“While there is a ton to dig into in terms of Cohen’s accusations against Donald Trump, perhaps the most explosive thing that Cohen said came at the very end:
‘Given my experience working for Mr Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power.’
“That’s essentially saying, that if he loses the election, there will be a coup. There will be another declaration of national emergency. I’ve been saying on the Real News for quite some time, that I am very concerned with the agenda of this administration to go after Iran, especially in the midst of all this domestic chaos, of the possibilities of some kind of staged attack on the United States in some way or another, to help justify some sort of aggression against Iran.”
Yes. If he is going to pull any crazy stunt it will be an attempt to postpone the 2020 election due to a national emergency. Perhaps fighting two new regime change/resource theft wars in Venezuela and Iran might constitute that emergency. But this is pretty far-fetched too.
That’s not to say that Trump supporters aren’t armed and dangerous and if he loses in 2020 they won’t do some violent stuff. If I was Bernie or AOC I would be scared stiff of these loons right now.
Seriously, you believe all that? Ask a yank they’ll probably tell you Venezuala is the 54th state of America, not because they’re pulling ya leg, but because they believe it. Forign policy is a sedative for Americans.
Oh please, I’ve just spent 3 months travelling the US with my wife. We didn’t meet a single person who would believe what you think they do. You should try visiting the USA, I think you would end up with an entirely different impression of the one you currently have.
I reckon it’s maybe 5% odds that sometime shortly after noon on January 20th 2021, the Secret Service agents that were helping protect him will have to suddenly turn around and physically drag him out of the White House.
Trump could cause chaos in the gap between losing the presidency and the new president being sworn in. It’s difficult at this stage to know what form it would take, but there is no way he will go quietly and without creating huge problems.
The best scenario would be for him to be chucked out of the role sooner, then the world can get it over and done with before the 2020 election.
I reckon Pence is regularly privately telling the Creep from Queens ‘if you want a pardon you have to resign soon enough to give me a decent shot at fighting the 2020 election. Which means resign this year.’
Getting chucked out before the 2020 election would be the best scenario then we would (hopefully) only have to put up with the fundamentalist nutbar, Pence for a short time and:
Muldoon caused a right rumpus didn’t he. Took NZ close to bankruptcy as a nation. In fact it was Muldoon who gave Roger Douglas and co. the excuse to go all out neoliberal.
Reminds me… must watch that excellent TV documentory “Revolution” again:
A few corrections. Muldoon didn’t cause the currency crisis (country running out of foreign reserves and potentially unable to exchange currency at its fixed exchange rate). The devaluation which he refused to implement was at best going to be a temporary measure. The actual problem was the reserve bank running out of foreign exchange reserves and this being known to currency speculators and this was solved more permanently by floating the exchange rate. The main legacy of Muldoons actions is that information about the economy must now be communicated before the election. Almost none of that should be accepted as an excuse for Rogernomics.
If you read Naomi Kline, Disaster Capitalism, it will give you a better idea of what went on.
However Muldoon didn’t create the problem, it was the ones who decided to profit from the situation.
“The country was bankrupt” was largely a myth. In fact much of Muldoons think big, earned fortunes, for subsequent private owners.
I didn’t like him at the time, but if oil prices had continued to sky rocket, as we all thought at the time, Muldoon would have been a hero, for reducing our dependency on imported energy. A crystal ball to tell us the US was going to invade some more countries to cut oil prices, would have been good.
Your fears of fascism in America are well founded.
But I doubt that this political change will be achieved as openly as you suggest.
Never forget EP that fascism was achieved in Germany in the 1930s through constitutional and democratic processes. This veneer of legitimacy is what gave German fascism its extraordinary ability to command the German people to perform all sorts of outrages against their neighbours, both internal and external
The coup will be a very American rolling one. It will happen during the presidential election itself. Which President Trump, against all liberal commentary, will again win.
Voter suppression may play a small role but demogoguery and personal attacks and smears, and fear mongering, will again be an even bigger part of Donald Trump’s second electoral success. Claims of victimsation by the liberal establishment will echo with his support base. Chants of “Lock ‘Em Up” once aimed at Hilarly Clinton will be aimed at individuals like Robert Mueller and Occasio Cortez. On Trump’s return to the White House for a second term, even more empowered than before, the President will be in a position to actually carry out his threats to lock up his political and legal opponents.
On the campaign trail Candidate Trump will again promise to make Mexico pay for the wall. Playing call and response to his supporters, “Who will pay for the wall?” “Mexico” will chant back his loyal supporters.
On his return to the White House the President using his strengthened political position will no doubt us this power to impose a more rapacious and imperialist foreign policy on Mexico, (And Latin America generally). Extreme sanctions, tarriffs and even forced closure of all legitimate border crossings and trade, until Mexico and the other Latin countries agree to US terms. Yes, military invasion and war are likely to be part of this picture, Subservient Right Wing administrations in Mexico and Columbia will have little choice but to tie themselves to the US war machine, providing the US cannon fodder against their neighbours Venezuela and possibly even Cuba, in exchange for more favourable US treatment.
What rarely gets mentioned when it comes to Venezuela’s oil, is that is a poorer quality oil and hard to extract. Given that it is now the focus of US desire, and the US presently is fracking its own landscape to hell to get oil, and Canada wants to turn tar sands into oil – doesn’t this suggest the supply of economically available oil is rapidly declining and finding it is becoming increasingly more risky (eg deep sea oil exploration around New Zealand). In other words, we have probably already reached “peak oil” in terms of what is economically available. Another reason that we should be rapidly converting to other energy sources.
What is going on with property in New Zealand is turning into a class struggle. This shouldn’t be surprising given how much the divide between those with wealth and those without in New Zealand (relative to each other) has grown since the introduction of Neo-Liberalism in 1984. Sure, there is still the illusion is still there that we are all the same, as epitomised by a jandal-wearing multi-millionaire former Prime MInister. But people who can’t afford to rent a home, let alone buy one, aren’t feeling it.
The issue of Capital Gains Tax could easily galvinise Generation Rent provided they were politically knowledgeable and savy enough. But a great part of the generation rent population is young, and all they have ever known is Neo-Liberalism and Neo-Liberal propoganda. And no-one is pointing out to them (in the media) that they are paying a higher percentage of their income in tax, that landlords, companies and others who have decided it is their right as a citizen of New Zealand not to have to pay tax on income. Instead, the burden of paying for health care (often for older New Zealanders who don’t a capital gains tax), education, police etc is expected to fall inordinately on the shoulders of those whose wages are the lowest which means they can never accrue the sorts of income earning assets that aren’t taxed.
A year till the next election is probably not enough to time to get them to figure things out and start voting in large enough numbers for Labour to offset all the property owning “kiwis” who will switch their vote to National to crush any capital gains tax. Which is one reason I doubt anything but the meekest of CGT, if even that, will see the light of day in this term at least. Especially with NZ First as part of the government. However, I am not convinced that a capital gains tax will go away and it is the perfect vehicle for spotlighting to generation x and the working poor, how they are being unfairly treated.
The idea that landlords are paying less tax than workers needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Where a landlord appears to be paying little or no tax it will be because his interest bill is gobbling up all, or most, of his profit. But in that case the bank will be paying tax on the interest that it receives from him so the government will not be missing out. It’s my opinion that interest should not be deductible for tax purposes but the income tax act stipulates that it is, so the problem, if there is one, lies with that act.
It is also the tax payer/govt with the Accomodation supplement.
Also those landlords who operated under a negatively geared situation were applying a business case of the justification of being “in business”,was that they existed only due to capital gains. As there was no business case that the business was a profitable trading proposition, and as such the IRD should have been targeting these cases with a capital gains, BUT there was no effort in chasing these, by either the Labour or Nat governments or the IRD.
It’s not much like that at all. If you’re providing a service and you price that service to recover certain fixed external costs, you may pay the invoices for those fixed external costs but it’s your customer who’s really paying. Same as when the taxi driver tells you there’s an airport charge and that’s going to be reflected in the fare – the airport gets paid by the taxi company, but you’re still the one who’s really paying the airport charge.
I’m simply testing KJT’s logic. He claims that my tenants are paying my interest. If that is the case, then in an employment transactions, an employer is paying their employees grocery bill. I don’t actually think either is true, but let’s see whether KJT can understand.
My customers don’t have access to my employees bank accounts, so no, the company pays them. I’ll wreck you argument with one easy example. A customer doesn’t place any orders for 3 months. Who pays the wages during that time?
well, all of multi-house owners I know put down a deposit and get tenants to effectively pay the mortgage. so that would mean that tenants are paying the interest. just like your customers of your business are paying your food bills. …but then reality and you are just shits,er, ships that pass in the night.
A mortgage is the worse way of owning property. All a mortgage is is a scheduled paymement. Better to rent and just take the deposit and buy some REITs. REITs are legislated to pay 90% back to investors so you don’t pay the scheduled payment, you receive it. Mortgage is death, renting is freedom.
Oh god. Delete that. Try debating a rat or something.
Mortgages are the worse way of owning property.
So you take a $1,000,000 loan in exchange the bank offers you access to there products with which to sell @$20 a pop and pay back the loan and end up paying back 2 or 3 times the principle.
Fuck that. I ain’t never getting on what ever ride you’re on. NEVER.
so are tenants paying money into your bank , or paying you in cash ? if yes, they are paying the interest and principle for you. dont dance on the head of a pin,its tiresome and pathetic. and in the public eye, makes you look even more of a prat.
Gee it’s you who is dancing. I pay the mortagage. And the maintenance. My tenants pay me rent. Unless you think an employer pays his workers power bills.
“Massey University public relations and crisis management specialist Dr Chris Galloway says this strategy has played an integral role in setting the tone for anything related to capital gains tax.
“The one who describes the crisis at the beginning often goes on to frame the subsequent debate,” Galloway told the Herald.
“I think the Government is in danger of losing the debate, if they haven’t already, because they haven’t come out very clearly at the beginning to frame the debate themselves.
“They seem to have been swamped by the naysayers.”
Whatever substance our Minister of Finance has, will be drawn in his personal framing of the debate when the Government positions announced in five weeks’ time.
Polls are good Prime Minister: don’t do a John Key and fail to spend your hard-earned political capital.
Thanks ad. I’m not sure what a pr and crisis management specialists role is, but I don’t entirely agree with his comments in the Herald article. The Tax Working Party has made its recommendations, the right wingers have responded, the media has responded, and the Government in the correct order of things will now consider how to respond.
The problem of late has not been market function, so much as market integrity.
PPPs have not been held to any kind of delivery standard, so their ostensible market purity doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.
Likewise edumigration scams – great as a business, shit for the country.
Ditto Southern Response – gaming claims, not helping rebuild.
It’s truly not left or right, but honest/dishonest.
But where are the principled righties condemning such rorts? Where is Wayne, for example? Apparently in the same place he was for the whole of the Key administration – silently assenting to the ongoing corruption.
Y’old Wayne definitely found his voice and courage upon retiring from parliament. He’s a hardline, dedicated and disciplined liar. He doesn’t lye per say. He omits certain things so telling half truths. He’s really quiet good at it when he’s punching down. But a former Prime Minister of New Zealand facing fraud charges. That’s shame. It’s the repentance the sector requires. We don’t need these people running there mouths in private. We need them front and centre so every one can see there bullshit.
I see you’ve been to Kiwiblog to find out what to think today.
I’m a little surprised that David Farrar hasn’t drawn your and his other followers attention to the plight of Benjamin Netanyahu who is actually to be indicted for corruption, bribery and fraud in three different cases.
What if an area of great poverty be chosen to fix the plight of families and children?
This area would be given the number of staff needed and the backup resources.
Social welfare officers would have a case load of say10 rather than the current overload of 30. (Burnt out staff might return to help.)
Housing needs would be filled.
Employment opportunities enhanced.
My plan would demonstrate, or not, that fully funded needs could make a difference.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s as a Child Welfare Officer in Wellington/Porirua I had a case load of over 100.
Just saying.
Had I had a case load even as low as 30 I think I could have been much more effective in my work rather than rushing from one crisis to the next.
Macro you must have a load of ideas of how the most effective help could be given to the struggling and those with bad parenting styles. It would be good if we could have a Sunday post on this sometime in the way that Robert has – and this would be one on Families in poverty of finances, houses and mindset. I know that some are so busy on day to day stuff that they have little time to take steps to improve their state.
Thank you grey for those kind remarks.
Over the years I guess I have gathered some ideas – but I feel far from being an expert. The ideas promoted by ianmac above are very worthy of consideration. The concept of a social hub for communities is not new and I know that during the last parliamentary term one of the parliamentary committees were actually considering such a thing based on the schools in an area. Ive seen such things in WA where the local high school in Warnborough (south of Perth) houses the local library, hall, and a medical centre, (even a church) with all the facilities that go with such a centre. The local swimming pool (massive by NZ standards) is right next door.
Ianmac
Great idea.
Reading Ian Hyslop – in his reference to the Expert Panel’s attitude to social workers as being in a failing system I believe he is coming from a business approach which wants to do something once and then move on. Business and the machine mind is irritated by people in general’ all having problems which have to be considered in a modern, fair society. People needing social work assistance need more than one time of helping, someone to lean on, and to help them stand straight and learn how to manage until the next problem in their lives.
The three strikes and your in for good attitude, to criminals, is on the same road, coming from irritation and a lack of respect for the human inside us all. Another example is how government agencies will deny a long-running help group the necessary funds to continue and yet fund someone new. Because the previous group hasn’t solved the problem, the thinking is let it go, and let’s try if someone else can do better. The thought that the people being helped are presented in life with a situation shaped so they can never have a regular life that is counted as the norm, and the big thing for them is to learn to maximise their opportunities in what’s offered to them, escapes the attention of the administrators who will have some high or zero target that their eyes will be fixed on, and their income also.
I like to draw analogies. This is like the fable about the autocrat who said that a young woman who I think was to marry his son, had first to turn straw into gold cloth or she would face some punishment. Distraught, she was helped by the magic of a wily and devious goblin who said I’ll help you lady but you must give me your first born. That was the basic story of Rumplestiltskin. Parents with children who are not managing in our society, are having their children removed in increasing numbers by a Maori-named organisation whose executive I saw imaged recently was distinctly middle-class, older, pakeha.
John Mortimer had a dig at the ‘caring profession’ in his story Rumpole and the Children of the Devil in his collection Rumple on Trial. He emphasised their
willingness to jump for misconduct in any behaviour, and their prejudiced attitudes which they reinforced by askingthe child leading questions that would implicate the parents sufficiently to make a case against them, and take the child away.
But there have been projects done that could act as templates for something today to get love and willingness to help a parent or parents in a respectful way to move up from distress and basic survival. It won’t succeed all the time but that 80/20 ratio that is referred to as a rule of thumb in reckons would be a brilliant change.
Here is info about one project of a Social hub for the community of Aranui, Christchurch late last century.
