You made a claim that he had a handler. Now you clarify saying it is 'a judgement, so I presume no evidence.
I have no reason to believe you have a handler. Nor anyone else here.
It is common to try to discredit people commenting in social media by suggesting they are paid by or employed by someone. It's happened to me. I may well have done it in the past.
Without any evidence I think it's a questionable practice.
It’s not unlike trying to ‘guess’ someone’s identity or connections, as has happened below. I thought that was frowned on here.
By it's very nature there never going to be any direct information of what is going on in the background with these handles, so your attempt to demand I provide an impossible standard of evidence is rejected.
At the same time we know the CCP runs a huge number of these types all over the internet for certain. Therefore you cannot say for certain this 'Josh' is operating in good faith.
Here’s the issue. A “handler” does not need to be taken literally, as that would be naive and you, Pete, have been around the block enough to know better. Through media people are constantly influenced and manipulated and this blog, which is not “just a blog”, is not immune to ‘subversive elements’ trying to use this free forum for their nefarious goals. When people are manipulated without realising it, their strings are pulled by their ‘handler’ unbeknownst to them, often perceiving them “in good faith”. Even you, Pete, may have one or more handlers without knowing it 😉
Without any evidence I think it's a questionable practice.
It’s not unlike trying to ‘guess’ someone’s identity or connections, as has happened below. I thought that was frowned on here.
Why don’t you leave it with this site’s Moderators, Pete? They can see things that you can’t.
And I think making suggestions or attempting connections is particularly questionable when the person has made such abhorrent suggestions like dumping people out of planes.
Looking at their list of followers, including an MP, and ex party leader, an ex part general secretary and someone prominent here at TS (none of whom are responsible for the comment) I'm not sure that's an accurate assumption.
Four out of every five dollars donated to big parties in secret, sparking new push for transparency
Smaller parties like the Greens publicly disclose who provided most of their funding, but the big parties are secretive. 83 per cent ($8.7m over six years) of the money donated to National is from anonymous donors, and 80 per cent ($2.8m) of that donated to Labour.
The worst offender is NZ First: Most years, it allows every single one of its donors to remain secret.
The Labour Party is hiding tens of thousands of dollars in donations behind over-inflated art auctions – and naming the artists as donors instead of the secret individuals handing over the big bucks.
The artists had no idea the party was naming them as the donors – they never saw a cent of the money. They say their works are auctioned off at well above market value to wealthy benefactors who want to keep their support for the party secret.
Labour says the practice complies with electoral rules.
That was in 2017. NZ First donations are under increased scrutiny and are currently being investigated by the SFO. Jami-Lee Ross is being prosecuted, Lianne Dalziel, Phil Goff are under SFO investigation over donations.
Andrea Vance writes:
Politicians write the rules they so blatantly flout. The parties manage their own accounts and the cash that flows into them.
Now it's pretty obvious they can't be trusted, it's time to take away that power and ban them from accepting donations directly.
The only way to transparency is for an independent body to handle and process the donations, which would not be disclosed publicly or to the party.
That way the donor maintains their anonymity and privacy – and the law-makers cannot be in anyone's pocket.
The perception of influence and corruption would also be removed.
If donations remain allowed then this is one way of tidying things up a bit, but it wouldn't prevent what NZ First appear to have done, having donations paid into a separate NZ First Foundation and paying party expenses directly from the Foundation.
Would chanelling donations through an independent body (the Electoral Commission has been one suggestion) mean that limiting the size of donations wouldn't be necessary?
An independent handler would impact on all parties (especially the Greens) using donations drives as a part of member recruitment and communications.
It wouldn't stop donors advising parties they had donated certain amounts to the party via the independent handler.
I don't think there are any simple solutions to this.
The Electoral Commission and the SFO actually investigating and prosecuting will help, electoral rule had appeared to have been broken with impunity in the past.
We can't trust parties to set their own rules on this, they have proven to be too self-interested.
But I think there should still be some sort of independent review of how donations are handled. Perhaps by an independent panel of experts, but this could be informed by some sort of 'people's panel'.
I'm just a member of the Labour Party, but it seems pretty clear from the LEC meetings that this year that any officially Labour fundraiser donations will be declared correctly, including any auctions above market value.
