Ardern probably had to give him 30 minutes for a nap, while she read a book.
I am joking!!!!!!
I agree. Seems quite successful. While I disagree with a lot of her policy, you can't deny Ardern is a great ambassador for the country. She has done extremely well.
We have been a bit lucky that way with leaders tbf.
Yes Sacha – it has been noted in our household for some time: Ardern in photos looking wrinkled, exhausted and pleading, Luxon in photos looking energetic with hands up gesturing in a dynamic pose, wrinkle-free and top of photo sometimes cropped to remove shiny pate. It's a time-honoured tactic – remembering Ed Milliband and the bacon sandwich, countless pictures of Corbyn.
I guess it's only photos and not that important. But still a useful illustration of the sort of spiteful, far-right children controlling some of our media outlets, and a useful reminder of how private power operates.
John Key and that hotdog. Reuters cropping the images of people holding weapons during a protest blockade when Israeli forces boarded a ship. Don Brash and Judith Collins…all fodder and mirth for our Leftwing media.
Maybe the media is just the media. And if you are in power, you are going to get it because you are the tallest poppy.?
Persistent patterns are more than just random media noise. To pretend that media bias is just even-handed tall poppy cutting is delusional. Differences in degree matter.
In that case, I'm of the firm opinion our media is left leaning given the patterns I have noticed over the years especially around Maori, stale white males, rich pricks and bloody Pakehas.
How do I explain the hit job the media is doing on Ardern at the moment?
It's quite simple. Like many of us, the media are just over her. Simple minds like shiny objects, they become mesmerized and happy. When the shine wears off reality prevails. And that sucks.
There is a group of older white race, once left wing men, who oppose CGT on their property wealth and partnership with Maori and Chris represents them now.
Martin the awake bomber Bradbury (on right wing radio and pod cast independent free speech platforms) supports the narrative against "woke" "feminist" public media funding as some sort of a champion of working class manhood (but at least he is genuinely left wing on economic policy and not against partnership with Maori).
Clearly you didn't read the article, or the context in which I posted the excerpt. Chris is referring to the way in which the government has manipulated the media into supporting (or at least not questioning) the narrative around co-governance, and how co-governance is quasi constitutional change by stealth.
"The party did not campaign on the issue, and kept He Puapua, the controversial “road-map” to full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – i.e. co-governance – by 2040, under wraps. Similarly unheralded was the Government’s determination to establish a separate Māori Health Authority. And the application of co-governance principles to Mahuta’s deeply unpopular “Three Waters” project has done nothing to allay public fears that the country is being changed, in fundamental ways, without the electorate’s consent."
Clearly I understand his position very well, as your extra quote indicates he really does have a problem with partnership with Maori (and his concern about the media funding has to be seen in that context).
And fact introduction
National began partnership when they set up whanau ora. They had no mandate, it was part of a coalition deal with the MP.
Given the existence of this, and reform of health was signalled before the 2020 election …
“A central focus of a returned Labour Government will be the roll out of our plan to improve the public health system to deliver high quality services, fewer DHBs, an increased focus on equity, a Māori Health Authority that will focus on Māori health, an aged care commissioner and a Public Health Agency that will more closely link the country’s 12 public health units.
"indicates he really does have a problem with partnership with Maori (and his concern about the media funding has to be seen in that context)."
His concern with the media funding is that there were strings attached. Those strings restricted the media openly questioning the prevailing government view about treaty partnership. In a modern liberal democracy, this is unacceptable. Chris then makes the point that this has also led to a concerning restraint around questioning the apparent nepotism being exercised by a senior government minister. He continues by outlining how the government went to the last election having hidden it's co-governance agenda, and continued this undemocratic behaviour in the way it is forcing through the 3Waters reform.
Chris is fundamentally correct. You can try to dismiss his opinion by insinuating he is a racist or whatever, but all that does is prove his point.
Did Labour take the He Puapua document to the public? Did they even share it with their coalition partner? The answers are no. That is inherently dishonest, and amounts to consideration of significant constitutional change by stealth. Do you see Chris’s point?
" (but at least he is genuinely left wing on economic policy and not against partnership with Maori)."
You fundamentally misunderstand the narrative. There is a massive leap from 'partnership with Maori' to co-governance of strategic assets or to parallel systems based on race.
There is no evidence that the He Puapua report is government policy.
There is evidence of a partnership approach to land and water asset management, such as in Three Waters.
I am not surprised he fails to understand the difference when he gets facts so wrong – a Maori Health Authority was Labour policy pre 2020 election. As for “parallel systems” it was National who established whanau ora.
What are the alternatives to Three Waters that involve sufficient investment and continued public ownership?
There is no evidence that the He Puapua report is government policy.
Technically that might be correct, but when its provisions in health, water and conservation are directly implemented as public policy, then only the most obdurate fool would pretend that it is not defacto policy.
And when it's authors are appointed – in direct conflict with the Cabinet Manual – to positions of significant policy influence then you know what is coming down the road at us.
Then you are arguing that co-governance began when National agreed to whanau ora (and that was not based on He Puapua). There is no difference between it and a Maori Health Authority, so why would you claim that was (based on HP)?
As for Three Waters, Maori involvement in land and water management has been going on for years (you must have had some working knowledge of that) – long before HP.
The only kool aid on offer here is the idea that co-governance is compatible with representative democracy. And that there is no difference between consulting with a stakeholder group – and giving them veto power on the board of directors.
I am going to take the liberty of copying a particularly good comment from Odysseus in the comment thread under CTs post:
Whoa, careful Chris, you will be accused of spreading "disinformation" by the government's academic "experts". This seems to be the latest ploy to smear those who express concerns about "co-governance". Many New Zealanders have serious, well-founded reservations about "co-governance" as outlined for example in the 3 Waters project. It is not democratic and it demolishes accountability to those who actually fund the 3 Waters infrastructure.
Incidentally, the UN Declaration is not about co-governance as such; it proclaims the need to ensure the autonomy of "indigenous" communities. The Declaration arose in the first place from efforts to protect isolated "indigenous" communities in the Amazon Basin; diplomats from Cuba, whose indigenous people were largely wiped out a long time ago, seized on it as a stick with which to beat the "white settler" countries, particularly their arch-foe the United States. Helen Clark showed her wisdom in not having a bar of it; she appreciated the Declaration was thoroughly alien to New Zealand's experience as a nation.
