some point the Greens need to wake up (or woke) to how they’re views by both Labour and NZFirst
National mouthpiece pretends to speak for Labour and NZ1st 🙄
Don’t you think it speaks volumes that all of NZFirst and some of Labour didn’t support the bill
yes, but the Greens were still right with their Bill. That NZF and some Labour MPs voted against it bears analysis but not of the Greens.
“That NZF and some Labour MPs voted against it bears analysis but not of the Greens”
An internal analysis of the Green’s and Labour’s negotiation and their ability to influence NZF may be worth considering.
A vote needs to be won before the show of hands.
Winston needs to see a utube clip of 20 clean-cut older folk speaking of the pain relief they find in cannabis that end their cameos with… ‘and I vote for Winston’s lot.’
The groundswell of support in our country indicates that it’s just a matter of time. Astute politicians strive to surf the crest of new waves.
Yes. It proves their anti-democratic bent.
Don’t you think it speaks volumes that all of NZFirst and some of Labour didn’t support the bill
It speaks volumes that all of NZ First and all of National didn’t – just goes to show that both are parties of small-minded parochial conservatives who are drastically out of step with the NZ population and shouldn’t be put in charge of running a country. Not seeing anything much about Labour in there.
Well heres the thing the Greens are selling their principles in backing the waka jumping bill and in return NZFirst didn’t support the Greens bill
No, the Greens aren’t selling their principles. They’ve obviously thought about it since Rod Donald’s time and realised that supporting waka jumping is the unethical position.
Of course there not “selling” their principles.
They are simply giving them away.
No, they’re not.
And you’re obviously lying because you’re still feeling butt hurt that National lost.
If you say so Dr Freud.
The Greens have said they will compromise on policy but not on the core principles. You’d have to demonstrate that what the Greens are doing undermines their core principles for your statement to be meaningful.
Are these “core principles” actually documented anywhere?
Is there a single place that spells out the things they would die in the ditch for as opposed to things they will abandon?
What are the things they will not comprise on in pursuit of the baubles of office.
They do have a web site, you know.
I know that Psycho.
It is here.
https://www.greens.org.nz/
I goes on and on and on with policies but that doesn’t help.
Weka is saying that they will compromise on policies but not on core principles. I cannot find anywhere where it says what the “core principles” are. If they aren’t listed anywhere a statement about them is being sacrosanct is quite meaningless.
Start with their constitution.
Then complain that there’s not a list of bullet points labelled “core principles” to help you autofill the “waste time” fields in your “distraction troll” interaction module.
I’m very confident the Greens don’t intend to die in a ditch. But, seeing as how you appear to be interested,
The charter is the founding document of The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand accepts Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand; recognises Maori as Tangata Whenua in Aotearoa New Zealand; and commits to the following four Principles:
Ecological Wisdom:
The basis of ecological wisdom is that human beings are part of the natural world. This world is finite, therefore unlimited material growth is impossible. Ecological sustainability is paramount.
Social Responsibility:
Unlimited material growth is impossible. Therefore the key to social responsibility is the just distribution of social and natural resources, both locally and globally.
Appropriate Decision-making:
For the implementation of ecological wisdom and social responsibility, decisions will be made directly at the appropriate level by those affected.
Non-Violence:
Non-violent conflict resolution is the process by which ecological wisdom, social responsibility and appropriate decision making will be implemented. This principle applies at all levels.
https://www.greens.org.nz/charter
In order to understand what those things meant to the Green Party, you would need to listen to what *they say about them, not just jump in with your own superficial interpretations based on your own thinking. I’ve written posts about this shit. Matt writes about it frequently. There’s plenty of discussion around about it if you pay attention.
Edit, Charter is linked at the bottom of the GP website front page.
Along with eight Labour MPs. Living in the past also? Good on them, God Bless, sanity prevailed. The Greens sold their soul to Winston for power, they traded nothing, could have worked out a deal for their support of the undemocratic Waka Jumping Bill…could have.
Parliament showing its inadequacy again. They were quick enough to legalize the infinitely more dangerous synthetics. It’s a sisyphaen task get anything past these backward numpties.
