What about Winston’s Superannuation alleged snitch by the Natzos? I have thought about that while watching him poncing about with Mrs Collins on their Aussie trip.
But, no matter how many skeletons and grudges there are, they are united by class politics–support for local and international capital. Mrs Collins will no doubt though be planning to somehow “pay it back double” to Mr Peters. Never forgot how she knifed Ian Lees Galloway and ended his career on live TV by revealing an affair.
She is bad news and wait, what… Attorney-General, Minister of Defence, Minister for Digitising Government, Minister Responsible for the GCSB, Minister Responsible for the NZSIS, Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, and Minister for Space!…
As Newsroom has reported, 15 aid agencies have joined forces to call on the Government to do more to encourage an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, in the wake of the International Court of Justice decision.
Those 15 agencies are joining an international and increasingly loud chorus of calls for an immediate ceasefire. I would go further, and remind the Government that whatever it thinks of Friday night (NZT)’s ICJ ruling, New Zealand has a number of international legal obligations to inform its response to Israel’s military attack on Gaza.
In its decision, the court (re)confirmed that all states parties to the Genocide Convention have a “common interest” in ensuring the prevention, suppression, and punishment of genocide. That includes New Zealand, which has a legal obligation to do what it can to ensure that Israel complies with the court’s orders. This is not a question of New Zealand’s choice of foreign policy, but a legal obligation.
The govt may not act in accord with this legal obligation since it is international and normalcy requires that international law remains merely notional.
Then she makes this technical point:
responsibility exists independently of the lack of ICJ jurisdiction
It's out there, floating in the air! Along with the truth. Moral responsibility hasn't featured much in contemporary society since christians abandoned their habit of waving it around like God's sword. Yet it is part of how humans operate.
We are legally obliged to step up and speak out.
Morally obliged to do it too. Such posturing is best done with serious intent, so that it transcends posturing and becomes the serving of notice that something ought to be done – a call to action. Such advisory stances are useful when timely and accurate.
He was scheduled to visit there last July but Google can't find news that it got rescheduled to this year. If it was, and he flew, I'd expect various attempts to make his plane suffer a tragic event in obscure circumstances…
Not one but two ministerial faux pas including a humiliating correction from the police minister to the House (there was a prime ministerial correction too), a random reshuffle in an attempt to eschew responsibility for ACT’s contentious Treaty agenda and a failure to demand clarity from ministers over donations. https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350164527/buck-stops-luxon-after-messy-first-week-back-parliament
it’s unsurprising the prime minister was defensive when asked if NZ First had hauled National over the coals and forced the major party to set the record straight. Luxon denies the tail is wagging the dog or that Peters is the boss of him.
Yet her account of the turnaround tells us it really happened just like that.
"For a long time, multiple criminal groups… in northern Myanmar have openly organised armed fraud gangs and carried out fraud crimes against Chinese citizens," China's Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday.
They are also accused of "multiple and severe violent crimes", the ministry said, such as murder, assault and illegal detention. In December, Beijing issued a public reward for these men and others in their network, describing them as "ring leaders" and sent a team to Myanmar to work with local authorities there… About 44,000 people suspected to be involved in the scam centres have been handed over to China from Myanmar so far, the Ministry of Public Security said. China called Tuesday's development – the arrest of the three heads of the mafia families – a "landmark achievement".
Footage aired on Chinese-language TV channels show dozens of Swat (Special Weapons and Tactics Unit) officers escorting suspects down the plane in Kunming and into police vans… Laukkaing took on the character of a Wild West boom town, where anything goes and anything can be bought and sold. There were occasional gun battles between rival scam centres, and powerful people kept lions and tigers as pets.
Wild frontier ethos, invasion by civilising authorities, sudden! I was intrigued at the report that four families had been administering the regional fraud economy apparently under the benign eye of the junta.
And criminal gangs not taken out, a lot closer to home, not in a country ravaged by war. Judging by the tonnes of meth busted on the river bank a threat to New Zealand. A very interesting place.
The GTSEZ is run by the sanctioned Chinese-born gangster-tycoon Zhao Wei, originally from China’s Heilongjiang province, whom the Lao government in 2007 granted a 99-year lease over a stretch of prime paddy land fronting the Mekong River, at the point where the borders of Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand converge. The zone, which exists under the de facto sovereignty of Zhao’s Kings Romans Group… designed to attract tourists from China, where gambling is banned outside Macao.
Serlet’s designation of the GTSEZ as “the world’s worst special economic zone” follows a steady trickle of harrowing news from the secretive fief. In early February, Lao police raided the GTSEZ and rescued six local women who were attracted to the zone by the promise of lucrative jobs as telemarketers in the Kings Romans Casino. This followed the daring escape on January 20 of another eight women from the zone through a fence that surrounds the GTSEZ. In both cases, when the women were unable to meet performance benchmarks their employers declared them in debt and pressed them into servitude, either in brothels or in the casino’s laundry service.
Earlier this month, Radio Free Asia (RFA), possibly the best source of information about happenings within the secretive zone, reported that “hundreds” of Lao women were trapped within the GTSEZ. “Many of our women and girls are exploited, abused and victimized by human trafficking,” it quoted a member of the Lao Women’s Union of Nomo district in neighboring Udomxai province as saying. “They’re from poor families, uneducated, unaware of the risk, and sold.”
