Open Mike 01/11/2018
Written By:
- Date published:
6:04 am, November 1st, 2018 - 315 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
315 comments on “Open Mike 01/11/2018 ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
Recent Comments
- Climate Change: The solution farmers don’t want us to talk about
RNZ this morning has a piece asking Can NZ really meet its methane emissions targets?. Posing it as a question like this frames it as difficult, more of the "but its too hard!" whine from farmers. But its not hard at all. Pretty obviously, we can meet methane reduction targets ...2 hours ago - A Conversation That Never Happened.
2 hours ago - Graham Adams: Parliament is in recess but Kris Faafoi is too busy to discuss proposals for hate-spee...
The Minister of Justice appears to have gone into hiding. Graham Adams provides an update on how the public debate on hate speech regulation is going, especially in terms of whether political opinion should or shouldn’t receive an exemption from new laws. It fell to RNZ to break the ...3 hours ago - Engineering A Miracle: Can Judith Collins Reprise Rob Muldoon?Miracle Worker? But Judith Collins and National cannot regain power by simply hoping for the worst. Elections are won by politicians like Rob Muldoon, who persuade the voters that the incumbent government is the worst choice.WAITING FOR THE MIRACLE, as Leonard Cohen observed, is an agonising test. Especially if its ...3 hours ago
- Hearing loss and social isolation – the silent burden
Feature image: this picture was chosen as it illustrates two elderly people in each other’s company. Tying in with the theme of hearing loss and social isolation, this depicts the importance of connection to each other and the world in which we live. Charlotte Gordon* Untreated hearing loss is a ...8 hours ago - 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #30
Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 18, 2021 through Sat, July 24, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Extreme rainfall in China: over 25 inches falls in 24 hours, leaving 33 dead, As scientists have ...16 hours ago - Capitalists in Space
. . Billionaire Richard Branson did it. Also-billionaire, Jeff Bezos, did it. Both will be the first money-hoarders into space (or sub-orbital near-space, to be more specific). Also-also-billionaire, Elon Musk – not content with sub-orbital ‘jaunts’ – has expressed a desire to go Full Interplanetary and personally colonise Mars. Meanwhile, ...18 hours ago - Elizabeth Rata: Responding to Andrew Geddis on Treaty PartnershipsMy recent article about the role that the concept of a Treaty ‘partnership’ has played in the development of ethno-nationalism provoked a critical response from Professor Andrew Geddis. We obviously have different opinions about the value of a Treaty partnership in New Zealand’s liberal democracy. My purpose here is to ...22 hours ago
- When tough on crime goes wrong
If there’s one thing that you can safely rely on, it’s right-wing politicians grandstanding with tough on crime rhetoric. It's understandable being that such propaganda is usually a sure bet, obviously because a very large proportion of the public wants to see less crime and fewer criminals in their communities.However ...2 days ago - Billionaire space race: the ultimate symbol of capitalism’s flawed obsession with growthTim Jackson, University of Surrey Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids, laments the Rocket Man in Elton John’s timeless classic. In fact, it’s cold as hell. But that doesn’t seem to worry a new generation of space entrepreneurs intent on colonising the “final frontier” as fast ...2 days ago
- Michael Cullen’s Policy Achievements
Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.Implicit in the title of the Michael Cullen’s memoir Labour Saving is his greatest policy achievement of improving the savings of the economy, as well as his saving the Labour Party from neoliberalism. But first, ...3 days ago - Call to ‘come home’ does not apply to our sleeper cells in Australia, says Government
A map of believed New Zealand sleeper cells in Australia, which the Australian Secret Intelligence Service has described as “painfully obvious” and believes is “pretty much comprehensive.” As the Covid-19 travel bubble with Australia closes once more, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins have made clear ...3 days ago - Cranky Uncle game now being translatedThe Cranky Uncle game is now being translated into multiple languages, paving the way to building public resilience against misinformation across the world. So far, we have had volunteers offer to help translate the game into Danish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, and Ukrainian. But we are always looking ...3 days ago
- Andrew Geddis: Responding to Elizabeth Rata on Treaty PartnershipsIn a recent post on this site, Prof Elizabeth Rata expressed her concerns at the growth of what she terms “ethno-nationalism” and the role that the concept of a “Treaty partnership” has played in this development. She does so by telling a story about how this idea of a Treaty ...3 days ago
- The Greatest Cyber-Weapon May Be The Truth.Who's Hacking Who? So, let’s be clear: the very same Western powers who were voicing their alarm at China’s alleged outsourcing of its cyber-attack capabilities to private actors, are the identical Western powers who, for years, have winked at their friends in Jerusalem outsourcing their intelligence gathering to a shadowy Tel ...3 days ago
- Morbid Symptoms: Why Are Māori Vaccination Rates Plummeting?Not Enough Shots In The Arm: The percentage of 8-month-old Māori babies in Counties Manukau receiving their primary course of immunisation on time has fallen from 85 percent in May 2020 to 68 percent in May 2021. A report prepared for the Counties Manukau DHB attributes this startling drop-off to: ...3 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29, 202194 articles Physical science of climate change, effects Three flavors of radiative feedbacks and their implications for estimating Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity Rugenstein & Armour Geophysical Research Letters DOI: 10.1029/2021gl092983 Observations of climate change, effects Multi-decadal change in western US nighttime vapor pressure deficit DOI: 10.1029/2021gl092983 Recent changes in ...4 days ago
- Looking for more coal is indefensibleSiberia is burning. China is flooding. Westport flooded last weekend. And against this backdrop of climate breakdown, the Southland District Council thinks its a good time to approve new coal exploration. This is a terrible idea. But its also a waste of time. Any coal discovered can never be burned ...4 days ago
- An end to imprisoning refugees?Back in May, Amnesty International exposed New Zealand's repuslive system of refugee detention, and the ongoing human rights abuses it leads to. It clearly embarassed the government, because today they've announced a formal inquiry into the practice - the first step to ending it: But following the release in ...4 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – The Seriousness of the rural revoltIt’s nearly a week since the “Howl of a Protest” took place throughout the country, and we’re still talking about the rural revolt. What are the farmers’ concerns? Are they legitimate? Has the rural-urban divide has become too deep, and will any of this have an impact on politics in ...4 days ago
- Extreme heat warning: what the first-ever UK Met Office alert meansChloe Brimicombe, University of Reading Summer 2021 will mark a turning point in how heat is seen by the public and communicated by experts. For the first time in its 167-year history, the UK’s Met Office has issued an amber warning for extreme heat for much of Wales and parts ...4 days ago
- Hydrogen in Southland?New Zealand wants to move to more renewable electricity. But there's a barrier: the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. It sucks up 13% of our total electricity supply, but its continued threats to shut down create ongoing uncertainty about demand, which puts people off building the additional renewables we need. But ...4 days ago
- When an ancient volcanic ‘supereruption’ caused sudden cooling, early humans got luckyBen Black, Rutgers University and Anja Schmidt, University of Cambridge Around 74,000 years ago, a “supereruption” on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, blasted out an estimated 5,000 cubic kilometres of magma. This was the Toba eruption, the largest volcanic eruption of the past 2 million years. To put 5,000 ...4 days ago
- Talley’s Group Ltd – Arsehole of the Week4 days ago
- Climate Crisis Intensifies Dramatically in 2021
In 2007 an organisation chose its name based on the scientific consensus that 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was the uppermost level to avoid a climate tipping point. We are currently just short of 420pp of carbon and the last seven years have been the hottest ...5 days ago - Samoa’s women’s quota: Have I missed something?(Narrator voice: Yes, yes I did. See correction at the bottom) Another election petition was finalised in Samoa today, seeing the first finding of an illegal practice against a FAST candidate (a party roadshow made a customary gift - koha in NZ terms - during a period where these are ...5 days ago
- A promising startThe "rebate" half of the government's feebate scheme to lower transport emissions came into force three weeks ago. And it looks like its had an immediate effect, with two months worth of EVs registered in the first 19 days alone: More than 1300 electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles ...5 days ago
- Taking shortsighted penny-pinching to a whole new levelOver the weekend Westport was hit by devastating floods. Half the town had to be evacuated, 89 homes (so far) are uninhabitable, and another 400 (of ~1700) need serious repairs. The total cost hasn't come in yet, but its going to be well into the tens of millions of dollars. ...5 days ago
- TORN’s Spy Report on the Amazon LOTR/Second Age Series
It’s been a while since we got an update on the upcoming Amazon Second Age series. Not since the leaked Synopsis. The poor fandom twisted itself into knots speculating about supposed nudity in a Tolkien adaptation, and then… nothing. Well, that has suddenly changed. The One Ring.Net has ...5 days ago - As scientists have long predicted, warming is making heatwaves more deadlyThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections In its 2001 Third Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) foresaw that global warming would lead to increasingly deadly heatwaves. “More hot days and heatwaves are very likely over nearly all land areas,” the world’s top climate scientists warned. “These increases ...6 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller: NZ’s statement on China a shot across the bowA statement issued by the New Zealand Government alleging Chinese state involvement in hacking goes much further than a simple, pro forma endorsement of the views of New Zealand’s allies. Geoffrey Miller explains the significance. New Zealand joined Western allies on Monday by issuing a statement that called out ...6 days ago
- Climate Change: Calling time on “leakage”When New Zealand was trying to implement carbon pricing back in the early 2000s, polluters whined about "leakage", either threatening to take their production overseas so they could continue to pollute for free, or complaining that paying the full cost of their pollution would mean they would be out-competed by ...6 days ago
- Plague ships put elimination strategy at risk6 days ago
- Baby talk 4: first transfer
Read the full Baby Talk series Content note: this one involves my vagina, like, a lot. Also blood. And that whole infertility/anxiety thing. Of our four fertilised eggs, two were deemed high-quality enough to proceed to the next stage, embryo transfer. The old days of putting multiple embryos back into ...6 days ago - Hate Speech Laws: The Polling
After the March 2019 Christchurch mosque attack, the New Zealand Government set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into matters surrounding the tragedy. The Commission came back with recommendations, including a tightening of laws regarding Hate Speech. The Ardern Government has indicated support for such proposals, but has yet ...7 days ago - Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin: can they be more than ‘space’ joyrides for millionaires?Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University and Gareth Dorrian, University of Birmingham Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson and his team successfully flew to the “edge of space” on the Unity 22 mission aboard a Virgin Galactic plane on July 12. The event was hailed as the start of space tourism, narrowly beating ...7 days ago
- Exporting their social licenceOne of the slogans of Friday's ugly farmer protests was "no farms, no food". But the truth is that most of what farmers grow is exported, and kiwis are increasingly being priced out of eating it at all: If you feel like red meat is more expensive than it ...7 days ago
- Graham Adams: Ardern’s nightmarish weekendCriticism of the government funding gangs and the media followed hard on the heels of nationwide protests by farmers It should have been a weekend of media adulation to further burnish the Prime Minister’s international reputation as a consensus-builder. Late on Friday night, Jacinda Ardern hosted a virtual Asia-Pacific ...7 days ago
- Why climate change is forcing conservationists to be more ambitious: by moving threatened species to...Sarah Elizabeth Dalrymple, Liverpool John Moores University As climate change brings record droughts and floods, extended fire seasons continue to make headlines, and the role of humans in this terrible situation is now undisputed, institutional change has been slow and unsteady. In particular, conservationists have been wary of pointing to ...1 week ago
- The government needs to act on this warningOver the weekend devastating floods hit the South Island. Half the population of Westport were forced from their homes, and it looks like hundreds have been made permanently homeless. Its a taste of what we can expect in the future due to climate change, and things are only going to ...1 week ago
- Free Speech vs Hate Speech – By Numbers.We Can Stop Guessing: New Zealand owes the newly-formed Free Speech Union (FSU) a debt of gratitude for commissioning Curia Research to find out exactly where the country stands on the Government’s Hate Speech proposals. JACINDA ARDERN faces a considerably less daunting task in selling her Hate Speech laws than many ...1 week ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 11, 2021 through Sat, July 17, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Repustar Fact Brief: Is carbon dioxide incapable of warming the planet any more than it already has?, The ...1 week ago
- Some farmers are very sick puppiesI'm not sure if you're aware, but there's a significant problem within our farming community that needs to be addressed, and that’s this whole belief that Labour is anti-farming. The reality is that the current Government loves farmers. From free trade agreements that open up new markets to keeping farming ...1 week ago
- Why were all these tails wagging the farm dogs through our towns and cities again?