Agree, utter madness with the synthetics. The cannabis law reform bill should have moved onto the next stage.
It’s hard to be sure how much, but some degree of legalization should displace the synthetics, which despite the change in their legal status continue to kill and sicken people.
It would be great if a template letter was out there that could be sent by email to people’s local MPs expressing their disgust.
I could give it a go, but it would have more authority coming from a physician with expertise in the clinical issues and the standing of having had to treat the victims of the synthetic product. Mark Reeves (in Nelson) has spoken against it before.
Ha! That idea fascinates me Ed.
I saw a 60 Minutes interview with the whizz kid plucked from nowhere that was responsible for creating millions of different facebook ads targeted at the individual selling Trump.
A template email to express a particular concern is a rudimentary starting point but us humans work on emotions.
If writing to Kelvin Davis an intelligent template could pluck at his heartstrings.
“Saw you at the Taipa ramp last Tuesday Kelvin, you suggested I write.”
We can blame National, NZ First or Labour MPs who didn’t vote for the medical cannabis bill but the big picture is that New Zealand is run by “straights” as much as it was 40 years ago and based on this result it will be no different in another 40 years’ time. There is the expectation that as more and more people will accept cannabis use as okay, it will eventually become legal, especially as this is already happening in the United States and elsewhere but this is purely an assumption. It could indeed be accepted by half or more of the population but the people who control New Zealand society are conservative and will likely continue to have the power to keep it illegal. One only has to look at Jamaica which is known for its cannabis smokers where it remains highly illegal.
Back in the seventies they used to say “never trust a straight” and this remains true to this day.
esoteric p
+100
Sinking back into our cowpat ruts and school of mumbles about ivory-tower academics as in mid 1960’s it seems. Advance and be recognised – New Zealanders
who care about their country and their fellow citizens. Well? (Silence.) Oh heck!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/art-and-stage/66191857/school-of-thought-on-the-dangers-of-intellectualism
(with 65 comments enlarging on the subject.)
Israel (or people acting in their defense) yet again display their epic levels of double standards without even pausing for breath,…
As usual, their argument…Israel is the most democratic country in the middle East.
Their actions….Sue ( read threaten) activists who wrote an open letter to a artist asking them not to tour ( and by default support) the apartheid regime of Israel.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018630217/nz-activists-face-legal-action-over-lorde-s-israel-snub
But then again, what else could one expect from a country that regards Donald J. Trump as it’s greatest and closest US presidential ally in generations…this one fact alone speaks volumes as to the depths to which Israel has allowed itself to sink.
Norman Finkelstein “called” this approach by the state of Israel – the claim that BDS wants to destroy Israel. It made him unpopular with the BDS movement. Thing is, although some might not “like” what he says, he’s bang on the money. He lays it out in this video interview from 2012. It’ll be difficult listening for some.
Noam Chomsky also opposed BDS:
https://www.thenation.com/article/israel-palestine-and-bds/
Finkelstein is supportive of BDS tactics. But he condemns their goal – the elimination of Israel.
And having quickly read the Chomsky piece, he makes the same point. Anarchist that he is, he also suggests a “no state” as a preferred alternative to a “two state” solution. 😉
I am in agreement with both Finkelstein and Chomsky, I think this is more about Israel (through proxies) threatening anybody,anywhere, even some young girls on the other side of the planet, for showing any kind of solidarity with Palestine through any action whatsoever, and is only about the BDS movement by default.
I’m thinking it’s the BDS agenda that’s giving the Israeli state its required leverage and it’s irrelevant in terms of pubic perception whether “Dayenu” (New Zealand Jews Against Occupation) that Justine Sachs set up agrees or endorses BDS’s agenda.
It’s a simple enough case of – Brush. Tar. Apply.
Seems it’s a Mossad affiliated wingnut welfare scam that supports it self by running “Intellitours” to Israel which include meet ups with Shin Bet assassins.
Her arguments are regularly rejected by courts. About 90 percent of the $1.6 billion in default judgments against no-show defendants including Iran, Syria, North Korea and the militant Palestinian group Hamas have not been paid.