It is very hard to see how democracy and co-governance can co-exist. Democracy recognizes the innate and equal worth of every person. Initially an idea that emerged in Athens in the 5th century BC, it is also a fundamentally Christian concept. The push for co-governance is being led by those who take the interests of their tribe as their point of reference. They are coming from a very different perspective where ancestry and birth determine one's place in the world. This government cannot reconcile these different worldviews and risks aggravating division every time they open their mouth. We are not in a good place.
The extraordinary contradiction going on here is your fearmongering around privatising water assets – while at the same time applauding their effective control by private Maori iwi corporations.
Are you now finally noticing that independence for indigenous peoples is not co-governance (such as whanau ora and MHA delivery to Maori via Maori) – about time.
I find it hard to understand why you think partnership with Maori in management of public land and water assets is a problem for democracy, when you think private sector ownership – corporate investment and profit making from services delivered is not?
Can you explain?
Unless of course you know of a way local councils can fund the huge amount of investment required in the Three Waters domain, National says nothing on the topic as if that would something sort itself by some sort of magic market solution/disaster capitalism/venture capital opportunism.
Are you now finally noticing that independence for indigenous peoples is not co-governance (such as whanau ora and MHA delivery to Maori via Maori)
I would have no objection if iwi decided to form a private corporation from their own funds and tendered alongside everyone else to deliver profit making services.
What I would object to is if the same tendering process was decided by iwi representatives on the BoD with an obvious conflict of interest. Assuming that iwi elites will have the same interests as the whole of NZ is a very faulty assumption.
There is a big difference between working with multiple stakeholders within the a system – and one race based group given preferential, parallel access to power by design.
Given whanau ora and MHA are not for profit services, I presume you are referring to Maori iwi involvement in ownership stake and business operation of water utility services for profit.
However I think you would find a large part of the Three Waters is monopoly business – not just water to users, but also wastewater and sewage. It is not an “industry” where two different providers can compete.
I note your dead social democratic hand applauding the alternative of private ownership to Maori role in management of public assets.
However I think you would find a large part of the Three Waters is monopoly business
Given I worked in said industry for eight years – the answer is no. There is a wide range of entities delivering services. Typically the owner of the asset – at present usually council owned entities – will have a core department responsible for managing the operation, but many services are contracted out. This can range from pipeline R&M, electrical and control systems, mapping and GIS services, chemical and energy inputs and so on. Some smaller councils will fully tender out their entire operation, while the larger ones will have enough in-house expertise to run a large fraction of it.
So while the service is a natural monopoly in that the end user has no direct choice – the asset owner has a wide choice of entities it can involve.
Also, Watercare’s position as a monopoly service provider in the Auckland region obliges the company to retain stakeholders’ confidence that it is performing optimally.
Is not the area that needs the investment the basic infrastructure that which the council itself cannot afford – replacement, not repair and maintenance, and in some areas extra wastewater and sewage capacity because of urban intensification etc?
Great article, Gypsy. I was aware of the funding but not the full ramifications. I thought jurnos on the ground wouldn't notice any management manipulations simply because their sentiments are similar to the narrative the government wants implemented.
I bring your attention to this part of the article:
''The guilty parties would be an unholy alliance of Pakeha and Māori elites determined to keep public money flowing upwards into protected private hands. In this super-narrative, the structures set forth in He Puapua to secure tino rangatiratanga, will actually ensure the exclusion of the vast majority of New Zealanders from the key locations of power. The only positive consequence of which will be a common struggle for political and economic equality in which non-elite Māori and Pakeha will have every incentive to involve themselves.''
The New Zealand public would be shocked if they knew how many professional Pakeha are already on the gravy train. Some firms have Maori only sections dealing with all legal things pertaining to Maori. That's how big this industry is.
''The guilty parties would be an unholy alliance of Pakeha and Māori elites determined to keep public money flowing upwards into protected private hands. In this super-narrative, the structures set forth in He Puapua to secure tino rangatiratanga, will actually ensure the exclusion of the vast majority of New Zealanders from the key locations of power.
And given the alternative is new investment in water utility (given local government debt and incapacity) coming from global corporations – signed off by NACT, this argument may well age very badly in the eyes of future generations.
Obviously the need for more communications staff over covid.
The cognitive dissonance of right Wing media simultaneously whinging about "Lack of information for the public", and the growth in information staff required by covid.
We wouldn't need so many, if Media "did their fucking job" instead of blindly repeating National party bullshit.
Governance of large public utilities (and large private ones, has been and still is) is a massive gravy train for elites. And families of elites. (Especially ex National MP' s and their mates).
Photos can generate emotions and perceptions and reinforce pre-existing ones. It is reasonable to assume that this has some downstream effects on behaviour & actions.
I think China is quite happy with their first major foray into the Pacific. China plays a long game. They know Island economies won't be improving under the present global situation, and regardless of how much money we give in aid. China has forced added pressure on Australia and New Zealand regarding our relationship with pacific nations. The Chinese will continue to chip away at the Pacific. And that cookie jar China holds up to our Pacific cuzzies, may at a later date become too tempting.
I can't help you regarding National and it's supporters. Maybe they misjudged. Remember Helen Clark? ''We live in a benign part of the world.'' Yet, just up the road in Fiji?
I became interested in China, mid 2000s when Ian Wishart wrote some excellent articles on China and its future roll in our region. We even had Chinese military training here if I remember correctly.
We need to partner up with the EU and USA and assist with development.
China wants to
get access to ports for their fishing fleet and first island chain "coast guard" vessels (security). They will then offer port capability development assistance to get access to the 200 mile economic zone of the island.
they will offer telecommunications aid (including their own infrastructure, so they can reduce Five Eyes surveillance)
they will train and resource police (cultivate informers who will provide intel – the local “ambassador attache will feed this back to Beijing via these secure networks so they can offer political support against any opposition – thus claim they are owed and then will own the politicians).
provide, as in the Solomon Islands Chinese police on the ground to protect “ethnic Chinese property” in capital cities and also investment in regions/islands hostile to Chinese presence.
Yes, and the danger is China can bankroll all this, and a whole heap more, without breaking a sweat. We can't, we need to partner up like you say.
I believe one indicator pointing towards China preparing to attack Taiwan will be a change in behaviour of Chinese communities in the Pacific. That's one thing I would be looking out for.