Because for many of these ones it’s often about feelings alone, not the facts. There’s been some entirely manufactured hysterics over the so-called “ute” tax, and rural issues as a whole, coupled with some decidedly off-the-wall, so-called impending Communist takeover and the co-option of issues by the rabid Right, ...1 week ago - Mike King needs to get his shit together1 week ago
- Weaponising They Are Us: The Draft Script
You may recall that mass shooting at the Christchurch mosque a couple of years ago. It feels an eternity, of course, what with the shooting taking place in the Before Coronavirus era. There is currently an attempt to make a film about the event, under the title They ...1 week ago - Milley-tary Intervention.1 week ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Jacinda Ardern’s APEC diplomacy could be the start of something biggerGeoffrey Miller looks over the lessons from the special APEC summit Today’s special virtual APEC summit was so modest in its aims that it was officially referred to only as an ‘informal leaders’ retreat on Covid-19’. From the outset, host Jacinda Ardern dampened down expectations for the meeting, warning reporters ...1 week ago
- In Defence of Social Democracy
I used to josh Michael Cullen that he should write a memoir about his 27 years in parliament which ended in 2009, including 12 years as a minister. He always said he was too busy and it was not his thing. Sadly things have changed. Learning he has terminal lung ...1 week ago - Media Link: “A View from Afar” on YouTube.
I am glad to report that the “A View from Afar” podcast is now available on the 36th Parallel Assessments YouTube channel. As a teaser, the first video is taken from an interview done in Karekare with German TV about the scourge of white supremacism/right-wing extremism. ...1 week ago - A howl of uglinessFarmers are protesting today, invading cities with tractors and utes in protest against water and climate change policy. The core message of their "howl of protest" is meant to be "no farmers, no food" - which rather undermines their own case, given that 80% of the food they produce is ...1 week ago
- Drawing The Heat.A Matter Of Signals: What is a government saying about itself when it parlays with known criminals? What is it signalling about its willingness to openly confront them? More to the point, what message does it send to all the decent, law-abiding, charity-workers who struggle every day to convince their ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #28, 2021Decomposition of increasing atmospheric methane points to a decomposing Amazon Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, relatively short-lived in the atmosphere compared to CO2 but far more effective at "helping" to retain heat, gram-for-gram. With its radiative effects "super powers," methane is a potentially dramatic additional contributor to disastrous levels ...2 weeks ago
- Proactive release: What is the government afraid of?Last month, Newsroom reported on the government's slow progress on reviewing its proactive release policy. The story quoted Public Service Minister Chris Hipkins as saying that there had been "ongoing reviews" about the effectiveness of proactive releases. Naturally, I asked for these reviews using the OIA. Naturally, I got dicked ...2 weeks ago
- The Adventures of Annalax: Volume XXV
Session Fifty-Four This session was about tying up loose ends, and transitioning to something different (at last!). Manya gave birth to the shadow creature thing the Hag had cursed her with. The child – which is growing quickly – is an aggressive little psychopath. Annalax still doesn’t ...2 weeks ago - In NZ and around the world, women are still more likely to present and report the news than appear i...Susan Fountaine, Massey University Women are more visible in the world’s news than ever before — but they’re still far from achieving parity with men. According to the just released Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), women made up 40% of reporters and 25% of news sources across print, TV, ...2 weeks ago
- UK plans amnesty for war criminalsEngland's massacres in Northern Ireland during "the Troubles" are just another in its long list of colonial crimes. And like their other colonial crimes, they plan to sweep them under the carpet, with an effective amnesty for their colonial criminals: All criminal prosecutions relating to the Troubles and future ...2 weeks ago
- Nothing Left – Or Right – To Say.Or, Better Still, Start It! When did philosophical literacy cease to be a core competence of political leadership? Past New Zealand political leaders managed to explain themselves and their parties with reasonable fluency, why not the present crop?THE NATIONAL PARTY’s “Demand the Debate” campaign speaks volumes about the Right’s ideological ...2 weeks ago
- The Ministry of health’s transparency problem againRNZ has an interesting piece this morning about the Ministry of Health's efforts to hide the truth about its misleading and nonsensical vaccine rollout graph, which showed second doses being given before first doses. The "graph" was in fact marketing bullshit, and many Ministry of Health staff were uncomfortable with ...2 weeks ago
- Climate explained: is New Zealand losing or gaining native forests?Climate explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz In recent decades, has New Zealand lost ...2 weeks ago
- Four in five New Zealanders plan to get vaccinated, but many people want more information about vacc...Jagadish Thaker, Massey University New Zealanders’ intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine is at its highest since last year, at 81% of the adult population, according to our latest research. Ministry of Health surveys, which have been tracking public acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines since last year, also confirm the ...2 weeks ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Ardern’s foreign policy address pro-US, but not necessarily anti-ChinaJacinda Ardern has delivered a keynote speech on foreign policy. Geoffrey Miller reads between the lines. It was about APEC. And the Indo-Pacific. But most of all, it was about China. Jacinda Ardern’s keynote foreign policy address on Wednesday – at the annual conference of the New Zealand Institute ...2 weeks ago
- Death Valley, California, breaks the all-time world heat record for the second year in a rowThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters For the second consecutive year, Death Valley, California, has set a world record for the hottest reliably measured temperature in Earth’s history. Death Valley National Park’s Furnace Creek Visitor Center hit an astonishing 130.0 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4°C) on Friday afternoon, ...2 weeks ago
- Do you answer emails outside work hours? Do you send them? New research shows how dangerous this can...Amy Zadow, University of South Australia What could be so bad about answering a few emails in the evening? Perhaps something urgent pops up, we are tidying up an issue from the day, or trying to get ahead for tomorrow. Always being online and available is one of the ...2 weeks ago
- Climate Change: Fixing the government’s fuckupNewsroom today has a piece on the ETS price crisis and the risk that poor market design means we will blow the carbon budget in its first real year of operation. But can we do anything about it? According to Climate Change Minister James Shaw, the answer is "no": ...2 weeks ago
- The alarms are flashing red: Five reasons to upgrade our Alert Level system before the next Covid-po...Amanda Kvalsvig, Nick Wilson, Cheryl Davies, Carmen Timu-Parata, Virginia Signal, Michael G. Baker Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ’s) Alert Level system worked well in 2020, but the Covid-19 landscape is changing and the system needs to change with it to keep NZ ahead of the pandemic. In this blog we summarise ...2 weeks ago
- National should move on from racism2 weeks ago
- Judith Collins and National: It’s a trust thing. . . Clever strategies . There are firm reasons why National continually fails to gain traction with the voting public (recent Roy Morgan poll notwithstanding, as one fall does a trend not make). The ongoing in-fighting. The revolving door on leadership changes. It’s lack of coherent policy and direction. ...2 weeks ago
- What’s the right Covid-19 risk to live with – an Australian perspectiveBlog syndicated with permission from “The Pursuit” at Melbourne University, Australia By Professor Tony Blakely, Dr Tim Wilson and Associate Professor Vijaya Sundararajan, University of Melbourne As Australia looks toward opening its international borders, new virus modelling provides scenarios that can help us decide what’s the right risk to ...2 weeks ago
- Additional fact briefs published on RepustarWith an initial batch of eight published Fact Briefs we announced our partnership with the fact-checking organization Repustar at the end of April 2021. Since then, work has progressed in the background and seven more Fact Briefs have been published and are now available for quick rebuttals. ...2 weeks ago
- Billionaire circle jerk2 weeks ago
- A significant number of New Zealanders overestimate sea-level rise — and that could stop them from...Rebecca Priestley, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Richard Levy, GNS Science; Taciano L. Milfont, University of Waikato; Timothy Naish, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Zoë Heine, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Following a recent storm surge in Wellington, some ...2 weeks ago
- Women will not be silenced
Speak Up for Women have just published this press release: After just 24hours, GO Media have pulled down a billboard which displayed simply the dictionary definition of the word ‘woman’ along with the website address speakupforwomen.nz. Despite a recent High Court judgement declaring that Speak Up For Women cannot rationally ...2 weeks ago - With seas rising and storms surging, who will pay for New Zealand’s most vulnerable coastal prope...Tom Logan, University of Canterbury The major storm surge and coastal flooding in Wellington earlier this month was another reminder that the sea is now lapping close to a lot of New Zealand’s front doors. The ominous question is: who will pay when it crosses the threshold? But that’s ...2 weeks ago
- National: Funded by racistsThe National party is currently running a(nother) racist campaign, whipping up fears of "Māori separatism" (again) over basic measures for equality. So who did they get to fund it? Racist crank Don Brash: National leader Judith Collins asked Don Brash to raise $300,000 for a billboard campaign attacking the ...2 weeks ago
- Building back better
It’s a three-week recess in Parliament – so, no bills are going through the House and no select committees are meeting. But the hard work of our ministers continues, and many of our MPs are back in their electorates, taking the opportunity to meet with local communities and businesses about ...3 days ago - Greens call for a Warrant of Fitness for rental homes
The Green Party is launching a petition today calling on the Government’s Healthy Homes Standards to be backed up with a proper Warrant of Fitness (WoF) for rental homes. ...6 days ago - Securing our recovery: By the numbersOur plan to secure New Zealand’s recovery from COVID-19 is working, with the past three months seeing the second-highest number of people moved off a main benefit into work since records began. ...2 weeks ago
- More Kiwis in work through recovery planThe latest statistics show the Government’s focus on jobs is working. The net number of people on a main benefit dropped by around 11,190 people during the past three months, with around 31,240 people moving off a benefit into work. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party appoints new Chief of StaffThe Green Party has appointed a new Parliamentary Chief of Staff, Robin Campbell. ...2 weeks ago
- We’re turning 105!It’s our birthday! Today, 105 years ago, the New Zealand Labour Party was founded. And we haven’t stopped moving since: fighting for workers’ rights, expanding protections to boost equality, and upholding democratic socialist ideals. We’re now the oldest political party in New Zealand and, as we celebrate our 105 years, ...3 weeks ago
- Principles for guiding the Emissions Reduction Plan SpeechTēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. ...3 weeks ago
- New Bay of Islands hospital facilities to bring services closer to home
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Andrew Little have joined a ceremony to bless the site and workers for Phase Two of the redevelopment of the Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa today. The new building will house outpatients and primary care facilities, as well as expanded renal care ...2 hours ago - Cabinet accepts Turkish authorities’ request for the managed return of three NZ citizensCabinet has agreed to the managed return of a New Zealand citizen and her two young children from Turkey, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. The three have been in immigration detention in Turkey since crossing the border from Syria earlier this year. Turkey has requested that New Zealand repatriate ...3 hours ago
- Govt delivers more classrooms so children can focus on learningExtra Government investment in classrooms and school building projects will enable students and teachers to focus on education rather than overcrowding as school rolls grow across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis say. The pair visited Ruakākā School in Whangārei today to announce $100 ...4 hours ago
- New station a platform for AirportLink to take offEvery Aucklander with access to the rail network will now have a quick and convenient trip to the airport, Transport Minister Michael Wood and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said during the official opening of the new Puhinui Interchange today. The new interchange links the rail platform with a new bus ...2 days ago
- 10 days sick leave for employees deliveredLegislation doubling employees’ minimum sick leave entitlement to 10 days comes into effect today, bringing benefits to both businesses and employees, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood announced today. “Our Government is delivering on a key manifesto commitment to help Kiwis and workplaces stay healthy,” Michael Wood said. “COVID-19 ...2 days ago
- Prime Minister congratulates Fiame Naomi Mata’afa on Election WinPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern tonight congratulated Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mata’afa on her victory in the Samoa’s general election. “New Zealand has a special relationship with Samoa, anchored in the Treaty of Friendship. We look forward to working with Samoa’s new government in the spirit of partnership that characterises this ...3 days ago
- Quarantine Free Travel with Australia suspendedQuarantine Free Travel from all Australian states and territories to New Zealand is being suspended as the Covid situation there worsens, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. From 11.59pm today Australians will no longer be able to enter New Zealand quarantine-free. This will be ...3 days ago
- Growing conservation efforts in GisborneA big injection of Jobs for Nature funding will create much-needed jobs and financial security for families in TeTairāwhiti, and has exciting prospects for conservation in the region, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The projects target local communities most affected by the economic consequences of COVID 19 and are designed ...3 days ago
