I wonder if stormtrooper suits protect against covid?
and before someone mentions that Fin said they only protect against smoke and dust, he was First Order and these are quite obviously Imperial personnel. Must have taken them a long time to get here from so far far away…
MOSCOW, January 29. / TASS /. More than half of Moscow residents have suffered a coronavirus infection, according to the mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin.
Yes Francesca and not to mention the massive and continuing unprecedented militarisation of Washington DC. 25 000 Homeguard for the inauguration and associated celebrations but to be maintained at the level of 5-7 000 until at least March.
Deploying active military troops is an even graver step than putting National Guard soldiers on the streets, but they both present dangers. As Trump’s Defense Secretary said in response to calls from some over the summer to deploy troops in response to the Black Lives Matter and Antifa protests: “The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations."
Great to read this, thank you to the the community and mana whenua, for some real action on our environment. I just hope that all abide by this and we don't see any going against this as it is viewed as "optional". Better to see the local body/govt formalise this. Better still enlarge such protection into other areas 😉
"Mana whenua on Waiheke island are placing a two-year rāhui on the island in a bid to stop four species of kaimoana from collapsing."
Meanwhile, on the commercial side, butter apparently wouldn't melt in the mouths of the usual suspects.
Sanford’s acting chief executive, Andre Gargiulo, said the fishing by its vessel was “utterly unintentional”, that the company has an “exemplary record”, and that it was “both embarrassed and apologetic that this occurred”.
“Frankly, we feel embarrassed and disappointed with ourselves about what happened. We have, for a long time, been one of the New Zealand fishing companies supporting BPAs and helped to bring them into existence,” Gargiulo said.
“To then accidentally miss one and unintentionally fish inside it is unacceptable to us, and we are very sorry.”
How’s this for opportunity shit. A young French lady working for us has applied for a visa extension as she has a winery job organised with a big winery for harvest. Now because she does not have an email address of the Immigration official for the previous visa she has to pay an extra 440 dollars to be allocated an official with an email address just to advise when the visa will start,, this is on top of the 500 bucks for the visa extension and another 500 dollars paid to an approved doctor for a medical check for a 7, that’s SEVEN, minute consultation which consisted of measuring her height and weight and to see if she had good vision.
Apart perhaps from the doctor are you suggesting that us taxpayers should foot the bill for the staff to do all this visa renewal? Is the big winery overseas owned with profits going overseas, workers on poor contracts and limited tax paid? Are we socialising the costs but privatising the profits of the labour involved. Why does the big winery not reimburse these costs? $940 to the government for the opportunity for a visa and all the costs associated with this from top to bottom doesn’t seem like a lot. AFAIK immigration as depafrtment is not on full cost recovery.
I should have mentioned that this is EVERY 6 months and it is just a roll over, she is an experienced cellar hand and vineyard worker and without her cohort at least half of last years crop would not have been harvested and processed at a Balance of Payments and GDP cost to NZ of about a billion dollars, which will pay for a lot of vaccines etc.
In areas like Marlborough the unemployment rate is less than 2 per cent, her pay rate is $25hr. That 2% is really only those that can do light duties or are chronicly workshy.
And Red Baron just exactly how much paper work do you think costs 1000 bucks
Shanreagh, they changed the way they do things, it used to be by letter, the corruption I alluded to is demanding $500 to supply a contact email address, lets see how you would react if your power company or anybody else you deal with tried that on.
If we havent got enough workers to get in valuable off-shore earning dollars of income maybe we should start cleaning out all the shiny-arses from the bureaucracy and put them to work in the fields just like chairman Mao did.
Shanreagh, they changed the way they do things, it used to be by letter, the corruption I alluded to is demanding $500 to supply a contact email address, lets see how you would react if your power company or anybody else you deal with tried that on.
Another reminder for her to try the idea of going onto the site to see the usual email format and then trying it for her case manager.
Power company email contacts are hardly in the scale of documentation giving a person the right to be (and work) in a country that is not their own.
You are over-egging to to say that this is corruption. There is no evidence that this is some sort of backhander to a private person to get her in the system ahead of someone else.