With all the speculation regarding China in the Pacific and it's intentions with Taiwan, I thought I would take a different tack and find out more about our possible future enemies – the Chinese people. But I wanted the talkback version regarding Chinese people, not MSM narratives.
Enter this guy who I've found very interesting. Winston Sterzel is a South African who lived in China during its great push to modernise. His clips have some fascinating insights. For example, marriage in China is nothing like Western marriages. China has huge ghost cities no one lives in. And when Russia attacked Ukraine, Chinese expats were told to roll out the Chinese flag and welcome Russian troops. A few days later China told them to take their flags down and lay low.
Now, everyone likes taking a crack at American gun culture, especially liberals. Some criticisms are justified. Critics talk of other major countries where nothing approaching the level of gun crime America experiences ever happen.
In this clip Winston talks about knife crime in China – mass stabbings that never make global headlines. I can only remember one such incident being reported in NZ. The clip shows police and security even use a special device looking like a shepherd's crook to tackle such crime. BTW, apparently Chinese crazies attack kindergartens. That's one step lower than American crazies. But let's not quibble.
What an excellent letter! I really appreciate well researched and referenced work such as this. Thanks for the link joe90!
(Especially like the reminder of how Uncle Ashley declared that Omicron escapes the Pfizer product, back in January…the point at which all mandates should have been lifted. Yet here we are. )
Not exactly, first they had to identify the level of risk to the health system/hospitalisation from omicron infection before moving on from workplace and location mandates.
The letters claim that the vaccination does not reduce serious outcomes is simply untrue.
Nope – not concerned that libertarian psychos don't approve of WHO doing its job properly. Not even concerned when they invoke the name of the tyrannical Helen Clark(e) whom, we might remember, nearly ended western civilisation with low-energy lightbulbs, until she was mercifully removed in 2008 by the heroic, freedom-loving saint from Merrill Lynch.
"The proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations ("IHR") and the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Treaty ("the Treaty") will galvanise the World Health Organisation ("WHO") as the singular controlling authority and architect of global health. Individual nations will surrender their sovereignty to unelected bureaucrats with discretionary powers to lockdown their citizens and economy for any potential or actual public health emergency of international concern. We will be at the hands of a Director-General who was indicted before the International Criminal Court for war crimes and at the mercy of an advisory panel led by Helen Clarke."
What a load of deranged piffle! The WHO is the global health entity which pulls all the threads pertaining to health matters together for the betterment of mankind as a whole. The WTO (world trade), the WMO (meteorological science) and others do the same. Almost all countries have their representatives based in Geneva assisting the parent body. Are you therefore claiming all these countries are complicit in some wacko conspiracy?
The author can't even spell Helen Clark's surname correctly.
I wish I could tell & help you. I rarely use the front-end to comment, and in the back-end the text editor is different. Only Lprent will be able to explain these sorts of things. That said, I’d have thought the font tool should have worked, so that’s odd, to me too 😉
I am not concerned by this heap of bull kaka espoused by Voices for Freedom…..full of conspiracy theories etc and we have had enough of CTs from people like VFF to last us a lifetime I would have thought.
On a baking hot Washington DC morning (about 33C), Jacinda Ardern came to meet with the leader of the free world.
The next time I hear this phrase I might puke. As this failed democracy fades what does this term beloved by lazy journalists even mean?
More than though is the hypocrisy of describing a country that has interfered in the running of so many sovereign states in this way.
I guess the US would say it's contributing to the overthrow of many legitimate governments over many decades is "freeing" them from the yoke of communism, socialism or whatever.
The USA doesn't defend democracy. It defends its own interests and its own world view.
No not curious Pat. As the Maori land is communally owned it can not be used as a security, only the building, which has to be removable …quirk of Law. So no security until build is signed off. That needs to change.
Who demands the security of the land Patricia?….the lending bank (or financial institution)….if the financial institution is the owner of the land the problem is moot.
There is every opportunity for Iwi organisations to create a banking mechanism to provide capital for Iwi development and they have a natural support base. The restriction of Maori land is self imposed , which is the Iwi's right but the difficulty it creates is also theirs to solve….it is not insoluble, but like all investment it carries risk.
It IS curious that the risk is perceived too great.
May 28 (Reuters) – A ship has entered the Ukrainian port of Mariupol for the first time since Russia completed its capture of the city to load metal and ship it east to Russia, TASS news agency reported on Saturday, in a move that Kyiv decried as looting.
[…]
Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said the shipment amounted to looting by Russia.
"Looting in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine continues," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
"Following the theft of Ukrainian grain, the occupiers resorted to exporting metal products from Mariupol."
Ukraine's largest steelmaker Metinvest on Friday said it was concerned that Russia may use several ships stranded in Mariupol to "steal and smuggle metallurgical products" belonging to the group. It accused Russia of piracy.
Complete and utter propaganda joe …well done , for starters i doubt the " mayor " even said that last time i looked back in early may they just seemed to be getting on with it
I seriously doubt the death toll was anything like the figures you so gullibly quote but concerning the dead in a war generally what would be your alternative to a mass grave ?leave them lying around to rot ? give them all individual funerals ??
failure to use her powers to organize humanitarian corridors, protect and exchange prisoners, counteract the deportation of adults and children from the occupied territories, which “Iryna Vereshchuk was forced to do”;
an incomprehensible fixation of the Ombudsman's media work on the numerous details of "sexual crimes committed in an unnatural way" and "child rape" in the occupied territories, which could not be substantiated by evidence;
the prolonged period of time after Feb. 24 that Denisova spent abroad "in Davos, Vienna, Warsaw and other warm, peaceful western European countries," according to Frolov
"Rising costs have created a “ticking timebomb” for UK small business owners, the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned, with almost half a million firms at risk of going bust within weeks without a fresh wave of government support."
While Jacinda basks in the glory of meeting Joe Biden ,Andrew Little releases the Pharmac report that I believe sat on his desk waiting for and appropriate moment. A moment when our media had better things to do.
As usual, Pharmac, like everyone else, has been found to have failed Maori. And disabled people. Trans folk aren't mentioned, so we are sailing blind in that regard.
Quote:
''The panel found Pharmac’s model has delivered significant benefits, but to achieve its purpose these benefits need to be shared more equitably across our communities, especially for Māori and Pacific peoples.''
I'm wondering about this inequality in relation to Maori.