- Flood recovery given further assistanceThe Government is contributing a further $1 million to help the flood battered Buller community, Acting Emergency Management Minister Kris Faafoi announced today. “Buller is a small community which has found itself suddenly facing significant and ongoing welfare costs. While many emergency welfare costs are reimbursed by Government, this money ...4 days ago
- Funding for five projects to reduce food wasteThe Government is funding five projects to help address the growing problem of food waste, Environment Minister David Parker announced today. “New Zealand households throw away nearly 300,000 tonnes of food every year, half of which could still be eaten. By supporting these initiatives, we’re taking steps to reduce this ...4 days ago
- Temporary Accommodation Service activated for West Coast flooding eventThe Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated today - meaning residents on the West Coast of the South Island and in the Marlborough region hit by flooding over the weekend can now access help finding temporary accommodation, announced Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing) Poto Williams in Westport today. ...5 days ago
- Pause to Quarantine Free Travel from South Australia to New ZealandQuarantine Free Travel from South Australia to New Zealand will be paused from 11.59am (NZT) tonight, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. However, people currently in the state who ordinarily live in New Zealand will be able to return on “managed return” flights starting with the next available flight, ...6 days ago
- New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity by Chinese state-sponsored actorsNew Zealand has established links between Chinese state-sponsored actors known as Advanced Persistent Threat 40 (APT40) and malicious cyber activity in New Zealand. “The GCSB has worked through a robust technical attribution process in relation to this activity. New Zealand is today joining other countries in strongly condemning this malicious ...7 days ago
- Remarks to Diplomatic CorpsIt is a pleasure to be with you all this evening. Some of you may have been surprised when you received an invitation from the Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control, and I would forgive you if you were. New Zealand is unique in having established a Ministerial portfolio ...7 days ago
- Early Pfizer shipment boosts vaccine scheduleThe largest shipment of the Pfizer vaccine to date has arrived into New Zealand two days ahead of schedule, and doses are already being delivered to vaccination centres around the country, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “The shipment of more than 370,000 doses reached New Zealand yesterday, following a ...1 week ago
- Backing for Bay of Islands predator free effortThe Government is throwing its support behind an ambitious project to restore native biodiversity and build long-term conservation careers, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. Predator Free Bay of Islands aims to eradicate predators from the three main peninsulas in the region, and significantly reduce their impact throughout the wider 80,000-plus ...1 week ago
- Government commits $600,000 to flood recoveryThe Government is contributing $600,000 to help residents affected by the weekend’s violent weather with recovery efforts. Acting Minister for Emergency Management Kris Faafoi and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor have been in the Buller district this afternoon to assess flood damage and support the local response effort. They have announced ...1 week ago
- Government assisting local responses to heavy rainfall and high windActing Minister of Emergency Management Kris Faafoi says Central Government is monitoring the severe weather across the country, and is ready to provide further support to those affected if necessary. “My thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this latest event, particularly communities on the West Coast and ...1 week ago
- PM Ardern chairs APEC Leaders’ meeting on COVID-19New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has chaired a meeting of Leaders representing the 21 APEC economies overnight. “For the first time in APEC’s history Leaders have come together for an extraordinary meeting focused exclusively on COVID-19, and how our region can navigate out of the worst health and economic ...1 week ago
- Health Minister welcomes progress on nurses’ payThe New Zealand Nurses Organisation’s decision to take the Government’s improved pay offer to members and to lift strike notices is a positive move towards settling district health board nurses’ pay claims, Health Minister Andrew Little said. “It’s encouraging that the discussions between NZNO and DHBs over the nurses’ employment ...1 week ago
- Boost for Pacific regional businessPacific businesses will get a much-needed financial boost as they recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the new Pacific Aotearoa Regional Enterprise Fund, said Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. The new $2 million fund will co-invest in Pacific business projects and initiatives to create ...1 week ago
- PM Ardern call with President BidenPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke with US President Biden this morning, ahead of the APEC Informal Leaders’ Retreat on COVID-19. “President Biden and I discussed the forthcoming APEC leaders meeting and the critical importance of working together as a region to navigate out of the COVID-19 pandemic”, Jacinda Ardern said. ...1 week ago
- Renewed partnership creates jobs for New Zealand youthThe Government has signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs, strengthening the partnership to get more young people into work. The Mayors Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) is a nationwide network of all Mayors in New Zealand, who are committed to making sure all young ...1 week ago
- South Island areas prioritised in tourism fundFive South Island areas are prioritised in the latest round of decisions from a tourism fund that is supporting infrastructure projects from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island and the Chathams. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has announced details of 57 nationwide projects to receive support from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF). ...1 week ago
- New code sets clear expectations for learner safety and wellbeing in tertiary educationA new code of practice for the pastoral care of domestic tertiary and international students will be in place from January next year, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today The code, which makes clear that creating an environment that supports learning and wellbeing is a shared responsibility between tertiary providers, ...1 week ago
- First TAB New Zealand Board appointments announcedThe members of the first TAB NZ Board come with experience in racing and sport administration, business and governance, the betting industry, broadcasting and gambling harm minimisation. “This Board will progress from the excellent work done by the interim board, put in place in August 2020,” Grant Robertson said. “The ...1 week ago
- Northland Maori Pathways initiative introducedThe Government has today launched Māori Pathways at Northland Region Corrections Facility, a ground-breaking series of initiatives designed in partnership with Māori to reduce re-offending and improve outcomes for whānau. A key part of the Hōkai Rangi strategy, Māori Pathways looks to achieve long-term change and involves a number of ...1 week ago
- Extended Essential Skills visas being rolled outTwo year Essential Skills visa to provide certainty to at least 18,000 visa holders Streamlined application process to benefit at least 57,000 visa holders The Government is increasing the duration of some Essential Skills visas and streamlining the application process to provide more certainty to employers and visa holders while ...1 week ago
- Pause to Quarantine Free Travel from Victoria to New ZealandQuarantine Free Travel from Victoria to New Zealand will be paused from 1.59am (NZT) Friday, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. The decision follows updated public health advice from New Zealand officials and a growing number of cases and locations of interest. The pause will run for at least ...2 weeks ago
- Hydrogen arrangement signed with SingaporeThe signing of an Arrangement of Cooperation on low-carbon hydrogen with Singapore heralds the start of greater collaboration between it and New Zealand as both countries transition towards low carbon economies, says Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods. The cooperation arrangement between New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment ...2 weeks ago
- Hydrogen agreement signed with SingaporeThe signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation on low-carbon hydrogen with Singapore signals the start of greater collaboration between the two countries as they transition towards low carbon economies, says Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods. The cooperation agreement between New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and ...2 weeks ago
- Speech to LGNZ ConferenceKia ora koutou katoa and thank-you for the invitation to speak to you all today. I would like to acknowledge Local Government New Zealand President Stuart Crosby, and Chief Executive, Susan Freeman-Greene, Te Maruata Chair, Bonita Bigham, and our host, Mayor John Leggett. I also acknowledge all the elected members ...2 weeks ago
- Government to provide support for water reforms, jobs and growthThe Government today announced a $2.5 billion package to support local government transition through the reforms to New Zealand’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services. The package will also stimulate local economies while creating jobs and unlocking infrastructure for housing. “New Zealand’s water systems are facing a significant crisis and ...2 weeks ago
- Government Initiatives Contribute to Fall in Benefit NumbersMinister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni has welcomed the release of the June quarter Benefit Statistics which show a continuing fall in the number of people receiving a Main Benefit. “This Government’s plan to increase work focused support for Jobseekers is paying off,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “All up Benefit numbers ...2 weeks ago
- Tourism support package continues rolloutMental wellbeing support is being rolled out to five South Island communities most affected by the absence of international tourists. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash today announced details of how tourism operators and communities can access the help announced in May as part of the government’s $200 million Tourism Communities: Support, ...2 weeks ago
- NZ-PNG Sign Statement of PartnershipNew Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape signed the first ever New Zealand - Papua New Guinea Statement of Partnership today. “This new Statement of Partnership reflects the importance we place on the close economic, cultural and people-to-people links our two countries have ...2 weeks ago
- Further advice being sought on new cases in VictoriaFurther advice is being sought from public health officials following seven new positive cases of COVID-19 in Victoria today, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says. “There are also a growing number of locations of interest that are of concern, including a sports stadium on Saturday and several pubs,” Chris Hipkins ...2 weeks ago
- Christchurch Learning Community Hubs supporting ethnic familiesAs part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to working with the victims and those affected by the March 15 terror attacks, today Associate Minister of Education Hon Jan Tinetti released the report ‘Voices from the Ōtautahi’ on the Christchurch Learning Community Hubs. “It’s so important we continue to support the ...2 weeks ago
- Hundreds more hands funded to work for natureSupporting biodiversity protection through community-led projects and on private property will create at least 500 more jobs under the Mahi mō te Taiao/Jobs for Nature programme, Minister of Conservation Kiritapu Allan announced today. “The work we are funding includes everything from pest control and restoration planting to plant propagation, skill ...2 weeks ago
- Saliva testing expansion for frontline border workersAll frontline border workers who are required to be regularly tested for COVID-19 will soon be able to choose regular saliva testing as a full replacement for nasopharyngeal testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. Saliva testing will be expanded as an option for all those on a regular ...2 weeks ago
- Australia badly needs earth science skills, but universities are cutting the supply
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Selway, Senior Research Fellow, Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia Earth science is vital to Australia’s economic and environmental future but we are dramatically decreasing our earth science capability. Earth scientists work not only in mining and mineral exploration (which ...12 mins ago - Georgia Lines on finding her voice, trusting herself and not burning out early
As the young songwriter steps confidently into a new phase of her career, she explains how it’s unfolded to this point.Georgia Lines comes bearing gifts. Ice blocks, to be specific. Never mind that we’re past the crest of the afternoon on what might be the coldest day in an unusually ...14 mins ago - Barnaby Joyce scores dismal ratings in Resolve poll, while Berejiklian government easily in front de...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Mick Tsikas/AAP In the latest Resolve poll for Nine newspapers, the Coalition had 38% of the primary vote (down two since June), Labor 35% (down one), the ...27 mins ago
- NZ dairy industry’s biggest challenge is meeting methane gas emission targets
New Zealand dairy farmers are some of the most efficient producers of dairy milk in the world, and while the past year has been tough for many industries, the overall picture for dairy has been overwhelmingly positive. Returns to farmers have been at record levels,. along with the economic contribution ...1 hour ago - New Zealand to bring in terror suspect Suhayra Aden and her children
New Zealand has agreed to repatriate Suhayra Aden and her two young children, who crossed from Syria into Turkey in February. ...1 hour ago - Girl group parody Girls5eva, reviewed by a former 90s popstarNow available on TVNZ OnDemand, Girls5eva follows a manufactured 90s girl group reforming in their 40s. Sound familiar? Megan Alatini of TrueBliss reviews. As soon as the Girls5eva trailer launched, the TrueBliss girls and I kept getting tagged on social media. Now that I’ve seen the show myself, I can totally ...1 hour ago
- Returning Children Must Be Protected And Embraced
Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft is urging the public and media to respect the privacy and wellbeing of the children returning with their mother from Turkey, following the Governments’ announcement today. “I am proud that New Zealand has ...2 hours ago - The Returning Mother And ChildrenToday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that New Zealand will meet its international legal obligations and not leave a young family stateless. While some countries may choose to reject their citizens, the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand is ...2 hours ago
- While we wonder who Poto Williams represents, let’s muse on why Greg O’Connor missed out on the ...