But I think there should still be some sort of independent review of how donations are handled. Perhaps by an independent panel of experts, but this could be informed by some sort of 'people's panel'. [my italics]
Good to see that your thinking about this has evolved in just a few days.
Vance is in dreamland if she thinks that would prevent beholdenness. There are ways of making clear to the pollie you've bought, just who owns him/her.
Recently there have been snide comments at our PM gracing the covers of women’s magazines and Time. Well, what will those same critics say at Paula Bennett being on the cover of a couple of recent magazines. Hmm, there will be silence I suspect. The latest PB cover has her grinning maniacally and saying she is proud of her body. Classy?
Paula Bennett is performing as one would expect for someone of her ilk. The right have always used the mass media to sprinkle glitter on their turds. To deflect and to distract. To shamelessly self promote when credit is undeserved.
Not read and won't read the article, but I guess there's a lot of "effort" and "discipline " and "sacrifice"…..?
I have a loathing of the 'cult of celebrity' type crap that so called Leaders have recently embraced. Even Helen Clark resisted the glamour shots …until she shamefully buckled.
Maybe this is the reality of politics today. Don't examine actual achievements and pre- election promises kept, as long as the cover shot looks great all's good.
The latest PB cover has her grinning maniacally and saying she is proud of her body.
Seriously? She had gastric bypass surgery – if anyone gets to be proud of the result, surely it's the surgeon? In any case, "I'm proud of my body" is code for "I look so much better than you losers," and narcissism isn't one of the features a voter should look for in a politician.
and I was intrigued to see that most blogs that I have bookmarked are not listed. This does not seem to be new – previous rankings are also given, and I see they haven't included some of the "majors"for quite a while.
Can anyone comment on the reason for the change? Are measurements now essentially irrelevant where they can be so easily manipulated?
Thanks for that. From below that FAQ, I looked at results for August 2012. At that time the highest ranking blogs were Whale oil beef hooked, Kiwiblog, The Standard, Throng New Zealand, NewZeal.
I suspect the first three of those disappeared from the rankings some time ago, but at lest Kiwiblog and The Standard still exist. I have not seen why – the FAQ indicates technical reasons why some may not be included, but both Kiwiblog and The Standard appear to be well managed technically; I may have missed the reason for deciding not to have the traffic information available for ranking purposes.
When you get tens of thousands of pageviews per day, everything counts. From memory I disabled statcounter in April 2017 because it was slowing the pages at the client side. After I removed it the perceived render time increased by about 25% because the statcounter server was running slowly – and we were running on a paid account. The page would load on the client side but not fully render the css while it tried to update statcounter.
I actually turned on the free statcounter again in December for evaluation. They have shifted to an async counter (like google analytics) which causes less of the client side page loading problems. They also appear to have fixed up their server side issues.
Waiting for a larger traffic day so I can see what the performance is like.
We certainly have pretty good subsidies for the old and the young here.
But fully free done in New Zealand would be reasonably well targeted as it will mostly benefit the less-well-off, the students, and the unemployed. The ones with really nice cars who prefer their own stereo and freedom can continue along as they were.
Hopefully MoT policy teams are watching this one.
Because at the moment we are putting a lot more into large capital projects, rather than massive operational subsidies on the Luxembourg scale
Not just operational spending. They already have a PT system capable of delivering those free trips. NZ will not until we have made up for decades of roads-first spending. Yet we are still funding the wrong capital projects.
Making more and more things 'public goods' that are free at the point of use and funded collectively based on the ability to contribute, is an obvious way forward. Public luxury and private sufficiency' -as Monbiot (I think) described it. The obstacles to it are political rather than financial .
However you do need an infrastructure capable of supporting it – and in the case of PT it would likely result in overwhelmed and under-performing services that give the whole concept a bad reputation as a result.
Luxembourg is the second richest country in the world with an average GDP per capita of $79,593,91. The high figure is partly due to the large number of people working in the tiny landlocked nation while living in surrounding France, Germany and Belgium. Those salaries bump up the total on which the GDP per capita calculation is based on, but since they do not live in the country, they are not part of the number by which it divided.