I worked in an area of Govt where hugely complex documentation was required, and but we where we also also very simple lists of what had to be provided. A lodgement fee was charged and if the documentation was found to be lacking it was returned and once corrected had to be re-lodged and another lodgement fee charged. This was in an effort to focus lodgers and also so that officers checking the docs did not have to waste time on a case where the information was not complete.
It's not just the in your face paperwork. It's the cost of all the background stuff too- setting a policy, hiring the people to do it, providing computors and space to put them etc etc.
So if the applicants don't pay then you expect me the taxpayer to stump up? It's an employer cost not mine talk to them. Unless immigration is charging enough to offset the entire costs of the operation (and I don't believe it is) then there is a taxpayer contribution.
Cost recovery is not corruption – nobody is pocketing this personally. Like some one below said immigration is a privilege not a right and the large sense of entitlement that some exhibit around it as either an employer or an applicant grates.
Plus highly skilled and $25 per hour aren't exactly in the same ballpark. Better structured jobs would encourage internal migration to them. Some businesses in Marlborough have done that.
Winery's may also earn overseas exchange but that has to have the remittance of any profits and other funds transferred overseas deducted from it which may not leave too much at all as net earnings for the nation. I understand that a lot of the big winery's are overseas owned. Does it even pay any local income tax? or is it just bludging it's social costs off the taxpayer. Some of our other industries (overseas fishing boats?) appear to be not worth having.Are overseas owned wineries another one of these?
I get the feeling they might just be pre-covid "fuck off" fees. You know the sort: "this application is something that adds a disproportionate level of work for the system and you should have thought ahead, so here's a sum that matches my level of ennui at your plight".
I wouldn't be opposed to ditching those fees for people stuck here by covid in [checks notes] the rest of the planet.
Absolutely McFlock, and I'm sure the doctor would much prefer helping people who are unwell.
When I applied for residency back in the nineties, I was charged $1000 for a chest specialist in Hamilton to sign off my chest x-ray to confirm I didn't have Tb. That didn't include the x-ray charge! An unwelcome distraction for busy medical people.
"…because she does not have an email address of the Immigration official for the previous visa she has to pay an extra 440 dollars to be allocated an official with an email address…"
Go to the Ombudsman about this. Government or official bodies cannot extract money from people for this sort of thing.
It's wicked alright – mind, just the medical for my Saudi Iqama was over $1200 (did one for $400 in Korea). Half the reason I gave up working abroad – it felt like they were taking the piss.
Why has she not got the email address? Did she not keep the previous documentation on her email site or printed out? If so shame…….always taught to travel with multiple places where visa and other important documentation is stored and able to be located.
Can she not go to the website and look at the typical form of the email addresses and use this on the name of the person who she was dealing with? Have a test run to see if it gets through.
Cost should be borne by the company. Company should be asked to document its efforts to get NZ employees.
Have you never lost email addresses owing to your trusty computer crashing or getting stolen just before you were going to do back-up, which should be done automatically now, but how many of us are ensuring it is actually happening?
(Have I just invented a new form of ‘The Extended Question’?)
Of course but if my emails had included a visa & previous correspondence relating to this there is no way that my emails be the only place to find this. It would be printed off and copies sent to others as well. It seems? she got the previous papers in hard copy so may have mislaid these.
Yes,, all valid, but I like to think that your 'Of course' applied to my final question about whether I had invented a new form of the over-extended question.
Personally, I like wine, so I think this valuable person should be able to stay. But this dispute is similar to the one about whether it should be easy for expat Kiwis to return. Many views.
If she thinks the fee is exorbitant she could simply not pay it and go home.
Besides the story seems a bit lacking in information. The person whose email she lacks most definitely does have one. There must be some way to find it.
She's not the only person in the country with such experience I know that for sure.
Presuming she has actually searched her emails? Also confirming that the application was handled by email from both sides. Seems really weird that she cannot search her emails to find this documentation. Has she been offered a desktop to search rather than on her phone? Sometimes phones are less that the best for searching for older docs.