Newstalk ZB broadcaster Mike Yardley, writing about his recent interview with Police Minister Poto Williams, said he had been keen to learn why she was so dead against Armed Response Teams. Good question. But some of Williams’ replies during the interview raised another issue: who does the Member for Christchurch ...2 hours ago - Goddesses respond to Karlo Mila’s book of poems, Goddess MuscleKarlo Mila’s latest poetry collection spans the work of a decade. It’s been out in the world for nine months now, filling cups and lifting women up. We invited women to write about it. Selina Tusitala MarshAs a seafood lover of fierce appetite, when I see Karlo’s title Goddess Muscle I ...2 hours ago
- Unpacking Race Based Politics...3 hours ago
- What’s up with all those seal sculptures?One woman’s love letter to an enduring feature of New Zealand front yards.This story was first published on Ensemble.There sits one, freshly painted, at the front door of a house in Titirangi. There’s one balancing a ball-shaped lamp, awkwardly placed above the cubicles in a public toilet in ...4 hours ago
- ACT Party economic proposals target Carbon Act, reinstating immigrationThe ACT Party is urging a return to pre-Covid immigration settings and completely scrapping the Zero Carbon Act in its economic discussion document release. ...4 hours ago
- ACT Right To Focus On Economic Growth In New Recovery DocumentThe New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union welcomes ACT’s growth-focused Economic Recovery Discussion Document. Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says, “No matter how many times Grant Robertson says things aren’t as bad as he expected, ...5 hours ago
- How an NZSL performance interpreter tells the whole storyPlatform Interpreting NZ interprets performances for Aotearoa’s Deaf community. Its founder, Kelly Hodgins, tells Sam Brooks about the unique challenges and rewards that come with her work.It was the second night of comedian Tim Minchin’s recent solo tour, but he wasn’t the only star onstage. For the entire two hours ...5 hours ago
- Jacinda Ardern commits to getting NZers back from Australia within deadlineNew Zealanders in Australia wanting to get home are being reassured they will be able to do so within the seven-day window and avoid managed isolation. ...6 hours ago
- Live updates, July 26: PM confident all stranded NZers in Australia will make it home this weekWelcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 26, bringing you the latest news updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz8.05am: PM confident all stranded NZers in Australia will make it home this weekThe prime minister has made a commitment to New Zealanders in Australia who are trying ...6 hours ago
- ‘Anorexia coach’: sexual predators online are targeting teens wanting to lose weight. Platforms ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suku Sukunesan, Senior Lecturer in Information Systems, Swinburne University of Technology Author provided There’s no shortage of people online looking to exploit and manipulate the vulnerable among us. One such group is anorexia coaches, or “anacoaches”. They are typically middle-aged, ...6 hours ago
- ‘Girls please stay in the kitchen’ — as skateboarding debuts at the Olympics, beware of the lu...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brigid McCarthy, Lecturer in Journalism, La Trobe University Keith Birmingham/AP/AAP Skateboarding will make its Olympic debut this year at the Tokyo Games. The women’s and men’s competitions will both involve park and street events. In each, athletes perform optional ...6 hours ago
- Uniform discontent: how women athletes are taking control of their sporting outfitsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Jefferson-Buchanan, Lecturer in human movement studies (health and PE), Creative Arts, Charles Sturt University Georgios Kefalas/EPA/AAP Women’s dress codes in sport are determined by “traditions” that are both outdated and gendered. Their outfits have long tried to reconcile notions ...6 hours ago
- Australia must get serious about airborne infection transmission. Here’s what we need to doSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lidia Morawska, Professor, Science and Engineering Faculty; Director, International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health (WHO CC for Air Quality and Health); Director – Australia, Australia – China Centre for Air Quality Science and Management (ACC-AQSM), Queensland University of Technology ...6 hours ago
- Thinking of choosing a health or PE subject in years 11 and 12? Here’s what you need to knowSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Dean (Research), Charles Sturt University Shutterstock This article is part of a series providing school students with evidence-based advice for choosing subjects in their senior years. From kindergarten to year 10, all Australian students follow the national ...6 hours ago
- The Bulletin: International recognition for PM Fiame Mata’afaGood morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: International recognition for PM Fiame Mata’afa, travel bubble with Australia closed amid escalating outbreak, and Auckland councillor Efeso Collins reveals bomb threat.In the eyes of the international community, Sāmoa has a new government. It’s a strange way of stating the importance ...7 hours ago
- US markets at record high as Delta fears fade
Business & Investing: NZ market lags US rebound but hopes for season of companies reporting financial half year results ...8 hours ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 26 July
Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...9 hours ago - Newsroom daily crossword, Monday 26 July
...9 hours ago - One cent a litre to insure against no fuel for essential services
Closure of the Marsden Point refinery would expose the country to the risk of a breakdown of essential services ...9 hours ago - New Zealand’s history of violence against Pacific peoples laid bareOver the past week the royal commission of inquiry into abuse in care has been holding a series of public hearings focused on the experiences of Pacific peoples. Justin Latif reports from the Māngere hearing. Inside the beautiful Fale O Sāmoa on Māngere’s Bader Drive, people mingle under muted amber lights, ...9 hours ago
- Exclusive poll: Do we have faith in NZ’s contact tracing system?Broad confidence in contact tracing remains stable, reveals a new representative survey by Stickybeak for The Spinoff. But the numbers on app usage are a worry.The worldwide spread of the super-contagious delta strain of Covid-19 has put fresh pressure on contact tracing systems. New South Wales, for example, prided itself ...9 hours ago
- The fascinating history of public vaccine campaignsThe life-saving innovation of immunisation has faced suspicion and distrust ever since it was first devised, more than 200 years ago.In 1798, Edward Jenner published his discovery that smallpox in humans can be prevented by exposing their bodies to the similar but less harmful cowpox. Jenner’s 1798 revelation of what ...9 hours ago
- New Zealand's enduring affection for a shocking liar
Steve Braunias on the inclusion of a cancelled author in the latest Whitcoulls Top 100 The 2021 Whitcoulls Top 100, as below, exists to remind us that the people, as ever, want trash, escape, myth, allegory, riddles, and all manner of bullshit, preferably in a series (The Seven Sisters, The ...10 hours ago - Rethinking ‘race’ in Aotearoa New Zealand
A new column from Dame Anne Salmond challenges the legalistic, one side up against the other approach to race relations and the Treaty of Waitangi of the past 40 years. Racist thinking runs deep. As Jess Berentson-Shaw observed in ‘Why Anti-Racism needs Nerds,’ an article about streaming in schools, “Racism gets coded ...10 hours ago - Panmure 'thrown under the busway'
Roadworks have ground Panmure to a halt - and members of the community want to know when they can expect respite The bus link between Central and East Auckland has been put off for another two years - and members of one community say construction work on the project has ...10 hours ago - Māori political talent exits Parliament
A powerhouse of government advisors is teaming up to start a new consultancy firm ...10 hours ago - Companies offer up incentives as labour market capacity tightens
Hiring bonuses, special leave and flexibility are becoming the norm amid a tight labour market. ...10 hours ago - How to avoid a repeat of Samoa's election crisis
What changes are needed to avoid similar constitutional uncertainty in future? ...10 hours ago - Forestry: 'Our people are still dying'
Dozens of workers have been killed in the forestry supply chain in the past seven years. A two-day inquest in Gisborne last week focused on the avoidable death of just one. Richard Brooking has waited five years for the opportunity to stand in a court room and speak for his ...10 hours ago - Looking towards Africa
We've been told New Zealand needs to take some of those trade eggs out of China's basket - and Africa is looking wide open after nations signed a continent-wide pact. But there are difficulties. The latest tensions between New Zealand and China have renewed the push to find more trading ...10 hours ago - Surfer's legacy lives on in Kiwi Olympic show jumper
Show jumper Uma O’Neill has been called on at the 11th hour to compete for NZ at the Tokyo Olympics. The girl from Hawaii, whose grandfather was a surfing legend, explains to Suzanne McFadden how she ended up riding for the Kiwis. Uma O’Neill’s grandfather must have known something ...10 hours ago - NZ's enduring affection for a cancelled authorSteve Braunias on the inclusion of a cancelled author in the latest Whitcoulls Top 100 The 2021 Whitcoulls Top 100, as below, exists to remind us that the people, as ever, want trash, escape, myth, allegory, riddles, and all manner of bullshit, preferably in a series (The Seven Sisters, The ...10 hours ago
- Morrison government orders Pfizer ‘boosters’, while hoping new ATAGI advice will warm people to ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra While still struggling with a current shortage of Pfizer, the Morrison government announced it has secured 85 million doses of that vaccine for future “booster” shots. This will be made up of 60 million doses ...16 hours ago
- The Tokyo Lowdown: Day 2
Day two was generally a cracker for our Kiwi sportswomen at the Olympics, especially on the water and the artificial turf in Tokyo. LockerRoom's daily update on our women athletes continues. Performances of the day Living on the outside of the Olympic Village, Holly Pearson was pulled into the Black ...17 hours ago - ‘God, not my girls’: Auckland councillor receives bomb threat following TV show criticismFa’anana Efeso Collins says he has been reflecting on his future in politics after death threats were made against him and his family in response to comments about Police Ten 7. Justin Latif reports. “God, not my girls” is the thought that immediately ran through Fa’anana Efeso Collins’ mind as he ...1 day ago
- Gay law reform: a tactics masterclassThe House: Thirty five years later, Fran Wilde and Trevor Mallard discuss the campaign, strategy and tactics involved in the 1985-86 campaign to legalise gay sex. ...1 day ago
- An ode for … Lorde
New Zealand's semi-detached poet laureate composes an ode for Solar Ella One Lorde to rule them A weird and uncanny mood falls upon the land of the long white nitrate plume. On both sides of the Great Wall of the Polls, premonition hangs, heavy as a ...1 day ago - Our IVF storyWhen Jana Te Nahu Owen and her wife began their fertility journey, they never imagined that it was the start of a three-year battle to conceive. Today is World IVF day. It’s also 15 months since our beautiful pēpi was born. I remember it well, like a surreal dream inside ...1 day ago
- How the whiff of cow shit led me to travel the land of Milk and MoneyA six-part documentary series investigating New Zealand’s dairy industry, Milk and Money, launches on TVNZ OnDemand today. Journalist and host of the series Baz Macdonald explains why he made it.About a year ago I was sitting on the coast of Riverton, a tiny seashore village in Southland, and all I ...1 day ago
- The Sunday Essay: Mariposa, the Mexican feminist street dogWhile north of the border Trump speaks of bad hombres and building walls, Julie Hill befriends a dog named Butterfly. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New ZealandOriginal illustrations by Amane & Me.Once, this town was called the Place of Dogs, and by night, dogs are ...1 day ago
- Not declaring the Great Barrier Reef as ‘in danger’ only postpones the inevitableSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon C. Day, PSM, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Shutterstock After much anticipation, the World Heritage Committee on Friday decided against listing the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger”. The ...2 days ago
- Very genki, slightly kitsch, occasionally compelling: the Olympic opening ceremony put humanity in c...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Mercer, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts, Curtin University The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images The rising of the Japanese flag and the singing of the national anthem is the first moment of stillness. Devoid of external commentary, before a ...2 days ago
- The birth of a movement that divided NZ – and changed us foreverAs New Zealand marks 40 years since the Springbok tour that changed everything, we republish this essay by Trevor Richards, founding chairperson of Hart – Halt All Racist Tours.Originally published in 2019, on the 50th anniversary of the anti-apartheid group’s formation.It has been said that if you can remember the ...2 days ago
- Not all workers will benefit from new sick leave entitlements – and only some projects are favoure...Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood is braying about new labour legislation “bringing benefits to both businesses and employees” and “delivering on a key manifesto commitment to help Kiwis and workplaces stay healthy”. Actually, employers are doing the delivering. If they don’t deliver, it is fair to suppose, they ...2 days ago
- Radicalism mixed with openness: how Desmond Tutu used his gifts to help end ApartheidSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew McGowan, Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School, Yale University AAP/EPA/Nic Bothma This piece is part of a new series in collaboration with the ABC’s Saturday Extra program. Each week, the show will have a “who am I” quiz ...2 days ago
- Podcast: Hate speech debate gets mired in politicsFocus on Politics - "Our communities suffered greatly and politicising it is actually demeaning". Minorities are growing frustrated at the direction hate speech debate has gone, Anneke Smith reports. ...2 days ago
- Forget Tokyo. For me, the real opening ceremony was in the TVNZ studioHow did TVNZ’s Olympic team warm us up for last night’s big event? Tara Ward tunes in. I am an athlete in my prime, and sleep is for losers. The Tokyo Olympics 2020 launched yesterday, and although the opening ceremony began deep into the New Zealand night, I was ready. I’d ...2 days ago
- Controlled digital lending – is it ‘piracy’?