Sister Pauline O’Regan and her companion sisters set up a community hub in an area of Christchurch, Aranui. There were many young women with their children there. They needed support – couldn’t manage just from their own communal resources. (This is the sort of good thing that has come out of the Catholic Church which should not be overlooked in the dismay of learning the faults that have arisen in that institution.) https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/28131/sisters-of-mercy-in-the-community
The book Sister Pauline wrote in partnership with Sister Teresa O’Connor, entitled, Community – Give it a Go! has been widely used ever since by community workers all over New Zealand. It was later turned into a workbook under the title, I Can Change Anything ̶ But Not On My Own. https://www.bwb.co.nz/authors/pauline-oregan
Yes please Grey re the idea for a weekend post re the above.
Thanks for sharing that link Ianmac.
Macro, much much respect, people like yourself change and save lives, even long after a person has left such a role. It’s the knowledge you’ve gained and the resulting ideas which you share, that make a massive difference in peoples lives.
Mum worked for what’s now known as CYF’s in the late 60’s early 70’s, not sure what her case load was like. But what she learnt in that role and the resulting knowledge she’s shared, has helped me to be a better parent.
In those days what became CYF was called Child Welfare and it was a Division of the Education Dept. In Wellington we had a staff of around 20 social workers and our office served all of Wellington and up the West coast to Porirua, Elsdon, Paramata, and Titahi Bay. My patch included all the boy state wards at Porirua Hospital – around 30 if IRC, half of Porirua, and Titahi Bay . The boys in Porirua Hospital were in state care, but it was the hospital who determined their fate. It was depressing work visiting the infamous M8 secure ward where many of the boys were. I can tell you, sitting in a padded cell listening to a young guy who had been incarcerated there, was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life and it still haunts me. I managed to get a few of them out. One young lad on gaining the age of 18, I managed to find some accommodation for him in a hostel in the city, got him a job on a construction site – actually earning more than my meagre salary 🙂 – and then we went shopping to get some decent clothes, and he was away!
That was only part of the job – the other was visiting and writing up court reports for the magistrate in the youth court. There could be up to 6 or so court reports to be written each week. And most of those would result in supervision ie more work.
Woah Macro, that’s a massive area to cover for just 20 staff, especially with the lack of modern technology, quite mind boggling when one thinks about it.
The M8 ward.. don’t think I’m familiar with that place, going to do the google tomorrow and check it out. Sounds terrible. Maybe I have seen something about it once on 60minutes or Sunday….
Thought I would look it up for you. It thankfully is no longer in existence, but the women’s equivalent (F Ward) is and has been preserved as an historic building. It is a little “grander” than the M ward. and a pic and description of the ward is given on the historical places trust site here http://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/7444
Here is a modern day impression of life in the women’s ward: https://publicaddress.net/access/cool-asylum-porirua-hospital-museum/
Frankly that is a little glossy in its depiction. Electric shock “treatment” was the standard practice and the patients hated and feared it. If you weren’t disturbed before – you were now! It was given almost indiscriminately. ECT has its place I gather in treatment of some severe mental illness, but back then it was applied almost universally. I’m sure most of those admitted in the 60’s would not be today. Indeed according to Wiki “Most patients were released into community-based care in the 1970s” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porirua_Lunatic_Asylum
“We have been warned”…….Hoots ramping up the anti Ardern rhetoric in the fish wrap this morning. Bet he’s pissed about aunty Jenny getting all that bad press.
You’re wrong on Soper’s political leanings. His default position is clearly right wing and always has been. Of course he’ll write clickbait in order to promote himself, no matter who is in government.
I disagree, I think Soper, Trotter, Jessie Mulligan, John Campbell are all very left leaning.
Leighton Smith, Mike Hosking, Larry Williams right leaning
What do you expect Airbnb to do? they’re not going to go and check every single listing to see if they’re code compliant?
If people think the accommodation is shit, they’ll get it a low score or if it’s unsafe, dirty etc, you get back in touch with Airbnb and they’ll refund your money and remove the listing from the site unless improvements are made.
You seem to be very hostile towards Airbnb.
If people don’t want to rent their properties out but instead prefer to make income via Airbnb what’s the problem?
It reduces long term rental stock and leaves it empty and unused for most of the year. That’s not a good used of resources and is damaging to low income communities.
There are approximately 6000 whole house/apartment Airbnbs in Auckland alone which is a lot of families.
Again it is not YOUR business what someone decides to do with THEIR property. If they want to keep it empty for the majority of the year that should be their right.
The benefits are all a bit one directional aren’t they Gos?
Don’t you think that the landlord benefits from the presence of and interaction with the community?
Cheers Gosman, this is exactly right – yet the landlord is dependent on the community around them. So if we are arguing this from a moral perspective and that this is the basis of the establishment of rules and law, it becomes everyone’s business what the landlord does with their property. No landlord, just as no man, is an island.
“It is the owners choice what they do with their property. Why should it bother you?”
Of course it’s not an absolute right. If they do things with/on the property that are a danger to the community (e.g. manufacture explosives) the community reserves the right to intervene.
The argument is therefore not about the right to intervene – that right already exists and is well established. It’s about what sorts of uses of the property call for such intervention. You can imagine society deciding that using a property as an airbnb is sufficiently socially irresponsible that intervention is justified.
I wouldn’t make that judgment myself – but my point is that you are deliberately framing the argument incorrectly and adopting an absolutist position on private property rights – the sure signs of a charlatan.
A sound argument, although adopting an absolutist position on private property rights – the sure signs of a charlatan. is probably more a sign of Gosman’s libertarian impulses showing through.
He makes a fair point though, while private property rights are not absolute and there are many well understood constraints on them, it’s also true that the opposite extreme is equally undesirable. If the state impinges too heavily on property rights it erodes trust and motivates people to move their capital to places more secure.
The massive flight of capital out of China being the most obvious contemporary example. (And incidentally the main reason why property in NZ is now so expensive.)
Exactly. While I agree that people shouldn’t be able to do absolutely ANYTHING on a property exceptions to private property usage rights should be rare and need a level of justification that discourages others from applying them. The trouble with the views expressed by some here is that the argument around people using or not using their properties in a particular commercial manner is so subjective it opens the door for all sorts of abuse of private property rights.
Regulating the short term stay market doesn’t automatically mean banning Airbnb, but I guess in your darkened and paranoid world it’s the lefty boogie-man coming to get you again.
As I said before, empty houses are a waste of resources and socially damaging especially in a under housed market and every effort should be made to encourage multiple house owners to ditch the amateur hotelier badge and do what they pretend to do, which is to provide housing.
It isn’t your decision to make if the resources are being wasted because they aren’t your resources. If you think they could be used in another manner then buy them and use them for that purpose. Trying to force others to do so smacks of totalitarianism or at least opens up the path to such an eventuality.
The trouble with your mindset is you think the government should as a matter of course be able to do anything it likes so long as it is deemed to be in the public good. Whereas I take the view that the government shouldn’t be able to do anything they want and should only be able to intervene in rare cases where there is overwhelming evidence that widespread harm would occur if they did not intervene.
So we agree that people shouldn’t be able to do absolutely anything on a property, nor should they be able to do absolutely nothing.
This is true – but barely above the level of a tautology in its information content. The messy ground in the middle is what we call politics.
Personally I hate being told what to do and prefer to be left alone. I resist all authority unless it is democratic in origin and can justify itself. For this reason I am more hostile to private economic power than to state power.
It’s interesting to note that right wingers distrust big government, while left wingers get anxious about big corporations. The common factor being big.
In both instances there is there is there is the “impulse to resist all authority”. Although your point about authority which is democratically accountable is well made and I’m in agreement with you on that. It’s why I’m fundamentally very much a left winger.
Yet we should not be entirely dismissive of those who see ‘big government’ as equally provocative; after all there are plenty of examples of governments acting in very bad faith indeed against the interests of individuals who inconvenience them in some manner.
It reduces long term rental stock and leaves it empty and unused for most of the year. That’s not a good use of resources and is damaging to low-income communities.
Places that are on Airbnb would never be rented to low-income families, they wouldn’t be able to afford the rent.
Just out of curiosity I checked out listings for Airbnb in Otara and Manurewa, there were only 100 listings and most of those were quite expensive looking places.
The problem for low-income families is not Airbnb, the problem is trying to find a place they can afford to rent.
Maybe Ardern and her ship of fools should concentrate on social housing, instead of Kiwifarce.
The places listed on Airbnb might not be suitable for low income families but they would be for higher income families who then have no access to them so are forced rent the places that would be suitable for low income communities. They inevitably get crowded out because Airbnb listings take houses off the market. This is damaging in a housing crisis such as ours.
They were at those kind of levels in 2016 for renting. The only thing that has changed since then is that as tenancy agreements have rolled over they have been bumped up to the markets rate.
Rents in Auckland have been pretty stable through 2018. Basically the prior changes to requiring tax accounts and close enforcement of speculation laws have had the effect of stalling speculative buying. Now we just have the backlog of a decade of National’s high immigration and laziness about building infrastructure and accomadarion.
I think that you just see what you want to see.
The truth is that National are just a disaster for NZ every time they get into government. Just lazy fuckwits.
bm, let’s change that to …. a huge shortage of un- affordable housing (not just rentals).
Our home has doubled in value in the last five years. That’s completely obscene in my eyes, god only knows how people can afford a deposit let alone a mortgage these days. And the rates due to the increased land value, far out $$$.
And. As Labour are trying to do something about it, we just get endless road blocks from the wealthy end of the right wing.
Who are doing rather well out of low wages, high rents, capital gains on buying and selling existing assets, and lack of taxes on high incomes, and wealth. Thanks very much.
Of course there is also the “useful idiots” who are not well off, but have the delusion that they will be, one day. When their specialness’ is recognised. Who don’t want taxes on the rich, because they dream of becoming one of them.
I know a lot of normal people and in my experience your statement is false.
Garages in New Zealand aren’t used to store cars in most cases. They are to hold all the junk that people accumulate. There is simply no room for their car(s).
They aren’t commonly used for people to live in these days although I know a number who have done it.
It was quite common in the beach resort of Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast north of Waikane for people to have a “garage” built. There was no access to them with a car but the building rules for them were pretty lax and they were fine as a weekender.
Now the place is full of McMansions owned by very well paid Civil Servants. It doesn’t feel like a place to relax any more. Sigh.
How can you possibly consider yourself to be a Greenie when you own all those vehicles? You really must be one of those selfish rich pricks that Michael Cullen seems to hate so much, and you certainly aren’t setting a good example in using Public Transport exclusively.
Multiple properties as well as multiple vehicles too. The CGT is going to whack you.
I see why you are so scornful of the common people who are as poor as muck. I’ll bet you don’t really like to associate with those that you really rich types seem to regard as the scum, rather than the salt, of the earth.
It is a bit patronising of course to talk about me like this though.
“You must have either poor people in your world”.
But I do. As I am sure you are aware, as written in the good book
“Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.”
and
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied”.
I think therefore the people I know are far more typical of the New Zealand population than you are and therefor I do not accept your personal circumstances as being in any way typical.
I’ve had homeless teenagers couch surfing in my garage for years.
My kids are good at picking up needy strays. Human and animal?
Now have my daughter and her partner. Did it up to house insulation standards, though.
Young people simply cannot afford a place to live.
You wonder why the resentment towards landlords and property speculators/sorry, investors..
We’ve seen it over the last few years, all around us. Reasonably priced houses being pushed into stratospheric prices by wannabee, “landlords” from Auckland.
As for the rise in rents.
That just leaves too possible solutions. One is to eliminate poverty, the other is to eliminate democracy. It’s pretty clear that Jacinda’s solution is to eliminate poverty and every iteration of National Party leader the most recent in Simon Bridges is to privatise the tax system and eliminate as much government as possible regardless of the consequences.
That leaves the problem that if we do have democracy the majority of the poor will use there power to do socialist wealth redistribution reform and a top tax rate past 33% just won’t be allowed and as time goes on the problem of increasing tax hikes only gets worse because there’s a growing percentage of the population that are going to suffer under neoliberal rule and serious austerity measures and will secretly long for more equal and equatable distribution of life’s blessings and if they have the vote they may do something about it which is one reason why National voters tend to be older and tend to frown real hard on the down trodden for no other reason than it would threaten the wealth and power of the elites.
That just leaves the problem of a majority being impoverished which threatens the wealthy control of property. In that position I would say to Jacinda I always thought New Zealand would be a great country but we have to have an idea of it, that is an efficient, open, competitive, cosmopolitan republic. Yes I said a republic that is integrating itself with the Oceania Region. We have to give the economy a new economic engine which ultimately finds comfort and security in Oceania. We find our prosperity in Oceania, we find our security in Oceania. That’s why we have to be a republic so we can come to terms with Māori and Pacific Islanders and ultimate find peace and comfort in New Zealand.
BM, your last sentence tells us where your loyalties lie.
You do not criticise Simon Bridges, for his stupid tweet behaviour, Jenny
Shipley for her reckless directorship, or any right wing mistakes, Bennett for her poor ability to keep information private.
After 10 years of light handed Government, we had Hospitals broke, some with unhealthy walls, Schools needing maintenance and a critical housing shortage with run away prices. No instead you call the Government “Adern and her ship of fools”
You are definitely in the blue boat, and don’t seem to realise there has been 1000 social houses built, 1600 winter places found for the homeless, money given to Marae to update facilities, as well as the beginning of Kiwi Build.
What would you do instead? Please try to be civil if you can.
They require the oweners to ensure the properties meet standards. They can’t be expected to ensure every one of the properties listed is inspected by someone. You don’t go to a travel site on the web expecting that would you?
No not if they are simply brokering a service and not acting as householders agent In their interest to ensure accuracy re credibility of business of which direct and transparent customer feedback seems more then adequate, while also very quick
actually if they don’t want to get sued at some stage by people who got injured or died due to unsuitable housing advertised on their business, yes they should. It would be good business practice for them to protect them from liability should a yahoo landlord/lady decide they like to fleece tourist for a quick buck for very little bang.
Wouldn’t say that Airbnb were complicit in the breach but you could start to put together a case that QLDC were by omission. The initial complaint was in Jan 17 but no site visit was made, just a few emails sent, and things didn’t get going until May 18 when another complaint was made, then it took another 18 months for the slap with wet bus ticket in court.
In kinda defence of QLDC they have been rather busy dealing with the total taps off approach of the previous government to development around here and ensuing lax compliance by some developers and builders.
This is an issue with disruptive global tech. Any other retailer or developer must provide proof their product is safe for consumption.
But with the new model the global platforms of airbnb, Lime, and uber take little or no responsibility for the safety of the public using the products and services listed on their websites and from which they generate tax free profit.
And don’t leave out, as the global privateers move in, they elbow the locals trying to do a reasonable job and conforming reasonably to the local laws, out of business.