[…]
Critics call it “lawfare,” abusing the courts to score political points. Some on the left have refused to face off with Ms. Darshan-Leitner on Israeli talk shows after she made what they saw as ridiculous statements, like suggesting that Israel drop a nuclear bomb on Tehran.
“She’s definitely a nuisance,” said Jonathan Arnon, an Israeli lawyer who has represented the Palestinian Authority opposite her. “She has a lot of resources. She tries and finds every niche and note and every possible argument whether it is relevant or not, to make fatigue.”
Even American lawyers who work on the same side have clashed with Ms. Darshan-Leitner over costs, and say she is a tangential part of the process.
“She’s pretty good at filing cases and putting out news releases, but she has really no involvement in actual litigation,” said one, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of ongoing cases. “There are U.S. lawyers who are actually litigating the case, putting up all the expenses, and then there’s this person in Israel who has her own narrative.”
[…]
Her organization, Shurat HaDin, Hebrew for letter of the law, was founded in 2003, and in 2012, the latest year financial reports were available publicly, had 11 employees, three with salaries topping $100,000. It retains not one but two public relations firms, in Israel and New York, pitching Ms. Darshan-Leitner’s perspective on the news. She said the annual budget was $2.5 million, but declined to name her donors, citing security concerns.
The group requires a $600 to $5,000 donation for participants in its mission to Israel, featuring briefings by intelligence agents and observations of military court trials. This summer, it is offering an activist lawyer’s training seminar, with an agenda that includes combating boycotts of Israeli products and defending Israeli soldiers against charges of war crimes.
She claims to have collected $150 million from the various court victories but would not specify which clients got what, citing security again. And she asked that the West Bank settlement where she and her American-born husband, also a lawyer, built a large, immaculate home, not be named, for fear of reprisal.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/world/middleeast/crusading-for-israel-in-a-way-some-say-is-misguided.html
The so-called foreign buyer house ban (unless you are Australian or from Singapore or are buying a new house or…)
Input from the Auckland Law Society…
“Lawyers fear $20,000 fines for failing to give information on foreign investors’ citizenship status and say they would be forced into an impossible position by the Government’s planned foreign house-buyer ban.”
“A strongly-worded 23-page Auckland District Law Society submission has gone to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, objecting to putting the onus on lawyers and conveyancers for checking the citizenship status of trusts, companies and people if the new law is passed.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11985268
Maybe they could use the Twyford test? if the surname sounds foreign then they are foreign 🙂
WTF?
Isn’t that what lawyers are supposed to do?
Check stuff to make sure it complies with the law?
Lawyers complaining about having to do their job shocker.
AND if there is a genuine problem that is what the select committee is for.
Sure but the solution seems to be a better register of companies and people ensuring citizenship can easily be checked rather than throwing the whole lot out as the lawyers seem to want to do.
It would, of course, be simpler and better to ban offshore ownership.
YES Thats ok too.
I’m not sure if the lawyers are bleating about a change in law made when they were finally brought under money laundering legislation … after years and years of delay.
Lawyers are a major part of the money laundering and tax evasion networks ….
In Britain they escaped reporting obligations under their supposed ‘tightening’ of tax haven & money laundering regulations ….. Lawyer client confidentiality
Which would be the same loop-hole they will try and use here …..
Chucks just too shy to say so.
No no, foreign is ok its those Chinese-sounding names thats the problem 🙂
Save the anti Chinese propaganda. I’d say the NZ government is so frightened of offending the Chinese that they are leaving most of NZ open for sale. The bill does not go far enough – learn from the Chinese government who do not sell land at all and make sure that any assets are partnered with Chinese only.
Its the secrecy which is the problem Puck …. http://www.sarawakreport.org/2017/01/trust-us-new-zealand-can-hide-your-money/
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/08/new-zealand-companies-offices-612mn-money-laundering-snooze.html
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/four-chinas-most-wanted-residing-in-auckland
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/money/83450345/Court-orders-forfeiture-of-42-85-million-in-alleged-money-laundering-case … ” They were alleged to have assisted in money laundering and various property associated with them was restrained, including three Auckland properties,” ….