Copyright lawyer Michael Wolfe argues that the future of our libraries does not hinge on the outcome of an American court case The National Library is sending books removed from its collections to the Internet Archive, a charitable library in the United States, to see them digitised and preserved in ways ...2 days ago - Changing South: World peace easier than fixing damaged house
Kate Dewes fought for peace on the global stage, but trying to get her earthquake-damaged home in Christchurch repaired “nearly finished me” Kate Dewes is a peace negotiator of global standing. A long-time activist for disarmament, she successfully lobbied for New Zealand’s Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act, ...2 days ago - Short story: The Day in Bed, by James Courage
A classic short story from 1959 by the great North Canterbury writer James Courage In the middle of the morning, an hour after the doctor's car had left the farm-house, the man lying in bed heard his wife's voice calling to him half-way up the stairs: "Jonathan, will you have ...2 days ago - Freedom For AllNew Conservative stands for Human Rights, freedom for all, our freedom, and freedom as stated in the NZ Bill of Rights Act. Our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, is working hard to silence the words we speak through so-called ‘hate speech’ laws so we ...2 days ago
- Ted Lasso is the heartfelt comedy the world needs right nowA new season of the charming US-UK comedy arrived on Apple TV+ last night, and Ted fans could not be more excited. But why does everyone love Ted Lasso so much? Ted Lasso wants us to believe. He also wants us to be as wise as a goldfish, but mostly, ...2 days ago
- Your queer Chinese-New Zealand teenage fantasy: How we wrote Yang/Young/杨Yang/Young//杨 is a brand-new Gen-Z coming-of-age story with a Kiwi-Asian twist, part of Auckland Theatre Company’s Here & Now Festival. Co-writer Sherry Zhang reflects on writing her first play. I never thought I’d write a play. In a scene that puts High School Musical’s Troy Bolton to shame, I chose the ...2 days ago
- ‘Don’t tell me how to run the ball’: Louisa Wall on forging her own path in politicsShe’s more visible than many cabinet ministers, but Louisa Wall languishes on the Labour backbench. Justin Giovannetti catches up with the outspoken MP and asks: why is she not getting the promotions?It’s hard to imagine someone better placed to be at the heart of a progressive centre-left government than an ...2 days ago
- Pfizer doses to be spaced out in NSW crisis, but state fails to get change in vaccination programSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra AAP/Mick Tsikas Pfizer doses in NSW will be spaced out to enable more first jabs to be administered quickly, as the Berejiklian government on Friday declared the Sydney COVID crisis a “state of ...3 days ago
- The Tokyo Lowdown: Day Zero
In your daily guide recapping the fortunes of Kiwi sportswomen at the Tokyo Olympics, our rowers had an up and down Day Zero. Performance of the day Emma Twigg took the first strokes on her row to Olympic redemption. Fourth in London, fourth in Rio, Twigg came out of retirement to ...3 days ago - Samoa’s highest court declares FAST government legal – impasse endsBy Lanuola Tusani Tupufia-Ah Tong in Apia Samoa’s Court of Appeal ruled today that the Faatuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party was the country’s new government bringing three months of political stalemate to a close. The court, the highest in the country, found that a swearing-in ceremony conducted ...3 days ago
- Reporting Greenpeace to police shows KPK has become authoritarian, says watchdogBy Irfan Kamil in Jakarta Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has condemned the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) under the leadership of Firli Bahuri as an “authoritarian and anti-criticism” institution over the Greenpeace laser protest. ICW researcher Kurnia Ramadhana said this after the KPK had reported Greenpeace Indonesia to the South Jakarta ...3 days ago
- Nine takeaways from the Mā’ohi Nui Lives Matter solidarity rally in NZBy Ena Manuireva and Tony Fala About 35 people joined an Auckland rally last Sunday in solidarity with a Mā’ohi Nui Lives Matter demonstration by thousands of Tahitians happening in Pape’ete, the capital. In solidarity and in sync with the Pape’ete event, the Mai te Paura Atōmī i te ti’amara’a: ...3 days ago
- Fiji medics save newborn babies – mothers among 21 new covid deathsBy Timoci Vula in Suva Two Fijian pregnant women are among the 21 covid-19 deaths reported within a seven-day period from July 14. Their babies, however, were saved via a caesarean operation by the obstetric team. Health Secretary Dr James Fong revealed this in his covid-19 live update last evening ...3 days ago
- ‘Pacific Islander’ an insulting umbrella term, researcher tells Royal CommissionBy Andrew McRae, RNZ News reporter The umbrella term Pacific Islander or Polynesian has been criticised as degrading and insensitive. Researcher Dr Seini Taufa, who is a New Zealand-born Tongan, said the names were not indigenous terms and were insulting. Dr Taufa is research lead for Moana Research and Senior ...3 days ago
- VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on the PM’s apology and Brisbane 2032Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paddy Nixon discuss the week in politics. This week Michelle and Paddy discuss the proposed changes to the vaccine rollout ...3 days ago
- Keen to sign up for space tourism? Here are 6 things to consider (besides the price tag)Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Freeland, Professorial Fellow, Bond University / Emeritus Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University, Western Sydney University Blue Origin/AP It’s been a momentous month for space-faring billionaires. On July 11, British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson’s Unity “rocket-plane” flew him ...3 days ago
- You may have heard the ‘moon wobble’ will intensify coastal floods. Well, here’s what that mea...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Gibbs, Principal Engineer: Reef Restoration, Australian Institute of Marine Science Shutterstock Extreme floods this month have been crippling cities worldwide. This week in China’s Henan province, a year’s worth of rain fell in just three days. Last week, catastrophic ...3 days ago
- Clever cockatoos in southern Sydney have learned to open kerb-side bins — and it has global signif...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Martin, Adjunct lecturer, University of Sydney Barbara Klump, Author provided In a small, isolated village in southern Sydney, the local sulphur-crested cockatoos are particularly clever. Once a week, when the neighbours roll their wheelie bins to the kerb, cockies ...3 days ago
- How caring for children can help Aboriginal Elders during lockdownSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Collings, Research Fellow, University of Sydney Quotes in this research are from participants who cannot be named due to research ethics requirements. Pandemic-induced lockdowns have provided stories of both hardship and resilience. This extends to families in the community caring for ...3 days ago
- NZ takes prudent approach in closing bubble
The decision to pause trans-Tasman travel is appropriately risk-averse in light of the devastation that the Delta strain could wreak in New Zealand, writes Marc Daalder Analysis: Imagine if our Level 4 lockdown in April 2020 hadn't worked. Imagine if, despite the stringent measures and people mostly following them, the ...3 days ago
What a “breath of fresh air WHO are as they finally take air pollution seriously” Bravo to World Health Organisation, (WHO).
WHO are also are focusing on the urban residents who are also health effected by “toxic heavy road traffic air pollution” too.
WHO are claiming that even schools and busy traffic routes be redesigned away from schools and suburban areas also.
http://www.who.int/airpollution/events/conference/en/
First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, 30 October – 1 November 2018
Improving air quality, combating climate change – saving lives
A schoolboy walks through smoke and fumes emitted from a waste dump in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt
Air Pollution is “the ‘new tobacco…” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director general
If you received an invitation to attend the conference and have not yet registered using the INDICO web portal, then please do so before as soon as possible. The link to the INDICO registration web portal can be found in the invitation email message.
The first two days of the conference will present evidence, identify gaps and solutions, and will be targeted at practitioners and other technical and political representatives from the health sector and other sectors relevant to the discourse. The third day will be a High-Level Action Day.
Conference provisional programme – updated 28 October
pdf, 799kb
Live webcast (active from 30 October 2018)
Conference overview agenda
pdf, 205kb
Time to nationalise the banks.
This is well overdue.
Their parasitic behaviour is leeching billions of dollars out of the New Zealand economy.
“ANZ’s New Zealand business made more money than Fonterra, Spark, Fletcher Building, the Warehouse, Air New Zealand and the major supermarkets combined last year and it’s not good enough, according to activist investor Sam Stubbs.
ANZ New Zealand announced a record net profit of $1.98 billion this morning – while its parent company Australia and New Zealand bank made A$6.4b.
But Stubbs, founder and managing director of KiwiSaver provider Simplicity, and a critic of the banks, said ANZ was taking advantage of its dominant position to extract unreasonable profits.
“The ANZ profit is classic rent-seeking behaviour.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-finance/news/article.cfm?c_id=12&objectid=12152050
Yo Ed.
How are you going to nationalise an Australian bank ?
You don’t really think your own stuff thru do you ?
Yo James – what’s your take on the smashing the National Party has taken over the past few weeks and what do you reckon about the likelihood that they’ve a lot more coming?
Robert. Hardly on topic is it. But since you asked as I have commented a couple of times it was a clusterfuck.
So back to the topic in hand.
Oops typo so other post in holding.
but in reply – not really on topic is it Robert ?
And I’m guessing nationals week is going better than labour’s.
I bet Cindy regrets backing her minister – reading between the lines.
“not really on topic”
This is Open Mike, James. “Open” probably means…open.
National’s disease must be hurting it’s followers something awful, I reckon. They’ve had a shocker! It’s as if a curtain fell and they were all exposed, standing there, trousers around their ankles, looking startled. Paula Bennett, btw, looks permanently startled these days. Judith Collins always did (it’s the arched eyebrows).
Yep. Open mike. But you have problems understanding how threads and reply work huh?
Sorry James, Robert is on to it. You on the other hand are fully exposed, trousers around your ankles…. Daily.
I think Robert thought the topic was not thinking things through so responded accordingly.
You talkin bout the guy the gnatss let stay here jimbo?
Huh
Didn’t he arrived under a Labour government, and granted residency by a Labour minister?
Yo Bobbie fatdude
Why are labour and the greens still hugging garden variety crims and giving them citizenship?
Didn’t Thiele get in under gnattynil tuppy?
He did, but he didn’t distribute large volumes of class b drugs imported for a meth dealing gang though.
Maybe you can check whether a whole bunch of prisoners donated $14k each to the Labour Party?
I checked, It wasn’t 14k each. each was linked with the 14k though
Oh, well I guess a list MP is worth top dollar then. Even for an opposition party.
Maybe National MP’s are worth more than Labour mp’s, which ever side they sit on.
Maybe the Labour MPs weren’t for sale.
Elegant, McFlock.
Oh they are, the price is so low it’s not worth reporting on though.
Cabinet clubs with GR at the wellington club. Donations being solicited in Auckland Restaurants.
JLR may be pointing fingers, but the coalitions silence on this issue is deafening
Wow, Stupid and Nasty in the same comments. You’re not a National MP are you? You’re still happy to support at least one rapist who Woodhouse let stay, Tuppence Shrewsbury supports and loves rapists!!! (judging by her comment)
Who said I support national? not supporting labour or the greens does not equal supporting national. Quite enjoying the JLR train wreck to be honest.
Just as I am enjoying watching the amateurs currently in government make stupid calls on an almost daily basis. It concerned me that the JLR affair was letting them off the hook.
Opposition is back though! yea booiii
Your politics are to the right of National….
You Nationalise their NZ Operations.
There, that wasn’t that hard really was it?
Not really a detail person are you?
See it’s in the detail that the deluded ideas like this fall apart.
@ James,
Explanation necessary
The NZ operations are actually quite standalone from the Australian parent. If the Government so decided it COULD nationalise them. The bigger question is where would it get the cash to do so. Unless of course by nationalise they mean taking ownership without compensation. I believe that is called stealing and will lead to the NZ economy imploding.
Like the taxpayers not being given a full or even fair value for the flogging of its power generators Gossie ? How about those State houses also….
You have little to no evidence that the State did not get full or even fair value for the Electricity companies. They got Market price, which by definition is full and fair value.
Predictable neolib response and State houses ?
And State Houses what?
Except that the market is delusional.
Ed never says what he means by “nationalise” and will only tell you to ask google. I’ve tried to start that conversation with him a number of times.
Asking Google is a waste of time as there are multiple meanings of the term so Ed is an idiot.
Your logic is impeccable.
It’s a sovereign government with its own currency. Just create the money – done. And, hey, if they leave them as is they’ll make enough profit to cover it.
You don’t allow foreign banks to operate here.
Simple.
By the way, when the Amazon rainforest gets felled to make way for cattle farms, we can thank people who eat beef.
Don’t you care about the world you are leaving your children and grandchildren?
Why would we thank them, Ed? And how would we? Do they all read The Standard?
James always brags about his heavy consumption of steak.
It shows in his constipated commenting style 🙂
Actually it’s mainly in reply to you going nuts over me mentioning a bbq.
As it is – I eat some steak but prefer pork and chicken.
I also love lamb but find it to fatty to eat regularly.
So my steak intake isn’t that high – but when I do eat beef I make sure it’s good quality.
WTF is with “stone grill” steak in a restaurant? I got told it was so I could cook the steak to my satisfaction. If I could cook it perfectly at home, I wouldn’t order it in a restaurant. And why does it cost the same as a cooked steak? WTF does the chef do – make the salad? It totally pisses me off. Steak, medium rare, on a plate. That’s what I want. Not a hot rock and a pile of ingredients.
On this point we are 100% in agreement McFlock. I might have to speak to Lucifer to turn up the heating a tad.
Maybe stonegrill was invented by the devil? Take a prime cut of steak, and give it to someone without the skill to cook it properly, and they paid full price for it so they’ll probably eat the entire thing.
Last time I asked for medium-rare at a restaurant they served me super-rare.
At least you could send it back because someone other than you stuffed it up
Thank You!
While not quite as bad, deconstructed salads really piss me off. Someone putting all the ingredients of a salad on a plate, that you then have to toss yourself like some sort of after work Paula Bennet.
I’m with you 100% on this. I want someone to cook it better than I can – that’s why I pay for the chef
I can pretty safely say I have never eaten any Amazonian beef
And you are aware of the environmental impact of meat, particularly beef, eating?
Imagine if we didn’t eat it! The cattle herds would grow exponentially and cover the face of the earth!
I honestly don’t give a shit.
Yes, James, we discussed constipation resulting from meat-eating earlier.
gold
Ok – that was very funny.
That’s sums your worldview up.
You don’t care.
Me not eating any NZ beef if not going to stop the impact of beef farming in the Amazon.
That’s banning a bank not nationalising it Ed.
Make up your mind.
I eat NZ beef. But you’re welcome none the less.
I thank you for not eating beef Ed, thank you. I am looking forward to Veganuary this year.
Thank the people who own cats and dogs.
I can honestly say that I’m not eating beef grown in the Amazon.
Here’s the thing though: If the world was being economic little to no food would ever be imported/exported. Each country would grow the food that it needs to feed its own people.
This forces sustainability as far as food goes.
Best NZ steak I ever ate was in Papeete Tahiti… but it should have been in NZ . Eat the best and export what is left over .
Tahiti is French, and the French generally cook better than us. The best lamb I have ever eaten was in France, But the French breed their best lambs purely for meat flavour, and do not compromise for quality of wool. Then they cook it better as well.
I doubt if all our best goes to export. Upon returning from France, I was positively impressed with the quality of meat that normal people can buy here.
Whoops – apologies to Ed.
“Each country would grow the food that it needs to feed its own people.”
Environmental factors prevent that. But nice try.
What you’re actually saying is that many countries can’t support themselves.
That’s what’s called unsustainable.
And, no, trade doesn’t fix that. Take Egypt for example. IIRC, it can presently feed 60% of its population from it’s own farms. The rest is a result of import paid for by the export of their oil. Egypt’s oils has Peaked. This means that in a few years, at most, Egypt is going to be in famine and there’s nothing that they can do about it through trade because have pretty much nothing else to export.