Then we are into unreasonable, fake, phony, PR, and lack of trust in everything. And possibly can’t afford to buy anything anyway, because all our money is being siphoned away>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> with no full stop at the end – unless government is enabled by thinking and perspicacious voters to get off the pot. (And finding enough of them is as hard as it is to spell perserppkashus!)
No new tech often means no need for regulation as self regulation and system recalibrates itself, hence less control required and much more efficient at meeting a market need etc, hence why disruptive Think ant colonies, bird swarms etc how much control and regulation do they need
Your arguement is a fallacy Stuey and very weak at that, and I know you know it The holy grail for any systen efficiency is self calibration with out the need for overding control, this applies to technology and biological systems Thsts why roundabouts are often more efficient than lights etc
Despite the appeal of Lime scooters as a source of parts, they provide no value as yet to offset the injuries they are causing. Not a business model with a lengthy future.
These logical fallacies are great things to wave at the punters, Bewildered, but they work better if you actually understand what they mean eh.
You came up with a couple of weaksauce arguments so threadbare it was hard not to drive a truck through them, now you’re whining because you overgeneralized and got picked up.
That is why Government provision is often cheaper and more efficient than private provision.
All the costs loaded onto the community, both in lack of care about the effectiveness and safety of the service, but also all the costs of making the buggers behave.
Possibly but Railways MOW, Telecom etc pre deregulation would suggest not, similarly the choice we have now after deregulation in contrast to state controlled and closed economy pre deregulation in 1984 also suggest your arguement is very weak beyond monopolies and issue of public private externalities
Attributing changes from technical advances, over time, to privatisation, is a common fallacy from the right wing.
Certainly MOW, built roads and infrastructure, trained people and kept a pool of skills in the public service for a lot less, than we pay for all those things, now.
The Christchurch reconstruction boon doggie wasn’t helped that we no longer have good project managers in State employment.
Railways was fucking run into the ground, after privatisation. Needing an expensive State rescue, which we are still paying for.
Remember days when you could only get white bread and coloured white bread call brown bread or you had to use railways to freight anything more than 100km or you had to apply to government to get forgein currency or it 6 weeks to get a phone or only the railways could run Ferries across the cook straightb etc……,Just think a little harder beyond your ideological prejudice
Yes. I remember the days when an ‘apprentice’ could buy a section, and, go ski-ing. I did both. The house was hard, due to the Neo-liberals 25%, interest rates after 84.
When a “caretaker” built and campaigned a race yacht with the nobs.
When the well off lived in the same street, as the rest.
When milk and bread were affordable, for a low income family with five kids. Along with a Sunday roast.
When we had no beggars on the streets.
When young families, could afford, to take a car across Cook Strait.
When we paid 60% top tax rate, but schools had enough funds, any child could get an apprenticeship, and if you were academic, University scholarships, pregnant Mum’s got a week, or more, in hospital if they needed it and damn near everyone had a decent paying job, and a house.
When ordinary “hard working Kiwi’s” had enough to start innovative businesses.
Sure, there were a lot of things that could be improved, but Governments since 84, not only threw out the dirty bathwater. They threw out the baby, the bath and sold the fucking house from under us.
This is why our current lot in government should look at aggressively regulating the market. To the same extend as hotels/motels/hostels/backpackers are regulated.
i.e. hygiene, safety exits, kitchen facilities (food control plan), staffing, licensing, registration etc etc etc
But so as long as the government does diddly squat everything goes. But then, that is NZ housing in general innit?
Na, the Airbnb element is sort of irrelevant. The same sort of thing went on in previous boom cycles here but with slightly different flavours.
Last cycle there would have been 40 backpackers doing casual / illegal work living on the property and the owner / lessee charging them each $200 + a week to stay there. Airbnb has at least got rid of that sort of shit. So we’re getting a better class of non-compliance if that’s any consolation.
The real issue here is a Council that is totally snowed under and trades that are doing illegal work. They appear to have had 4 residential units on the property, so someone installed 3 kitchens and bathrooms in the place without consent, and the Council didn’t follow up on the initial complaint properly, probably because they were too busy.
If the Don of America’s #1 Crime Family was worried about his consigliere getting called to testify in the House, well, now’s the time to really freak out. His money man is expected to be called to testify.
RNZ reports that all front-line police officers in Canterbury have been told to carry firearms until further notice. The decision was made by the district commander, Superintendent John Price.
Police Association president Chris Cahill told Morning Report routine arming of police could be where New Zealand was heading.
Police Minister, Stuart Nash supports this action, but won’t be interviewed.
Barrister Nicholas Taylor, who specialises in firearms law, says police have “very inadequate training with their Glock 17 pistols and bushmaster rifles”. “If you’re engaging with various offenders in built up areas, specialist training really needs to be employed so that innocent civilians don’t get caught in the crossfire.”
It was not the New Zealand way to have our police armed, he said.
It would be bloody hard to disguise the fact that they are all going to be carrying pistols in holsters on their hip.
Prior to this they had weapons but they were stored in the car.
I hope we don’t get the situation that happened close to where I lived in Melbourne. A young man, who was mentally disturbed, was sitting on a park bench whacking at it with a machete. A policeman ordered him to drop it and when he didn’t he shot him, claiming that he, the policeman was in danger. In fact all he was doing was hitting the bench.
Having the weapons on their hip must be far to tempting.
It was a long time ago, at least 25 years in fact, but it scared me at the time. I wasn’t used to armed police who were quite willing to use their weapons so readily.
I was left wondering what sort of society I had moved to.
The three strikes law hasn’t been repealed. Looking at the Justice website there have been 6 “third strikes”. Of those, 2 or 3 have been in the news because the sentencing judge said the full sentence for the third strike offense was manifestly unjust and made it a good deal shorter.
If anything having a third strike law is associated with the police arming themselves.
It looks as if Indiana state is as full of BS as us so from usa to nz us, doesn’t look a big step, and they can help us to some better PR. As long as you don’t look
behind the coloured curtain; or into the future in all its changing colours – brilliant sun and green and brown, some bright orange, then black, then dark greeny-brown of flood water, then back to brown again, then brilliant, some green, then brown.
We should keep in touch with Indiana – have a sister city there if not already.
Current Labour MP, Greg O’Connor, defended the police. In his opinion the police did nothing wrong and it wasn’t their fault if they shot an innocent bystander.
Especially when the police association think, “the public just have to get more used to the police shooting people”.
The call for guns for police, are certainly not because of a greater danger to police.
Look at ACC, where police are at for dangers in the workplace. Somewhere about office workers. The most danger is their own driving.
Personally I think persons that feel they need a gun to do the job, do not belong in the police.
I heard Cahill on the tranny yesty (day before?), he was asked about the Police Union’s stance on firearms, he replied (paraphrasing, I forget the term he used) for officers to have sidearms.
Coincidentally, this issue arises in Canterbury, and the order is given.
Not till the perp is apprehended, but ‘until further notice.
I thought under O’Connor, the desire was to not be armed.
The police often look to the USA to guide them on how to do the job. Of course they love their guns there. And the war against drugs has given them ready-made villains and an excuse to use their hardware. After all if you are carrying weaponry you might as well use it. And when they don’t have guns, they can always fall back on the length of their batons as proof of their manhood; women? They have to fit into the cull-ture.
I have been watching Flint on Netflix, about the Police force there: stretched, under resourced, off side with their community.
Anyhoo the weapons training has a military feel to it.
Something that has caused consternation in the US, the para military way the police force is going.
“I thought under O’Connor, the desire was to not be armed”.
Where on earth did you get that idea?
When he was head of the Union he always supported arming the Police.
It was only after he became a prospective MP that he started rewriting history.
When he was in the Union he said
“In a report on the association’s conference in October, 2014, O’Connor is quoted saying, “I believe the time has come to arm every frontline officer”.
In a column O’Connor wrote for NZME in that same month, he said, “It is time to overcome our squeamishness and arm police.” https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/89338825/greg-oconnor-not-in-favour-of-general-arming-of-police-officers
The “not in favour” stance only started after he was chosen as a Labour Party candidate.
It is as well to have officers with arms at their sides- so normally effective. They just should not have guns at the end of their arms.
What about tear gas for real maniacs as a device to flush them out. And call in the weapons team, well trained, to be held as resource for hours if need be, but no-one to go shooting as a first or even second course. Weapons guy can shatter a leg bone or whatever is the most effective to heal after advice from the medical profession. Keep it simple and do it well, by the experienced gunmen, if it has to be done at all.
It would be good if the police could set a good example to the public and those who take the criminal violent line.
You seem a little defensive @ Alan.
Can you point me to where Muttonbird is claiming to be clever and informed with a suitable degree of bizzniss experience?
I’d just like to try and reconcile that with former gNat polititcians’ appointments to boards and positions requiring at least a little understanding of how it’s all ‘sposed to hang together: (the gNats being such good knomic menajizz as they are) – most with bios and profiles claiming such distinction.
Are you now suggesting that they should be beyond criticism?
Dame Jenny Mainzeal, Sir Douglas Lombard, Sir John Ear NyaZull
No one is beyond criticism, but critics with a degree of experience/knowledge generally garner more respect. Passengers/side line critics, not so much.
They do not like it when you point out the obvious flaws in their hero.
Even a layperson knows that the board is responsible for the strategy of a company and it looks like he’s be found wanting. Likewise Jenny Shipley oversaw the collapse of Mainzeal. The National Party has always been described as the only worthy economic managers of NZ government but the reality is they are rubbish at that very job.
As I said the right wing doesn’t like it one bit when even a layperson can point out the obvious.
“Ear NyaZull” (lol)
Alan (“Ellun”?) seems very persistent on the matter, so I want to generalise his position.
So something like this:
“People cannot detect incompetence in a particular field without having been competent in that field themselves”
It’s plausible on the surface I suppose – it almost seems like it might be some downstream effect of Dunning-Kruger. And I can see it might even be true in some very technical areas where incompetence doesn’t become manifest at a macro level – say advanced pure mathematics.
But we are only talking about ‘bizniss’ here – something that only the dull boys in the class used to end up in, certainly in my day.
So nah – the hypothesis is crap.
Well I guess in your world @ Alan, we’ll not be surprised to find a Dame Amie Harcourts, or a SussSoimon Koiwoi (going forward).
Oim jiss wondering about Paula though.
Could it be a Dame Paula World, or a Dame Paula Caci maybe?
She’s got a wealth of spurious for either roll
Care to elaborate on this “passenger” theory of yours Alan?
Does it involve the division of the citizenry into two classes?
A technocratic elite with expertise (and money) who are not subject to the judgment or criticism of the ‘passenger’ class who are not driving the train and who may be somewhat superfluous to requirements?
Far be it from me to doubt your democratic instincts – as a passenger I get to exercise only obedience, not doubt, I understand that. But somehow it just seems all a bit stinky to my defective little passenger nostrils. If I wasn’t so intellectually inadequate and linguistically impoverished from all those years of ‘passengering’, I might take you for an authoritarian clown.
One of these days I’m going to track down the tool who first came up with “words have broad and narrow meanings” as an effort to gaslight people into thinking that he didn’t really mean what he explicity said. That fucknuckle’s students have wasted so much e-ink…
I recall having a lengthy discussion about what constituted the Chch ‘red zone’ on TS a few years back.
As I recall it came down to the whether there was generic use of the term to cover all the suburbs affected or whether it was only correct when used to describe the actual streets affected.
I think there was further insistence that streets where repairs had been completed could no longer be considered part of the red zone.
It all got quite heated, which looking back now, is pretty OTT.
The appearance of fake news as a political device used by politicians to attack opponents, and the media to create headlines means occurrences and promotion of it needs to be identified and critiqued quickly and clearly.
In the case I mentioned above, Stuff created the fake news headline and Nat party lap-dogs including Hosking, Pete George and our own alwyn ran with it.
It simply isn’t true so I thought it was important to show that quickly and firmly.
Stuart Munro @ 16
Police Deputy commissioner, National Ops. Mike Clement: I didn’t action it,” he admitted. “I’ve gone back through my correspondence and found that I didn’t task it on the 18th December when it came through.
That remark is revealing. The police hate investigating anything with the slightest whiff of malfeasance about it, especially if it involves top pollies and senior public servants. I’m not saying the commissioner wittingly forgot to action the investigation, but to set aside unpalatable inquiries for another day and then forget them altogether is all too common an occurrence. Either that, or they wait an age before reporting their findings by which time everyone has forgotten what the investigation was about and lost interest anyway.
But a healthy police culture goes after questionable behavior by their own.
So this just proves the rot is even deeper than we thought. Roastbusters style cop immunity still goes for some it seems, and these uncivilized creatures want to run riot with guns?
Many years ago I used to work at the Police National HQ in Wellington. Just doing back office/administration stuff. During the time I was there I would have to sort files out, arrest reports and just standard shift reports and I tell you what – they have a really shitty job at times, in particular the ones on the beat in places like K Road and Courtney Place. Being vomited on (or in the car) abused, sworn at and basically treated like total garbage.
Because of that experience, the fast majority of cops I actually have respect for them in keeping their cool and dealing with that shit day in day out. I would completely lose my temper.
That said – there truly are some shitty, rule crazy asshole cops out there. But I don’t think they represent the majority by any stretch.
Agreed. But that’s a lot of the reason to keep a separate, more mature and more professional group to deal with armed offenders.
It’s hard to keep your cool after a day of dealing with surly and uncooperative assholes – but folk with guns had better, or they’re not helping at all.
Yeah – a dedicated group like the AOS but to deal with less serious offenses than those guys. I think pepper pray and tasers are enough for the beat officers.
But if I was vomited on a guy who followed it up with “fuck you you fucking pig” I would quickly lose my cool. That’s why I could never be a cop. Though being a detective I would find interesting . Trying to crack a big case – I’m sure it would be a like trying to figure out a big puzzle with multiple lines of investigation then solving it would be a great feeling of success and helping the community. An intellectual challenge even
In fact tasers and pepper spray help them much less than they think – they’re also why they get much more abuse these days.
Tasers were brought in for use against armed and violent assailants, as a less than lethal alternative to guns. Data from one Australian state showed tasers were used much more than presented firearms – over 2000 uses compared to 10-20 firearms uses, in their first year post introduction. That is a massive failure, and, tasers not only fucking hurt, they can kill.
I saw a fellow get peppered inappropriately in Chch many years ago too. It doesn’t take much of that for citizens to conclude that police are cruel and vicious assholes – a belief that doesn’t help them with their work at all.
I have no doubt the police have to put up with one hell of a lot more these days than was once the case. I wouldn’t want to be one of them in a thousand years. That can be blamed on society as a whole and the lack of manners, decency and greed that goes hand in hand with neoliberalism.
Nevertheless, too many cops see everything in black and white and the moment a case moves into grey areas they’re out of their comfort zone and prefer to duck for cover. I’ve experienced it and so have plenty of other people.