No, foreign ownership is the problem and it needs to be stamped out.
They’re lawyers – it’s their job to ensure that everything in a contract conforms with the law.
If they get fined, well, maybe they shouldn’t have broken the law.
“Migrant worker describes ‘modern day slavery’ scam”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/339373/migrant-worker-describes-modern-day-slavery-scam
Shocking, inspite of a recording of the scam the immigration service did not bother to pursue it! Cheating is cheating and exploitation is exploitation!
I feel sick when I go around and increasingly you are seeing beaten down migrants toiling away in cafes, restaurant and hotels all around the country, probably caught up in this slavery practise that has been allowed to flourish for years.
For every reason, human rights to the victims, criminal activity, our lower and lower waged economy from this slavery practise and our NZ’s business reputation and tourism, this practise should be stamped out, immediately, and under cover operations started to catch the corrupt immigration officials and agents and the employers.
I concur utterly! I see sensible commentary from the likes of Alistair McClymont and some at RNZ who’ve maintained an interest and continue to monitor things.
The past 9 years have encouraged exploitation….even today anybody is encouraged to become an ‘immigration consultant’and many are at the healm of the exploitation – with cosy little links and alliances to some of the dodgy PTEs, recruitment and labour supply companies, even now in building and home improvement scams.
What gets my goat most is that the victims get the blame whilst the exploiters continue on their merry way! The IAA should have been keeping a closer watch, but like the Labour Inspectorate and INZ itself, it’s been under resourced.
I doubt some of them actually quite understand how many lives they’ve come close to destroying whether through financial loss or respect in the communities they now live in.
FFS! NZ….do something about the exploiters without destroying their victims. That in itself would lower immigration numbers.
Currently I am travelling around places where I see the bullshit promises and claims made daily.
It really is quite pathetic.
And at the same time, I know of cases where people have already made a valuable contribution to NZ at great personal cost, and who are being put through hoops in order to stay.
I’m yet to be persuaded too that INZ and associated entities like the IAA should remain under MBIE. The record so far is very very ugly … but then maybe they’re relying on a new CEO. IF IT DOES, it’ll still be the ‘business of immigration’ based on economic imperatives rather than wider concerns.
About time the government cracked down on this too….
Student visa scheme exploited for residency
“New Zealand’s new permanent residents are now less skilled than five years ago, due to some international students exploiting the student visa scheme, official documents say.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/349104/student-visa-scheme-exploited-for-residency
Personally think it should say….
New Zealand’s new permanent residents are now less skilled than five years ago, due to poor international students courses operating in NZ, bad immigration legislation, zero oversite and crack down of the practise, bizarre ‘skilled’ categories like restaurant managers or cafe workers for fast food and low level IT workers being labelled as a way to get residency, employers wanting cheaper labour rather than quality and immigration agents exploiting the student visa scheme…
See 7.1 above @savenz.
One thing I’ve noticed between working in the public service in the 70s and post 80s reforms is that snr mngmnt Do Not like criticism – offered construcyively or not.
And sometimes pointing out the bleeding obvious can invite the full force of the state apparatus.
It’s quite pathetic at times.
MBIE’S FAILINGS are a matter of record under its previous CEO.
I sincerely hope things will change.
Considering the Green’s bill failed to get over the line. And seeing as the need for urgency still remains (i.e. Labour’s medicinal cannabis bill fails to protect the majority of the ill seeking to use it from prosecution). Evidently, it’s clear the cannabis referendum requires to be brought forward.
“Brian Rudman: Time to stop ‘gold-plated dream scheme’ for waterfront”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=11984685&ref=twitter
Shocking, the waterfront belongs to the Aucklanders and the harbour is being sacrificed to benefit certain business interests – it’s 2.0 – going from bananas to parking and less and less harbour.
BTW – it costs a lot to maintain man made wharves so not only will Aucklaners have to bear the cost of the wharves, have their harbour stolen, but there are also lasting costs – and who knows how much they will cost to maintain with climate change.