Jeez, if only they had some local attractions or a global trade route to leverage ff. Then they might get someone to stump up several billion for a nuclear power plant to offset that emerging energy deficit. As it is, poor Egypt: Land of the Pharked.
It’s not that they have an energy deficit – it’s that they have a resource deficit because they’ve exported all the oil.
Does the Suez Canal and tourism bring in enough to cover the loss of oil exports?
Gross, or compared to their oil imports?
And might Suez be why the Russians are putting $25bill towards a nuke plant?
More specifically, does it provide enough to allow the importation of enough food for 40%+ of their population?
A nuke plant isn’t going to feed them.
Neither is oil.
But energy is a resource, too.
Oh, and they have shedloads of sunshine.
So if they export that energy, or use it to attract energy-intensive industries, they can use the revenue to buy food from countries that have lots of arable land and make lots of food, but possibly want things those industries produces.
And thus we’ve invented global trade.
Sheez, it’s way too early for bickering children.
In keeping with the topic, how many of you use kiwi owned banks for either your home or business?
It’s very very easy to change banks, I highly recommend it.
We had a mortgage with Westpac. Not our choice, but Westpac swallowed up Trustbank who we were originally with. Weren’t happy, but what can you do. The interest rate wasn’t too bad so we stayed, vowing to change when the mortgage went. Remember how they called themselves WestpacTrust . . . for while . . . just to look good! Anyway, when we got some money, discharged the mortgage and were looking for where to invest, Westpac had the best interest rate. So to get something back out of them we put our money there. We are looking to change banks when the investment matures. Our best options look to be Kiwibank or TSB. I hate the fact that WPC is an Ozzie bank with profits going overseas, however we want the best return for money. Quandary. Hate them but want the most out of our money.
If they are making super profits then that must mean Kiwibank is as well. In which case why doesn’t the government just instruct Kiwibank to hoover up all the customers in NZ by undercutting the other majors?
IF you want an answer to your question about kiwibank’s position in the he market, Sam Stubbs was interviewed on RNZ yesterday.
I heard him mention how they were loaded with post shop assets and an obligation to provide relevant sservices…
There was another issue that I didn’t totally grasp but my attention was divided. Ahh, it was undercapitalised.
Both were dampeners on growth.
Each staff member generated approximately$220,000 profit. Profit!
Surely it makes sense to you to have the many billions of dollars profit stay in Aotearoa.
It can only be an ideologue mindset that makes you see otherwise.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018669198
Warning contains talking by Jim Mora and Peter dunne.
Kiwibank is undercapitalised and can’t take advantage of the market. Hmmm… whose fault is that again? I’ll give you a clue, it is the owner of the Bank.
Doogs, what you said about westpac adding the word trust for a while, made me smile, marketing for sure.
Building Societies are awesome, our local Nelson Building Society (NBS) contributes so much to the community.
For example if one is looking for fundraising for a community event and asks around the banks for support, all the big banks will say no, but not the NBS, they often support community events and needs.
Personally I use kiwibank, they’ve been great.
I use a New Zealand bank.
which one?
His mattress
Part of the problem is that it seems, in conversations I’ve had with people, that many have no idea who owns the banks and react with astonishment to discover that banks called Auckland Savings Bank and Bank of New Zealand don’t belong to us!
Precisely why CBA and NAB respectively retained those brands… both very strong in NZ.
100% of my personal and business banking is with a 100% NZ-owned bank. Made the switch when I became aware of how much profit Australian banks were extracting from NZ.
That said, it was easy to do as my business banking needs are largely transactional. If you’re a business that requires significant bank lending, you are stuck with the Aussie-owned banks.
To Cinny at 2.1.4 : To change to kiwi -owned banks IS certainly the glaringly obvious solution, and has been for considerable time….confounds me why they are not totally utilised by New Zealanders. I have aways had the best help one could wish.
Totally agree with you Heather.
Recently the ANZ in Motueka closed it’s doors, some friends who bank with them were complaining, but yet they still didn’t move to either Kiwibank or the NBS.
I think it’s one of those things that people place in the ‘too hard basket’, then when they finally get round to changing banks, say things like, gosh that was easy I should have done it a long time ago.
Went with Kiwibank a few years ago, and refinanced the mortgage last year with them again. We haven’t regretted it. The lack of ability to just rock on up to the bank to discuss things is mitigated by online support and us planning a bit better.
I don’t mind using Australian banks. Equally happy for an Australian to have my dosh as a Kiwi. We’re all Australasians together.
A.
Stalking Ed again James?
Yoo James …. Do you think ANZ appointed Key as a director because they wanted someone who would keep quiet and not dig up or into all the corruption they are involved with …. http://www.sarawakreport.org/2018/03/the-banking-spin-starts-commentary/
“The Panama Papers: ANZ was the leading Australian bank in Mossack’s universe”
” ANZ appears in 7548 of the Mossack documents, reflecting the bank’s extensive work in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Samoa and Jersey. ”
Crooked hires Bent to be blind.
Don’t bother nationalising them – just out-compete them to the point that they go bankrupt.
1. 0% interest on mortgages
2. 0% interest business loans
3. Ban the private banks from creating money in any way, shape or form.
Result – private banks will collapse pretty much immediately and only Kiwibank will be left standing.
Good, Draco..
Much better than the conversation a few days back which you didn’t substantiate…
Which conversation was that?
Absolutely
If you think they are not providing a suitable service that people are willing to pay for why isn’t Kiwibank doing better then? It is a completely State controlled Bank.
@Gosman, Kiwibank would do better if it was more a full service bank. Also banking has also come down to relationships and history, so that there are big incentives to stick with the same bank as people’s situation gets more insecure with work.
Aka in NZ massive amount of people now are on contract, gig work or self employed. The history of that becomes a key, in a banking arrangement. Nobody wants to shift all their business, then find out, they have a bad month or months and have the bank breathing down their necks.
So there are many reasons that people stay with their bank. Satisfaction and best deals are not the only factors when you get into the NZ situation of significant proportions of the population are in insecure work and therefore take strategic positions on banking and insurance.
The amount of banking, financial institutions and insurance that has gone out of business also makes people cautious in NZ about new banks and services in that sector.
They are profiting not because they are great banks but because NZ has embraced everything to do with neoliberalism and that is all about profits for the most dominant, which are banks here. And our government does not believe in any sort of financial regulation even bank deposits are not guaranteed nor Kiwisaver.
What do you mean “Full service bank”?
How is Kiwibank not a “Full service bank”?
Not sure if Kiwibank have evolved since I thought about joining them, but standing in a queue at the post office stating your business rather than a private office at a bank or getting a mobile person around takes time with Kiwibank and much longer than if you have an existing relationship with a bank and assigned a personal banker.
Had a friend who was a school principal in a small town, so a bit weird that she was queuing up and stating all the business of the school, while the rest of the community could over hear.
Stuff like that, makes Kiwibank less. a fit for complicated, private and urgent types of banking.
Also anything to do with property in Auckland generally require quick and flexible banking decisions as the market is fast and auction driven. Took me so long to buy a house in Auckland that my 6 months of pre application had expired and then you need to get it back quickly if you see a house to bid on. Therefore you don’t want a new bank that might be slower to make decisions on anything.
So maybe Kiwibank and the co operatives can get more market share if they step up for more complicated, faster decision making banking, with more customer service and privacy for customers and a long term relationship approach with customers.
The offshore banks level of customer service has defiantly got a lot worse over the years, so if NZ banks stepped up, they could win more business.
Of course Kiwibank has interview rooms. Sounds like you are full of shit giving excuses rather than putting your money where your mouth is.
I’ve been a Kiwibank customer since it was founded.
Yes, Kiwibank had private rooms since the day they opened for business. They also have some branches dedicated to business customers.
No idea what they are like with mortgages or why they would be different than the Aussie-owned banks.
Just telling you what people have told me Solka and my own experiences trying to change to Kiwibank a few years ago, maybe you don’t have a business or run an organisation, or have complicated banking, or what ever.
Judging by your stalking of people and the Green Party I’d say you are a unique individual that would probably need a private room in any instance and Kiwibank staff probably usher you straight to one so people don’t overhear your language and tone so you may have never experienced the problems that polite less demanding people might be experiencing.
Face it, you are full of shit. Best to have a think before using the word “hypocrite” again.
Is your accusations of ‘shit’, how you manage the private room, Solka?
Face it, you are full of shit.
Actually, when I made the appointment to see the mortgage person a few years ago we had the option of my place or one of their branches. Small meeting room, 4 chairs, one table, her laptop. Easy as. That was kiwibank.
Shopping around, ANZ went with the open plan, wide spaces between desks idea. Probably had private rooms for people who didn’t need mortgages, though 🙂
to solkta at22.1.1.1: Yes, of course Kiwibank has private rooms and specialists in banking also, friendly at all times. I think some here trying hand at fake news.
Yes, the staff at the local one always seem like they are happy to be there and to help.
My Kiwibank, in Hastings, is a mess. The Carpets are permanently stained, the counter is so banged around it looks like an old pub first thing in the morning, the note counting machine is so temperamental its a running joke, and the manager insists on interviewing people at a table right next to the queue. Its awkward to put it mildly.
if I didn’t know(hope?) better I would think they were purposefully running it into the ground.
+1 Siobhan- Kiwibank needs to look at the details. If a bank looked like you suggest and treated you like that, would you seriously consider it?
A little bird suggests, if you start calling everyone a piece of shit, you might get that private room that a certain poster seems convinced is always offered.
Of course it also might effect that application or have you escorted out too:)
Seriously NZ banks should have an online complaints page for example or even suggestions page at the banks, they might learn a bit more than hiring a marketing firm from Auckland or Wellington who never leave the central suburbs and think they are doing a stellar job at marketing and people are too lazy to change.
There are obstacles to changing and issues with the service levels and criteria levels and types of banking that the NZ banking sectors offers!
Wellsford,s the same Siobhan run by a couple of asian ladies theres often queues and you stand there looking at their static displays of stuff they,d like to sell and cant help thinking “what a load of crap “Heres a relatively large commercial space which presumably the proprietors are renting along with the actual agency but it seems all so halfhearted !?.Why ?Why isnt kiwibank being rolled out in all little towns and villages in nz taking over where the post office used to trade …….buggered if i know ….seems like theres plenty of scope there but not much direction ….or something ….whats holding them back ???
It has very much evolved since then. If you go to most Post shops they have a separate desk and private rooms for Kiwibank customers. I ask again, why isn’t Kiwibank a “Full service Bank”?
@ Gosman, your word ‘most’ is obviously significant. Also more service level might be a recent thing, that people who previously tried to join Kiwibank did not have, at the time. People try to change once, if they don’t have the best experience they may not try again.
P.s. I did not have a bad experience with Kiwibank but it did not work out because I take wholistic approach with banking and even a small house in Aukcland now may require significant amount of debt which you now split loans for and then you have to make sure they all expire at the same time, and then hope that interest rates don’t go up while you are waiting. It’s not that easy to change if you have decent sized loans for business or housing.
I personally hate ANZ and would never bank with them after having a bad experience with them years ago. Also having John Key on the board would put me off. So I would never bank with them.
But they do things like monitor companies house so if you set up a business, voila , you get a friendly letter straight away with free bank fees for your business for 3 years.
That is how they make the money, they are proactive, reel you in, then screw you over with extreme profiteering when they have you tied up.
That’s banking in NZ and the government needs to set higher standards.
And Kiwi bank (or anyone else) never sends a nice letter when they could easily target new businesses like ANZ do.
Kiwibank and other NZ banks needs to understand customers positions and concerns better.
The person who posted about the rural ANZ bank closing but still people don’t change, clearly don’t understand how difficult it is to make money in the rural sector and get loans. It is not easy to change banks in those sectors at all.
Many NZ banks only specialise in retail banking, and have very high, unwieldy criteria for farms and business. NZ banks and regulators don’t seem up to speed or understand that the big OZ banks have those customers screwed over in debt and tied up with few alternatives.
I can’t remember exactly, but somebody posted and I think most of Fletchers? losses, were due to ANZ bank fine print on some refinancing terms of loans they took out.
That’s how those banks get the massive profits.
As for our constant messages on how easy it is to change banks, electrical or telecom companies. Nope… it ain’t… in real terms it often costs you a bundle of time, non productivity, failed services and extra charges. And our regulators do nothing to stop this type of practise of third party fuck ups.
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=113352
Kiwibank isn’t a state controlled bank and it operates the same way all the other banks do and is artificially constrained so as not to be able to out compete the private banks which it could easily do if the government got in and supported it properly.
The foreign banks treat NZ like the cash cow run from OZ. They are mostly responsible for our 2nd biggest exports out of NZ being profits.