Haven’t read it all yet, but have much sympathy for his initial comments.
I reported a series of incidents 25 years ago which involved surveillance and other intimidatory practices carried out by individuals including some former public service personnel. For my efforts I once again found myself under surveillance… this time by the police.
Yes. The forgetful individual needs to answer for his actions (or inactions). If his mistake was sincere (which is not impossible), he will be at pains to resolve matters by a rigorous, detailed, and scrupulous investigation of police dealings with Thomson & Clark. If that does not appear with all due deliberate haste, there is no reason his 40 years with the force should be extended to 41.
Never was a cop, but dealt with puke and abuse a fair amount back in the day. Abuse is never personal. As soon as folk realised that, they had the right temperament for being a bouncer or whatever.
Reactions to bodily fluids are more physiological: vomit didn’t usually disturb me too much, but some colleagues would be winding down the car windows and hanging out them whenever someone started to even look like retching. But then I was never ok with shit. Horses for courses, I guess.
But some of the jobs cops have to do are beyond anything I could handle. Doing a ridealong with them, I recall one of them saying “oh, look, they put a new safety barrier in where my wee girl was killed”, referring to an incident he attended – he took that job to heart so much the deceased became “his”. That’s the shit I wouldn’t handle.
He said yesterday, he ” knows many normal people”. Which can only mean he is not a National idiot, but belongs to some other Circus.
He has been out counting how many people put their cars in their Garages.
We have a lot to learn from Alwind. I think he knows how many nights a woman puts her car in her Garage, but not how many nights she leaves it out. If she has a Car.
It is not easy counting up what women do – or might do.
I traveled recently from Wellington deep into the Waikato in an Intercity Bus. It was good transport and chocker full.
A fine young Woman was feeding her pretty little child from time to time; We gave her room.
A pleasant man, a surfie ,a Kiwi of about 40yrs, was a hopping home from Melbourne to see his Mum. Just for a week. He had to get back to his Melbourne Billabong Clothing position.
The third man was hopping home to see his Mum in Auckland. A fine man – Fit and strong. He became part of us. He said I have been just released from Rimutaka Prison after a lot of years.
I admired his forthright words. None were over the Top. None were harmful. He was going home to be with his so lost Mum. The Clothing man helped with filling in major documents for the man about to take up his Life with his Mother. Took him to the Bank in the stop at Taupo.
Weaks later when I got to my own home i asked around about prison. Why cannot we release more Persons. Send them homeward bound ?
“The prisons are run by the Gangs Sir.” Eye to eye. Nothing more – Nothing less.
That little child on the Bus was Downs Syndrome . Totally Exquisite. As is my Daughter. So Lovely.
Kia Emma & Simon from The Nation.
I say a law need to be made to protect our subcontractors in Aotearoa I say a skeem of the main companies that subcontract out the work pay a deposit into a crown fund or 3 party fund so if the main company goes broke the people who actually build our building do go broke to.
I say the government needs to build thousands of state houses.
A lot of people who suffer mental health issues have a difficult time being in public hence they are less likely to be working.
I,, targeting lower income class does help Maori and Pacific people thanks but more should be dune to lift Maoris Mana. Less stories like the death with a thousand cuts for Maori the malcolm rawiwa story its being plastered on main stream media for decades who cares if it damages Maori Mana A or is that the GOAL.
There you go you have a neanderthal flogging that same old horse sorry m8 times are changing and carbon is going to be buried.
The wellbeing of the people should be the way a country measure their success not GDP alone the GDP measures is good for billionaire but not the 99.9 % of people.
NOT having a capital gains tax is the same good for the millionaire but not good for 95.% of people as the millionaire take our money capital over seas to tax havens and leave little capital money for the next generation our decendints Mokopunas .
The markets are set up for the wealthy that is why there wealth is exploding and the lower classes are getting poorer.
I agree we should not be cut and pasting other countries policy’s to try and correct the wrongs in OUR society.
I say a flat capital gains tax that every thing except the Whanau whare should be taxed shear market ect with a 5 to 10 tax keep it simple is what is needed no loophole for big business to sliver out of paying their dues to the society they suck their capital from and just higher enough so that it costs them just as much to avoid as it does to pay it hence its easier just to pay the TAX. Ka kite ano P.S good to see you back
Ka pai to our government for investing more money into protectioning our indigenous wild life
Govt to develop new strategy to prevent ‘biodiversity
The government will develop a new national strategy on biodiversity to try to save the 4000 native species which are threatened or at risk of extinction and stave off a “biodiversity crisis
Our indigenous plants and wildlife and their habitats are in serious trouble, with 4000 native species threatened or at risk of extinction; including 81 percent of our native birds,” Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said.
The strategy will replace the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy 2000 which expires in 2020.
Ms Sage said the 2000 programme had been a “landmark document” which helped inspire increased public interest and practical support.
However, a new strategy was needed to tackle what she called a “biodiversity crisis”.
The Department of Conservation will work with other government agencies, councils, iwi aaand hapū to set priorities for the future over the next 16 months.
The minister made the announcement at Ahuriri Estuary, a coastal wetland in Napier.
“Ecosystems and habitats such as wetlands, native forests, drylands, rivers and sand dunes remain under pressure despite gains in conservation and environmental management over the last 20 years,” Ms Sage said.
“With many of our native species found nowhere else in the world we have an international responsibility to safeguard them for their own sake, and for present and future generations.
“Healthy nature and biodiversity are central to human health and wellbeing and our economy. Biodiversity supports industries as diverse as farming, film production and tourism and New Zealand’s international brand.
Kia ora Newshub It’s Karma to the West Coast Councils denieing climate change and the environment ruins one of the roads to there best gravy train.
Yes dredging ruined the Napier beaches the dredging could be used on land as fill it will ruin the fishing and beaches in Auckland.
My question is what effect the pigeon rotovirous will have on OUR Indigenous Pigeon the Kereru control must be put in place to protect our treasured birds. Can the viruses jump species it could effect other rear treasured birds to.
That cool that Inmusic Brands is setting up in Aotearoa as these days if you have the bucks and music technology one can become the next big Star from Aotearoa.
SpaceX is making giant strides in space travel Ka pai Elon.
Yes rental property owner don’t like pets that is showing shonkys housing SHORT is still working for the millionaire. What about the lost of iron and other micro nutrient it all very well the wealthy can afford to replace meat but common people can not afford the xtra cost of supplements vegetables to replace meat . DARK Phoenix looks cool my favourite movie of the year is Aqua Man Ka kite ano
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The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
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“While there is a ton to dig into in terms of Cohen’s accusations against Donald Trump, perhaps the most explosive thing that Cohen said came at the very end:
‘Given my experience working for Mr Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power.’
“That’s essentially saying, that if he loses the election, there will be a coup. There will be another declaration of national emergency. I’ve been saying on the Real News for quite some time, that I am very concerned with the agenda of this administration to go after Iran, especially in the midst of all this domestic chaos, of the possibilities of some kind of staged attack on the United States in some way or another, to help justify some sort of aggression against Iran.”
That statement does not help Cohen’s credibility.
If Trump loses in 2020 he will depart on Jan 20, 2021 just like every other president who has finished their term.
Yes. If he is going to pull any crazy stunt it will be an attempt to postpone the 2020 election due to a national emergency. Perhaps fighting two new regime change/resource theft wars in Venezuela and Iran might constitute that emergency. But this is pretty far-fetched too.
That’s not to say that Trump supporters aren’t armed and dangerous and if he loses in 2020 they won’t do some violent stuff. If I was Bernie or AOC I would be scared stiff of these loons right now.
Seriously, you believe all that? Ask a yank they’ll probably tell you Venezuala is the 54th state of America, not because they’re pulling ya leg, but because they believe it. Forign policy is a sedative for Americans.
Oh please, I’ve just spent 3 months travelling the US with my wife. We didn’t meet a single person who would believe what you think they do. You should try visiting the USA, I think you would end up with an entirely different impression of the one you currently have.
The black man wilfully partake in fair sparring death matches. It’s a noble custom and culture.
White people do it barbarically.
Jimbo wants a word with you sammy.
Master say he got a vanilla baby, any relation?
The pause is to insert whatchootalkinboutsammy.
Just sitting here playing and shit lmfao
Is snigger a word?
It has the Scunthorpe problem…
There’s a pause as soon as I ask the question.
I reckon it’s maybe 5% odds that sometime shortly after noon on January 20th 2021, the Secret Service agents that were helping protect him will have to suddenly turn around and physically drag him out of the White House.
You don’t have much imagination Wayne.
Trump could cause chaos in the gap between losing the presidency and the new president being sworn in. It’s difficult at this stage to know what form it would take, but there is no way he will go quietly and without creating huge problems.
The best scenario would be for him to be chucked out of the role sooner, then the world can get it over and done with before the 2020 election.
I reckon Pence is regularly privately telling the Creep from Queens ‘if you want a pardon you have to resign soon enough to give me a decent shot at fighting the 2020 election. Which means resign this year.’
Getting chucked out before the 2020 election would be the best scenario then we would (hopefully) only have to put up with the fundamentalist nutbar, Pence for a short time and:
normal business will resume on 21st Jan. 2021.
And the process will be smooth without problems. Just as the departure of Rob Muldoon.
Thanks for the reminder Peter. 🙂
Muldoon caused a right rumpus didn’t he. Took NZ close to bankruptcy as a nation. In fact it was Muldoon who gave Roger Douglas and co. the excuse to go all out neoliberal.
Reminds me… must watch that excellent TV documentory “Revolution” again:
https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/revolution-1996/series
Oops ‘documentary’.
A few corrections. Muldoon didn’t cause the currency crisis (country running out of foreign reserves and potentially unable to exchange currency at its fixed exchange rate). The devaluation which he refused to implement was at best going to be a temporary measure. The actual problem was the reserve bank running out of foreign exchange reserves and this being known to currency speculators and this was solved more permanently by floating the exchange rate. The main legacy of Muldoons actions is that information about the economy must now be communicated before the election. Almost none of that should be accepted as an excuse for Rogernomics.
If you read Naomi Kline, Disaster Capitalism, it will give you a better idea of what went on.
However Muldoon didn’t create the problem, it was the ones who decided to profit from the situation.
“The country was bankrupt” was largely a myth. In fact much of Muldoons think big, earned fortunes, for subsequent private owners.
I didn’t like him at the time, but if oil prices had continued to sky rocket, as we all thought at the time, Muldoon would have been a hero, for reducing our dependency on imported energy. A crystal ball to tell us the US was going to invade some more countries to cut oil prices, would have been good.
your word in goddess ears, but then how often are your right, and how much credibility do you have?
That is what Bill Hicks referred to as the Gulf War distraction.
So… business as usual for the US of A.
Hi Esoteric
Your fears of fascism in America are well founded.
But I doubt that this political change will be achieved as openly as you suggest.
Never forget EP that fascism was achieved in Germany in the 1930s through constitutional and democratic processes. This veneer of legitimacy is what gave German fascism its extraordinary ability to command the German people to perform all sorts of outrages against their neighbours, both internal and external
The coup will be a very American rolling one. It will happen during the presidential election itself. Which President Trump, against all liberal commentary, will again win.
Voter suppression may play a small role but demogoguery and personal attacks and smears, and fear mongering, will again be an even bigger part of Donald Trump’s second electoral success. Claims of victimsation by the liberal establishment will echo with his support base. Chants of “Lock ‘Em Up” once aimed at Hilarly Clinton will be aimed at individuals like Robert Mueller and Occasio Cortez. On Trump’s return to the White House for a second term, even more empowered than before, the President will be in a position to actually carry out his threats to lock up his political and legal opponents.
On the campaign trail Candidate Trump will again promise to make Mexico pay for the wall. Playing call and response to his supporters, “Who will pay for the wall?” “Mexico” will chant back his loyal supporters.
On his return to the White House the President using his strengthened political position will no doubt us this power to impose a more rapacious and imperialist foreign policy on Mexico, (And Latin America generally). Extreme sanctions, tarriffs and even forced closure of all legitimate border crossings and trade, until Mexico and the other Latin countries agree to US terms. Yes, military invasion and war are likely to be part of this picture, Subservient Right Wing administrations in Mexico and Columbia will have little choice but to tie themselves to the US war machine, providing the US cannon fodder against their neighbours Venezuela and possibly even Cuba, in exchange for more favourable US treatment.
What rarely gets mentioned when it comes to Venezuela’s oil, is that is a poorer quality oil and hard to extract. Given that it is now the focus of US desire, and the US presently is fracking its own landscape to hell to get oil, and Canada wants to turn tar sands into oil – doesn’t this suggest the supply of economically available oil is rapidly declining and finding it is becoming increasingly more risky (eg deep sea oil exploration around New Zealand). In other words, we have probably already reached “peak oil” in terms of what is economically available. Another reason that we should be rapidly converting to other energy sources.
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-Venezuela-which-has-the-largest-reserves-of-crude-oil-in-the-world-the-9th-largest-producer?fbclid=IwAR0vwhBqwjZcgMQZREckqGEPgLyMLn7cD2UHiSbHr92KnoJQHGXimXada7Y
Or, it’s worth it not to have to suck up to the Saddies.
What is going on with property in New Zealand is turning into a class struggle. This shouldn’t be surprising given how much the divide between those with wealth and those without in New Zealand (relative to each other) has grown since the introduction of Neo-Liberalism in 1984. Sure, there is still the illusion is still there that we are all the same, as epitomised by a jandal-wearing multi-millionaire former Prime MInister. But people who can’t afford to rent a home, let alone buy one, aren’t feeling it.
The issue of Capital Gains Tax could easily galvinise Generation Rent provided they were politically knowledgeable and savy enough. But a great part of the generation rent population is young, and all they have ever known is Neo-Liberalism and Neo-Liberal propoganda. And no-one is pointing out to them (in the media) that they are paying a higher percentage of their income in tax, that landlords, companies and others who have decided it is their right as a citizen of New Zealand not to have to pay tax on income. Instead, the burden of paying for health care (often for older New Zealanders who don’t a capital gains tax), education, police etc is expected to fall inordinately on the shoulders of those whose wages are the lowest which means they can never accrue the sorts of income earning assets that aren’t taxed.
A year till the next election is probably not enough to time to get them to figure things out and start voting in large enough numbers for Labour to offset all the property owning “kiwis” who will switch their vote to National to crush any capital gains tax. Which is one reason I doubt anything but the meekest of CGT, if even that, will see the light of day in this term at least. Especially with NZ First as part of the government. However, I am not convinced that a capital gains tax will go away and it is the perfect vehicle for spotlighting to generation x and the working poor, how they are being unfairly treated.
The idea that landlords are paying less tax than workers needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Where a landlord appears to be paying little or no tax it will be because his interest bill is gobbling up all, or most, of his profit. But in that case the bank will be paying tax on the interest that it receives from him so the government will not be missing out. It’s my opinion that interest should not be deductible for tax purposes but the income tax act stipulates that it is, so the problem, if there is one, lies with that act.