Would she have forwarded the docs onto another person such as parents, friend, sibling as many (sensible) overseas travellers do? Has she got luggage stored somewhere that it might be in?
This seems so odd not to have duplicates somewhere of important documentation like this. Perhaps advise her to do for the future …….I send an email to myself that I don't open as well as to a friend and sibling when I am travelling. I used to tape/hide a copy of this sort of stuff inside my main luggage so that if day to day stuff was stolen I still had an extra copy close at hand.
Has she tried the idea of finding the format of emails on the site then using this to make an email address of the person who looked after her…….or has she not kept the hard copies either to see who the case manager was?
I know a number of people who are getting irritated by overseas visitors, on whatever category they are here on, and potential immigrants, acting in an entitled and demanding way. It is a privilege to be here, particularly given the chaos in so many countries.
NZ taxpayers should not be subsiding people's travel costs and OE adventures. This big winery should do that or the young person can save up and pay from wages earned, just like NZers have to do to pay for the formalities to go to the UK for their OE, for example.
As we in Auckland are having a long weekend – and the need to contact a school today.
It got me thinking when are we not being judged or under employment expectations during our own free time as an employee ?
”The woman dubbed a "Karen" after a violent boating rage incident is a primary school deputy principal who says she's now facing employment action because of the clash.”
I just heard that after he left office Trump was de-banked. Now that's petty.
And foolish. This guy is a New York scrapper. IMHO he is bound to make some kind of come back later, mabey just a month or two. What if he leads the charge to move to digital currencies? Or even starts his own currency? Stupid to make an enemy of someone without needing to.
Not sure I believe the insurrection excuse – I just suspect that him out of the white house now means the bank-calculated cost of doing business with him outweighs any likely benefit.
I just heard that after he left office Trump was de-banked
That is nothing new. The banks have long held a low opinion of him and most American Banks have refuse to do business with him for over a decade. Most of what bears his name is actually financed by off-shore loans funnelled through Deutsche Bank. These loans – totalling over $450m – fall due in 3 years. Meanwhile many of the golf courses and hotels that bear his name are loosing money.
In the past, you have been trying many times to get around bans and sometimes with some success. For some reason you seem to think that bans do not apply to you and you can do what you like here as if it is some kind of catch-me-if-you-can game. Keep it up and you’re heading for a permanent ban.
To be 100% clear: you’ll be free to comment here again on 7 Feb. If you again try to get around it, you’ll be gone permanently. Whether or not you acknowledge having seen these two warnings is up to you because I don’t care either way; I don’t have to provide this service to you because TS doesn’t owe you anything.
The costs of climate change mitigation are negative. At some point the negative consequences of BAU will start to dominate (somewhere above 2 degrees global warming). Because the modelling behind the report has no way of projecting when that happens (and because if every other country does or doesn't participate New Zealand won't change the outcome), the modeling just looks at negative impacts relating to BAU anyway.
In writing the report they are aware enough to understand this and that they should limit their role to projecting costs rather than determining if New Zealand net benefits from acting.
Over the next 11 months, Government (i.e. Labour) will formulate its plan, which will need to be further reviewed, refined, and possibly consulted on, maybe even in the next election. Meanwhile, it will make some cosmetic changes and token efforts and loads of promises and ‘commitments’. In other words: BAU. If the up-front costs are in the vicinity of a few percent of GDP, no political party can reasonably argue against it as the fiscal and monetary responses to the Covid-19 pandemic have shown. National has no credibility at all and it has nothing to lose with it current approach. ACT is just a loose cannon of gun nutters. Labour is looking at house prices to make sure they only increase by a few percent annually. We’re toast.
The CCC’s report sets a very low political bar for this Government and there’s at least one major gap in it because the bar would be too high, in the CCC’s own words, FFS. See whether you can spot it.
Australian Prime Minister is confident that Bing can successfully replace google as a search engine from Australia, if google deliberately pulls it in response to a new requirement that google pays for its Australian local news content.
Yeah local media need the money back to fund local jobs and investigations. The Aussies need to win this one then break up the concentration of media ownership. This should not be a Murdoch benefit bill. Scottie probably isn't on board for the second half but that can wait a little.