All of the comments I can find in the report are around Maori having less access to the existing drugs (e.g. less often disagnosed, or prescribed existing drugs) – which really has nothing to do with Pharmac.
[I mean, yeah, it needs to be addressed – but doesn't come within the areas that Pharmac control]
Pharmac was also caned for the reduced number of Maori employed (which may well have to do with the fact that medically qualified Maori can write their own ticket in any of the healthcare professions – and Pharmac isn't perhaps where they see they can make the most difference).
There was some speculation that diseases which predominantly affect Maori aren't getting the drug funding – but no concrete examples given in the report (though 2 drugs which do treat diseases more commonly experienced by Maori, were specifically mentioned as being funded by Pharmac in response to lobbying by Maori health groups – i.e. Pharmac is already doing it.)
Expenditure is more highly focused on the older age bracket. Which would be no surprise, since many of the drugs are life extenders (heart, blood pressure, cancer medication, etc.).
I do have some grave concerns over Little's stated policy
“The days of the Independent Republic of Pharmac are over. Pharmac is part of our health administration, and needs to be working appropriately with the rest of the health administration,” Little said in the Beehive on Wednesday.
If this is just about integrating drug decision-making alongside other medical interventions – then that's one thing (and a highly desirable outcome). [Thinking here of prioritizing surgical interventions to reduce the drug costs for symptom management]
If it's opening the pathway to politicising Pharmac decisions – when, inevitably, the loudest voices with the best PR have the greatest weight – then that's quite another.
The best outcome from this report would be for Pharmac's decisions to be more open and transparent, and for them to be made in a much more timely fashion (and revisited if/when more information becomes available). However, the down-side of this, is that unless there is more money available, funding one drug means de-funding something else. TAANSTAFL
Sadly, for many of the special interest groups – NZ basically can't afford the 1st world standard of medical care that they would like to aspire to. Unless Pharmac's budget is increased very substantially (which I don't see as on the cards, given the economic climate), drug-treatment for rare and expensive treatments is simply not going to be publicly funded in NZ.
Refining how you slice the pie, doesn't change the size of it.
I agree. I see this announcement from Little as a move away from a fact-based triage model, to a more political one.
That's not to say that I don't think Pharmac could do a better job about making their decision making explicit and clear (because I think they've been poor in this area).
But we will never have enough money to fund everything – and the hard decisions about which communities will be helped and which won't, have to be made…
Put it this way as an example. Pharmac has $1000 to spend on a certain drug. That equates to 10 Pakeha and 3 Maori who qualify for such expenditure. Now, under the revised system that's more focus on Maori, Maori will have 6 seats( deserved or not) at the funding table while Pakeha drop to seven places. Why? Simple racism.
You may remember the DHB that prioritised Maori getting treatment first?
After the journalist wrote his story based on a "possibly" comment. They are predictable in their flimsy proof and out of context slants. Often a "gotcha" type relationship with reality.
Further a large photo of Luxon with a heading implying we are not engaging with other countries.
Since we opened up the PM has visited Singapore and Japan followed by a friendly call to congratulate Albanese on his Election win plus lead a delegation Trade Mission and meet the President of the USA. Right so "not doing anything?"
William Burr the AG for President Trump was supposed to find the real sticky dirt on Hillary's campaign and hired special counsel John Durham to go get it.
Durham went after Hillary's lawyer Michael Sussman and prosecuted.
It's a nice big setback against the filth of Trump's legacy. This was the investigation that was supposed to show bias by law enforcement investigating President Trump. Obviously it's the usual witch-hunt by Republican elected officials and their crony staff, when it is the Republicans who on the facts of massive prosecutions are the corrupt ones.
And once Navarro is done singing, Trump is going to try to plead the 5th and just get trashed. Can't wait.
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Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
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Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
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The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
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Sounds like the Biden meeting went very well. I believe it even ran over time by around 30 minutes which is a positive sign.
Joe Biden praises Jacinda Ardern's leadership during meeting at the White House | Stuff.co.nz
Ardern probably had to give him 30 minutes for a nap, while she read a book.
I am joking!!!!!!
I agree. Seems quite successful. While I disagree with a lot of her policy, you can't deny Ardern is a great ambassador for the country. She has done extremely well.
We have been a bit lucky that way with leaders tbf.
The whole Key/Obama thing, and now Ardern/Biden.
Dirty media
https://twitter.com/realrogerboyce/status/1531415515331080193
How foreign media show it
https://twitter.com/NZedAUS/status/1531738217266876416
Interesting. Sensitive content warning must be because the headline includes the word 'shootings'.
Yes Sacha – it has been noted in our household for some time: Ardern in photos looking wrinkled, exhausted and pleading, Luxon in photos looking energetic with hands up gesturing in a dynamic pose, wrinkle-free and top of photo sometimes cropped to remove shiny pate. It's a time-honoured tactic – remembering Ed Milliband and the bacon sandwich, countless pictures of Corbyn.
I guess it's only photos and not that important. But still a useful illustration of the sort of spiteful, far-right children controlling some of our media outlets, and a useful reminder of how private power operates.
John Key and that hotdog. Reuters cropping the images of people holding weapons during a protest blockade when Israeli forces boarded a ship. Don Brash and Judith Collins…all fodder and mirth for our Leftwing media.
Maybe the media is just the media. And if you are in power, you are going to get it because you are the tallest poppy.?
No.
The answer is always sexism.
Bigotry of some kind to be sure.
Probably not racism, in this case.
Persistent patterns are more than just random media noise. To pretend that media bias is just even-handed tall poppy cutting is delusional. Differences in degree matter.
In that case, I'm of the firm opinion our media is left leaning given the patterns I have noticed over the years especially around Maori, stale white males, rich pricks and bloody Pakehas.
How do I explain the hit job the media is doing on Ardern at the moment?
It's quite simple. Like many of us, the media are just over her. Simple minds like shiny objects, they become mesmerized and happy. When the shine wears off reality prevails. And that sucks.
The apparent failure of the mainstream news media to follow up on the story is being attributed to the extraordinary conditions attached to the Public Interest Journalism Fund administered by New Zealand On Air. In essence, these conditions require media outlets in receipt of the Fund’s largesse to subscribe in advance to a highly contentious series of propositions concerning the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly to the Waitangi Tribunal’s claim the Māori never ceded sovereignty to the British Crown, and that this “fact” requires the Fund’s recipients to accept and support the “partnership” model of Crown-Māori relations. The fear expressed by independent journalists is that the net effect of these conditions will be unquestioning mainstream media support for co-governance."