Yep while our government screws up with another bad trade deal of TPPA or what ever they fuck they rebranded it to, (which even the most neoliberal Parker can not describe as a good deal (was it a 7 out of 10 he gave it?). The government also fail to do anything about about banks and the NZ entire economy is always around giving banks more profits aka corporate welfare to construction, more immigration, more immigration to small businesses like petrol attendants and cafe owners (who then support higher rents and prices on commercial property and residential) selling off land assets, privatisation, oil and gas, exports of water…
BTW, the PPP model (also rebranded constantly as an acronym) gives the most profits to banks and the financial sector. https://image.guim.co.uk/sys-files/Society/documents/2004/11/24/PFI.pdf
“our research suggests that PFI may lead to a loss of benefits in kind and a redistribution of income, from the public to the corporate sector. It has boosted the construction industry, many of whose PFI subsidiaries are now the most profitable parts of their enterprises, and led to a significant expansion of the facilities management sector. But the main beneficiaries are likely to be the financial institutions whose loans are effectively underwritten by the taxpayers, as evidenced by the renegotiation of the Royal Armouries PFI (NAO 2001a).”
The public should also ask themselves why the tax working group never recommended financial transaction taxes to tax outward and inward money flows.
In short government wants to continue to transfer profits from the people and assets of NZ to the construction, financial and banking sectors, and are not going to tax the banks and financial industries appropriately for their extreme profits . Nor regulate appropriately to the construction sector or banking to stem the rot right through those sectors.
The NZ banking sector is incredibly competitive including a State controlled Bank. If the banks are making super profits why isn’t the government instructing Kiwibank to undercut them and take a bigger share of the market?
Quite. KB could become our main bank if the political will exists which it doesn’t currently.
But the potential is there thanks to Jim Anderton, Rest In Peace Jim.
Why do you think the political will doesn’t exist?
You claim to understand the world of financials , gosman…
So you should understand why the political will doesn’t exist…
I’d like to hear your version…
Go for it….
Because the issue with Kiwibank is much more than just a lack of political will. The organisation needs HUGE injection of capital if it has any hope of competing for major work such as being the Government’s banker.
Draco’s solutions would work.
That’s about your level of understanding, Gosman….
So how does that feed into the ‘lack of political will’ , IYO ?
Would love to see government use kiwibank instead of an overseas bank for all their transactions.
Jim Anderton, Grandma rated him very highly, he was one of the good guys.
The dogma is that a large bank that makes huge profits every year is a good safe bank (and safe bet for shareholders). I say dogma, but it is really a myth, as we know too well.
It also is ironic that the bank’s customers contribute a large part to the overall profits.
So, it’s a catch-22 for the people: lower the profits and customers will go elsewhere and the bank goes bust or fleece the customers to increase profit margins and they will flock to your bank and thus increase the ‘financial health’ of the bank.
To a point, this would work well if not for greed and bad business decisions on behalf of the banks (cue: GFC).
There is no evidence for that claim.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_corporate_collapses_and_scandals
Of the ~52 corporates in the “List of a few major corporate collapses”, only a third are/were banking businesses.
Banks feature at the top of the “List of scandals without insolvency” (probably needs regular updating):
There has been plenty of frauds in NZ… so clearly no racial bias here..
Verdict on $9.2 million mortgage fraud
http://www.indiannewslink.co.nz/verdict-on-9-2-million-mortgage-fraud/
Husband and wife named in $50m mortgage fraud case
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11886925
Immigration NZ uncovers “significant, organised” agent fraud in India
https://thepienews.com/news/immigration-nz-uncovers-significant-organised-agent-fraud-in-india/
Ummm… what is this in response to? It certainly does not answer my question about Incognito’s claims.
Which claim?
This one
“So, it’s a catch-22 for the people: lower the profits and customers will go elsewhere and the bank goes bust or fleece the customers to increase profit margins and they will flock to your bank and thus increase the ‘financial health’ of the bank.”
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence of corruption and rampant profiteering in the banking ‘industry’.
Hypothesis 1. A bank’s profitability will be a contributing factor in determining that bank’s ‘ratings agency grade’ (AAA, AA, A, BBB etc.)
Hypothesis 2. The grades that ratings agencies give banks, and individual bank products/offers/bonds, are factors affecting the (bank/product) choice of some potential customers.
These hypotheses may be false; falsifying evidence (a link or two will do) welcome.
Gosman (>140 of comments on The Standard in the last week; 70 (!) on the “National badly wants Kiwibuild to crash” post alone) often asks for evidence, and seems to have a significant aversion to using Google’s search engine – not a single link or quote in those 70 comments.
Look up burden of proof and get back to me when you understand it.
BTW what was those two hypothesis you posted about? They had nothing to do with the claim i was questioning.
You claim that “They [the two hypotheses] had nothing to do with the claim i [sic] was questioning.”
If you genuinely don’t understand how these hypotheses relate to the claim you quoted/questioned, then I don’t have the means to help you in this forum.
“The burden of proof (philosophy)”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burden_of_proof_(philosophy)
Application> In public discourse>
“Burden of proof is also an important concept in the public arena of ideas. Once participants in discourse establish common assumptions, the mechanism of burden of proof helps to ensure that all parties contribute productively, using relevant arguments.”
Regrettably, the largest political party in parliament has (temporarily) lost its footing and is unable to contribute productively at present.
In your opinion. Given your opinion is quite obviously biased against said political party I don’t think it holds much weight in determining what is or isn’t productive discourse.
I have made no claims regarding my (or your) political bias, or lack thereof, in this particular exchange – such claims are largely unnecessary in this forum (IMO).
Certainly one assumption we can agree on is that we are (both) expressing our opinions.
In my opinion, this recent statement (among others), made by a former 7th-ranked opposition National party MP, has caused said party to (temporarily) lose its footing.
IMO this is a revealing quote, and I thank you Gosman for the opportunity to trot it out again (hopefully not for the last time). The opposition National party really is looking a bit wobbly at the moment (IMO), and will likely recover somewhat (again, IMO) ‘going forward’.
Gosman’s Law: as a discussion thread on TS grows longer, the probability of Gosman deliberately misunderstanding or twisting a comment and then asking for evidence approaches one.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/francescoppola/2013/12/10/big-banks-versus-small-banks-size-doesnt-matter/#4fdb55bd1367
For those following the Khashoggi murder….
Keep an eye on what’s happening within the Saudi royal family, uncle has returned after a long absence.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/king-salman-brother-returns-riyadh-khashoggi-crisis-181031094006547.html
One thing I’m curious about is that the 18 apparently arrived on SK1 and SK2 sans baggage, yet I seem to remember seeing the contingent depart with baggage.
(From the images shown on TV in the early stages of it all).
Everything the Saudis have said turns out to be such obfuscation, spin and bullshit, they’d not be out of place as gNat MPs. The latest being that ‘Turkish collaborator’ that they’re so unwilling to identify.
Wonder what was in their luggage then? Didn’t know about that, will check it out, thanks for the info, there are so many dodgy aspects to it all.
The thing with the princes uncle returning is really interesting because he has been away for years, and has never supported the prince being in power.
And uncle does not support the princes ongoing war on Yemen.
I could be wrong @ Cinny though I do recall seeing some of them towing the standard type luggage on wheels. It may take a little more than going thru’ Aljazeera, CNN or BBC footage.
It’s a shame Susie Fergusson didn’t put the idea to Frank Gardiner this morning
Yes you are correct Tim,
They arrived with carry on luggage, then went and brought suitcases with wheels.
Apparently said suitcases were not checked before they went back to Saudi, and there are rumours that said suitcases contained body parts.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/kashoggi-latest-saudi-arabia-murder-turkey-remains-body-parts-consulate-istanbul-cctv-a8598796.html
Duty free, oncey.
Rachel Stewart explains why the election of Bolsonaro is terrible news for life on this planet.
“Bolsonaro has an environmental hit list that is bold and brash. Just when the world needs the “lungs” of the world more than ever, he is planning a paved highway to run right through the Amazon rainforest. And no more will a government commitment to preserving vast areas for indigenous people be tolerated. Bolsonaro has previously said that he will “not give the Indians another inch of land”.
He has also promised to scrap the country’s Environment Ministry altogether, putting it under the scope of the Agriculture Ministry, which is led by agribusiness. Which, to be fair, is only one step further than our own Environment Ministry overseeing regional councils who many — including me — consider to be the biggest enviro rapists on behalf of dairy farming in New Zealand. But, I digress.
……we need the two Americas to work hard on stopping runaway climate change like never before — one being the planet’s biggest emitter and the other holding the massive key to any chance of keeping climate change in check at 1.5C.
Because that’s the Amazon’s job. The rainforest absorbs approximately a quarter of the CO2 absorbed by all the land on earth. Every inch of deforestation matters. And what’s the motive for deforestation in Brazil? Cattle ranching. The billions of us have created a massive consumer demand for beef so that clearing land for cattle ranching is lucrative and with Bolsonaro in charge, now unstoppable.”
So what action can we do ?
Stop eating beef.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=12151404
“
Do “we” eat Brazilian beef?
(Snap, Chris!)
The average NZer is eating less red meat.
No.
We need to stop eating meat in the quantities we do.
Or the planet is doomed.
“The researchers found a global shift to a “flexitarian” diet was needed to keep climate change even under 2C, let alone 1.5C. This flexitarian diet means the average world citizen needs to eat 75% less beef, 90% less pork and half the number of eggs, while tripling consumption of beans and pulses and quadrupling nuts and seeds. This would halve emissions from livestock and better management of manure would enable further cuts.
In rich nations, the dietary changes required are ever more stark. UK and US citizens need to cut beef by 90% and milk by 60% while increasing beans and pulses between four and six times. However, the millions of people in poor nations who are undernourished need to eat a little more meat and dairy.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/10/huge-reduction-in-meat-eating-essential-to-avoid-climate-breakdown
Or the world could just have less kids
And less pets. Get rid of pets (especially cats and dogs) before we eat less red meat. Of course tree hugger veges tend to like hugging furry animals so I suspect they won’t want to do that. They are just happy to expect others to give up something.
How very alex jones of you.
fewer
This may be an unworthy thought – but I keep having it. Are those two mountain guides dead at least in part because the Morgan family has too much money and can indulge itself at will?
Since you asked, I think that is a tad harsh.
Yes – I guess you are right. Thanks.
Somehow it seemed doubly sad to me that people die doing something as ultimately pointless as indulging the whims of others.
Depends if they were taking undue risks I guess? Need someone with mountaineering knowledge to see if this was a typical hike, or a freak accident. Very sad nonetheless.
Our letter to Government today stating that our NZ Government must participate in this “first World Health air pollution conference this week in Geneva, in our interests to save our citizens health and wellbeing from health effects of all sources of air pollution.
Protecting our environment & health.
In association with other Community Groups, NHTCF and all Government Agencies since 2001.
• Health and wellbeing.
• East Coast Transport Project.
TO;
Hon Phil Twyford – Minister of Transport.
Hon’ Jacinda Ardern PM.
Hon Winston Peters. Deputy PM.
Hon’ Shane Jones. Minister of Regional Development.
Hon’ Grant Robertson. Minister of Finance.
Hon’ Stuart Nash. MP For Napier Wairoa/ Matawai regions.
Hon’ Megan Woods. Minister of Energy.
URGENT PRESS RELEASE; – ACTION NEEDED HERE BY – Transport Minister Twyford.
1st November 2018.
Dear Ministers, Local civic authorities & rail stakeholders,
Subject; http://www.who.int/airpollution/events/conference/en/ First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, 30 October – 1 November 2018
What a “breath of fresh air WHO are as they finally take air pollution seriously” Bravo to World Health Organisation, (WHO).
WHO are also are focusing on the urban residents who are also health effected by “toxic heavy road traffic air pollution” too.
WHO are claiming that even schools and busy traffic routes be redesigned away from schools and suburban areas also.
We have written to you all multiple times since becoming our new Government requesting to restore our railway to Gisborne that was damaged after a storm in March 2012; – and caused by a lack of rail funding maintenance in 2011 on after funding was cut by Minister of transport Steven Joyce; – http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1302/S00183/kiwirail-admits-lack-of-maintenance-led-to-wash-out.htm
Rail services restoration will make a dramatic reduction of ‘road based freight’ now ruining our residential areas and the health of our urban communities.
Now World Health Organisation (WHO) are holding a ‘first’ conference over several days in Geneva on ‘urban air quality health effects to humans finally so we need to observe and act in our residential communities best interests for their health and wellbeing, and we advocate all rail services be restored to our cities around NZ and truck routes be realigned away from our current locations wrongly placed close to residential areas such as Napier’s controversial ‘HB Expressway’ which was originally designated as a “commuter road for Hastings residents to get to the new Napier Airport in 1963”.
Sadly the residents living alongside this road were not considered as to the effects to their health and wellbeing, but this road was pushed as a solution to become the principal truck freight route through Napier to the Port and the rest of NZ, without any resulting noise effects or air pollution mitigation was ever planned to be given the affected residents in the final stages of the HB Expressway’s development.