Oh. C’mon. It is the tenants that are paying the interest.
Adding to the landlords future capital gains.
It is also the tax payer/govt with the Accomodation supplement.
Also those landlords who operated under a negatively geared situation were applying a business case of the justification of being “in business”,was that they existed only due to capital gains. As there was no business case that the business was a profitable trading proposition, and as such the IRD should have been targeting these cases with a capital gains, BUT there was no effort in chasing these, by either the Labour or Nat governments or the IRD.
“It is the tenants that are paying the interest.”
That’s like arguing employers pay their workers food bills. But then reality and yourself are only distant acquaintances.
It’s not much like that at all. If you’re providing a service and you price that service to recover certain fixed external costs, you may pay the invoices for those fixed external costs but it’s your customer who’s really paying. Same as when the taxi driver tells you there’s an airport charge and that’s going to be reflected in the fare – the airport gets paid by the taxi company, but you’re still the one who’s really paying the airport charge.
“… but it’s your customer who’s really paying.”
I’m simply testing KJT’s logic. He claims that my tenants are paying my interest. If that is the case, then in an employment transactions, an employer is paying their employees grocery bill. I don’t actually think either is true, but let’s see whether KJT can understand.
No. Your customers are paying your employees grocery bill.
You are just the middleman.
My customers don’t have access to employees spending habits. They have no influence over them, he’ll they don’t even know most of them.
Your customers are paying for your employees work, not you.
In fact, your customers would probably get it done cheaper and better, if they simply used the employees.
My customers don’t have access to my employees bank accounts, so no, the company pays them. I’ll wreck you argument with one easy example. A customer doesn’t place any orders for 3 months. Who pays the wages during that time?
well, all of multi-house owners I know put down a deposit and get tenants to effectively pay the mortgage. so that would mean that tenants are paying the interest. just like your customers of your business are paying your food bills. …but then reality and you are just shits,er, ships that pass in the night.
I don’t have any tenants paying any money to my bank, ergo, I am paying the mortgage. The clue to your comment is the in the word ‘effectively’.
A mortgage is the worse way of owning property. All a mortgage is is a scheduled paymement. Better to rent and just take the deposit and buy some REITs. REITs are legislated to pay 90% back to investors so you don’t pay the scheduled payment, you receive it. Mortgage is death, renting is freedom.
“A mortgage is the worse way of owning property. “
You can’t be serious. Unless you are cash rich, mortgages are the INLY way of owning property.
Oh god. Delete that. Try debating a rat or something.
Mortgages are the worse way of owning property.
So you take a $1,000,000 loan in exchange the bank offers you access to there products with which to sell @$20 a pop and pay back the loan and end up paying back 2 or 3 times the principle.
Fuck that. I ain’t never getting on what ever ride you’re on. NEVER.
Whatever you’re smoking, it is addling your brain.
Okay Dr Social Media. Don’t try and deny it, you got triggered.
so are tenants paying money into your bank , or paying you in cash ? if yes, they are paying the interest and principle for you. dont dance on the head of a pin,its tiresome and pathetic. and in the public eye, makes you look even more of a prat.
Gee it’s you who is dancing. I pay the mortagage. And the maintenance. My tenants pay me rent. Unless you think an employer pays his workers power bills.
Despite Dr Galloway’s pessimism below, there is still time for the Government to get the messaging back and save the Capital Gains Tax in some form.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12208246
“Massey University public relations and crisis management specialist Dr Chris Galloway says this strategy has played an integral role in setting the tone for anything related to capital gains tax.
“The one who describes the crisis at the beginning often goes on to frame the subsequent debate,” Galloway told the Herald.
“I think the Government is in danger of losing the debate, if they haven’t already, because they haven’t come out very clearly at the beginning to frame the debate themselves.
“They seem to have been swamped by the naysayers.”
Whatever substance our Minister of Finance has, will be drawn in his personal framing of the debate when the Government positions announced in five weeks’ time.
Polls are good Prime Minister: don’t do a John Key and fail to spend your hard-earned political capital.
Why dont we talk about how Māori land ownership is flourishing.
Gwan then sammy, knock yourself out.
>definitely is not bait.
Thanks ad. I’m not sure what a pr and crisis management specialists role is, but I don’t entirely agree with his comments in the Herald article. The Tax Working Party has made its recommendations, the right wingers have responded, the media has responded, and the Government in the correct order of things will now consider how to respond.
It’s a falasy making finance and much less taxes about left or right, identity and feelings. It’s neither left nor right to have functioning market.
Edit: for all New Zealanders :p
I am trying to work out if you are taking the piss or not.
A functioning market is a fiction, a fiction loved by folk of the right.
Often cited leading up to the point where losses need to be socialized.
You know, after profits were privatised. A la SCF, Mainzeal, BNZ…..
Just wanted to give you a few minutes to realise that we do have a housing market in “crises” ie not functioning properly, piss boy.
The problem of late has not been market function, so much as market integrity.
PPPs have not been held to any kind of delivery standard, so their ostensible market purity doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.
Likewise edumigration scams – great as a business, shit for the country.
Ditto Southern Response – gaming claims, not helping rebuild.
It’s truly not left or right, but honest/dishonest.
But where are the principled righties condemning such rorts? Where is Wayne, for example? Apparently in the same place he was for the whole of the Key administration – silently assenting to the ongoing corruption.
Y’old Wayne definitely found his voice and courage upon retiring from parliament. He’s a hardline, dedicated and disciplined liar. He doesn’t lye per say. He omits certain things so telling half truths. He’s really quiet good at it when he’s punching down. But a former Prime Minister of New Zealand facing fraud charges. That’s shame. It’s the repentance the sector requires. We don’t need these people running there mouths in private. We need them front and centre so every one can see there bullshit.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-wilson-raybould-said-she-was-subjected-to-veiled-threats-in-snc/
All this talk of trump and most have forgotten about Trudeau. He could be in for a lot of trouble.
I see you’ve been to Kiwiblog to find out what to think today.
I’m a little surprised that David Farrar hasn’t drawn your and his other followers attention to the plight of Benjamin Netanyahu who is actually to be indicted for corruption, bribery and fraud in three different cases.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/world/middle-east/110948460/corruption-charges-against-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu
Perhaps Netanyahu, like Jair Bolsonaro, is another world leader who you look up to?
It’s CORBYN’S fault.
Hahhahahahaha re bibi. Bloody good job.
Betcha kiwiblog won’t be talking about that.
What if an area of great poverty be chosen to fix the plight of families and children?
This area would be given the number of staff needed and the backup resources.
Social welfare officers would have a case load of say10 rather than the current overload of 30. (Burnt out staff might return to help.)
Housing needs would be filled.
Employment opportunities enhanced.
My plan would demonstrate, or not, that fully funded needs could make a difference.
Also read https://www.newsroom.co.nz/@future-learning/2019/02/28/466240/kiwi-life-is-it-really-just-all-about-rentals?preview=1 by Ian Hislop.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s as a Child Welfare Officer in Wellington/Porirua I had a case load of over 100.
Just saying.
Had I had a case load even as low as 30 I think I could have been much more effective in my work rather than rushing from one crisis to the next.
Macro you must have a load of ideas of how the most effective help could be given to the struggling and those with bad parenting styles. It would be good if we could have a Sunday post on this sometime in the way that Robert has – and this would be one on Families in poverty of finances, houses and mindset. I know that some are so busy on day to day stuff that they have little time to take steps to improve their state.
Thank you grey for those kind remarks.
Over the years I guess I have gathered some ideas – but I feel far from being an expert. The ideas promoted by ianmac above are very worthy of consideration. The concept of a social hub for communities is not new and I know that during the last parliamentary term one of the parliamentary committees were actually considering such a thing based on the schools in an area. Ive seen such things in WA where the local high school in Warnborough (south of Perth) houses the local library, hall, and a medical centre, (even a church) with all the facilities that go with such a centre. The local swimming pool (massive by NZ standards) is right next door.
Ianmac
Great idea.
Reading Ian Hyslop – in his reference to the Expert Panel’s attitude to social workers as being in a failing system I believe he is coming from a business approach which wants to do something once and then move on. Business and the machine mind is irritated by people in general’ all having problems which have to be considered in a modern, fair society. People needing social work assistance need more than one time of helping, someone to lean on, and to help them stand straight and learn how to manage until the next problem in their lives.
The three strikes and your in for good attitude, to criminals, is on the same road, coming from irritation and a lack of respect for the human inside us all. Another example is how government agencies will deny a long-running help group the necessary funds to continue and yet fund someone new. Because the previous group hasn’t solved the problem, the thinking is let it go, and let’s try if someone else can do better. The thought that the people being helped are presented in life with a situation shaped so they can never have a regular life that is counted as the norm, and the big thing for them is to learn to maximise their opportunities in what’s offered to them, escapes the attention of the administrators who will have some high or zero target that their eyes will be fixed on, and their income also.
I like to draw analogies. This is like the fable about the autocrat who said that a young woman who I think was to marry his son, had first to turn straw into gold cloth or she would face some punishment. Distraught, she was helped by the magic of a wily and devious goblin who said I’ll help you lady but you must give me your first born. That was the basic story of Rumplestiltskin. Parents with children who are not managing in our society, are having their children removed in increasing numbers by a Maori-named organisation whose executive I saw imaged recently was distinctly middle-class, older, pakeha.
John Mortimer had a dig at the ‘caring profession’ in his story Rumpole and the Children of the Devil in his collection Rumple on Trial. He emphasised their
willingness to jump for misconduct in any behaviour, and their prejudiced attitudes which they reinforced by askingthe child leading questions that would implicate the parents sufficiently to make a case against them, and take the child away.
But there have been projects done that could act as templates for something today to get love and willingness to help a parent or parents in a respectful way to move up from distress and basic survival. It won’t succeed all the time but that 80/20 ratio that is referred to as a rule of thumb in reckons would be a brilliant change.
Here is info about one project of a Social hub for the community of Aranui, Christchurch late last century.
Sister Pauline O’Regan and her companion sisters set up a community hub in an area of Christchurch, Aranui. There were many young women with their children there. They needed support – couldn’t manage just from their own communal resources. (This is the sort of good thing that has come out of the Catholic Church which should not be overlooked in the dismay of learning the faults that have arisen in that institution.)
https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/28131/sisters-of-mercy-in-the-community
http://www.sistersofmercy.org.nz/mercy-in-action/fx-reflection.cfm?id=290&loadref=135
https://www.nzcatholic.org.nz/2017/07/12/aranui-sisters-mercy-farewelled-parishioners/
https://www.pressreader.com/
The book Sister Pauline wrote in partnership with Sister Teresa O’Connor, entitled, Community – Give it a Go! has been widely used ever since by community workers all over New Zealand. It was later turned into a workbook under the title, I Can Change Anything ̶ But Not On My Own.
https://www.bwb.co.nz/authors/pauline-oregan
Yes please Grey re the idea for a weekend post re the above.
Thanks for sharing that link Ianmac.
Macro, much much respect, people like yourself change and save lives, even long after a person has left such a role. It’s the knowledge you’ve gained and the resulting ideas which you share, that make a massive difference in peoples lives.
Mum worked for what’s now known as CYF’s in the late 60’s early 70’s, not sure what her case load was like. But what she learnt in that role and the resulting knowledge she’s shared, has helped me to be a better parent.
In those days what became CYF was called Child Welfare and it was a Division of the Education Dept. In Wellington we had a staff of around 20 social workers and our office served all of Wellington and up the West coast to Porirua, Elsdon, Paramata, and Titahi Bay. My patch included all the boy state wards at Porirua Hospital – around 30 if IRC, half of Porirua, and Titahi Bay . The boys in Porirua Hospital were in state care, but it was the hospital who determined their fate. It was depressing work visiting the infamous M8 secure ward where many of the boys were. I can tell you, sitting in a padded cell listening to a young guy who had been incarcerated there, was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life and it still haunts me. I managed to get a few of them out. One young lad on gaining the age of 18, I managed to find some accommodation for him in a hostel in the city, got him a job on a construction site – actually earning more than my meagre salary 🙂 – and then we went shopping to get some decent clothes, and he was away!
That was only part of the job – the other was visiting and writing up court reports for the magistrate in the youth court. There could be up to 6 or so court reports to be written each week. And most of those would result in supervision ie more work.
Woah Macro, that’s a massive area to cover for just 20 staff, especially with the lack of modern technology, quite mind boggling when one thinks about it.
The M8 ward.. don’t think I’m familiar with that place, going to do the google tomorrow and check it out. Sounds terrible. Maybe I have seen something about it once on 60minutes or Sunday….
Much respect Macro.
Thought I would look it up for you. It thankfully is no longer in existence, but the women’s equivalent (F Ward) is and has been preserved as an historic building. It is a little “grander” than the M ward. and a pic and description of the ward is given on the historical places trust site here
http://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/7444
Here is a modern day impression of life in the women’s ward:
https://publicaddress.net/access/cool-asylum-porirua-hospital-museum/
Frankly that is a little glossy in its depiction. Electric shock “treatment” was the standard practice and the patients hated and feared it. If you weren’t disturbed before – you were now! It was given almost indiscriminately. ECT has its place I gather in treatment of some severe mental illness, but back then it was applied almost universally. I’m sure most of those admitted in the 60’s would not be today. Indeed according to Wiki “Most patients were released into community-based care in the 1970s”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porirua_Lunatic_Asylum
“We have been warned”…….Hoots ramping up the anti Ardern rhetoric in the fish wrap this morning. Bet he’s pissed about aunty Jenny getting all that bad press.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-finance/news/article.cfm?c_id=12&objectid=12208234
The ‘Ardern is in shock’ line was invented by Barry Super the other day I think and here are the usual suspects pushing it as fake news.
I had a snigger at the head line on Sopper CGT article
Taxpayers set to suffer most in capital gains tax rumble
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12207622
WELL DUH
Seems strange coming from Soper as he has always been very left leaning. Why has he turned on Adern?
You’re wrong on Soper’s political leanings. His default position is clearly right wing and always has been. Of course he’ll write clickbait in order to promote himself, no matter who is in government.
I disagree, I think Soper, Trotter, Jessie Mulligan, John Campbell are all very left leaning.
Leighton Smith, Mike Hosking, Larry Williams right leaning
Soper left? What are you drinking?
He is a nasty piece who takes every opportunity to knock.
Airbnb. No care, no responsibility.
Here they are complicit in illegal building activity by having unsafe buildings listed on their App.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12208397
Airbnb. No care, no responsibility.
What do you expect Airbnb to do? they’re not going to go and check every single listing to see if they’re code compliant?
If people think the accommodation is shit, they’ll get it a low score or if it’s unsafe, dirty etc, you get back in touch with Airbnb and they’ll refund your money and remove the listing from the site unless improvements are made.