In Luxembourg, the average household net wealth is estimated at USD 769 053, higher than the OECD average of USD 409 880.
Hopefully Biden's showing is good enough that Bloomberg realises his chances of becoming prez have just become zero so he drops out too. That would take one of the worst possible primary outcomes off the table.
Biden hasn't campaigned in Super Tuesday states and has run next to no advertising in those states either. Now sure, no doubt CNN and MSNBC et al will suggest that S. Carolina is really the first state that actually means very much and give Biden wall to wall positive coverage over the next three days. Enough to give him unprecedented bumps all across Super Tuesday states in these days of increasingly popular internet alternatives to "official" news channels? I'd doubt it, but we'll see.
Any idea what the under 40s split was in S. Carolina btw? 😉
Not the first piece of possible fuckery this primary season, and probably not the last.
Apart from closing and moving polling stations at the last minute, South Carolina is 100% electronic voting, and the capacity for monkey-wrenching those voting machines and their computer generated "paper trail" is kinda jaw dropping.
To anoint Biden as "the comeback kid", he had to get a margin of around 20%. But people will also have to not remember he had a 50% margin in South Carolina a few short months back 😉
Jacinda was the opposition spokesperson for what isn't flash for kids and families.
The stats haven't moved much. The opposition's silence on matters of this nature leads me to wonder if they're preparing.
When attacking an opponent, no matter if in the ring, on the track or in politics, we aim for the weak spots. The escalating demand for state housing by qualified applicants, it's accelerating fast. Demand for rentals is so strong landlords choose from a selection of applicants that will adminster the wear and tear of someone with no arms or legs.
The prime things a left govt were going to fix. Roof, food, health for all.
Why aren't National punching at Labour's bloody eye?
In Te Tairawhiti a lot of land that should have been left to drystock farming was planted in pine trees now that move is affecting Te Tairawhiti negatively.
Isn't it Ironic.
I can see why Shane Jones is being defensive especially if some in the Indian community are attacking Te treaty of Waitangi validity.
Sea level rising of course its happening our polar ice caps are melting our Glaciers are melting cause Global warming.
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Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin.Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
A warning – suicide is discussed in this podcast New Zealand’s own long-running soap Shortland Street doesn’t hesitate to kill off its much-loved characters. But would TVNZ dare to kill off our favourite soap? That’s the fear as times get tough in television – even though it’s been pointed out ...
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NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 3 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan resistance leader has condemned the United Nations role in allowing Indonesia to “integrate” the Melanesian Pacific region in what is claimed to be an “egregious act of inhumanity” on 1 May 1963. In an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Organisasi Papua Merdeka-OPM ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A key part of the Albanese government’s political strategy is to fill the news cycle with its presence and messaging. Ministers are deployed to the maximum, even when they’ve little to say. This week ...
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By Jo Moir, RNZ News political editor, and Craig McCulloch, deputy political editor New Zealand’s Labour Party is demanding Winston Peters be stood down as Foreign Minister for opening up the government to legal action over his “totally unacceptable” attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. In an interview on RNZ’s ...
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The Wellington-based Reserve Force soldier is now almost three years into his New Zealand Army career with 5th/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. ...
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Who is his 'handler'?
Do you have a handler?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
50 Cent Party. Or maybe this guy comes cheaper, who knows. It's a judgement call.
As for me having a handler … do you really think so?
You made a claim that he had a handler. Now you clarify saying it is 'a judgement, so I presume no evidence.
I have no reason to believe you have a handler. Nor anyone else here.
It is common to try to discredit people commenting in social media by suggesting they are paid by or employed by someone. It's happened to me. I may well have done it in the past.
Without any evidence I think it's a questionable practice.
It’s not unlike trying to ‘guess’ someone’s identity or connections, as has happened below. I thought that was frowned on here.
By it's very nature there never going to be any direct information of what is going on in the background with these handles, so your attempt to demand I provide an impossible standard of evidence is rejected.
At the same time we know the CCP runs a huge number of these types all over the internet for certain. Therefore you cannot say for certain this 'Josh' is operating in good faith.
But in my experience all the clues are there.