Local culture that multiplies the progress of women into exploitation systems that make them into victims seems toxic and global focus on the situation will have to escalate until global action rectifies their local sociopathy.
Yesterday I read this piece on the subject of the Parnell KO housing and was stunned at the framing by Anne Gibson, fucking real estate editor at the Herald or something. Here's an example:
Businesses in the Parnell area had suffered from the actions of tenants at the Cracroft and Bedford apartments in particular, she said.
All good until you click the link, actions of tenants, and find that it relates not to the Cracroft and Bedford apartments, but a dispute about car parking in Totora Vale.
There are three other instances of this deception in the article, where the link is provided as evidence in relation to the Parnell apartments but instead are in Hamilton and another on the North Shore.
Anne Gibson and The Herald should be ashamed, bet they're not.
Pretty disturbing, even for someone like myself who thinks that while some people do need a lot of care wrapped around them, most of us should be provided a standard education and then left alone to make our own choices.
The NZ Initiative in the Herald like Paula also cares about those on welfare …
It then makes it clear it is about the politics of getting the public on board to support a neo-liberal policy to manage those on welfare – which is where their organisation and access to the media comes in.
The crass combination of intellectual ineptitude and cynicism is so blatant that it fails to be credible to any but those disposed to an argument to prejudice.
First some facts
There is an increase in the numbers of those unemployed who are on benefits than in 2017 (people finding it an easier process).
There is an increase in the number of those not work ready on the Job Seeker Benefit since 2017 (the consequence of delayed health care, aging population and impact of long covid – because we no longer have a sickness benefit, only this and Invalids Benefit).
The why of it is apparently a mystery to New Zealand Initiative, or otherwise not useful to their narrative.
Super is linked to the net average wage, and benefits usually to the CPI – despite the fact it is a known that the CPI is an average for the whole of society and is not a cost of necessities index more relevant to those on low incomes. Thus decades of increasing benefits by the CPI is a reduction in its real value.
The New Zealand Initiative wants both super and benefits increased by the CPI.
In this, it is claiming to advocate for those who are working and pay taxes, but then again it does not support increases in MW or Industry Awards etc or a focus on WFF tax credits, so is it really? Or is it just a shill for the gated community of homeowners who see themselves as blue rinse National?
In wanting the age of super increased, it makes no mention of the increasing numbers of those on JS Benefit who are not work ready – some will be older workers (the last of the boomers age 60) no longer able to work in their former occupations. The impact on them living on a benefit level income from age 65 to ** not being on the radar of NZI.
The ACT Party Randian recommends a 1.3% increase, MBIE suggests 4% and its 2% increase for those on the MW.
It would have been 4% or above under Labour.
As the NZI put it, as a rationalisation for being tough on those on the MW (as well as those on benefits)
First, the last Government put the interests of those with jobs ahead of those without jobs. It hiked the minimum wage. This helps those who retain work at the expense of those who cannot find an employer to hire them at the new, higher minimum wage.
Expressed differently, it helps those with jobs at the expense of those who are hardest to employ.
The old keep the MW low to enable the easier employment of those on benefits argument.
despite a warning from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that an increase below the rate of inflation could make it hard for minimum wage workers to keep up with the cost of living.
Maybe noting a $50 a week rent increase is more than an $18 a week (before tax) MW increase and other costs are also going up.
The ACT Randian said
the minimum wage was one of the most generous in the OECD, in comparison to the median wage, and had increased from 62% of the median wage in June 2017 to 72% in June 2023.
Maybe she should compare the median wage here with those overseas and also note the level to rent costs to MW, whether minimum or median.
Retail NZ wrote to Van Velden before Christmas, asking her to restrain minimum wage increases to enable retailers to set a level that is more sustainable.
So retail pays minimum wage …
The ACT Randian
“Increases to the minimum wage under Labour far outstripped CPI. Between June 2016 and June 2023, overall, the minimum wage increased at nearly twice the rate of inflation, with a 48.8% increase in the minimum wage and a 25.1% increase in CPI. This Government’s approach sets the balance right.”
So each and every year and term NACT are in office, the real value of the minimum wage will decline. Industry Awards would allow better pay at the median wage level but they do not want that either.
They did the same thing 2009-2017, after Labour (1999-2005) and Labour and NZF increased the MW 2005-2008 after it was flatlined in the 1990’s.
In the YouTube video, the man identifies himself as Mohn and apparently reads from a written statement and at one point holds up what appears to be a bloodied head inside a clear plastic bag. He says his father, who was a federal employee for over 20 years, was a traitor to his country.
"America is rotting from the inside out as far left, woke mobs rampage our once prosperous cities," he says in the video.
…
As authorities wait on more facts to understand the "specific motives, you can make some assumptions based on his claims in the video that he's been motivated by politics," the former FBI deputy director said Wednesday.
"The bigger picture here is that this is another example of the fact that the kind of overheated, deeply politicized, extreme rhetoric that you hear sometimes in this country from politically elected officials and leaders actually has an impact on these marginalized people with extremist views who might be … driven to embark in acts of violence," he said.