I’d hate to think how many dangerous and illegal dwellings they list on their website.
Perhaps the model needs looking at…
Perhaps the model needs looking at
You seem to be very hostile towards Airbnb.
If people don’t want to rent their properties out but instead prefer to make income via Airbnb what’s the problem?
It reduces long term rental stock and leaves it empty and unused for most of the year. That’s not a good used of resources and is damaging to low income communities.
There are approximately 6000 whole house/apartment Airbnbs in Auckland alone which is a lot of families.
It is the owners choice what they do with their property. Why should it bother you?
You keep on brining up the same points that have been thoroughly debunked. Moteliers, y’know, business owners can’t compete.
Did you even read what I wrote?
Again it is not YOUR business what someone decides to do with THEIR property. If they want to keep it empty for the majority of the year that should be their right.
Faark no. I’d too many houses go unoccupied regulators will move on the industry any way.
… no matter what the impact is on the community that they depend on!
If you want to influence their decision you can do it by offering more of an incentive for them to make it available i.e. off them more money.
The benefits are all a bit one directional aren’t they Gos?
Don’t you think that the landlord benefits from the presence of and interaction with the community?
Why pay premiums to Airbnb when Novotel will give a $90 suit with breakfast voucher. You make adsolutly no sense gooie and your education is shit.
The landlord obviously doesn’t value such an interaction in a case where they don’t do what the community wants them to do.
Cheers Gosman, this is exactly right – yet the landlord is dependent on the community around them. So if we are arguing this from a moral perspective and that this is the basis of the establishment of rules and law, it becomes everyone’s business what the landlord does with their property. No landlord, just as no man, is an island.
Some people are socially conscious.
And some aren’t.
Well, if you wanted to change the use of your property from residential to commercial wouldn’t you would need resource consent from the council?
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/everyday-guide-applying-resource-consent/everyday-guide-applying-resource
Oh right, yes you would.
If a new AirBnB is your neighbour shouldn’t you, at the very least, be notified by the owner? Seeing as you’ll actually be living next to it?
So true. Airbnb guests are told to lie to neighbours about who they are. Can’t be a very nice holiday experience.
“It is the owners choice what they do with their property. Why should it bother you?”
Of course it’s not an absolute right. If they do things with/on the property that are a danger to the community (e.g. manufacture explosives) the community reserves the right to intervene.
The argument is therefore not about the right to intervene – that right already exists and is well established. It’s about what sorts of uses of the property call for such intervention. You can imagine society deciding that using a property as an airbnb is sufficiently socially irresponsible that intervention is justified.
I wouldn’t make that judgment myself – but my point is that you are deliberately framing the argument incorrectly and adopting an absolutist position on private property rights – the sure signs of a charlatan.
A sound argument, although adopting an absolutist position on private property rights – the sure signs of a charlatan. is probably more a sign of Gosman’s libertarian impulses showing through.
He makes a fair point though, while private property rights are not absolute and there are many well understood constraints on them, it’s also true that the opposite extreme is equally undesirable. If the state impinges too heavily on property rights it erodes trust and motivates people to move their capital to places more secure.
The massive flight of capital out of China being the most obvious contemporary example. (And incidentally the main reason why property in NZ is now so expensive.)
Exactly. While I agree that people shouldn’t be able to do absolutely ANYTHING on a property exceptions to private property usage rights should be rare and need a level of justification that discourages others from applying them. The trouble with the views expressed by some here is that the argument around people using or not using their properties in a particular commercial manner is so subjective it opens the door for all sorts of abuse of private property rights.
Absolutist as always.
Regulating the short term stay market doesn’t automatically mean banning Airbnb, but I guess in your darkened and paranoid world it’s the lefty boogie-man coming to get you again.
As I said before, empty houses are a waste of resources and socially damaging especially in a under housed market and every effort should be made to encourage multiple house owners to ditch the amateur hotelier badge and do what they pretend to do, which is to provide housing.
It isn’t your decision to make if the resources are being wasted because they aren’t your resources. If you think they could be used in another manner then buy them and use them for that purpose. Trying to force others to do so smacks of totalitarianism or at least opens up the path to such an eventuality.
Oh dear. Someone doesn’t know what the word “government” means. 😂
The trouble with your mindset is you think the government should as a matter of course be able to do anything it likes so long as it is deemed to be in the public good. Whereas I take the view that the government shouldn’t be able to do anything they want and should only be able to intervene in rare cases where there is overwhelming evidence that widespread harm would occur if they did not intervene.
Yep. Widespread harm – that’s what is happening now.
The trouble with your mindset is you refuse to recognise it because it doesn’t affect you personally.
So we agree that people shouldn’t be able to do absolutely anything on a property, nor should they be able to do absolutely nothing.
This is true – but barely above the level of a tautology in its information content. The messy ground in the middle is what we call politics.
Personally I hate being told what to do and prefer to be left alone. I resist all authority unless it is democratic in origin and can justify itself. For this reason I am more hostile to private economic power than to state power.
It’s interesting to note that right wingers distrust big government, while left wingers get anxious about big corporations. The common factor being big.
In both instances there is there is there is the “impulse to resist all authority”. Although your point about authority which is democratically accountable is well made and I’m in agreement with you on that. It’s why I’m fundamentally very much a left winger.
Yet we should not be entirely dismissive of those who see ‘big government’ as equally provocative; after all there are plenty of examples of governments acting in very bad faith indeed against the interests of individuals who inconvenience them in some manner.
It reduces long term rental stock and leaves it empty and unused for most of the year. That’s not a good use of resources and is damaging to low-income communities.
Places that are on Airbnb would never be rented to low-income families, they wouldn’t be able to afford the rent.
Just out of curiosity I checked out listings for Airbnb in Otara and Manurewa, there were only 100 listings and most of those were quite expensive looking places.
The problem for low-income families is not Airbnb, the problem is trying to find a place they can afford to rent.
Maybe Ardern and her ship of fools should concentrate on social housing, instead of Kiwifarce.
The places listed on Airbnb might not be suitable for low income families but they would be for higher income families who then have no access to them so are forced rent the places that would be suitable for low income communities. They inevitably get crowded out because Airbnb listings take houses off the market. This is damaging in a housing crisis such as ours.
The figures for Auckland I have estimated from data collected here: http://insideairbnb.com
There’s not a shortage of rental properties, there’s a huge shortage of affordable rentals
On trade me, there are currently 2026 listings for 3 bedrooms + in the Auckland area.
But if I want a 3 bedroom place for
$400 a week and under there are 27
$500 a week and under there are 198
Within a year thanks to Labour I doubt you’ll find a three bedroom place to rent in the Auckland area for under $550
You can blame Ardern for that.
Yes blame the Government! Blame the Government!
Blame Adern for my prediction!?
Bullshit.
They were at those kind of levels in 2016 for renting. The only thing that has changed since then is that as tenancy agreements have rolled over they have been bumped up to the markets rate.
Rents in Auckland have been pretty stable through 2018. Basically the prior changes to requiring tax accounts and close enforcement of speculation laws have had the effect of stalling speculative buying. Now we just have the backlog of a decade of National’s high immigration and laziness about building infrastructure and accomadarion.
I think that you just see what you want to see.
The truth is that National are just a disaster for NZ every time they get into government. Just lazy fuckwits.
Crap BM,
Ardern is doing a better job of looking after homeless than your mob did.
bm, let’s change that to …. a huge shortage of un- affordable housing (not just rentals).
Our home has doubled in value in the last five years. That’s completely obscene in my eyes, god only knows how people can afford a deposit let alone a mortgage these days. And the rates due to the increased land value, far out $$$.
The prior nat government is to blame for that.
And. As Labour are trying to do something about it, we just get endless road blocks from the wealthy end of the right wing.
Who are doing rather well out of low wages, high rents, capital gains on buying and selling existing assets, and lack of taxes on high incomes, and wealth. Thanks very much.
Of course there is also the “useful idiots” who are not well off, but have the delusion that they will be, one day. When their specialness’ is recognised. Who don’t want taxes on the rich, because they dream of becoming one of them.
Well said KJT.
Normal people put cars in the garage, not families. Under such conditions everything has to be considered.
Great line, that.
Garage – house, Spedos – Undies It’s all a matter of interpretation and context Sammy boy
I know a lot of normal people and in my experience your statement is false.
Garages in New Zealand aren’t used to store cars in most cases. They are to hold all the junk that people accumulate. There is simply no room for their car(s).
They aren’t commonly used for people to live in these days although I know a number who have done it.
It was quite common in the beach resort of Waikanae on the Kapiti Coast north of Waikane for people to have a “garage” built. There was no access to them with a car but the building rules for them were pretty lax and they were fine as a weekender.
Now the place is full of McMansions owned by very well paid Civil Servants. It doesn’t feel like a place to relax any more. Sigh.
Insurance says put your car in the garage or pay with your sole.
Alwyn.
Bullshit!!!!
I have three garages on two properties on our family property and every garage has a vehicle.
You must have either poor people in your world or rich hoarders.
How can you possibly consider yourself to be a Greenie when you own all those vehicles? You really must be one of those selfish rich pricks that Michael Cullen seems to hate so much, and you certainly aren’t setting a good example in using Public Transport exclusively.
Multiple properties as well as multiple vehicles too. The CGT is going to whack you.
I see why you are so scornful of the common people who are as poor as muck. I’ll bet you don’t really like to associate with those that you really rich types seem to regard as the scum, rather than the salt, of the earth.
It is a bit patronising of course to talk about me like this though.
“You must have either poor people in your world”.
But I do. As I am sure you are aware, as written in the good book
“Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.”
and
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied”.
You are apparently not a typical household of course. The latest census said that 16% of households had 3 or more vehicles so you are not typical. I would love to have more up to date figures but the Minister of Statistics doesn’t seem at all interested in the subject.
http://archive.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-transport-comms/number-motor-vehicles.aspx
I think therefore the people I know are far more typical of the New Zealand population than you are and therefor I do not accept your personal circumstances as being in any way typical.
I’ve had people living in my garage until they could find a place, due to the lack of and cost of housing.
A couple of houses down from us the Grandparents are living in the garage and the kids and adults live in the house.
I’ve had homeless teenagers couch surfing in my garage for years.
My kids are good at picking up needy strays. Human and animal?
Now have my daughter and her partner. Did it up to house insulation standards, though.
Young people simply cannot afford a place to live.
You wonder why the resentment towards landlords and property speculators/sorry, investors..
We’ve seen it over the last few years, all around us. Reasonably priced houses being pushed into stratospheric prices by wannabee, “landlords” from Auckland.
As for the rise in rents.
That just leaves too possible solutions. One is to eliminate poverty, the other is to eliminate democracy. It’s pretty clear that Jacinda’s solution is to eliminate poverty and every iteration of National Party leader the most recent in Simon Bridges is to privatise the tax system and eliminate as much government as possible regardless of the consequences.
That leaves the problem that if we do have democracy the majority of the poor will use there power to do socialist wealth redistribution reform and a top tax rate past 33% just won’t be allowed and as time goes on the problem of increasing tax hikes only gets worse because there’s a growing percentage of the population that are going to suffer under neoliberal rule and serious austerity measures and will secretly long for more equal and equatable distribution of life’s blessings and if they have the vote they may do something about it which is one reason why National voters tend to be older and tend to frown real hard on the down trodden for no other reason than it would threaten the wealth and power of the elites.
That just leaves the problem of a majority being impoverished which threatens the wealthy control of property. In that position I would say to Jacinda I always thought New Zealand would be a great country but we have to have an idea of it, that is an efficient, open, competitive, cosmopolitan republic. Yes I said a republic that is integrating itself with the Oceania Region. We have to give the economy a new economic engine which ultimately finds comfort and security in Oceania. We find our prosperity in Oceania, we find our security in Oceania. That’s why we have to be a republic so we can come to terms with Māori and Pacific Islanders and ultimate find peace and comfort in New Zealand.
Ardern has no shipley of fools BMmer.
100% Gabby.
Here’s two of several that I know of in my burg where permanent tenants were given the arse and the properties listed on Airbnd.
https://screenshotscdn.firefoxusercontent.com/images/7a9cf02f-c9a4-49d3-b481-b0ea69cb9d1e.png
https://screenshotscdn.firefoxusercontent.com/images/efbb2101-c059-44fb-b593-fe21da05f1ad.png
Good research.
Like John Key, BM thinks a quick Trademe search provides all the relevant stats on housing.
BM, your last sentence tells us where your loyalties lie.
You do not criticise Simon Bridges, for his stupid tweet behaviour, Jenny
Shipley for her reckless directorship, or any right wing mistakes, Bennett for her poor ability to keep information private.
After 10 years of light handed Government, we had Hospitals broke, some with unhealthy walls, Schools needing maintenance and a critical housing shortage with run away prices. No instead you call the Government “Adern and her ship of fools”
You are definitely in the blue boat, and don’t seem to realise there has been 1000 social houses built, 1600 winter places found for the homeless, money given to Marae to update facilities, as well as the beginning of Kiwi Build.
What would you do instead? Please try to be civil if you can.
Good to hear you want the housing crisis solved bm
Well BMmer, if they’re advertising falsely, they’re responsible for that aren’t thy.
They require the oweners to ensure the properties meet standards. They can’t be expected to ensure every one of the properties listed is inspected by someone. You don’t go to a travel site on the web expecting that would you?
You’re literally conceding the burden of carry again. People literally go to the air BnB app to rate the accomodation.
Nope, Air Bnb is just a brokering service.
No not if they are simply brokering a service and not acting as householders agent In their interest to ensure accuracy re credibility of business of which direct and transparent customer feedback seems more then adequate, while also very quick
actually if they don’t want to get sued at some stage by people who got injured or died due to unsuitable housing advertised on their business, yes they should. It would be good business practice for them to protect them from liability should a yahoo landlord/lady decide they like to fleece tourist for a quick buck for very little bang.
Wouldn’t say that Airbnb were complicit in the breach but you could start to put together a case that QLDC were by omission. The initial complaint was in Jan 17 but no site visit was made, just a few emails sent, and things didn’t get going until May 18 when another complaint was made, then it took another 18 months for the slap with wet bus ticket in court.
In kinda defence of QLDC they have been rather busy dealing with the total taps off approach of the previous government to development around here and ensuing lax compliance by some developers and builders.
This is an issue with disruptive global tech. Any other retailer or developer must provide proof their product is safe for consumption.
But with the new model the global platforms of airbnb, Lime, and uber take little or no responsibility for the safety of the public using the products and services listed on their websites and from which they generate tax free profit.
New tech = new regulation.
And don’t leave out, as the global privateers move in, they elbow the locals trying to do a reasonable job and conforming reasonably to the local laws, out of business.
Then we are into unreasonable, fake, phony, PR, and lack of trust in everything. And possibly can’t afford to buy anything anyway, because all our money is being siphoned away>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> with no full stop at the end – unless government is enabled by thinking and perspicacious voters to get off the pot. (And finding enough of them is as hard as it is to spell perserppkashus!)