I use Duck duck go and it seems to do the job. Of course the more a search engine is used then the better the results should be. Plus setting up a VPN and cloaking the country of origin ( like watching sports) would enable continued google searching? And breaking down the google dominance in Aus in favour of alternatives would encourage new search engine entrants world wide surely?
Reti the Yeti is back from the wilderness and has been sighted in Wellington’s Reserve, or should we call him Bigfoot because he sure knows how to stick his foot in his mouth.
Keep it up, Tova, we can all do with some light entertainment.
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 ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?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 ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
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. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
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 ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...
A $1.8b funding boost for Pharmac still won’t enable it to buy more drugs, raising questions about the Government’s approach to the agency The post Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Meanwhile, in Russia…
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKrLIPuKRLn/
https://meduza.io/feature/2021/01/31/siloviki-zhestko-zaderzhivayut-protestuyuschih-po-vsey-rossii-byut-elektroshokerami-i-ugrozhayut-ognestrelnym-oruzhiem-vot-samye-pokazatelnye-video
I wonder if stormtrooper suits protect against covid?
and before someone mentions that Fin said they only protect against smoke and dust, he was First Order and these are quite obviously Imperial personnel. Must have taken them a long time to get here from so far far away…
Perhaps not.
MOSCOW, January 29. / TASS /. More than half of Moscow residents have suffered a coronavirus infection, according to the mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin.
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ru&tl=en&u=https://tass.ru/obschestvo/10583039
They've got a way to go before they reach the brutality of French police
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/13/french-police-violence-gilets-jaunes-victims
Macron (popularity rating now 29%) has an answer
https://www.9news.com.au/national/french-protesters-decry-bill-outlawing-use-of-police-images/a71d762f-a4fb-4f86-8dde-375c19f351fe
Free Assange!
Yes Francesca and not to mention the massive and continuing unprecedented militarisation of Washington DC. 25 000 Homeguard for the inauguration and associated celebrations but to be maintained at the level of 5-7 000 until at least March.
I thought I'd see if there was any material that countered your pollyanna view of Russian policing, and found this.
And this creative use of chains from the Washington Post.
I have concerns about the enthusiasms of NZ police from time to time, but I wouldn't trade the worst of them for Russians.
Great to read this, thank you to the the community and mana whenua, for some real action on our environment. I just hope that all abide by this and we don't see any going against this as it is viewed as "optional". Better to see the local body/govt formalise this. Better still enlarge such protection into other areas 😉
"Mana whenua on Waiheke island are placing a two-year rāhui on the island in a bid to stop four species of kaimoana from collapsing."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/two-year-rahui-for-waiheke-island-waters-to-protect-kaimoana/4Z7OHUUDFR2VZJZ22FTAAG2NVE/
Another link
https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/124066862/auckland-iwi-ngti-poa-place-rhui-around-waiheke-to-protect-declining-kaimoana
From your link:
It must not “not meddle with the freedoms of New Zealanders” to ‘rape, pillage, and plunder’ the environment for personal gain or profit.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/300216332/plans-to-reduce-emissions-must-not-meddle-with-personal-freedoms
Meanwhile, on the commercial side, butter apparently wouldn't melt in the mouths of the usual suspects.
Sanford’s acting chief executive, Andre Gargiulo, said the fishing by its vessel was “utterly unintentional”, that the company has an “exemplary record”, and that it was “both embarrassed and apologetic that this occurred”.
“Frankly, we feel embarrassed and disappointed with ourselves about what happened. We have, for a long time, been one of the New Zealand fishing companies supporting BPAs and helped to bring them into existence,” Gargiulo said.
“To then accidentally miss one and unintentionally fish inside it is unacceptable to us, and we are very sorry.”
Aye, never trust any sleazebag who says 'what happened' or 'It should never have happened.' when they are the utter low-lives who actually did it.
Weasel words from Sanford.