"Some of the things that he has said on the video – allegedly referring to woke mobs and things like that – that's not dissimilar from rhetoric that you hear from some politicians that we've heard recently in the primary season," McCabe said.
"So this kind of language has an effect on the … most vulnerable, most potentially dangerous part of our population. And I think it's something that most security officials are really concerned about."
What. A. Surprise. Right wing nut job influenced by right wing nut jobs decapitates his father and posts it online.
On the midday news – RNZ has seen a document that suggests Costello requested the information about freezing the tax increases on tobacco from the Health Ministry.
Does this mean she's lied to Parliament? To the Media? To the PM?
The associate health minister has been under fire in Parliament after telling RNZ she had not sought advice on freezing the excise on cigarettes for three years, despite a Health Ministry document saying she had.
Looks like strike #1. Cue an eventual explanation that she mis-spoke: “I wasn’t wrong, it’s just that the words somehow slid out the side of my mouth without my brain noticing.”
"Notes that New Zealand First Minister Casey Costello sent to health officials on reforming smoke free laws make it clear that a freeze on excise tax for tobacco were her idea.
The notes, which have been obtained by RNZ, also include proposals for more tax breaks for the tobacco industry, including no excise tax on tobacco products that are heated rather than burned.
Costello also likens the harmfulness of nicotine to caffeine."
Most folk know nicotine kills people, and most don't know caffeine kills them too. So all she has to do at this point is supply the missing evidence for her claim.
Oh, and if she doesn’t, it’s strike #2. Perhaps someone ought to explain to her that this doesn’t mean runs on the board for NZF??
Yeah, we're waiting for a bunch of journos to spot the opportunity. Will they all ask her the evidence question today? You know, blood in the water, media sharks, feeding frenzy…
The two drugs have some similarities. While the tobacco industry is implying that caffeine is accepted so nicotine is also fine – in some respects (e.g. blood pressure) if you are using one, you should probably use even less of the other (they can add together).
And of course nicotine traditionally addicts you into consuming a bunch of truly unhealthy stuff, like tar.
While this (Costello clearly in the pay of tobacco lobbyists) is grim, when the dust settles, it can open the opportunity to get a transparent lobbyists register.
Now that Labour are in opposition, make hay out of the situation.
I often question how strong the trucking lobby is in Wellington. Hipkins did make a change (too incremental for me though) when he removed swipe cards from them. Starting from this point, propose some meaningful reform.
Good idea gsays. There's far too much goes on behind the scenes we never get to hear about. Some forced transparency would go a long way to remedy the situation.
I don't see this coalition govt. being willing to come to the party though. Too many of their rich donors are closely linked to the lobbyists and that includes some of their ministers.
Only a massive overdose would kill you. But a massive overdose of just about anything could kill you. I've never heard of caffeine killing people either.
Nicotine is one of the most toxic of all poisons and has a rapid onset of action. Apart from local actions, the target organs are the peripheral and central nervous systems. In severe poisoning, there are tremors, prostration, cyanosis, dypnoea, convulsion, progression to collapse and coma. Even death may occur from paralysis of respiratory muscles and/or central respiratory failure with a LD50 in adults of around 30-60 mg of nicotine. In children the LD50 is around 10 mg.
Yeah, the pitch that nicotine is as harmful as caffeine is straight out of David Seymour's libertarian student debating handbook. Just throw it out there to distract from the actual harm and see who gets taken in by it.
Asked about ministers declaring any donations they had received from the tobacco industry, Luxon said there were "incredibly good" disclosure and conflict of interest rules. The other two minor parties had told him (via staff) they had not received money in that regard.
Apparently not, according to opinionators I have read lately. Do humans know they're in Gaia? Well I've known ever since I read Lovelock's first book, but most humans remain unaware of their niche ambience. Do parts know wholes enclose them? If you believe in the zero-point field, yes. Parts are informed by the whole's matrix effect & ensuing ecosystemic relations.
A couple of times now I have shared the observation with my fundamentalist Christian father-in-law, while we are at the beach fishing together, how good it is today in God's cathedral.
He usually replies tentatively in the affirmative.
Beaches are what they are; you can play on them, relax on them, perhaps forage on them, but there's very little opportunity to establish a symbiotic, beneficial relationship with them; that is, there's little you can do to optimise their potential 🙂
Forests, otoh, are where the action is; humans can employ their minds for multiplying the energy of forests; increase their diversity, ensure their longevity, create more of them and so on.
I feel for you that you don't see the potential in optimising a beach by; fishing, collecting kai moana, swimming, building forts from driftwood (where the forests ultimately can end up), creating tracks and paths in sandhills to roll a golf ball down only to run back up and repeat the exercise, rivermouth's with their biodiversity of flora and fauna.
Just letting go and surrendering to the pulse, the energy release of every wave meeting the shore. A constant reminder of ultimately our insignificance. That is without mentioning, depending on the coast you are on, sunrise and sunsets.
Yeah, as in two sorts of knowing. There's inner knowing & outer. I acquired the former when I explored my local bush as a child of 8 or so, and the hippie era revalidated that experientially.
Social gnosis, as opposed to personal gnosis, is usually driven by media – of which books are an antique form. It transcends the personal dimension by getting humans onto a like-minded view based on common ground.