Government should step in and stop the Auckland council who when last polled got less than 20% satisfaction rate from ratepayers as well as doing complete balls up constantly for the environment and local business in their quest to concrete Auckland to provide big business more $ and opportunities at the expense of small and medium business and the community that funds them.
Auckland Council are pressing along irrespective of Parker’s misgivings.
Initial races are mid 2019 – very little time to build anything.
Even worse then to be looking to steal the harbour and reclaim the land. Remember America’s cup is a billionaire fringe sport we are talking about…. but everyone has to drop everything and destroy Aucklander’s heritage for this one off event, which will then probably be donated or sold off cheap to corporate interests for parking, ferries etc by stealth.
Given the shortage of time, shouldn’t the powers that be, look at other locations or why can’t they do what they did last time? Who bothered planning ahead, obviously not the America’s cup governance body or they would have something in place that did not involve stealing and creating a new wharf with public money with is obviously filled with pit falls and public opposition.
America’s cup is being used as a means to hijack public money and resources. Obviously a lot of snouts in the trough using the America’s cup to steal the harbour.
Just look at Tamaki drive, climate change is here. The north western highway had years of road works, millions of $$$ and delays to raise part of it, but flooded last time.
Whatever AT and NZ Transport does seems to be a disaster. Something wrong with their culture and ability to plan effectively and with minimal disruptions. They seem to be opportunists with little planning ability and more interest in grabbing money and taking away community say using excuses and using poor advice, that their strong arm tactics are working. I’d say not at all, transport wise, value for money and public satisfaction.
No hijack – all options were debated and voted in open Council session.
AT and NZTA have nothing to do with it.
Increased harbour footprint is tiny. Most of Auckland’s CB D, all of Victoria Park, and the whole rail system is on thousands of hectares of reclaimed land. So not even the fish will miss a few more metres.
All global sport is run by billionaires.
Deal with.
“No hijack – all options were debated and voted in open Council session.”
Except the option to not finance anything on the waterfront?
Yes we never got the chance to say we weren’t interested in funding corporate bludgers.
And don’t forget Phil Goff who was pretty much gifted the Mayoralty when the righties ran two righties against each other to split the vote so that super right TPPA posing as leftie supporting Goff could win.
Goff also campaigned on NOT taking more of the harbour but now back tracking with weasel semantics.
I love how lefties and politicians seems to be concerned about the lack of people voting and the loss of democracy, but don’t actually factor in the constant betrayals of what politicians campaign on, and political tricks to gain power.
More centralisation is madness.
People on the North Shore tell me there seems to be a load lot of cars there the last week or two, so traveling around the shore and along the northern motorway is becoming very time consuming.
There’s a long commute from Orewa – 2 hours this morning it took 1 person from Orewa to Takapuna. The queue of slow moving traffic southwards on the northern motorway was still there after 10am – and a long queue at the same time from Takapuna of people trying to head southwards at the same time
They’ve recently opened a new car park, and added buses for park and ride from Silverdale. new housing developments on the Hibiscus Coast, Warkworth, and Wellsford attracting more Aucklanders – so way more people commuting to the CBD because that’s where the work is.
And some corporate entities want another centralised attraction in the CBD.
More than Jesus is weeping.
“Remember America’s cup is a billionaire fringe sport we are talking about…. ”
Thats bullshit, America’s cup is a spectator sport. There are more than 120 affiliated yacht clubs in New Zealand – and more than 300,000 members.
Name one current America’s cup sailor who is a billionaire?
this is a reply to the above post
Take the billionaire-sponsored boats out of it, it’d be an even smaller competition.
It’s not about the number of teams in the event.
This is the F1 of yachting, in the city of sails. The city with more boats per capita than any other city in the world. You can try to pretend its not a big deal but millions of fans will be watching.
“F1 of yachting”.
Bollocks.
It’s more akin to the PGA tour, watching skilled professionals perform moderately boring tasks on rich-people’s facilities that only recently allowed someone other than white men to join.
“F1 of yachting”.
“Bollocks”
Here is a link to help with your ignorance of America’s cup.