Here’s the issue. A “handler” does not need to be taken literally, as that would be naive and you, Pete, have been around the block enough to know better. Through media people are constantly influenced and manipulated and this blog, which is not “just a blog”, is not immune to ‘subversive elements’ trying to use this free forum for their nefarious goals. When people are manipulated without realising it, their strings are pulled by their ‘handler’ unbeknownst to them, often perceiving them “in good faith”. Even you, Pete, may have one or more handlers without knowing it 😉
Why don’t you leave it with this site’s Moderators, Pete? They can see things that you can’t.
And I think making suggestions or attempting connections is particularly questionable when the person has made such abhorrent suggestions like dumping people out of planes.
This shithead is reflecting precisely the 'human rights' record of the CCP.
Who do you judge this person may be reflecting?
https://twitter.com/FireMonty/status/1233682778077589504
Another marxist shithead, they come in all shapes and sizes. (It's also why I don't grovel about in that cesspit called Twitter.)
Looking at their list of followers, including an MP, and ex party leader, an ex part general secretary and someone prominent here at TS (none of whom are responsible for the comment) I'm not sure that's an accurate assumption.
Do I look like I care? I'm not responsible for explaining every stupid thing everyone says on the internet … no matter who they are.
Otherwise your attempt at re-directing attention from the issue at hand is noted.
"A real person living in Northland. I've spent 40+ years keeping Kiwi's safe, also a volunteer firefighter."
Are you pointing out the irony in " I've spent 40+ years keeping Kiwi's safe"?
Everyone's handler is their Mum. When they die, by default, it passes to an uncomfortable with the role Dad….sometimes an older sister steps in.
More on party donations.
Four out of every five dollars donated to big parties in secret, sparking new push for transparency
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/95945991/new-push-for-transparency-with-four-out-of-every-five-dollars-donated-to-big-parties-given-secretly
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/95891686/artworks-used-to-funnel-secret-donors-contributions-to-the-labour-party
That was in 2017. NZ First donations are under increased scrutiny and are currently being investigated by the SFO. Jami-Lee Ross is being prosecuted, Lianne Dalziel, Phil Goff are under SFO investigation over donations.
Andrea Vance writes:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/119899039/keep-politicians-in-the-dark-over-election-donations
If donations remain allowed then this is one way of tidying things up a bit, but it wouldn't prevent what NZ First appear to have done, having donations paid into a separate NZ First Foundation and paying party expenses directly from the Foundation.
Would chanelling donations through an independent body (the Electoral Commission has been one suggestion) mean that limiting the size of donations wouldn't be necessary?
An independent handler would impact on all parties (especially the Greens) using donations drives as a part of member recruitment and communications.
It wouldn't stop donors advising parties they had donated certain amounts to the party via the independent handler.
I don't think there are any simple solutions to this.
The Electoral Commission and the SFO actually investigating and prosecuting will help, electoral rule had appeared to have been broken with impunity in the past.
We can't trust parties to set their own rules on this, they have proven to be too self-interested.
But I think there should still be some sort of independent review of how donations are handled. Perhaps by an independent panel of experts, but this could be informed by some sort of 'people's panel'.
I'm just a member of the Labour Party, but it seems pretty clear from the LEC meetings that this year that any officially Labour fundraiser donations will be declared correctly, including any auctions above market value.
That's a good sign.
Good to see that your thinking about this has evolved in just a few days.
Vance is in dreamland if she thinks that would prevent beholdenness. There are ways of making clear to the pollie you've bought, just who owns him/her.
Recently there have been snide comments at our PM gracing the covers of women’s magazines and Time. Well, what will those same critics say at Paula Bennett being on the cover of a couple of recent magazines. Hmm, there will be silence I suspect. The latest PB cover has her grinning maniacally and saying she is proud of her body. Classy?
OK. As one of the guilty, I'll bite.
Paula Bennett is performing as one would expect for someone of her ilk. The right have always used the mass media to sprinkle glitter on their turds. To deflect and to distract. To shamelessly self promote when credit is undeserved.
Not read and won't read the article, but I guess there's a lot of "effort" and "discipline " and "sacrifice"…..?