More than 16,000 animals are aboard the MV Bahijah anchored off Western Australia, where sweltering heat is adding to pressure on the Australian government to decide whether to re-export the live cargo or allow the vessel back to dock following more than three weeks at sea.
Amongst the briefings to incoming ministers from public servants was the one for Mark Mitchell, Minister for Emergency management and recovery. It included the following statement.
"Regarding earthquakes, the briefing said there was a 25 per cent chance of “a major Hikurangi Subduction Zone earthquake event occurring in the next 50 years."
“Indicative national impacts of a major Hikurangi earthquake and tsunami include tens of thousands of people dead, injured or displaced from their homes, and significant damage to the built environment (in excess of $144 billion).”
Holy crap. If I had a house on the East Coast of the North Island I'd be outta there! That's a pretty high chance of the event occurring anytime from tomorrow onwards and the longer it doesn't happen, the higher the chance gets that it will happen tomorrow.
Or am I not understanding properly and it's unlikely to happen?
am I not understanding properly and it's unlikely to happen?
Applying stats to quakes is more art than science. I did geophysics long ago & the odds are always indicative of likelihood. My take is that govt ought to do serious contingency planning for the sake of East Coasters.
The big one is indeed overdue: 3 centuries since the last time. However the nature of stress build-up on the edge of crustal plates is such that variations often make shifts regional rather than overall due to frictional resistance depending on other factors. so that likely explains their focus on Hikurangi rather than the Alps…
The decline of Jacinda Arderns personal popularity from late 2020 is nothing short of astonishing. As an example, the 1News Kantar poll to 2 December 2020, had her polling 58% as preferred PM; in the same poll just before she resigned (to 30 November 2022) her support had halved to 29%. Similarly, the Reid Research poll had her with numbers of 48% in May 2021, dropping to 30% in November 2022. Some of this is almost certainly due to covid fatigue, however the multiple and significant failures of her tenure (e.g. Kiwibuild, Te Pukenga) and the line of MP's who misbehaved under watch (some of which only came out after she resigned) to me demonstrated a person who, while a media darling, was out of her depth in many ways.
[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.]
[Take two weeks off for diversion trolling – Incognito]
After 17 years as the dominant force in Scottish politics, the SNP is running neck-and-neck with Labour. The reason: it allowed itself to get seriously out of step with Scotland’s voters. The Scots are well-educated progressive people, but they [got freaked out by] a premier, and a party, that saw nothing wrong with incarcerating a convicted rapist in Cornton Vale women’s prison on the grounds that she had subsequently self-identified as a woman.
Though the Premier, Nicola Sturgeon, responding to public outrage, removed the rapist, Isla Bryson, from Cornton Vale, the damage was done.
According to The Guardian, Sturgeon’s predecessor (and political mentor) Alex Salmond accused her of “throwing away” the hope of Scottish independence (the SNP’s raison d’être) for the sake of controversial gender recognition reforms. Things went from bad to worse for the SNP – following Sturgeon’s resignation, she and her husband became the focus of a police investigation, and the SNP membership rejected the socially conservative candidate for Premier, Kate Forbes, in favour of the woke Humza Yousaf.
So now the dumb buggers are led by a wokester?? Time's up for them!
Except that Trotter's article is more about wanting a referendum so a "majority" can prevent what he has posed as some threat to "democracy" from Maori and supporters of the Treaty continuance.
He's part of Rob's Mob 50 years on – it is a pity that Murray Ball is not here to send him up with a cartoon – a reprise of Stanley using the visage of Trotter.
I'm not sure why you are so hurt by this, at least hurt enough to comment on it.
Swarbrick has called a press conference tomorrow, presumably to announce her leadership bid. This is standard, and newsworthy, it's a press conference (there's the clue) so the media have announced it.
Not hurt by it at all (and not sure why you feel the need to spin it that way, although given your use of first name I'm guessing you know Ardern well) – just observing the way messaging is being disseminated these days.
The whole dynamic of how pollies communicate via the media has changed in the last few years.
I was in the pub when someone else saw this article pop up and told everyone else, and the reaction was similar amongst the group, such as 'why not just stand up and say what you're doing rather than stage an event that gets as many clicks and likes as possible'.
My guess is it's attention seeking, and feeding the ego, so I won't be tuning in myself.
Swarbrick was always the only candidate that made sense for the Greens at this time – so it's not really news is it.
Best of luck to her, as I've voted for her for council in the past, although I probably wouldn't again – talks a lot but doesn't get enough done, for my liking.
I'm not sure you know how press conferences work. A politician wants to announce something to the public so their office contacts the media to be at a certain place at a certain time to they can relay that message to the public.
You and your friends in the pub would prefer Swarbrick to stand on the steps unannounced? I bet you would…
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Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
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. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
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, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
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Judith Collins is just a boldface liar.
Agreed, but quick witted as well.
When asked if she and Winnie had buried the hatchet, Winnie pulled an exasperated face, but she replied "Yes, but not in each other."
What about Winston’s Superannuation alleged snitch by the Natzos? I have thought about that while watching him poncing about with Mrs Collins on their Aussie trip.