A little research might stop you making a complete fool of yourself
https://www.kwese.com/news/949875/america’s-cup-f1-water
So to support your F1 comparison, you link to a TV channel’s marketing page for the AC. Not only that, the marketing blurb you linked to explicitly states that AS has more in common with flying than actual sailing, so your “120 affiliated yacht clubs” line is less relevant than “46 Aero clubs in NZ”.
But then planes are also pricey things, too, so there’s that in common as well…
“So to support your F1 comparison, you link to a TV channel’s marketing page ”
Its not my F1 comparision, Here is another link for your education.
I did say it “might” stop you making a fool of yourself
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sailing/2017/05/05/fast-furious-unashamedly-commercial-years-americas-cup-f1-water/
Only you could decribe this as a”moderately boring task”
Well, me and anyone who doesn’t watch it.
But how does your F1 (because you brought it in here, even if it’s a term invented by an AC marketing firm) comparison negate the fact that it’s primarily a rich person’s event?
A DIY/hardware store sponsors rugby competitions.
A designer luggage firm sponsors the AC precursor.
Says it all, really.
“But how does your F1 (because you brought it in here, even if it’s a term invented by an AC marketing firm) comparison negate the fact that it’s primarily a rich person’s event”
Its not a rich persons event.
Some professional sports people are well paid, that is not a reason not to watch football, tennis, golf, rugby, cricket etc
Plenty of sports people are paid shit loads more than these sailors.
And yet the spectators buy louis vuitton, not hammers…
Hey, I’ve got an afternoon free next weekend, do you want to take your carbon-fibre racing catamaran out for a kick around the park?
@Naki Man If so many are so interested in America’s cup, get them to get their hands in their pockets and pay for the venue build rather than ratepayers and taxpayers. Nope not happening. Thought so. User pays seems so arbitrary in NZ.
And also maybe the America’s cup fans can fund the ongoing maintenance cost of the project which will be unknown due to climate change.
Most Aucklander’s would like our council to focus on daily issues facing Aucklanders, like constant road works, construction, detours and chaos and the constant resource constants ready to decimate a place near you so that someone can make a $$.
But nope, it’s all about looking good for other people for one off televised events and support offshore big business like SkyCity, and then back handedly give over assets to COO’s or the like, which have been somehow created to be the worst of both worlds, being funded by ratepayers and having no responsibility to ratepayers.
Here’s another area in which information collected is woefully inadequate.
The effect Airbnb is having on our rental stock.
I’m not talking about the spare room or even the granny flat Airbnbs, but the apartments and three bedroom houses removed from the rental market because owners of these secondary properties find being amateur hoteliers more attractive than being amateur landlords.
8000 Airbnb properties were listed in Auckland over the summer. That’s a huge amount of rental property not available long term. Same goes for other areas where there is a housing crisis, Queenstown and Taupo.
The issue I have, like the lack of information about foreign resident house buyers highlighted by Phil Twyford, there is absolutely no information about how much Airbnb is damaging the rental market in NZ. We hear the rental listings are down 50% from last year alone but absolutely no questions nor inquiry as to why. It’s not house sales because volumes are down and first home buyers are locked out.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/property/101061077/taupo-rental-market-tight-but-exairbnb-homes-joining-market-might-offer-hope
If you don’t like it, don’t put your place on AirBNB.
A.
Good grief Antoine, did you read what MB said, or you just have no argument with it? Like has nothing to do with, it’s a housing crisis.
We’ll never see eye to eye on this
on what? What MB was talking about? Or your interpretation? If you’re going to drop stupid comments when someone has raised a perfectly valid political issue, then expect to be called on it.
I don’t own a rental property.
Your smug answer is why I dislike the right wing so much. The world literally starts and finishes with themselves, and no regard is shown for anyone else.
NZ can’t afford empty houses. Airbnb generates them.
Queenstown-Lakes is strongly regulating them for that reason in new District Plan.
I haven’t seen the details but the initial impression I got was that that move was more about protecting the hotel sector rather than the rental market.
Yeah, it’s more half arsed than strongly regulating. Trying to cover all their bases, but protecting renters is being compromised.
oh, and income generation for the council will be a factor too.