How’s this for opportunity shit. A young French lady working for us has applied for a visa extension as she has a winery job organised with a big winery for harvest. Now because she does not have an email address of the Immigration official for the previous visa she has to pay an extra 440 dollars to be allocated an official with an email address just to advise when the visa will start,, this is on top of the 500 bucks for the visa extension and another 500 dollars paid to an approved doctor for a medical check for a 7, that’s SEVEN, minute consultation which consisted of measuring her height and weight and to see if she had good vision.
This is pretty fucking close to corruption.
Apart perhaps from the doctor are you suggesting that us taxpayers should foot the bill for the staff to do all this visa renewal? Is the big winery overseas owned with profits going overseas, workers on poor contracts and limited tax paid? Are we socialising the costs but privatising the profits of the labour involved. Why does the big winery not reimburse these costs? $940 to the government for the opportunity for a visa and all the costs associated with this from top to bottom doesn’t seem like a lot. AFAIK immigration as depafrtment is not on full cost recovery.
Can a local not be hired at decent wages
I should have mentioned that this is EVERY 6 months and it is just a roll over, she is an experienced cellar hand and vineyard worker and without her cohort at least half of last years crop would not have been harvested and processed at a Balance of Payments and GDP cost to NZ of about a billion dollars, which will pay for a lot of vaccines etc.
In areas like Marlborough the unemployment rate is less than 2 per cent, her pay rate is $25hr. That 2% is really only those that can do light duties or are chronicly workshy.
And Red Baron just exactly how much paper work do you think costs 1000 bucks
Shanreagh, they changed the way they do things, it used to be by letter, the corruption I alluded to is demanding $500 to supply a contact email address, lets see how you would react if your power company or anybody else you deal with tried that on.
If we havent got enough workers to get in valuable off-shore earning dollars of income maybe we should start cleaning out all the shiny-arses from the bureaucracy and put them to work in the fields just like chairman Mao did.
Another reminder for her to try the idea of going onto the site to see the usual email format and then trying it for her case manager.
Power company email contacts are hardly in the scale of documentation giving a person the right to be (and work) in a country that is not their own.
You are over-egging to to say that this is corruption. There is no evidence that this is some sort of backhander to a private person to get her in the system ahead of someone else.
I worked in an area of Govt where hugely complex documentation was required, and but we where we also also very simple lists of what had to be provided. A lodgement fee was charged and if the documentation was found to be lacking it was returned and once corrected had to be re-lodged and another lodgement fee charged. This was in an effort to focus lodgers and also so that officers checking the docs did not have to waste time on a case where the information was not complete.
It's not just the in your face paperwork. It's the cost of all the background stuff too- setting a policy, hiring the people to do it, providing computors and space to put them etc etc.
So if the applicants don't pay then you expect me the taxpayer to stump up? It's an employer cost not mine talk to them. Unless immigration is charging enough to offset the entire costs of the operation (and I don't believe it is) then there is a taxpayer contribution.
Cost recovery is not corruption – nobody is pocketing this personally. Like some one below said immigration is a privilege not a right and the large sense of entitlement that some exhibit around it as either an employer or an applicant grates.
Plus highly skilled and $25 per hour aren't exactly in the same ballpark. Better structured jobs would encourage internal migration to them. Some businesses in Marlborough have done that.
Winery's may also earn overseas exchange but that has to have the remittance of any profits and other funds transferred overseas deducted from it which may not leave too much at all as net earnings for the nation. I understand that a lot of the big winery's are overseas owned. Does it even pay any local income tax? or is it just bludging it's social costs off the taxpayer. Some of our other industries (overseas fishing boats?) appear to be not worth having.Are overseas owned wineries another one of these?
I get the feeling they might just be pre-covid "fuck off" fees. You know the sort: "this application is something that adds a disproportionate level of work for the system and you should have thought ahead, so here's a sum that matches my level of ennui at your plight".
I wouldn't be opposed to ditching those fees for people stuck here by covid in [checks notes] the rest of the planet.
Absolutely McFlock, and I'm sure the doctor would much prefer helping people who are unwell.
When I applied for residency back in the nineties, I was charged $1000 for a chest specialist in Hamilton to sign off my chest x-ray to confirm I didn't have Tb. That didn't include the x-ray charge! An unwelcome distraction for busy medical people.