But, no matter how many skeletons and grudges there are, they are united by class politics–support for local and international capital. Mrs Collins will no doubt though be planning to somehow “pay it back double” to Mr Peters. Never forgot how she knifed Ian Lees Galloway and ended his career on live TV by revealing an affair.
She is bad news and wait, what… Attorney-General, Minister of Defence, Minister for Digitising Government, Minister Responsible for the GCSB, Minister Responsible for the NZSIS, Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, and Minister for Space!…
She got the jobs to keep her busy.
After watching QT the last couple of days, I think the opposition needs to refine their method of asking Luxon.
They need to abandon double pronged questions, so he can't evade by just answering one part.
They need to ask direct, simple questions so he has to give an answer.
This way they, the opposition, will reveal what we all know: Luxon is lazy and shallow and not on top of the task of being PM.
After all, he still thinks in corporate speak – using 'companies' instead of 'countries' in one reply yesterday.
Luxon's big problem is the MSM narrative being built of a weak PM – an inexperienced corporate manager who can't control his coalition partners.
Once the media narrative has been built shifting it is almost impossible, given how lazy our journalists are.
It's not a narrative, he is getting dragged round the yard buy the mangy curs he bought home from. The pound.
This here academic has got it right: https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/01/31/new-zealands-legal-obligations-to-the-world-court-ruling-on-israel/
The govt may not act in accord with this legal obligation since it is international and normalcy requires that international law remains merely notional.
Then she makes this technical point:
It's out there, floating in the air! Along with the truth. Moral responsibility hasn't featured much in contemporary society since christians abandoned their habit of waving it around like God's sword. Yet it is part of how humans operate.
Morally obliged to do it too. Such posturing is best done with serious intent, so that it transcends posturing and becomes the serving of notice that something ought to be done – a call to action. Such advisory stances are useful when timely and accurate.
Sth Africa is happy to utilize the ICJ with it's case against Israel. There's nothing wrong with that, good for them.
But will it be slightly hypocritical of them id they don't abide by ICC rulings and arrest Putin when he visits there this year?
Assuming there is some sort of benefit for them having Putin visit… money somehow somewhere would seem obvious.
He was scheduled to visit there last July but Google can't find news that it got rescheduled to this year. If it was, and he flew, I'd expect various attempts to make his plane suffer a tragic event in obscure circumstances…
Thats a great article and really refreshing to see these sorts of views being published in NZ and from our universities too!
Performance review from Tova:
Yet her account of the turnaround tells us it really happened just like that.
Criminal gangs operating at the China/Burma interface taken out by the forces of laura norder: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-68150555
Wild frontier ethos, invasion by civilising authorities, sudden! I was intrigued at the report that four families had been administering the regional fraud economy apparently under the benign eye of the junta.
And criminal gangs not taken out, a lot closer to home, not in a country ravaged by war. Judging by the tonnes of meth busted on the river bank a threat to New Zealand. A very interesting place.
https://thediplomat.com/2022/03/golden-triangle-gambling-zone-the-worlds-worst-sez-group-says/
So it seems:
Local culture that multiplies the progress of women into exploitation systems that make them into victims seems toxic and global focus on the situation will have to escalate until global action rectifies their local sociopathy.
Public housing advocates highlight just how mean spirted the conservative, privileged right are:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/508088/unfair-to-single-out-kainga-ora-tenants-over-crime-complaints-public-housing-advocates
Yesterday I read this piece on the subject of the Parnell KO housing and was stunned at the framing by Anne Gibson, fucking real estate editor at the Herald or something. Here's an example:
All good until you click the link, actions of tenants, and find that it relates not to the Cracroft and Bedford apartments, but a dispute about car parking in Totora Vale.
There are three other instances of this deception in the article, where the link is provided as evidence in relation to the Parnell apartments but instead are in Hamilton and another on the North Shore.
Anne Gibson and The Herald should be ashamed, bet they're not.
Direct correlation between ministers' statements and the tobacco industry. It appears the tobacco industry is writing New Zealand government policy:
https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/tobacco-industry-interference-new-government-meeting-its-international-obligations
Or perhaps they just think the same way. What a coincidence…
Pretty disturbing, even for someone like myself who thinks that while some people do need a lot of care wrapped around them, most of us should be provided a standard education and then left alone to make our own choices.
The NZ Initiative in the Herald like Paula also cares about those on welfare …
It then makes it clear it is about the politics of getting the public on board to support a neo-liberal policy to manage those on welfare – which is where their organisation and access to the media comes in.
The crass combination of intellectual ineptitude and cynicism is so blatant that it fails to be credible to any but those disposed to an argument to prejudice.
First some facts
There is an increase in the numbers of those unemployed who are on benefits than in 2017 (people finding it an easier process).
There is an increase in the number of those not work ready on the Job Seeker Benefit since 2017 (the consequence of delayed health care, aging population and impact of long covid – because we no longer have a sickness benefit, only this and Invalids Benefit).
The why of it is apparently a mystery to New Zealand Initiative, or otherwise not useful to their narrative.
Super is linked to the net average wage, and benefits usually to the CPI – despite the fact it is a known that the CPI is an average for the whole of society and is not a cost of necessities index more relevant to those on low incomes. Thus decades of increasing benefits by the CPI is a reduction in its real value.