No new tech often means no need for regulation as self regulation and system recalibrates itself, hence less control required and much more efficient at meeting a market need etc, hence why disruptive Think ant colonies, bird swarms etc how much control and regulation do they need
All you need to validate your argument is a couple of examples of ant colonies adopting new tech.
We’ll wait.
Your arguement is a fallacy Stuey and very weak at that, and I know you know it The holy grail for any systen efficiency is self calibration with out the need for overding control, this applies to technology and biological systems Thsts why roundabouts are often more efficient than lights etc
Self calibration isn’t always successful with disruptive tech companies, Bewildered, the fuckers aren’t even paying tax yet.
Maybe you think this endpoint is success: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/03/bike-share-oversupply-in-china-huge-piles-of-abandoned-and-broken-bicycles/556268/
Despite the appeal of Lime scooters as a source of parts, they provide no value as yet to offset the injuries they are causing. Not a business model with a lengthy future.
Did not argue all technology companies more the general principal and air bnb , talk about straw man arguement and false equivalence
These logical fallacies are great things to wave at the punters, Bewildered, but they work better if you actually understand what they mean eh.
You came up with a couple of weaksauce arguments so threadbare it was hard not to drive a truck through them, now you’re whining because you overgeneralized and got picked up.
Write what you mean – if you mean anything.
That is why Government provision is often cheaper and more efficient than private provision.
All the costs loaded onto the community, both in lack of care about the effectiveness and safety of the service, but also all the costs of making the buggers behave.
Possibly but Railways MOW, Telecom etc pre deregulation would suggest not, similarly the choice we have now after deregulation in contrast to state controlled and closed economy pre deregulation in 1984 also suggest your arguement is very weak beyond monopolies and issue of public private externalities
Still, bewildered eh.
Attributing changes from technical advances, over time, to privatisation, is a common fallacy from the right wing.
Certainly MOW, built roads and infrastructure, trained people and kept a pool of skills in the public service for a lot less, than we pay for all those things, now.
The Christchurch reconstruction boon doggie wasn’t helped that we no longer have good project managers in State employment.
Railways was fucking run into the ground, after privatisation. Needing an expensive State rescue, which we are still paying for.
Do you people have blinkers on.
I’m trying to think of examples where zero, low, or self-regulation has improved safety for workers and consumers…
Plenty of counter examples.
Leaky houses.
Pike River.
Canterbury earthquake rebuild.
Auckland power supplies.
Uber.
Every depression.
Etc etc etc…….
Precisely. I can’t quite believe the righties would promote self-regulation after such a series of disasters for workers because of it.
Perhaps they don’t care about workers and their families? The National Party certainly doesn’t.
We can add.
Finance companies.
Loan sharks.
An almost endless list of harm, due to lack of regulation.
Remember days when you could only get white bread and coloured white bread call brown bread or you had to use railways to freight anything more than 100km or you had to apply to government to get forgein currency or it 6 weeks to get a phone or only the railways could run Ferries across the cook straightb etc……,Just think a little harder beyond your ideological prejudice
What a ridiculous connection.
There’s a genuine paucity of thought apparent on the right wing at the moment, illustrated perfectly by your comments and Simon Bridges’ leadership.
I remember those days because was there and the only place any of those things are true is in your febrile imagination.
Yes. I remember the days when an ‘apprentice’ could buy a section, and, go ski-ing. I did both. The house was hard, due to the Neo-liberals 25%, interest rates after 84.
When a “caretaker” built and campaigned a race yacht with the nobs.
When the well off lived in the same street, as the rest.
When milk and bread were affordable, for a low income family with five kids. Along with a Sunday roast.
When we had no beggars on the streets.
When young families, could afford, to take a car across Cook Strait.
When we paid 60% top tax rate, but schools had enough funds, any child could get an apprenticeship, and if you were academic, University scholarships, pregnant Mum’s got a week, or more, in hospital if they needed it and damn near everyone had a decent paying job, and a house.
When ordinary “hard working Kiwi’s” had enough to start innovative businesses.
Sure, there were a lot of things that could be improved, but Governments since 84, not only threw out the dirty bathwater. They threw out the baby, the bath and sold the fucking house from under us.
I remember, all right.
This is why our current lot in government should look at aggressively regulating the market. To the same extend as hotels/motels/hostels/backpackers are regulated.
i.e. hygiene, safety exits, kitchen facilities (food control plan), staffing, licensing, registration etc etc etc
But so as long as the government does diddly squat everything goes. But then, that is NZ housing in general innit?
Na, the Airbnb element is sort of irrelevant. The same sort of thing went on in previous boom cycles here but with slightly different flavours.
Last cycle there would have been 40 backpackers doing casual / illegal work living on the property and the owner / lessee charging them each $200 + a week to stay there. Airbnb has at least got rid of that sort of shit. So we’re getting a better class of non-compliance if that’s any consolation.
The real issue here is a Council that is totally snowed under and trades that are doing illegal work. They appear to have had 4 residential units on the property, so someone installed 3 kitchens and bathrooms in the place without consent, and the Council didn’t follow up on the initial complaint properly, probably because they were too busy.
“So we’re getting a better class of non-compliance if that’s any consolation.”
Thanks Graeme for that chuckle.
If the Don of America’s #1 Crime Family was worried about his consigliere getting called to testify in the House, well, now’s the time to really freak out. His money man is expected to be called to testify.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/house-intel-will-call-trump-org-moneyman-allen-weisselberg-to-testify?ref=home
RNZ reports that all front-line police officers in Canterbury have been told to carry firearms until further notice. The decision was made by the district commander, Superintendent John Price.
Police Association president Chris Cahill told Morning Report routine arming of police could be where New Zealand was heading.
Police Minister, Stuart Nash supports this action, but won’t be interviewed.
Barrister Nicholas Taylor, who specialises in firearms law, says police have “very inadequate training with their Glock 17 pistols and bushmaster rifles”. “If you’re engaging with various offenders in built up areas, specialist training really needs to be employed so that innocent civilians don’t get caught in the crossfire.”
It was not the New Zealand way to have our police armed, he said.
Another attack on the Kiwi way of life?
Unintended consequences of promoting few prisons and repealing the 3 strikes law?
Maybe that’s how Labour is going to decrease the prison population? the police will just shoot the criminals.
Clever, I didn’t expect that.
BM did you know this happens frequently, it’s not a new thing, it was happening prior to the change of government.
The only difference is, in this particular situation they decided to publicly announce it, re ChCh police being armed.
BM has a lapse of memory Cinny.
Lucky for him we are here to help 🙂
It would be bloody hard to disguise the fact that they are all going to be carrying pistols in holsters on their hip.
Prior to this they had weapons but they were stored in the car.
I hope we don’t get the situation that happened close to where I lived in Melbourne. A young man, who was mentally disturbed, was sitting on a park bench whacking at it with a machete. A policeman ordered him to drop it and when he didn’t he shot him, claiming that he, the policeman was in danger. In fact all he was doing was hitting the bench.
Having the weapons on their hip must be far to tempting.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m so not down with the police carrying guns on their hips.
Trigger happy hunters are bad enough, let alone trigger happy police. We don’t need bloodlusting police like the USA, that’s for sure.
That Melbourne story you shared Alwyn, scary that he reached for the gun so quickly.
But in this instance it’s not a new thing, it just hasn’t been publicised like this before.
It was a long time ago, at least 25 years in fact, but it scared me at the time. I wasn’t used to armed police who were quite willing to use their weapons so readily.
I was left wondering what sort of society I had moved to.
Interesting international stat’s via wiki, it appears that some countries aren’t very good at recording such fatalities… so thankful to live in NZ.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_firearm_use_by_country
The three strikes law hasn’t been repealed. Looking at the Justice website there have been 6 “third strikes”. Of those, 2 or 3 have been in the news because the sentencing judge said the full sentence for the third strike offense was manifestly unjust and made it a good deal shorter.
If anything having a third strike law is associated with the police arming themselves.
Of allowing cronies to import illegal drugs and wash their takings through casinos indinana?
I wondered about the pseudonym indiana and got this from youtube.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uss-NZrkSdg
It looks as if Indiana state is as full of BS as us so from usa to nz us, doesn’t look a big step, and they can help us to some better PR. As long as you don’t look
behind the coloured curtain; or into the future in all its changing colours – brilliant sun and green and brown, some bright orange, then black, then dark greeny-brown of flood water, then back to brown again, then brilliant, some green, then brown.
We should keep in touch with Indiana – have a sister city there if not already.
Well done Greywarshark;
Time to rout all the fake media please!!!!
I am a great deal more worried for the lives of innocent bystanders.
Remember the 17 year old courier driver the police shot in Auckland about 10 years ago?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10553399
Current Labour MP, Greg O’Connor, defended the police. In his opinion the police did nothing wrong and it wasn’t their fault if they shot an innocent bystander.
Some compensation was finally paid, after the Police fought the case for about four years but the police involved were totally exonerated.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9087918/225k-compensation-for-Naitoko-death
I wonder if the police are finally going to be taught to look at what is behind their target before they open fire?
Especially when the police association think, “the public just have to get more used to the police shooting people”.
The call for guns for police, are certainly not because of a greater danger to police.
Look at ACC, where police are at for dangers in the workplace. Somewhere about office workers. The most danger is their own driving.
Personally I think persons that feel they need a gun to do the job, do not belong in the police.
Gnashy’s in the wrong party.
Nashional?
I heard Cahill on the tranny yesty (day before?), he was asked about the Police Union’s stance on firearms, he replied (paraphrasing, I forget the term he used) for officers to have sidearms.
Coincidentally, this issue arises in Canterbury, and the order is given.
Not till the perp is apprehended, but ‘until further notice.
I thought under O’Connor, the desire was to not be armed.
Who is watching the watchers?
https://youtu.be/Y4LAb777Dtg
You were put here to protect us, but who protects us from you?
Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone
The police often look to the USA to guide them on how to do the job. Of course they love their guns there. And the war against drugs has given them ready-made villains and an excuse to use their hardware. After all if you are carrying weaponry you might as well use it. And when they don’t have guns, they can always fall back on the length of their batons as proof of their manhood; women? They have to fit into the cull-ture.
I have been watching Flint on Netflix, about the Police force there: stretched, under resourced, off side with their community.
Anyhoo the weapons training has a military feel to it.
Something that has caused consternation in the US, the para military way the police force is going.
“I thought under O’Connor, the desire was to not be armed”.
Where on earth did you get that idea?
When he was head of the Union he always supported arming the Police.
It was only after he became a prospective MP that he started rewriting history.
When he was in the Union he said
“In a report on the association’s conference in October, 2014, O’Connor is quoted saying, “I believe the time has come to arm every frontline officer”.
In a column O’Connor wrote for NZME in that same month, he said, “It is time to overcome our squeamishness and arm police.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/89338825/greg-oconnor-not-in-favour-of-general-arming-of-police-officers
The “not in favour” stance only started after he was chosen as a Labour Party candidate.
As a representative of the union, he had to advocate for the union position, not his own. Now that he is more free to give his own opinion, he is.
Could I suggest that he was able in the past to express his own opinions.
As a candidate for Labour he has to toe the party line?
Here is the man himself stating the position.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/89338825/greg-oconnor-not-in-favour-of-general-arming-of-police-officers
He spoke as president of the police association. Then in 2017 he became candidate with an electorate to speak for.
On the plus side he also calls for registering firearms.
It is as well to have officers with arms at their sides- so normally effective. They just should not have guns at the end of their arms.
What about tear gas for real maniacs as a device to flush them out. And call in the weapons team, well trained, to be held as resource for hours if need be, but no-one to go shooting as a first or even second course. Weapons guy can shatter a leg bone or whatever is the most effective to heal after advice from the medical profession. Keep it simple and do it well, by the experienced gunmen, if it has to be done at all.
It would be good if the police could set a good example to the public and those who take the criminal violent line.
IMO routine arming of NZ police would be a backward step – really sad if it’s necessary. #KiwiWayOfLife
Here’s an entertaining NZ police recruitment video; no mention of firearms though.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/108057755/new-police-recruitment-video-aims-to-attract-diverse-new-cops-such-as-sam-nugegoda
And this is just for information; New Zealand and Norway are adjacent in the list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_firearm_use_by_country#New_Zealand
Fleeting mention of this particular whoopsie moment the other day….
Seriously, if they’re going to put a loaded gun on every police hip they need to teach ’em to fire only at the Bad People.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/110953396/christchurch-shooting-panic-shot-fired-by-police-smashes-through-community-house-window
That infamous clip of the NZ police (5 or 6 of them, all armed) trying to shoot a dog, in Lower or Upper Hutt, and all missed.
No, that was just the other day. Before the police shot the Bad Person they also shot up the local community house….presumably in error.
Then some genius decides ALL the local constabulary should be packin….
I’d like to think that whoever shot at the community house (presumably in error) has gone for re-training before they get their holster issued.
Pollies as directors. Karl du Fresne had a look in 2013 on Noted.
https://www.noted.co.nz/archive/listener-nz-2013/the-trophy-director/
Best transition for a politician I’ve seen, apart from Helen Clark, is Simon Power to Westpac Wealth Management.
Power is the closest we ever got to good cartel legislation. A major loss of intellectual grunt in the commercial sphere for National’s government.
Best transition for a politician I’ve seen, apart from Helen Clark, is Simon Power to Westpac Wealth Management.
Power is the closest we ever got to good cartel legislation. A major loss of intellectual grunt in the commercial sphere for National’s government.
Two best transitions into the commercial world I have seen for politicians were:
Simon Power to Westpac Wealth Management. A great intellectual loss to National, and the closest we ever got to cartel legislation.
And
Steve Maharey to Massey University Vice Chancellor
Can’t count Hon John Key’s transition into Air NZ and banking as particularly successful yet.
Air NZ is going backward since he got there so I’d say it’s a fail.
I suspect his business strategy skills aren’t all they were cracked up to be.
He was only a money trader, after all.
Jonkey
I suspect his business strategy skills… are cracked…..past his use-by date.
tell us about your wonderful skills and achievements mb
I don’t get paid 7 figures to wreck companies like John Key and Jenny Shipley do – I’ll give you that. 🤣
fine, but tell us the marvellous things you have done
Lol. It’s none of your business.
Alan
You go first.
but, but mb is so clever and informed, he/she must have lots of high powered experience across a variety of fields…..
I said two statements separated by an opinion.
Nothing I stated was untrue: Air NZ is going backwards, and Key was a money trader.
yes, yes, but please do tell us about all your fantastic achievements
Getting you to repeat yourself three times is one.
so, nothing.
just a passenger.
“Getting you [Alan] to repeat yourself three times is one. – LOL
You seem a little defensive @ Alan.
Can you point me to where Muttonbird is claiming to be clever and informed with a suitable degree of bizzniss experience?