The hotels are definitely a political factor in Queenstown-Lakes politics, so I don’t doubt that’s a factor.
But it is also seeking to ensure more rental stock is focused on longer-term stays rather than very short term.
To couch it in commercial terms, if hotel staff have nowhere to live with good medium term secutiry, hotels can’t get the staff for their rosters.
It’d be interesting to know what the average Airbnb stay is in NZ, and region by region. All essential data for a country struggling with housing but like offshore purchase data, seemingly suppressed.
The commercial accomodation sector here seems ambivalent about short term rentals from a competition perspective. But they are being fucked over as hard as prospective tenants by the properties being removed from the rental pool.
It’s their staff that can’t find accomodation because of Airbnb houses and appartments. The lack of rental properties affects all sectors, but hospo has less scope to pass the cost on to customers. Tradies and the like just pass it on or think they can absorb it.
Kick Air B’n’B out of the country.
I’d agree but I guess you still need to let these operations run for the sake of tourists wanting some choice and for people wanting to let their place for a week when they are away, or for people who have a spare room or granny flat which is suitable for short stays.
The problem is when houses owned by amateur landlords needed for medium to long term rentals are taken out of the market. They need the shit regulated out of them so they think twice about being hoteliers.
It’s a worldwide problem, every tourist town in the world is grappling with the AirBnB effect. This was in Outside last July, you could change the names and it’s Queenstown, Wanaka or Taupo https://www.outsideonline.com/2198726/did-airbnb-kill-mountain-town
Solutions, well the new rules in Queenstown will pretty much prohibit whole property / unit short term rentals in residential areas. Might be a few that would get a non-complying consent, but very few. Letting the spare room won’t be affected but that doesn’t seem to be a problem. There’s a couple of proposals for high density worker’s accomodation, one seems to be go http://www.newground.co.nz/remarkables-park-apartments/ . There’s proposals for the same sort of thing in Gorge Road including the old HIgh School. They are coming rather late in the cycle so might not happen, or struggle and end up as something else, but there’s plenty of other developments with that potential outcome around here.
The last worker accomodation complex built here followed similar timing last cycle. 2nd mouse got the cheese with that one.
A ballot for four Member’s Bills was held this morning. One of the bills drawn from the biscuit tin was:
Psychoactive Substances (Increasing Penalty for Supply and Distribution) Amendment Bill: Simeon Brown (N) *
– This bill amends the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 to increase the penalty for selling or supplying psychoactive substances that are not approved products in line with the penalties for the supply of Class C drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.
Now such substances are not my area of expertise, but possibly in my ignorance it seemed somewhat ironic/cruel that this bill was drawn today, after the failure to get Chloe Swarbrick’s Members bill through first reading last night.
Correct me if I am wrong, but would this bill, if passed, increase the penalties on green fairies for supplying and distributing medicinal cannabis ?
* Some background on Mr Brown – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Brown
——————————————————————————————————————
The other three bills drawn were:
Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill : Kieran McAnulty (L)
– This bill would ensure that employees employed by one employer, but working under the control and direction of another business or organisation, are not deprived of the right to coverage of a collective agreement covering the work being performed for that other business or organisation, and ensure that such employees may join the other business or organisation that is party to any personal grievance action.
Crimes (Offence of Blasphemous Libel) Amendment Bill :Angie Warren-Clark (L)
– This bill amends the Crimes Act 1961 to repeal section 123, removing the offence of blasphemous libel from New Zealand statute.
Accident Compensation (Recent Migrants and Returning New Zealanders) Amendment Bill : Melissa Lee (N)
– This bill amends the Accident Compensation Act to ensure that migrants and returning New Zealanders who are not eligible for superannuation at the qualification age remain eligible for weekly compensation.
I think Brown’s Bill is aimed at synthetics.
Just looked it up, it wouldn’t apply to cannabis or other illegal drugs already controlled by law.
Definition is here http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2013/0053/latest/whole.html#DLM5278431
Some big ol’ waves in Nelson
A.
State of Emergency just declared in Dunedin due to flooding.
Wildfire near Chch (Governor’s Bay Rd) due to very hot and windy conditions.