The New Zealand Initiative wants both super and benefits increased by the CPI.
In this, it is claiming to advocate for those who are working and pay taxes, but then again it does not support increases in MW or Industry Awards etc or a focus on WFF tax credits, so is it really? Or is it just a shill for the gated community of homeowners who see themselves as blue rinse National?
In wanting the age of super increased, it makes no mention of the increasing numbers of those on JS Benefit who are not work ready – some will be older workers (the last of the boomers age 60) no longer able to work in their former occupations. The impact on them living on a benefit level income from age 65 to ** not being on the radar of NZI.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/bryce-wilkinson-increased-working-age-welfare-dependency-is-a-problem/NZVIRUU4VNCELMTURJTXZWGNZA/
The ACT Party Randian recommends a 1.3% increase, MBIE suggests 4% and its 2% increase for those on the MW.
It would have been 4% or above under Labour.
As the NZI put it, as a rationalisation for being tough on those on the MW (as well as those on benefits)
The old keep the MW low to enable the easier employment of those on benefits argument.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/02/01/government-announces-minimum-wage-to-rise-from-april-1/
The difference between 45 cents 2% – $18 and 90 cents 4% – $36 is $18 a week. Labour/G/TPM would have increased by a $1 an hour or more.
A 2% increase
Maybe noting a $50 a week rent increase is more than an $18 a week (before tax) MW increase and other costs are also going up.
The ACT Randian said
Maybe she should compare the median wage here with those overseas and also note the level to rent costs to MW, whether minimum or median.
So retail pays minimum wage …
The ACT Randian
So each and every year and term NACT are in office, the real value of the minimum wage will decline. Industry Awards would allow better pay at the median wage level but they do not want that either.
They did the same thing 2009-2017, after Labour (1999-2005) and Labour and NZF increased the MW 2005-2008 after it was flatlined in the 1990’s.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/350165587/minimum-wage-rise-2315-despite-warning
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/02/minimum-wage-set-to-rise-on-april-1-everything-you-need-to-know.html
$1.20 an hour, then $1.50 an hour – and this one 45 cents an hour.
Meanwhile landlords will be charging an extra $50 a week – $1.25 an hour 40 hours a week. And then is power and food cost increases.
Where will the landlords find people who can pay when they remove those who cannot?
What. A. Surprise. Right wing nut job influenced by right wing nut jobs decapitates his father and posts it online.
It's not a bug, it's a feature.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2024/02/us-man-arrested-after-posing-with-severed-head-of-father-in-online-political-rant-video-police-say.html
On the midday news – RNZ has seen a document that suggests Costello requested the information about freezing the tax increases on tobacco from the Health Ministry.
Does this mean she's lied to Parliament? To the Media? To the PM?
[Note I listed them in order of importance! Lol.]
To RNZ:
Looks like strike #1. Cue an eventual explanation that she mis-spoke: “I wasn’t wrong, it’s just that the words somehow slid out the side of my mouth without my brain noticing.”
The RNZ report
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/508127/revealed-nz-first-minister-casey-costello-s-notes-on-tobacco-tax-freeze
"Notes that New Zealand First Minister Casey Costello sent to health officials on reforming smoke free laws make it clear that a freeze on excise tax for tobacco were her idea.
The notes, which have been obtained by RNZ, also include proposals for more tax breaks for the tobacco industry, including no excise tax on tobacco products that are heated rather than burned.
Costello also likens the harmfulness of nicotine to caffeine."
Gob. Smacking.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350165261/revealed-tobacco-tax-freeze-was-associate-health-minister-casey-costellos-idea
Most folk know nicotine kills people, and most don't know caffeine kills them too. So all she has to do at this point is supply the missing evidence for her claim.
Oh, and if she doesn’t, it’s strike #2. Perhaps someone ought to explain to her that this doesn’t mean runs on the board for NZF??
Caffeine kills?
Got proof?
Waiting…
Yeah, we're waiting for a bunch of journos to spot the opportunity. Will they all ask her the evidence question today? You know, blood in the water, media sharks, feeding frenzy…
Many voters drink coffee.
All journos drink coffee.
This could sink Costello 🙂
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-you-can-die-from-caffeine#Caffeine-overdose-is-rare
But take that with a grain of salt..
Tea drinkers are being challenged by advice to add salt to their cuppa.
Hehehe. Yes I thought that would braise the steaks.
It's those naughty Americans that are doing it – just because some like salt in their coffee! 🙄
An obvious plot to create division amongst tea drinkers.
Upset the British at your peril!
A wee knob of butter in black coffee is surprisingly nice.
Caffeine == Nicotine is a tobacco industry public relations line, it is notable to see the minister using it, more evidence she is captured by tobacco lobbyists.
The two drugs have some similarities. While the tobacco industry is implying that caffeine is accepted so nicotine is also fine – in some respects (e.g. blood pressure) if you are using one, you should probably use even less of the other (they can add together).
And of course nicotine traditionally addicts you into consuming a bunch of truly unhealthy stuff, like tar.
While this (Costello clearly in the pay of tobacco lobbyists) is grim, when the dust settles, it can open the opportunity to get a transparent lobbyists register.