I have a loathing of the 'cult of celebrity' type crap that so called Leaders have recently embraced. Even Helen Clark resisted the glamour shots …until she shamefully buckled.
Maybe this is the reality of politics today. Don't examine actual achievements and pre- election promises kept, as long as the cover shot looks great all's good.
They're all cast in the same mold.
The latest PB cover has her grinning maniacally and saying she is proud of her body.
Seriously? She had gastric bypass surgery – if anyone gets to be proud of the result, surely it's the surgeon? In any case, "I'm proud of my body" is code for "I look so much better than you losers," and narcissism isn't one of the features a voter should look for in a politician.
The coat ladies' faces.
https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/1233753611101974530
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a dam fine film, loved it.
I noticed a post in "Feeds" that led me to https://openparachute.wordpress.com/2020/03/01/february-20-nz-blogs-sitemeter-ranking/
and I was intrigued to see that most blogs that I have bookmarked are not listed. This does not seem to be new – previous rankings are also given, and I see they haven't included some of the "majors"for quite a while.
Can anyone comment on the reason for the change? Are measurements now essentially irrelevant where they can be so easily manipulated?
https://openparachute.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/nz-blog-rankings-faq/
Thanks for that. From below that FAQ, I looked at results for August 2012. At that time the highest ranking blogs were Whale oil beef hooked, Kiwiblog, The Standard, Throng New Zealand, NewZeal.
I suspect the first three of those disappeared from the rankings some time ago, but at lest Kiwiblog and The Standard still exist. I have not seen why – the FAQ indicates technical reasons why some may not be included, but both Kiwiblog and The Standard appear to be well managed technically; I may have missed the reason for deciding not to have the traffic information available for ranking purposes.
Lynn (TS sysop lprent) has commented on this from time to time in the past. It's a technical issue.
https://openparachute.wordpress.com/2019/05/01/april-19-nz-blogs-sitemeter-ranking/#comment-129119
When you get tens of thousands of pageviews per day, everything counts. From memory I disabled statcounter in April 2017 because it was slowing the pages at the client side. After I removed it the perceived render time increased by about 25% because the statcounter server was running slowly – and we were running on a paid account. The page would load on the client side but not fully render the css while it tried to update statcounter.
I actually turned on the free statcounter again in December for evaluation. They have shifted to an async counter (like google analytics) which causes less of the client side page loading problems. They also appear to have fixed up their server side issues.
Waiting for a larger traffic day so I can see what the performance is like.
Luxembourg is the first country in the world to make public transport free.
https://www.dw.com/en/luxembourg-makes-public-transport-free/a-52582998
We certainly have pretty good subsidies for the old and the young here.
But fully free done in New Zealand would be reasonably well targeted as it will mostly benefit the less-well-off, the students, and the unemployed. The ones with really nice cars who prefer their own stereo and freedom can continue along as they were.
Hopefully MoT policy teams are watching this one.
Because at the moment we are putting a lot more into large capital projects, rather than massive operational subsidies on the Luxembourg scale
Not just operational spending. They already have a PT system capable of delivering those free trips. NZ will not until we have made up for decades of roads-first spending. Yet we are still funding the wrong capital projects.
Making more and more things 'public goods' that are free at the point of use and funded collectively based on the ability to contribute, is an obvious way forward. Public luxury and private sufficiency' -as Monbiot (I think) described it. The obstacles to it are political rather than financial .
However you do need an infrastructure capable of supporting it – and in the case of PT it would likely result in overwhelmed and under-performing services that give the whole concept a bad reputation as a result.
Luxembourg is quite wealthy. That's an understatement. It's got about 5km of roads. I'd imagine it's pretty cheap to get around.
LOL
Luxembourg is 82km by 57km ie c 2586 sq km – compared to NZ at 268, 838 sq km.
NZ is 104 times bigger than Luxembourg and their population is also much less at about 600,000
https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/country-size-comparison/new-zealand/luxembourg
It's easy though, we'll all just pay a wee bit more. It'll be fine.
Luxembourg is the second richest country in the world with an average GDP per capita of $79,593,91. The high figure is partly due to the large number of people working in the tiny landlocked nation while living in surrounding France, Germany and Belgium. Those salaries bump up the total on which the GDP per capita calculation is based on, but since they do not live in the country, they are not part of the number by which it divided.