"…because she does not have an email address of the Immigration official for the previous visa she has to pay an extra 440 dollars to be allocated an official with an email address…"
Go to the Ombudsman about this. Government or official bodies cannot extract money from people for this sort of thing.
It's wicked alright – mind, just the medical for my Saudi Iqama was over $1200 (did one for $400 in Korea). Half the reason I gave up working abroad – it felt like they were taking the piss.
Why has she not got the email address? Did she not keep the previous documentation on her email site or printed out? If so shame…….always taught to travel with multiple places where visa and other important documentation is stored and able to be located.
Can she not go to the website and look at the typical form of the email addresses and use this on the name of the person who she was dealing with? Have a test run to see if it gets through.
Cost should be borne by the company. Company should be asked to document its efforts to get NZ employees.
Sorry no sympathy.
Have you never lost email addresses owing to your trusty computer crashing or getting stolen just before you were going to do back-up, which should be done automatically now, but how many of us are ensuring it is actually happening?
(Have I just invented a new form of ‘The Extended Question’?)
Of course but if my emails had included a visa & previous correspondence relating to this there is no way that my emails be the only place to find this. It would be printed off and copies sent to others as well. It seems? she got the previous papers in hard copy so may have mislaid these.
Yes,, all valid, but I like to think that your 'Of course' applied to my final question about whether I had invented a new form of the over-extended question.
Personally, I like wine, so I think this valuable person should be able to stay. But this dispute is similar to the one about whether it should be easy for expat Kiwis to return. Many views.
Why doesnt she just open an email account?, fuck if a dozy shepherd can do it it cant be hard.
Its not her email address, its an email address of a specific person who is her “client representative to send something to.
If she thinks the fee is exorbitant she could simply not pay it and go home.
Besides the story seems a bit lacking in information. The person whose email she lacks most definitely does have one. There must be some way to find it.
She's not the only person in the country with such experience I know that for sure.
Presuming she has actually searched her emails? Also confirming that the application was handled by email from both sides. Seems really weird that she cannot search her emails to find this documentation. Has she been offered a desktop to search rather than on her phone? Sometimes phones are less that the best for searching for older docs.
Would she have forwarded the docs onto another person such as parents, friend, sibling as many (sensible) overseas travellers do? Has she got luggage stored somewhere that it might be in?
This seems so odd not to have duplicates somewhere of important documentation like this. Perhaps advise her to do for the future …….I send an email to myself that I don't open as well as to a friend and sibling when I am travelling. I used to tape/hide a copy of this sort of stuff inside my main luggage so that if day to day stuff was stolen I still had an extra copy close at hand.
Has she tried the idea of finding the format of emails on the site then using this to make an email address of the person who looked after her…….or has she not kept the hard copies either to see who the case manager was?
Most odd.
I know a number of people who are getting irritated by overseas visitors, on whatever category they are here on, and potential immigrants, acting in an entitled and demanding way. It is a privilege to be here, particularly given the chaos in so many countries.
NZ taxpayers should not be subsiding people's travel costs and OE adventures. This big winery should do that or the young person can save up and pay from wages earned, just like NZers have to do to pay for the formalities to go to the UK for their OE, for example.
"Anyone with even an ounce of humanity could see this was a situation that should have been elevated above the usual box-checking."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/124106175/faceless-bureaucrats-now-making-our-life-and-death-decisions
Yes, indeed. That same box-checking approach happens day-in day-out at every MSD office around the country.
Meanwhile in Myanmar
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/world/asia/myanmar-coup-suu-kyi.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55882489
The clock winds back.
That's a burma
As we in Auckland are having a long weekend – and the need to contact a school today.
It got me thinking when are we not being judged or under employment expectations during our own free time as an employee ?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/boat-rage-incident-people-are-ignorant-or-arrogant-or-both-says-tairua-ferry-operator/TI37JONIMKN75KBMRXQ634WKW4/
”The woman dubbed a "Karen" after a violent boating rage incident is a primary school deputy principal who says she's now facing employment action because of the clash.”
I just heard that after he left office Trump was de-banked. Now that's petty.