Now that Labour are in opposition, make hay out of the situation.
I often question how strong the trucking lobby is in Wellington. Hipkins did make a change (too incremental for me though) when he removed swipe cards from them. Starting from this point, propose some meaningful reform.
Good idea gsays. There's far too much goes on behind the scenes we never get to hear about. Some forced transparency would go a long way to remedy the situation.
I don't see this coalition govt. being willing to come to the party though. Too many of their rich donors are closely linked to the lobbyists and that includes some of their ministers.
Mmmmmm…tar!
Gimme a pint of that good, sweet tar!
"Most folk know nicotine kills people…"
Only a massive overdose would kill you. But a massive overdose of just about anything could kill you. I've never heard of caffeine killing people either.
You talking "immediate kill" or "long-term kill"?
And then….
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/#:~:text=Nicotine%20is%20well%20known%20to,system%2C%20lung%2C%20kidney%20etc.
Most of it is gobsmacking agreed but she's right about the harmfulness of nicotine.
Not when it addicts people to a product that includes the carcinogen in tobacco tar.
Yeah, the pitch that nicotine is as harmful as caffeine is straight out of David Seymour's libertarian student debating handbook. Just throw it out there to distract from the actual harm and see who gets taken in by it.
Everybody knows that chocolate is way more addictive than caffeine. Yet, kids eat it without warning!
Lux thinks the coalition is squeaky-clean:
"Hey, any of you guys succumbed to a conflict of interest lure since we last met? Stick up your hands."
Do fish know they're in water?
Apparently not, according to opinionators I have read lately. Do humans know they're in Gaia? Well I've known ever since I read Lovelock's first book, but most humans remain unaware of their niche ambience. Do parts know wholes enclose them? If you believe in the zero-point field, yes. Parts are informed by the whole's matrix effect & ensuing ecosystemic relations.
"Do humans know they're in Gaia?"
A couple of times now I have shared the observation with my fundamentalist Christian father-in-law, while we are at the beach fishing together, how good it is today in God's cathedral.
He usually replies tentatively in the affirmative.
He's looking sideways at you, gsays 🙂
In any case, "Gods' cathedral" is in the forest 🙂
The beach is something else…
Looking at me sideways, he wouldn't be the first to pull an eye muscle in my company, usually from rolling them.
Anytime we are in nature we are in God's cathedral. Denying the beach over the forest sounds a little fundamentalist to me.
I don't agree 🙂
Beaches are what they are; you can play on them, relax on them, perhaps forage on them, but there's very little opportunity to establish a symbiotic, beneficial relationship with them; that is, there's little you can do to optimise their potential 🙂
Forests, otoh, are where the action is; humans can employ their minds for multiplying the energy of forests; increase their diversity, ensure their longevity, create more of them and so on.
Beach-bum, or woodlander?
You don't have to agree. Again, it ain't binary.
I feel for you that you don't see the potential in optimising a beach by; fishing, collecting kai moana, swimming, building forts from driftwood (where the forests ultimately can end up), creating tracks and paths in sandhills to roll a golf ball down only to run back up and repeat the exercise, rivermouth's with their biodiversity of flora and fauna.
Just letting go and surrendering to the pulse, the energy release of every wave meeting the shore. A constant reminder of ultimately our insignificance. That is without mentioning, depending on the coast you are on, sunrise and sunsets.
I get the same in the bush. As you elude to.
Fundamentalist or polytheist?
Animist, me.
the beach is alive too. Sometimes the beach and the forest are part of the same whole.
can't swim in a forest
You can bathe though.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/forest-bathing-nature-walk-health
Indeed. One of the very good reasons for planting more forests.
It took a book, Dennis?
You've gotta get out more 🙂
Yeah, as in two sorts of knowing. There's inner knowing & outer. I acquired the former when I explored my local bush as a child of 8 or so, and the hippie era revalidated that experientially.
Social gnosis, as opposed to personal gnosis, is usually driven by media – of which books are an antique form. It transcends the personal dimension by getting humans onto a like-minded view based on common ground.
They certainly know when they are out of the water!
Except of course the mudskippers. They much prefer to be out of water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAQuoH_fOWM
A low key lobbying campaign is underway to restart live animal transport is underway.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/507389/the-1m-pr-and-lobbying-campaign-to-overturn-livestock-export-ban
Most will remember the sinking in the Pacific in which 6,000 of animals drowned.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/425171/live-cattle-exports-suspended-after-ship-goes-missing-mpi
And now …
More than 16,000 animals are aboard the MV Bahijah anchored off Western Australia, where sweltering heat is adding to pressure on the Australian government to decide whether to re-export the live cargo or allow the vessel back to dock following more than three weeks at sea.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/31/australia/australia-ship-sheep-cattle-red-sea-intl-hnk/index.html
A letter campaign to the Minister of Agriculture is in order.
As opposed to an easily ignored e-mail.
Amongst the briefings to incoming ministers from public servants was the one for Mark Mitchell, Minister for Emergency management and recovery. It included the following statement.
"Regarding earthquakes, the briefing said there was a 25 per cent chance of “a major Hikurangi Subduction Zone earthquake event occurring in the next 50 years."