I recommend you read all of Chris Trotter’s article. It’s alarming and illuminating.
There is a group of older white race, once left wing men, who oppose CGT on their property wealth and partnership with Maori and Chris represents them now.
Martin the awake bomber Bradbury (on right wing radio and pod cast independent free speech platforms) supports the narrative against "woke" "feminist" public media funding as some sort of a champion of working class manhood (but at least he is genuinely left wing on economic policy and not against partnership with Maori).
Clearly you didn't read the article, or the context in which I posted the excerpt. Chris is referring to the way in which the government has manipulated the media into supporting (or at least not questioning) the narrative around co-governance, and how co-governance is quasi constitutional change by stealth.
"The party did not campaign on the issue, and kept He Puapua, the controversial “road-map” to full implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – i.e. co-governance – by 2040, under wraps. Similarly unheralded was the Government’s determination to establish a separate Māori Health Authority. And the application of co-governance principles to Mahuta’s deeply unpopular “Three Waters” project has done nothing to allay public fears that the country is being changed, in fundamental ways, without the electorate’s consent."
Clearly I understand his position very well, as your extra quote indicates he really does have a problem with partnership with Maori (and his concern about the media funding has to be seen in that context).
And fact introduction
National began partnership when they set up whanau ora. They had no mandate, it was part of a coalition deal with the MP.
Given the existence of this, and reform of health was signalled before the 2020 election …
https://www.labour.org.nz/release-next-steps-in-rebuilding-our-health-system
"indicates he really does have a problem with partnership with Maori (and his concern about the media funding has to be seen in that context)."
His concern with the media funding is that there were strings attached. Those strings restricted the media openly questioning the prevailing government view about treaty partnership. In a modern liberal democracy, this is unacceptable. Chris then makes the point that this has also led to a concerning restraint around questioning the apparent nepotism being exercised by a senior government minister. He continues by outlining how the government went to the last election having hidden it's co-governance agenda, and continued this undemocratic behaviour in the way it is forcing through the 3Waters reform.
Chris is fundamentally correct. You can try to dismiss his opinion by insinuating he is a racist or whatever, but all that does is prove his point.
Factually inaccurate as I demonstrated.
"Factually inaccurate as I demonstrated."
Did Labour take the He Puapua document to the public? Did they even share it with their coalition partner? The answers are no. That is inherently dishonest, and amounts to consideration of significant constitutional change by stealth. Do you see Chris’s point?
"And given the alternative is new investment in water utility (given local government debt and incapacity) coming from global corporations "
There are alternatives to 3Waters that are far more cost effective. But of course they wouldn't provide jobs to ministerial family members.
" (but at least he is genuinely left wing on economic policy and not against partnership with Maori)."
You fundamentally misunderstand the narrative. There is a massive leap from 'partnership with Maori' to co-governance of strategic assets or to parallel systems based on race.
There is no evidence that the He Puapua report is government policy.
There is evidence of a partnership approach to land and water asset management, such as in Three Waters.
I am not surprised he fails to understand the difference when he gets facts so wrong – a Maori Health Authority was Labour policy pre 2020 election. As for “parallel systems” it was National who established whanau ora.
What are the alternatives to Three Waters that involve sufficient investment and continued public ownership?
There is no evidence that the He Puapua report is government policy.
Technically that might be correct, but when its provisions in health, water and conservation are directly implemented as public policy, then only the most obdurate fool would pretend that it is not defacto policy.
And when it's authors are appointed – in direct conflict with the Cabinet Manual – to positions of significant policy influence then you know what is coming down the road at us.
Then you are arguing that co-governance began when National agreed to whanau ora (and that was not based on He Puapua). There is no difference between it and a Maori Health Authority, so why would you claim that was (based on HP)?
As for Three Waters, Maori involvement in land and water management has been going on for years (you must have had some working knowledge of that) – long before HP.
You're drinking the Kool Aid.
Indeed, one could say the water reforms started in 2017, but probably ‘murmurs’ go back even further. It was also in Labour’s 2020 Election Manifest.
There’s no excuse for being ill-informed aka ignorant and Chris Trotter is acting as a useful idiot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Useful_idiot).
The only kool aid on offer here is the idea that co-governance is compatible with representative democracy. And that there is no difference between consulting with a stakeholder group – and giving them veto power on the board of directors.
I am going to take the liberty of copying a particularly good comment from Odysseus in the comment thread under CTs post:
The extraordinary contradiction going on here is your fearmongering around privatising water assets – while at the same time applauding their effective control by private Maori iwi corporations.
Are you now finally noticing that independence for indigenous peoples is not co-governance (such as whanau ora and MHA delivery to Maori via Maori) – about time.
I find it hard to understand why you think partnership with Maori in management of public land and water assets is a problem for democracy, when you think private sector ownership – corporate investment and profit making from services delivered is not?
Can you explain?
Unless of course you know of a way local councils can fund the huge amount of investment required in the Three Waters domain, National says nothing on the topic as if that would something sort itself by some sort of magic market solution/disaster capitalism/venture capital opportunism.
Are you now finally noticing that independence for indigenous peoples is not co-governance (such as whanau ora and MHA delivery to Maori via Maori)
I would have no objection if iwi decided to form a private corporation from their own funds and tendered alongside everyone else to deliver profit making services.
What I would object to is if the same tendering process was decided by iwi representatives on the BoD with an obvious conflict of interest. Assuming that iwi elites will have the same interests as the whole of NZ is a very faulty assumption.
There is a big difference between working with multiple stakeholders within the a system – and one race based group given preferential, parallel access to power by design.
Given whanau ora and MHA are not for profit services, I presume you are referring to Maori iwi involvement in ownership stake and business operation of water utility services for profit.
However I think you would find a large part of the Three Waters is monopoly business – not just water to users, but also wastewater and sewage. It is not an “industry” where two different providers can compete.
I note your dead social democratic hand applauding the alternative of private ownership to Maori role in management of public assets.