And foolish. This guy is a New York scrapper. IMHO he is bound to make some kind of come back later, mabey just a month or two. What if he leads the charge to move to digital currencies? Or even starts his own currency? Stupid to make an enemy of someone without needing to.
Summary of financial institutions that have dumped fmr-dolt45.
Not sure I believe the insurrection excuse – I just suspect that him out of the white house now means the bank-calculated cost of doing business with him outweighs any likely benefit.
That is nothing new. The banks have long held a low opinion of him and most American Banks have refuse to do business with him for over a decade. Most of what bears his name is actually financed by off-shore loans funnelled through Deutsche Bank. These loans – totalling over $450m – fall due in 3 years. Meanwhile many of the golf courses and hotels that bear his name are loosing money.
Anyone who follows him is as stupid as he is.
@ Red:
In the past, you have been trying many times to get around bans and sometimes with some success. For some reason you seem to think that bans do not apply to you and you can do what you like here as if it is some kind of catch-me-if-you-can game. Keep it up and you’re heading for a permanent ban.
To be 100% clear: you’ll be free to comment here again on 7 Feb. If you again try to get around it, you’ll be gone permanently. Whether or not you acknowledge having seen these two warnings is up to you because I don’t care either way; I don’t have to provide this service to you because TS doesn’t owe you anything.
A predictable non-response from National: cast doubt on the economic costs of climate action.
Paul Goldsmith is charging up his calculator to run the sums because Michael Woodhouse cannot find his abacus.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300219235/judith-collins-suspects-economic-cost-of-climate-action-would-be-higher-than-commission-estimates
solar powered calculator I hope.
The costs of climate change mitigation are negative. At some point the negative consequences of BAU will start to dominate (somewhere above 2 degrees global warming). Because the modelling behind the report has no way of projecting when that happens (and because if every other country does or doesn't participate New Zealand won't change the outcome), the modeling just looks at negative impacts relating to BAU anyway.
In writing the report they are aware enough to understand this and that they should limit their role to projecting costs rather than determining if New Zealand net benefits from acting.
Over the next 11 months, Government (i.e. Labour) will formulate its plan, which will need to be further reviewed, refined, and possibly consulted on, maybe even in the next election. Meanwhile, it will make some cosmetic changes and token efforts and loads of promises and ‘commitments’. In other words: BAU. If the up-front costs are in the vicinity of a few percent of GDP, no political party can reasonably argue against it as the fiscal and monetary responses to the Covid-19 pandemic have shown. National has no credibility at all and it has nothing to lose with it current approach. ACT is just a loose cannon of gun nutters. Labour is looking at house prices to make sure they only increase by a few percent annually. We’re toast.
The CCC’s report sets a very low political bar for this Government and there’s at least one major gap in it because the bar would be too high, in the CCC’s own words, FFS. See whether you can spot it.
I was just wondering what the collective noun was for gun nutters.
Now you know 😉
Australian Prime Minister is confident that Bing can successfully replace google as a search engine from Australia, if google deliberately pulls it in response to a new requirement that google pays for its Australian local news content.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/300219245/australian-prime-minister-says-bing-could-replace-google
Would everyone here be happy with replacing google with Bing?
At the moment I see it as substantially inferior.
But good on Scottie for facing google down anyway.
Yeah local media need the money back to fund local jobs and investigations. The Aussies need to win this one then break up the concentration of media ownership. This should not be a Murdoch benefit bill. Scottie probably isn't on board for the second half but that can wait a little.
I use Duck duck go and it seems to do the job. Of course the more a search engine is used then the better the results should be. Plus setting up a VPN and cloaking the country of origin ( like watching sports) would enable continued google searching? And breaking down the google dominance in Aus in favour of alternatives would encourage new search engine entrants world wide surely?
Reti the Yeti is back from the wilderness and has been sighted in Wellington’s Reserve, or should we call him Bigfoot because he sure knows how to stick his foot in his mouth.
Keep it up, Tova, we can all do with some light entertainment.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/02/shane-reti-s-bizarre-theory-on-the-government-baiting-national-with-quarantine-rendezvous-scandal.html