“Indicative national impacts of a major Hikurangi earthquake and tsunami include tens of thousands of people dead, injured or displaced from their homes, and significant damage to the built environment (in excess of $144 billion).”
Holy crap. If I had a house on the East Coast of the North Island I'd be outta there! That's a pretty high chance of the event occurring anytime from tomorrow onwards and the longer it doesn't happen, the higher the chance gets that it will happen tomorrow.
Or am I not understanding properly and it's unlikely to happen?
Whole article here:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/could-happen-tomorrow-government-warned-of-chances-of-catastrophic-earthquake/YEUALN5BOVGKNH7X7F3QC2D25I/
am I not understanding properly and it's unlikely to happen?
Applying stats to quakes is more art than science. I did geophysics long ago & the odds are always indicative of likelihood. My take is that govt ought to do serious contingency planning for the sake of East Coasters.
The big one is indeed overdue: 3 centuries since the last time. However the nature of stress build-up on the edge of crustal plates is such that variations often make shifts regional rather than overall due to frictional resistance depending on other factors. so that likely explains their focus on Hikurangi rather than the Alps…
"“On the question as to whether it reflects something unsavoury, which meddlesome minds might promote…"
Jones on connections with tobacco companies.
So, that's a yes, imo.
"Tobacco lobbyist guest at Ministers’ swearing-in ceremony" – couldn't link – the heading will take you there.
Robert, when I Google that heading I get 10 results.
Well done! I like this one: https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/350158370/tobacco-lobbyist-guest-ministers-swearing-ceremony#:~:text=NZ%20First%20MP%20Shane%20Jones,swearing%20in%20of%20Government%20ministers.&text=A%20tobacco%20lobbyist%20was%20a,with%20NZ%20First%27s%20Shane%20Jones.
Or this: https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350159475/backdowns-smokefree-rules-suggest-tobacco-lobbyists-are-house
The decline of Jacinda Arderns personal popularity from late 2020 is nothing short of astonishing. As an example, the 1News Kantar poll to 2 December 2020, had her polling 58% as preferred PM; in the same poll just before she resigned (to 30 November 2022) her support had halved to 29%. Similarly, the Reid Research poll had her with numbers of 48% in May 2021, dropping to 30% in November 2022. Some of this is almost certainly due to covid fatigue, however the multiple and significant failures of her tenure (e.g. Kiwibuild, Te Pukenga) and the line of MP's who misbehaved under watch (some of which only came out after she resigned) to me demonstrated a person who, while a media darling, was out of her depth in many ways.
[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.]
[Take two weeks off for diversion trolling – Incognito]
Mod note
Consequences from New Zealand transitioning from world exemplar-to-pariah under the confabulation.
Examining why?
Scalpel 1 – follow the money to the source
Scalpel 2 – identify the people in government and their connection to funded organisations
Scalpel 3 – what politicians say and who created those very narratives
Scalpel 4 – wait for the denial and prove it to be a lie.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/02/experts-detail-swathe-of-possible-connections-between-coalition-government-politicians-and-tobacco-industry-david-seymour-responds.html
That's it, SPC.
Sheesh, did they actually do all that??
So now the dumb buggers are led by a wokester?? Time's up for them!
https://pointofordernz.wordpress.com/2024/02/01/chris-trotter-intransigent-minorities/
Except that Trotter's article is more about wanting a referendum so a "majority" can prevent what he has posed as some threat to "democracy" from Maori and supporters of the Treaty continuance.
He's part of Rob's Mob 50 years on – it is a pity that Murray Ball is not here to send him up with a cartoon – a reprise of Stanley using the visage of Trotter.
The Labour front bench need to go on the serious offensive.
Hound Costello, and Mitchell relentlessly. Until they force their resignations.
Then target Reti and Wills.
Interesting to see the 'announcement of the announcement' trend started by the Ardern government has become the standard way of doing things.
Wouldn't it be good if we had some elected representatives who just got on with things?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350164491/live-chloe-swarbrick-announce-co-leadership-bid
I'm not sure why you are so hurt by this, at least hurt enough to comment on it.
Swarbrick has called a press conference tomorrow, presumably to announce her leadership bid. This is standard, and newsworthy, it's a press conference (there's the clue) so the media have announced it.
I guess Jacinda still lives in your head.
Not hurt by it at all (and not sure why you feel the need to spin it that way, although given your use of first name I'm guessing you know Ardern well) – just observing the way messaging is being disseminated these days.
The whole dynamic of how pollies communicate via the media has changed in the last few years.
I was in the pub when someone else saw this article pop up and told everyone else, and the reaction was similar amongst the group, such as 'why not just stand up and say what you're doing rather than stage an event that gets as many clicks and likes as possible'.
My guess is it's attention seeking, and feeding the ego, so I won't be tuning in myself.
Swarbrick was always the only candidate that made sense for the Greens at this time – so it's not really news is it.
Best of luck to her, as I've voted for her for council in the past, although I probably wouldn't again – talks a lot but doesn't get enough done, for my liking.
I'm not sure you know how press conferences work. A politician wants to announce something to the public so their office contacts the media to be at a certain place at a certain time to they can relay that message to the public.
You and your friends in the pub would prefer Swarbrick to stand on the steps unannounced? I bet you would…