However I think you would find a large part of the Three Waters is monopoly business
Given I worked in said industry for eight years – the answer is no. There is a wide range of entities delivering services. Typically the owner of the asset – at present usually council owned entities – will have a core department responsible for managing the operation, but many services are contracted out. This can range from pipeline R&M, electrical and control systems, mapping and GIS services, chemical and energy inputs and so on. Some smaller councils will fully tender out their entire operation, while the larger ones will have enough in-house expertise to run a large fraction of it.
So while the service is a natural monopoly in that the end user has no direct choice – the asset owner has a wide choice of entities it can involve.
https://www.watercare.co.nz/CMSPages/GetAzureFile.aspx?path=~%5Cwatercarepublicweb%5Cmedia%5Cwatercare-media-library%5Creports-and-publications%5Cstatement-corporate-intent-2010.pdf&hash=4b0ccc3ac704b68e978ea49c9ba86c81a613bf3b66782f66bd7c83e2cc96828a
No democratic accountability either.
Is not the area that needs the investment the basic infrastructure that which the council itself cannot afford – replacement, not repair and maintenance, and in some areas extra wastewater and sewage capacity because of urban intensification etc?
Great article, Gypsy. I was aware of the funding but not the full ramifications. I thought jurnos on the ground wouldn't notice any management manipulations simply because their sentiments are similar to the narrative the government wants implemented.
I bring your attention to this part of the article:
''The guilty parties would be an unholy alliance of Pakeha and Māori elites determined to keep public money flowing upwards into protected private hands. In this super-narrative, the structures set forth in He Puapua to secure tino rangatiratanga, will actually ensure the exclusion of the vast majority of New Zealanders from the key locations of power. The only positive consequence of which will be a common struggle for political and economic equality in which non-elite Māori and Pakeha will have every incentive to involve themselves.''
The New Zealand public would be shocked if they knew how many professional Pakeha are already on the gravy train. Some firms have Maori only sections dealing with all legal things pertaining to Maori. That's how big this industry is.
Co-governance of large public utilities is a massive gravy train for elites. And families of elites.
''The guilty parties would be an unholy alliance of Pakeha and Māori elites determined to keep public money flowing upwards into protected private hands. In this super-narrative, the structures set forth in He Puapua to secure tino rangatiratanga, will actually ensure the exclusion of the vast majority of New Zealanders from the key locations of power.
And given the alternative is new investment in water utility (given local government debt and incapacity) coming from global corporations – signed off by NACT, this argument may well age very badly in the eyes of future generations.
Not very sharp, Blade.
Trotter sometimes gets it right.
Unfortunately, like you, he is prone to flights of delusional fantasy.
The media, far from being seduced by Government funding, has been unrelentingly hostile to the Government from day one.
This Facebook headline for example. "Spinning out of control".
Government blames COVID-19 for 46 percent increase in communications staff | Newshub
Obviously the need for more communications staff over covid.
The cognitive dissonance of right Wing media simultaneously whinging about "Lack of information for the public", and the growth in information staff required by covid.
We wouldn't need so many, if Media "did their fucking job" instead of blindly repeating National party bullshit.
Gipsy.
Governance of large public utilities (and large private ones, has been and still is) is a massive gravy train for elites. And families of elites. (Especially ex National MP' s and their mates).
Fixed it for you.
She is no gaudy trinket. You do expose your bile at times.
Photos can generate emotions and perceptions and reinforce pre-existing ones. It is reasonable to assume that this has some downstream effects on behaviour & actions.
Newshub
Tall poppy syndrome and jealousy with ageism and misogyny thrown in.
Sydney morning Herald
Taking the woke thing to a whole new level.
Where's Dennis these days?
He was here a week-ish ago.
Small Countries snub China.
Some discussion here concerning China and their recent offers in the Pacific
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIkGpP4n6vM
I think China is quite happy with their first major foray into the Pacific. China plays a long game. They know Island economies won't be improving under the present global situation, and regardless of how much money we give in aid. China has forced added pressure on Australia and New Zealand regarding our relationship with pacific nations. The Chinese will continue to chip away at the Pacific. And that cookie jar China holds up to our Pacific cuzzies, may at a later date become too tempting.
Over to you, Nanaia…Nanaia! Are you there?
Am loving the sudden concern for the Pacific Islands among the opposition and its supporters.
It was just a short time ago this National Party supporter described the Pacific Islands thus:
– Heather Duplicity Allan
Why the change of heart? Must be political…
I can't help you regarding National and it's supporters. Maybe they misjudged. Remember Helen Clark? ''We live in a benign part of the world.'' Yet, just up the road in Fiji?
I became interested in China, mid 2000s when Ian Wishart wrote some excellent articles on China and its future roll in our region. We even had Chinese military training here if I remember correctly.
Political? You bet.
We need to partner up with the EU and USA and assist with development.
China wants to
Yes, and the danger is China can bankroll all this, and a whole heap more, without breaking a sweat. We can't, we need to partner up like you say.
I believe one indicator pointing towards China preparing to attack Taiwan will be a change in behaviour of Chinese communities in the Pacific. That's one thing I would be looking out for.
Didn't you see her Chiefly adornment?
No?— too busy with your preconceived notions.
With all the speculation regarding China in the Pacific and it's intentions with Taiwan, I thought I would take a different tack and find out more about our possible future enemies – the Chinese people. But I wanted the talkback version regarding Chinese people, not MSM narratives.
Enter this guy who I've found very interesting. Winston Sterzel is a South African who lived in China during its great push to modernise. His clips have some fascinating insights. For example, marriage in China is nothing like Western marriages. China has huge ghost cities no one lives in. And when Russia attacked Ukraine, Chinese expats were told to roll out the Chinese flag and welcome Russian troops. A few days later China told them to take their flags down and lay low.
Now, everyone likes taking a crack at American gun culture, especially liberals. Some criticisms are justified. Critics talk of other major countries where nothing approaching the level of gun crime America experiences ever happen.
In this clip Winston talks about knife crime in China – mass stabbings that never make global headlines. I can only remember one such incident being reported in NZ. The clip shows police and security even use a special device looking like a shepherd's crook to tackle such crime. BTW, apparently Chinese crazies attack kindergartens. That's one step lower than American crazies. But let's not quibble.
At 14.30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLK9I6V1BGY
Something concerning no matter what your political views are.
https://www.voicesforfreedom.co.nz/blog/post/who-trust
we have another Chris here, so I’ve changed your username. Next time you comment please use that, or pick a unique one and stick to it. Thanks.