Snow in the Southern Alps and on the inland Otago passes.
Multiple power outages today across the country.
Another fire west of Chch.
6,500 properties in Hokitika may be without power for 2 days.
FENZ is responding multiple fires around the region. Here is their update on what’s happening.
Old Tai Tapu Road – Fire is under control, monitoring stage.
Clark’s & Hudson’s Road, Tai Tapu – Multiple crews and helicopter in attendance.
Cass Bay – Multiple crews and helicopter in attendance.
Carter’s Road, Lincoln – reignition of small fire, 1 tanker in attendance.
Rotherham – reignition of burn off, crews currently responding.
Weedons Ross Road – Large hedge fire, crews currently responding.
Newtons Road – Scrub fire, crews currently responding.
https://www.ccc.govt.nz/news-and-events/newsline/show/2376
Raising my eyes that the Rotherham one.
“Because they the politicians know ,… that if they tried on that fascist shit too hard,… we would take them out the back against the wall , execute them, and go home to have a cup of tea. NZ is more heavily armed than the US per capita.”
I think you need to have a good lie down
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Really ?…
I think you are showing you dislike harmless comedy as a way to keep these wannbe fascists in line and advocate instead , … what goes on in a large number of countrys today as we speak…
You’d rather have actual bloodshed in the streets rather than simple humour where no one gets hurt but a few errant wankers who thought they could misuse their elected officialdom as a leverage for self serving own gains learn ( albiet slowly as they are generally slow thinkers ) that no , they cannot force a public to believe their lies ?
What is it that scares the hell out of powerheads, fascists, liars, frauds and political manipulators about guns?
And honesty?
Is it the fact the they need to answer to the public they claim to serve ?
Or is it the likes of the American Constitution that states that is the public’s right to bear arms against a government that has been deemed to be working against the people in an oppressive way?
Are you some sort of lilly livered gutless communist , freak boy?
Dont you believe in a balanced democracy ?
Hint : people all over the world use guns , – yes guns, – to fight for a democratic election.
Are you saying that’s wrong you anti democratic freak ?
Thats nice dear
Have a cup of tea and read about the causes of the English and French revolution, … ‘dear’.
Then have a lie down yourself, freak.
Thats nice dear
USA and Oz are the two nations with a majority receiving fluoridated water (near 50% here).
In 2010, a U.S. study determined that “40.7% of adolescents aged 12–15 had dental fluorosis. In response, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reduced the recommended level of fluoride in drinking water to the lowest end of the current range, 0.7 milligrams per liter of water (mg/L), from the previous recommended maximum of 0.7 to 1.2 mg/L in recognition of the increase in sources of fluoride such as fluoridated toothpastes and mouthwashes (Wikipedia).
In 2016 in a move to better align with international best practice, Watercare has reduced Auckland’s target fluoride levels from 0.85 parts per million to 0.7ppm.
Yet the national recommendation remains for .7 to 1.0.
Most Europeans do not have fluoridation in their water, they take the mass medication argument more seriously – people can get fluoride in their toothpaste, or in tablets (placed in water they clean their teeth with) or in mouthwash.
The advantage once gained from fluoridating water is nullified by negated by modern dental care practice in areas without fluoridation of water – in the so called risk areas the real problem is sugar in drinks.
IMO there is a good case for moving our national recommendation to reduce fluoridation levels to the 0.5 to 0.7 range. A .7 max, later reduced to .5 over time. So it better reflects what it now is, a support for proper dental care. And in line with that bring in nationwide provision of dental care to the public.
Sweden, Norway, Austria, Finland, China and more countries have banned fluoride.
We should up our game in terms of both dental care, and access to dentists to follow their lead.
Absolutely.
Let us follow Europe’s example.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoridation_by_country
Winnie wins again, with the defeat of Swarbrick’s drug bill. Awesome stuff, and boy, did she throw her toys out of the cot. Why should National grant the Greens any favours? The Greens would not even phone Bill for a chat post electiion. Who was playing politics then? Not to mention, they sold out the Kermedecs for power Ethics not, and Green, not.