I’d just like to try and reconcile that with former gNat polititcians’ appointments to boards and positions requiring at least a little understanding of how it’s all ‘sposed to hang together: (the gNats being such good knomic menajizz as they are) – most with bios and profiles claiming such distinction.
Are you now suggesting that they should be beyond criticism?
Dame Jenny Mainzeal, Sir Douglas Lombard, Sir John Ear NyaZull
No one is beyond criticism, but critics with a degree of experience/knowledge generally garner more respect. Passengers/side line critics, not so much.
They do not like it when you point out the obvious flaws in their hero.
Even a layperson knows that the board is responsible for the strategy of a company and it looks like he’s be found wanting. Likewise Jenny Shipley oversaw the collapse of Mainzeal. The National Party has always been described as the only worthy economic managers of NZ government but the reality is they are rubbish at that very job.
As I said the right wing doesn’t like it one bit when even a layperson can point out the obvious.
“Ear NyaZull” (lol)
Alan (“Ellun”?) seems very persistent on the matter, so I want to generalise his position.
So something like this:
“People cannot detect incompetence in a particular field without having been competent in that field themselves”
It’s plausible on the surface I suppose – it almost seems like it might be some downstream effect of Dunning-Kruger. And I can see it might even be true in some very technical areas where incompetence doesn’t become manifest at a macro level – say advanced pure mathematics.
But we are only talking about ‘bizniss’ here – something that only the dull boys in the class used to end up in, certainly in my day.
So nah – the hypothesis is crap.
It doesn’t take an expert, to know that they broke the law, on one of the most basic of a directors responsibilities.
But. If you want an expert opinion, this is well within the range of my qualifications/experience, to comment.
Well I guess in your world @ Alan, we’ll not be surprised to find a Dame Amie Harcourts, or a SussSoimon Koiwoi (going forward).
Oim jiss wondering about Paula though.
Could it be a Dame Paula World, or a Dame Paula Caci maybe?
She’s got a wealth of spurious for either roll
You fishing allywally?
AB, another passenger
Care to elaborate on this “passenger” theory of yours Alan?
Does it involve the division of the citizenry into two classes?
A technocratic elite with expertise (and money) who are not subject to the judgment or criticism of the ‘passenger’ class who are not driving the train and who may be somewhat superfluous to requirements?
Far be it from me to doubt your democratic instincts – as a passenger I get to exercise only obedience, not doubt, I understand that. But somehow it just seems all a bit stinky to my defective little passenger nostrils. If I wasn’t so intellectually inadequate and linguistically impoverished from all those years of ‘passengering’, I might take you for an authoritarian clown.
Speaking of the police;
Oops, they forgot to investigate the matter of illegal recordings laid with them by the State Services Commission.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/383675/top-cop-forgot-to-act-on-state-services-commission-complaint
Remember the dude who mansplained ladies bits to women?
He’s having another go.
https://twitter.com/paulbullen/status/1100851128516829184
One of these days I’m going to track down the tool who first came up with “words have broad and narrow meanings” as an effort to gaslight people into thinking that he didn’t really mean what he explicity said. That fucknuckle’s students have wasted so much e-ink…
alwyn did this after he explicitly said the Waikato Kiwibuild homes were now “on the open market”.
Days and days of ‘explanations’ followed.
I recall having a lengthy discussion about what constituted the Chch ‘red zone’ on TS a few years back.
As I recall it came down to the whether there was generic use of the term to cover all the suburbs affected or whether it was only correct when used to describe the actual streets affected.
I think there was further insistence that streets where repairs had been completed could no longer be considered part of the red zone.
It all got quite heated, which looking back now, is pretty OTT.
The appearance of fake news as a political device used by politicians to attack opponents, and the media to create headlines means occurrences and promotion of it needs to be identified and critiqued quickly and clearly.
In the case I mentioned above, Stuff created the fake news headline and Nat party lap-dogs including Hosking, Pete George and our own alwyn ran with it.
It simply isn’t true so I thought it was important to show that quickly and firmly.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/110951488/top-cop-forgot-to-start-investigation-into-spying-by-thompson–clark-on-earthquake-victims
“For it is the doom of men that they forget,” – Merlin.
I posted the link to the Radio NZ article on the same subject titled “Top cop forgot to act on State Services Commission complaint” at #14
Sorry I overlooked it – I’d’ve expected more discussion of it frankly.
On the whole I’d rather Police forgot the guns and remembered to investigate Thomson & Clark.
100% Stuart behind that proposal.
“I’d rather Police forgot the guns and remembered to investigate Thomson & Clark.”
Stuart Munro @ 16
Police Deputy commissioner, National Ops. Mike Clement:
I didn’t action it,” he admitted. “I’ve gone back through my correspondence and found that I didn’t task it on the 18th December when it came through.
That remark is revealing. The police hate investigating anything with the slightest whiff of malfeasance about it, especially if it involves top pollies and senior public servants. I’m not saying the commissioner wittingly forgot to action the investigation, but to set aside unpalatable inquiries for another day and then forget them altogether is all too common an occurrence. Either that, or they wait an age before reporting their findings by which time everyone has forgotten what the investigation was about and lost interest anyway.
I know.
But a healthy police culture goes after questionable behavior by their own.
So this just proves the rot is even deeper than we thought. Roastbusters style cop immunity still goes for some it seems, and these uncivilized creatures want to run riot with guns?
No.
And hell no.
Many years ago I used to work at the Police National HQ in Wellington. Just doing back office/administration stuff. During the time I was there I would have to sort files out, arrest reports and just standard shift reports and I tell you what – they have a really shitty job at times, in particular the ones on the beat in places like K Road and Courtney Place. Being vomited on (or in the car) abused, sworn at and basically treated like total garbage.
Because of that experience, the fast majority of cops I actually have respect for them in keeping their cool and dealing with that shit day in day out. I would completely lose my temper.
That said – there truly are some shitty, rule crazy asshole cops out there. But I don’t think they represent the majority by any stretch.
Agreed. But that’s a lot of the reason to keep a separate, more mature and more professional group to deal with armed offenders.
It’s hard to keep your cool after a day of dealing with surly and uncooperative assholes – but folk with guns had better, or they’re not helping at all.
Yeah – a dedicated group like the AOS but to deal with less serious offenses than those guys. I think pepper pray and tasers are enough for the beat officers.
But if I was vomited on a guy who followed it up with “fuck you you fucking pig” I would quickly lose my cool. That’s why I could never be a cop. Though being a detective I would find interesting . Trying to crack a big case – I’m sure it would be a like trying to figure out a big puzzle with multiple lines of investigation then solving it would be a great feeling of success and helping the community. An intellectual challenge even
In fact tasers and pepper spray help them much less than they think – they’re also why they get much more abuse these days.
Tasers were brought in for use against armed and violent assailants, as a less than lethal alternative to guns. Data from one Australian state showed tasers were used much more than presented firearms – over 2000 uses compared to 10-20 firearms uses, in their first year post introduction. That is a massive failure, and, tasers not only fucking hurt, they can kill.
I saw a fellow get peppered inappropriately in Chch many years ago too. It doesn’t take much of that for citizens to conclude that police are cruel and vicious assholes – a belief that doesn’t help them with their work at all.
Anything moving the police in the direction of greater paramilitarisation is a dreadful mistake. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/07/the-spy-who-came-home
I have no doubt the police have to put up with one hell of a lot more these days than was once the case. I wouldn’t want to be one of them in a thousand years. That can be blamed on society as a whole and the lack of manners, decency and greed that goes hand in hand with neoliberalism.
Nevertheless, too many cops see everything in black and white and the moment a case moves into grey areas they’re out of their comfort zone and prefer to duck for cover. I’ve experienced it and so have plenty of other people.
Martyn Bradbury has posted an interesting take:
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/03/01/top-cop-forgets-to-follow-up-on-state-sanctioned-corporate-spies-of-course-he-forgot/
Haven’t read it all yet, but have much sympathy for his initial comments.
I reported a series of incidents 25 years ago which involved surveillance and other intimidatory practices carried out by individuals including some former public service personnel. For my efforts I once again found myself under surveillance… this time by the police.
Yes. The forgetful individual needs to answer for his actions (or inactions). If his mistake was sincere (which is not impossible), he will be at pains to resolve matters by a rigorous, detailed, and scrupulous investigation of police dealings with Thomson & Clark. If that does not appear with all due deliberate haste, there is no reason his 40 years with the force should be extended to 41.
Never was a cop, but dealt with puke and abuse a fair amount back in the day. Abuse is never personal. As soon as folk realised that, they had the right temperament for being a bouncer or whatever.
Reactions to bodily fluids are more physiological: vomit didn’t usually disturb me too much, but some colleagues would be winding down the car windows and hanging out them whenever someone started to even look like retching. But then I was never ok with shit. Horses for courses, I guess.
But some of the jobs cops have to do are beyond anything I could handle. Doing a ridealong with them, I recall one of them saying “oh, look, they put a new safety barrier in where my wee girl was killed”, referring to an incident he attended – he took that job to heart so much the deceased became “his”. That’s the shit I wouldn’t handle.
Alwind is a real find.
He said yesterday, he ” knows many normal people”. Which can only mean he is not a National idiot, but belongs to some other Circus.
He has been out counting how many people put their cars in their Garages.
We have a lot to learn from Alwind. I think he knows how many nights a woman puts her car in her Garage, but not how many nights she leaves it out. If she has a Car.
It is not easy counting up what women do – or might do.
Ask Simon and his Mrs Bennett.
A Life’s Lot – is our Lot
I traveled recently from Wellington deep into the Waikato in an Intercity Bus. It was good transport and chocker full.
A fine young Woman was feeding her pretty little child from time to time; We gave her room.
A pleasant man, a surfie ,a Kiwi of about 40yrs, was a hopping home from Melbourne to see his Mum. Just for a week. He had to get back to his Melbourne Billabong Clothing position.
The third man was hopping home to see his Mum in Auckland. A fine man – Fit and strong. He became part of us. He said I have been just released from Rimutaka Prison after a lot of years.
I admired his forthright words. None were over the Top. None were harmful. He was going home to be with his so lost Mum. The Clothing man helped with filling in major documents for the man about to take up his Life with his Mother. Took him to the Bank in the stop at Taupo.
Weaks later when I got to my own home i asked around about prison. Why cannot we release more Persons. Send them homeward bound ?
“The prisons are run by the Gangs Sir.” Eye to eye. Nothing more – Nothing less.
That little child on the Bus was Downs Syndrome . Totally Exquisite. As is my Daughter. So Lovely.
AOC lives in their heads.
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1101166967787012097
https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1081264515994583041
I think this is the way alwyn thinks about JA at night.
Talking of fatuous fantasies, where’s Puckish Rogue? Hope he’s o.k.
Kia Emma & Simon from The Nation.
I say a law need to be made to protect our subcontractors in Aotearoa I say a skeem of the main companies that subcontract out the work pay a deposit into a crown fund or 3 party fund so if the main company goes broke the people who actually build our building do go broke to.
I say the government needs to build thousands of state houses.
A lot of people who suffer mental health issues have a difficult time being in public hence they are less likely to be working.
I,, targeting lower income class does help Maori and Pacific people thanks but more should be dune to lift Maoris Mana. Less stories like the death with a thousand cuts for Maori the malcolm rawiwa story its being plastered on main stream media for decades who cares if it damages Maori Mana A or is that the GOAL.
There you go you have a neanderthal flogging that same old horse sorry m8 times are changing and carbon is going to be buried.
The wellbeing of the people should be the way a country measure their success not GDP alone the GDP measures is good for billionaire but not the 99.9 % of people.
NOT having a capital gains tax is the same good for the millionaire but not good for 95.% of people as the millionaire take our money capital over seas to tax havens and leave little capital money for the next generation our decendints Mokopunas .
The markets are set up for the wealthy that is why there wealth is exploding and the lower classes are getting poorer.
I agree we should not be cut and pasting other countries policy’s to try and correct the wrongs in OUR society.
I say a flat capital gains tax that every thing except the Whanau whare should be taxed shear market ect with a 5 to 10 tax keep it simple is what is needed no loophole for big business to sliver out of paying their dues to the society they suck their capital from and just higher enough so that it costs them just as much to avoid as it does to pay it hence its easier just to pay the TAX. Ka kite ano P.S good to see you back
A video from me to you.
Ka pai to our government for investing more money into protectioning our indigenous wild life
Govt to develop new strategy to prevent ‘biodiversity
The government will develop a new national strategy on biodiversity to try to save the 4000 native species which are threatened or at risk of extinction and stave off a “biodiversity crisis
Our indigenous plants and wildlife and their habitats are in serious trouble, with 4000 native species threatened or at risk of extinction; including 81 percent of our native birds,” Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said.
The strategy will replace the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy 2000 which expires in 2020.
Ms Sage said the 2000 programme had been a “landmark document” which helped inspire increased public interest and practical support.
However, a new strategy was needed to tackle what she called a “biodiversity crisis”.
The Department of Conservation will work with other government agencies, councils, iwi aaand hapū to set priorities for the future over the next 16 months.
The minister made the announcement at Ahuriri Estuary, a coastal wetland in Napier.
“Ecosystems and habitats such as wetlands, native forests, drylands, rivers and sand dunes remain under pressure despite gains in conservation and environmental management over the last 20 years,” Ms Sage said.
“With many of our native species found nowhere else in the world we have an international responsibility to safeguard them for their own sake, and for present and future generations.
“Healthy nature and biodiversity are central to human health and wellbeing and our economy. Biodiversity supports industries as diverse as farming, film production and tourism and New Zealand’s international brand.
“Our kauri forests, kiwi, kākā, katipo spider and coastal fisheries are important in Māori culture and part of our Kiwi identity and way of life la kite ano links below.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/368264/govt-to-develop-new-strategy-to-prevent-biodiversity-crisisijdj
https://youtu.be/j_Ml36QHzVk
Kia ora Newshub It’s Karma to the West Coast Councils denieing climate change and the environment ruins one of the roads to there best gravy train.
Yes dredging ruined the Napier beaches the dredging could be used on land as fill it will ruin the fishing and beaches in Auckland.
My question is what effect the pigeon rotovirous will have on OUR Indigenous Pigeon the Kereru control must be put in place to protect our treasured birds. Can the viruses jump species it could effect other rear treasured birds to.
That cool that Inmusic Brands is setting up in Aotearoa as these days if you have the bucks and music technology one can become the next big Star from Aotearoa.
SpaceX is making giant strides in space travel Ka pai Elon.
Yes rental property owner don’t like pets that is showing shonkys housing SHORT is still working for the millionaire. What about the lost of iron and other micro nutrient it all very well the wealthy can afford to replace meat but common people can not afford the xtra cost of supplements vegetables to replace meat . DARK Phoenix looks cool my favourite movie of the year is Aqua Man Ka kite ano