Murfitt is the clown who reckons the Covid response has been used to destroy liberty in New Zealand.
snort
What an excellent letter! I really appreciate well researched and referenced work such as this. Thanks for the link joe90!
(Especially like the reminder of how Uncle Ashley declared that Omicron escapes the Pfizer product, back in January…the point at which all mandates should have been lifted. Yet here we are. )
Thanks again joe90!
Not exactly, first they had to identify the level of risk to the health system/hospitalisation from omicron infection before moving on from workplace and location mandates.
The letters claim that the vaccination does not reduce serious outcomes is simply untrue.
Nope – not concerned that libertarian psychos don't approve of WHO doing its job properly. Not even concerned when they invoke the name of the tyrannical Helen Clark(e) whom, we might remember, nearly ended western civilisation with low-energy lightbulbs, until she was mercifully removed in 2008 by the heroic, freedom-loving saint from Merrill Lynch.
Funny because its true. Great wit and post : )
What a load of deranged piffle! The WHO is the global health entity which pulls all the threads pertaining to health matters together for the betterment of mankind as a whole. The WTO (world trade), the WMO (meteorological science) and others do the same. Almost all countries have their representatives based in Geneva assisting the parent body. Are you therefore claiming all these countries are complicit in some wacko conspiracy?
The author can't even spell Helen Clark's surname correctly.
All in bold. Sorry. Tried to change. Won't work. 🙁
All fixed 🙂
Thanks Incog. How did you do it for future reference? Font wouldn't work.
I wish I could tell & help you. I rarely use the front-end to comment, and in the back-end the text editor is different. Only Lprent will be able to explain these sorts of things. That said, I’d have thought the font tool should have worked, so that’s odd, to me too 😉
I am not concerned by this heap of bull kaka espoused by Voices for Freedom…..full of conspiracy theories etc and we have had enough of CTs from people like VFF to last us a lifetime I would have thought.
Agreed, but they just keep on with their rubbish.
On a baking hot Washington DC morning (about 33C), Jacinda Ardern came to meet with the leader of the free world.
The next time I hear this phrase I might puke. As this failed democracy fades what does this term beloved by lazy journalists even mean?
More than though is the hypocrisy of describing a country that has interfered in the running of so many sovereign states in this way.
I guess the US would say it's contributing to the overthrow of many legitimate governments over many decades is "freeing" them from the yoke of communism, socialism or whatever.
The USA doesn't defend democracy. It defends its own interests and its own world view.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128821564/the-white-house-meet-a-study-in-security-contrasts-and-personal-rapport
https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300601784/mori-party-backs-calls-for-establishment-of-iwiled-bank-to-finance-building-on-mori-land
Would be useful to just help even up the playing field for ordinary mortgages, too.
There was once a upon a time a Government organisation called the Maori Housing Corporation that built houses for the Maori's.
Which also provided training for them as well at all levels of construction & at housing/ contract management etc
Curiously the Iwi organisations say its too risky to invest in.
No not curious Pat. As the Maori land is communally owned it can not be used as a security, only the building, which has to be removable …quirk of Law. So no security until build is signed off. That needs to change.
Who demands the security of the land Patricia?….the lending bank (or financial institution)….if the financial institution is the owner of the land the problem is moot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Co-operative_Bank_(New_Zealand)
There is every opportunity for Iwi organisations to create a banking mechanism to provide capital for Iwi development and they have a natural support base. The restriction of Maori land is self imposed , which is the Iwi's right but the difficulty it creates is also theirs to solve….it is not insoluble, but like all investment it carries risk.
It IS curious that the risk is perceived too great.
The nation of rapists, thieves and murderers weren't content with looting toilets and household appliances.
https://twitter.com/lapatina_/status/1531195913888227328
May 28 (Reuters) – A ship has entered the Ukrainian port of Mariupol for the first time since Russia completed its capture of the city to load metal and ship it east to Russia, TASS news agency reported on Saturday, in a move that Kyiv decried as looting.
[…]
Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said the shipment amounted to looting by Russia.
"Looting in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine continues," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
"Following the theft of Ukrainian grain, the occupiers resorted to exporting metal products from Mariupol."
Ukraine's largest steelmaker Metinvest on Friday said it was concerned that Russia may use several ships stranded in Mariupol to "steal and smuggle metallurgical products" belonging to the group. It accused Russia of piracy.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ship-take-metal-mariupol-russia-kyiv-decries-looting-2022-05-28/
Complete and utter propaganda joe …well done , for starters i doubt the " mayor " even said that last time i looked back in early may they just seemed to be getting on with it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1I8SZeXGFo
I seriously doubt the death toll was anything like the figures you so gullibly quote but concerning the dead in a war generally what would be your alternative to a mass grave ?leave them lying around to rot ? give them all individual funerals ??
The ombudsman has been fired
Apparently for
A Ukrainian refugee in the UK says she recognises items apparently looted from her house sitting on top of a Russian tank in a recent photo.
Alina Koreniuk says the box in the photo contains a new boiler she planned to install before the war started.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61643533
So, the social media platform of choice for the (former) Human Rights Ombudsman of Ukraine is:
Telegram.
The Russian occupation should be the least of Ukraine’s worries.
It's the social media platform of choice.
Sometimes maligned, Telegram becomes essential during Ukraine invasion
Ukrainian officials have leaned on the messaging app in recent weeks as a reliable way to disseminate information.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/sometimes-maligned-telegram-becomes-essential-ukraine-invasion-rcna18495
https://www.lawfareblog.com/telegrams-embrace-contradiction
Cool, cool. They're all using it. Hardly helps dispell the Russian claim Ukraine is full of Nazis.
forsan spoliae victoribus
But it's a special military operation, not a war.
"Rising costs have created a “ticking timebomb” for UK small business owners, the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned, with almost half a million firms at risk of going bust within weeks without a fresh wave of government support."
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/30/almost-500000-uk-small-businesses-at-risk-of-going-bust-within-weeks
While Jacinda basks in the glory of meeting Joe Biden ,Andrew Little releases the Pharmac report that I believe sat on his desk waiting for and appropriate moment. A moment when our media had better things to do.
As usual, Pharmac, like everyone else, has been found to have failed Maori. And disabled people. Trans folk aren't mentioned, so we are sailing blind in that regard.