In Luxembourg, the average household net wealth is estimated at USD 769 053, higher than the OECD average of USD 409 880.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/07/which-are-the-richest-countries-in-the-world/
So I guess it's no wonder they can afford to shell out a bit on free Public Transport.
Again, exactly. Very different situation to NZ.
Biden's back.
With around 30% of the vote counted, Biden has around 52% of the vote share and Bernie around 18%. All others well below 15%.
If that vote share stays about the same, that would give Biden 40 of the 54 pledged delegates and Sanders the remaining 14.
A very good showing for Biden and the first State primary victory of his political career. This will keep the race interesting.
Steyer is apparently dropping out …
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/29/801952931/tom-steyer-to-drop-out-of-2020-presidential-race
Hopefully Biden's showing is good enough that Bloomberg realises his chances of becoming prez have just become zero so he drops out too. That would take one of the worst possible primary outcomes off the table.
Biden hasn't campaigned in Super Tuesday states and has run next to no advertising in those states either. Now sure, no doubt CNN and MSNBC et al will suggest that S. Carolina is really the first state that actually means very much and give Biden wall to wall positive coverage over the next three days. Enough to give him unprecedented bumps all across Super Tuesday states in these days of increasingly popular internet alternatives to "official" news channels? I'd doubt it, but we'll see.
Any idea what the under 40s split was in S. Carolina btw? 😉
Race/age split.
http://archive.li/qHD0C#selection-1389.0-1393.288
Cheers Joe.
If you can't win fare – cheat.
https://prospect.org/politics/south-carolina-closing-poll-stations-without-notice/
Not the first piece of possible fuckery this primary season, and probably not the last.
Apart from closing and moving polling stations at the last minute, South Carolina is 100% electronic voting, and the capacity for monkey-wrenching those voting machines and their computer generated "paper trail" is kinda jaw dropping.
To anoint Biden as "the comeback kid", he had to get a margin of around 20%. But people will also have to not remember he had a 50% margin in South Carolina a few short months back 😉
You reckon.
/
https://twitter.com/USPoliticsPoll/status/1233979659014090753
Jacinda was the opposition spokesperson for what isn't flash for kids and families.
The stats haven't moved much. The opposition's silence on matters of this nature leads me to wonder if they're preparing.
When attacking an opponent, no matter if in the ring, on the track or in politics, we aim for the weak spots. The escalating demand for state housing by qualified applicants, it's accelerating fast. Demand for rentals is so strong landlords choose from a selection of applicants that will adminster the wear and tear of someone with no arms or legs.
The prime things a left govt were going to fix. Roof, food, health for all.
Why aren't National punching at Labour's bloody eye?
Unless you follow dark PR gurus Goebbels or Karl Rove who advocated attacking their strengths.
Kia Ora The Am Show.
That's good that the comunity payment is made available for the people affected by the North land droughts.
All of my Offspring have been vaxcernated.
Aotearoa needs to use smart solutions to our traffic jam problems.
The longer summer weather tells a big story 3 weeks longer.????.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News the sis sandflys are stuffing with my devices.
Kia Ora The Am Show.
Good to see our government investing money into Christchurch the City needs all the help it can get.
Children learn to bully from bulling happening in their home.
No need to be scared of God's little creature in Aotearoa. I just put them outside spiders and insects in the whare
Wow those Whare in Americas Lake Erie look like Ice sculpture.
That's it treat people the way you want to be treated or like you treat your own.
The Ion age is here and now new 5G phones E money Electric Cars.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Newshub.
In Te Tairawhiti a lot of land that should have been left to drystock farming was planted in pine trees now that move is affecting Te Tairawhiti negatively.
Isn't it Ironic.
I can see why Shane Jones is being defensive especially if some in the Indian community are attacking Te treaty of Waitangi validity.
Sea level rising of course its happening our polar ice caps are melting our Glaciers are melting cause Global warming.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I think if the virus problem gets worse our government will step up.
Six emergency whare is good but tangata whenua o Aotearoa need many more emergency whare.
Timothy's travels will be a good story.
Ka kite Ano.