Quote:
''The panel found Pharmac’s model has delivered significant benefits, but to achieve its purpose these benefits need to be shared more equitably across our communities, especially for Māori and Pacific peoples.''
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128823378/independent-review-finds-pharmac-needs-to-substantially-improve
RNZ story is a good summary: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/468276/health-minister-urges-pharmac-to-focus-on-equity-and-collaboration
That's a good summary. Let's see how TV news handles this issue tonight.
Misleadingly
I've read the interim report, released last year – and the content of the final one, doesn’t seem to have changed much.
https://pharmacreview.health.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/final-report/Pharmac-Review-Final-Report.pdf
I'm wondering about this inequality in relation to Maori.
All of the comments I can find in the report are around Maori having less access to the existing drugs (e.g. less often disagnosed, or prescribed existing drugs) – which really has nothing to do with Pharmac.
[I mean, yeah, it needs to be addressed – but doesn't come within the areas that Pharmac control]
Pharmac was also caned for the reduced number of Maori employed (which may well have to do with the fact that medically qualified Maori can write their own ticket in any of the healthcare professions – and Pharmac isn't perhaps where they see they can make the most difference).
There was some speculation that diseases which predominantly affect Maori aren't getting the drug funding – but no concrete examples given in the report (though 2 drugs which do treat diseases more commonly experienced by Maori, were specifically mentioned as being funded by Pharmac in response to lobbying by Maori health groups – i.e. Pharmac is already doing it.)
Expenditure is more highly focused on the older age bracket. Which would be no surprise, since many of the drugs are life extenders (heart, blood pressure, cancer medication, etc.).
I do have some grave concerns over Little's stated policy
If this is just about integrating drug decision-making alongside other medical interventions – then that's one thing (and a highly desirable outcome). [Thinking here of prioritizing surgical interventions to reduce the drug costs for symptom management]
If it's opening the pathway to politicising Pharmac decisions – when, inevitably, the loudest voices with the best PR have the greatest weight – then that's quite another.
The best outcome from this report would be for Pharmac's decisions to be more open and transparent, and for them to be made in a much more timely fashion (and revisited if/when more information becomes available). However, the down-side of this, is that unless there is more money available, funding one drug means de-funding something else. TAANSTAFL
Sadly, for many of the special interest groups – NZ basically can't afford the 1st world standard of medical care that they would like to aspire to. Unless Pharmac's budget is increased very substantially (which I don't see as on the cards, given the economic climate), drug-treatment for rare and expensive treatments is simply not going to be publicly funded in NZ.
Refining how you slice the pie, doesn't change the size of it.
Politicising Pharmac decisions has been going on forever….the sooner we accept our health system operates on a triage methodology the better for all.
I agree. I see this announcement from Little as a move away from a fact-based triage model, to a more political one.
That's not to say that I don't think Pharmac could do a better job about making their decision making explicit and clear (because I think they've been poor in this area).
But we will never have enough money to fund everything – and the hard decisions about which communities will be helped and which won't, have to be made…
Put it this way as an example. Pharmac has $1000 to spend on a certain drug. That equates to 10 Pakeha and 3 Maori who qualify for such expenditure. Now, under the revised system that's more focus on Maori, Maori will have 6 seats( deserved or not) at the funding table while Pakeha drop to seven places. Why? Simple racism.
You may remember the DHB that prioritised Maori getting treatment first?
https://www.ccdhb.org.nz/news-publications/news-and-media-releases/2020-05-28-planned-surgery-maori-and-pacific-patients/
''Pharmac was also caned for the reduced number of Maori employed.''
I say, WhyTF is an issue like that in this report. Who cares?
Is Grant Robertson a bumbling fool, or just lying?
"We've got interest from a number of other players", he said on Tuesday, noting German discount supermarket Aldi as one of the "players in the Australian market that people can take a look at".
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/supermarket-giant-aldi-eyes-new-zealand-joining-costco-to-shake-up-duopoly/25M5FSB65PBR4PGLOTALAHBXAU/
A spokesperson for the chain has since confirmed it has "no current plans to expand into New Zealand".
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/468280/supermarket-giant-aldi-has-no-current-plans-to-enter-nz-market
Sometimes it pays to actually check with the company before saying they may do something when the next day they confirm they have no intention.
After the journalist wrote his story based on a "possibly" comment. They are predictable in their flimsy proof and out of context slants. Often a "gotcha" type relationship with reality.
Further a large photo of Luxon with a heading implying we are not engaging with other countries.
Since we opened up the PM has visited Singapore and Japan followed by a friendly call to congratulate Albanese on his Election win plus lead a delegation Trade Mission and meet the President of the USA. Right so "not doing anything?"
Maintaining an NZ companies registration for 20 years and then saying they have no current plans sounds like they're keeping their cards close.
One for all the Hillary Haters out there:
William Burr the AG for President Trump was supposed to find the real sticky dirt on Hillary's campaign and hired special counsel John Durham to go get it.
Durham went after Hillary's lawyer Michael Sussman and prosecuted.
Result:
Resounding loss against John Durham.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/31/politics/trump-michael-sussman-election-conspiracy/index.html
And so how many have been required to give evidence from the Trump camp:
61 officials and advisers. Several jailed already, on Contempt.
LIST: Who the January 6 committee has subpoenaed or requested to appear – CNNPolitics
That's on top of the 34 indictments and guilty pleas for Trump officials and advisers that have already gone down:
Mueller indictments: everyone charged in the Russia investigation – Vox
It's a nice big setback against the filth of Trump's legacy. This was the investigation that was supposed to show bias by law enforcement investigating President Trump. Obviously it's the usual witch-hunt by Republican elected officials and their crony staff, when it is the Republicans who on the facts of massive prosecutions are the corrupt ones.
And once Navarro is done singing, Trump is going to try to plead the 5th and just get trashed. Can't wait.
Oh dear, how sad, never mind.
https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1531715234175537153
The jury forewoman, who did not give her name, told reporters outside the courthouse that "I think we could have spent our time more wisely."
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/31/1102150260/special-counsel-durham-fails-first-courtroom-test-in-his-three-year-probe?
Swing and a miss
A lawyer with ties to the US Democratic party has been cleared of lying to the FBI during the frenzied final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Michael Sussman, 58, had been charged with lying to investigators and concealing his ties to Hillary Clinton's campaign.
I just covered that above
You did indeed, just as I was making sure I had the link correct.
Good work, Ace.