Gisborne has the same issues of loss of rail and using heavy truck fleets to run right through Gisborne city to the Eastland port and destroying the health and wellbeing of its residents too.
What a “breath of fresh air WHO are as they finally take air pollution seriously” Bravo to World Health Organisation, (WHO).
WHO are also are focusing on the urban residents who are also health effected by “toxic heavy road traffic air pollution” too.
WHO are claiming that even schools and busy traffic routes be redesigned away from schools and suburban areas also.
http://www.who.int/airpollution/events/conference/en/
First WHO Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, 30 October – 1 November 2018
Improving air quality, combating climate change – saving lives
A schoolboy walks through smoke and fumes emitted from a waste dump in the Nigerian city of Port Harcourt
Air Pollution is “the ‘new tobacco…” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director general
If you received an invitation to attend the conference and have not yet registered using the INDICO web portal, then please do so before as soon as possible. The link to the INDICO registration web portal can be found in the invitation email message.
The first two days of the conference will present evidence, identify gaps and solutions, and will be targeted at practitioners and other technical and political representatives from the health sector and other sectors relevant to the discourse. The third day will be a High-Level Action Day.
Conference provisional programme – updated 28 October
pdf, 799kb
Live webcast (active from 30 October 2018)
Conference overview agenda
pdf, 205kb
Your response to our call is requested please email
@cleangreen, the NZ taxpayers are subsidising public organisations that subcontract to corporates that do things such as change from trolley buses to diesel and increasing emissions to the public for the next 10 years…http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=113048
While in Auckland our taxes are there to escalate and provide for more polluting cruise ships, some of which apparently can release more emissions than 1million cars in emissions in one day.
So as yet, NZ, not interested in worrying about air pollution. Apart from ways to tax end consumers of course and get that little extra tax in the pocket while pretending it was all to save the planet.
The government and council treatment of corporate polluters and policy around that shows that air pollution is just not on the agenda and that the RMA is woefully inadequate to provide quality decisions, long term risk assessments, regulation , enforcement or penalty around environmental damage in this country.
This type of hypocrisy really does my head in…..
Re the war in Yemen….
US defence chief demands Yemen ceasefire; peace talks in 30 days
‘James Mattis says the US has watched the bloody conflict ‘long enough’ and he wants ‘dropping of bombs’ to stop.’
Meanwhile trump continues to sell weapons to the saudis so they can keep bombing Yemen.
WTF?
This type of hypocrisy really does my head in.
http://auckland.scoop.co.nz/2018/10/privatisation-of-public-land-a-broken-promise-by-government/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/108240059/Housing-New-Zealand-selling-super-block-of-Crown-land-in-Jacinda-Arderns-Mt-Albert-electorate
@BM shocking the government are selling off more state land and NZ assets. Of course that does not excuse the Natz who demolished the state houses on it in 2015. The people of NZ are punched from the left and punched from the right. They seem to share the same neoliberal Thatcher driven sell off state housing and land, policies on housing.
This government is Clarks 4th term.
That was Ponyboy wasn’t it BMmer.
The difference is the current government is naively and lazily benefiting neoliberal policy while the Natz engineered it further, post Clark.
Interesting conflation you have made there. I mean, I am sure your not deliberately diminishing the thousands who are being killed in Yemen by comparing it to local beltway politics. It sure does look that way though.
Did that action cause mass murder, genocide or starvation BM?
So, the story is that a block of land in Auckland had a series of State houses demolished in 2015 and part of that land is being developed with new state houses. Another portion is to be sold.
I quote the purpose as stated by the manager of the project from the the third of BM’s reference.
“Housing New Zealand asset development general manager Patrick Dougherty said the development was not part of the KiwiBuild programme but part of the Auckland Housing Programme (AHP).
The AHP started in June 2016 and will deliver 5200 new state homes and about 12,800 new affordable and market homes over 10 years.
The sale of the 20 market sites would enable Housing New Zealand to build more state houses in other high demand parts of Auckland, he said.”
Two things. First, the money goes towards providing more housing. It is after all houses that are required, not land.
Secondly, since it is a stated intention by the Minister that the types of housing should be indistinguishable from the outside, it makes sense to me that the housing provided be of a ‘mixed’ style to avoid the stigmatisation of being a State House tenant. The former ‘pepperpot’ strategy of earlier decades was also expected to help the problem of stigmatising and slums.
Well do I remember my school days of the Sixties when over the northern fence was “The Settlement”.
Aka Labour are selling off state land.
But they could be developing all the land itself and then using the state controlled rents to keep rents down while paying off the debt over time.
As in the UK examples, selling state housing and land to the private sector does not work, because the rising population demands more cheap rents and social housing to keep up with the population growth, and then the state rents start to rise because the state has less housing to work with to keep afloat and has to pay more to the private sector to rent the houses that they previously owned.
The Mt Albert decision was made by the previous National government. It was subject to considerable public consultation at the time. The number of HNZ dwellings is about the same, and the extra land sales will fund further HNZ properties. HNZ could not get the density they needed with the zoning in Mt Albert.
Patients are still begging for Ministry of Health funding for high dose vitamin C infusions.
Absolutely no doubt that vitamin C at the very least improves the quality of life for many cancer patients and research indicates that it can accentuate radiotherapy efficacy…so why not fund the stuff?
Its not as if its expensive or demands superskills to administer.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/northland/108205433/cancer-patients-call-for-vitamin-c-infusion-to-be-affordable
Or, could it be that our Beloved Misery is waiting for some enterprising start up to get their shit together and qualify for a license to profit….https://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=12152055
SSDD
And what is the evidence that you have no doubt about…?
https://www.otago.ac.nz/christchurch/research/vitamin-c/studies/
Plus….personal accounts from ordinary people who feel vitamin C (and other less mainstream medicinals) have improved their quality of life.
But of course those people don’t count….do they?
I had a quick look at the link provided and could not find a single RCT amongst the citations. One report involved a single patient. Most were reports that concluded bycalling for more clinical studies. “Personal accounts ” represent evidence of the very weakest kind.
One would need to do far better than this to gain public funding. Did you even read the reports that were linked?
“One would need to do far better than this to gain public funding.”
You jest? Surely?
Not at all, why would I be jesting?
I am wondering if you think it would be acceptable for health treatments that are not supported by any RCTs , but by ” personal accounts”, should be publicly funded ?
Have you heard of the placebo effect?
“I am wondering if you think it would be acceptable for health treatments that are not supported by any RCTs , but by ” personal accounts”, should be publicly funded ? ”
Hmmm…a conundrum indeed.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/105257599/cannabis-shows-no-benefit-for-chronic-pain-major-study-finds
yet…
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/regulation-health-and-disability-system/medicines-control/medicinal-cannabis/prescribing-cannabis-based-products
Science…eh?
Vitamin C was my secret ingredient for recovery from strength training, and especially after a real workout like we good for nothin’ poor folks are wont to do e.g. 12 hours loading trucks*…
I digress.
If you work/train like a lunatic, try Vitamin C straight after. Faster recovery. It’s good stuff.
*I so want to see the working class collectively go on strike. Haha the world stops, the lights go out. Watch the deluded rich tossers ‘run the place’ then.
@ WeTheBleeple (9.1.1.2) … what form of Vitamin C is best? Food … eg fruit, vegs, or liquid, tablet or powder?
Agree with the rest of your comments there comrade 🙂
Also high dose vit c three times a day at the first sign of a head cold.
Lessens the severity of the event and usually shortens it.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/vitamin-c-pdq
It was a mere nine years ago this day that I wrote my first post for the Standard. It contains one of the most polarising, but accurate lines I have ever written:
“To put it simply, you cannot be a socialist, a greenie or any kind of progressive and eat meat.”
Cheers to every Standarnista who skips the roast flesh today and big ups to Ed and others who occupy the moral high ground every day.
Oh, and then there’s this, which I’ll dedicate to first bloke Clarke Gayford, NZ’s most prominent fish torturer:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/oct/30/are-we-wrong-to-assume-fish-cant-feel-pain
Better living, everyone!
Good to see you care about animals. So what’s your take on governments hounding, terrorizing and imprisoning journalists?
Like you, Moz, I’m all in favour. In my opinion, the best way to terrorize journalists is to write pointless and inaccurate transcripts of their shows and post them on the interwebs. That’ll show ’em.
Not a serious answer. No surprises there.
I note that you are overflowing in your praise of my transcripts and critiques whenever they align with your own thoughts.
By no conscious decision other than living with a vegetarian I have nearly weaned myself off this year.
Also getting rid of milk has helped get back to the weight I was at 30.
so true, what part of meat is to like really?
Animal cruelty towards sentient beings, slaughter, worker exploitation, gross desensitising conditions for meatworkers, life long health issues, inefficient land use and other negative environmental and climate effects…
…which for more and more people trump the fleeting pleasure some get from deadly chemical saturated processed meats, and charred slabs of “bogus bovis” beef which supermarkets are virtually giving away at the moment
forsaking meat–you and the planet are worth it!
Good one. And I sorta agree but after 38 years yege I’ve got a bit more bias and a bit less judgment.
Looking on that post I found this quote from me
“Time to walk the green walk not just talk the green talk.”
And today I wrote on the conference post
“Time to get serious labour – walk the walk not just talk about it please.”
Some things don’t change much…
Thank you.
It was an epiphany for me the day I discovered the amorality of eating animals.
Like Ad, stopping eating meat and dairy sawxme shed the kilos.
So it’s a decision for the sake of animals, for the sake of the environment and, as a side benefit, it’s good for your health !
“A self-administration of a death, which we’re calling ‘assisted dying.'”
RNZ National, Thursday 1 November 2018, 9:10 a.m.
This morning Kathryn Ryan employed her most serious, slow talking register, clearly enunciating every word to show how serious she is. One question she never asked was: Who’s going to “administer” this killing of the old and disabled and sick? The army? Will they bring back the institution of executioner?
Interesting question. I am sure they could get soldiers to do it. Perhaps just line them up and use them during weapons qualifying. Or… I know this is crazy but hear me out … it could be done by a doctor who is familiar with the patient and is aware of their needs.
Yes that doctor would possibly be aware of the financial needs (and greed) of the family of the ‘patient’, ‘client’, ‘victim’…
done by a doctor…
?????
Doctors can’t kill their patients.
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_oath.html
I didn’t realise Dr’s were still making the oath to Greek gods.
There is a modern version https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/hippocratic-oath-today/.
I note from the article only 14% of modern oaths prevent Euthanasia. The argument could be made that by swearing to do no harm a Dr would be required to meet a patients wishes to end suffering.
I agree there are concerns around introduction of Euthanasia. The risk for abuse may mean that it really can’t be viably legalised. I of course wouldn’t make some ridiculous argument about having to get the military or executioners to carry out suicide assistance. Feel free to make a reasoned argument against though. I am always keen to learn.
Full kudos to Iain Lees-Gallaway for recognising and openly stating, that he may have made an unsound decision over the Czech guy and is now proceeding to put it right.
As opposed to the b.s. and bluster we’re hearing from Slimon Bridges.
Why was a criminal drug dealer currently in prison even considered eligible for permanent residency?
There’s something super smelly about this.
Who knew Woodlouse and Lazy Galloway share a love of the noble art of kickboxdrugdealing BMmer?
They need to deport the drug lord asap. Also begs the question why the government granted the drug lord residency in NZ, when he had previously taken trips back to the EU?
Will anybody be held to account, aka the person that compelled the report aka probably his lawyer missing out the pertinent facts??? Also the naivety of our government that falls for a sob story from known liars every time… while being hard of heart to their own people in tents or working 3 jobs to keep these drug lords in prison and the results of their crimes…
Weak. Stone him he is filth. Stone the filthy drug dealing out of him. Stone the drug lord but only after I’ve had a beer and some chaser preloads cos I throw straighter after a few – just ask my pets he he ha ha burp.
//sarc
Weird, you are the only ones talking about stoning him. The Druglord can have lovely life back in the EU and NZ are well rid of him and hopefully the government can make sure he doesn’t come back under another false passport.
Also he is just as likely, if not more, to be in danger from his drug mates in NZ for narking,( if that is how he managed to help grease his residency application here). Win win to get rid of him where he can be anonymous in the EU unlike in NZ where he is now very well known.
you are the only ones talking about stoning him.
Do you think Marty has a dissociative personality disorder?
Nope, do you? Save us from pop psychologists or people who have attended too much therapy and therefore feel the need to throw conditions around as insults instead of taking mental health seriously.
I was not insulting Marty or suggesting he had such a condition or making any judgement on those who do but rather making a statement about your incoherent language. Thought that would have been obvious.
I got it.
I’m using humour to show the frothy nature of your responses. The stoners are more stoned than the stonee being stoned for being stoned.
“narking,( if that is how he managed to help grease his residency application here)”
Could be.
Lol
That is impressive
Try to down play a complete balls up by Labour. While also making a dismal attempt to divert from the topic and criticise the opposition
When did the offending occur christy? When did he fly home for a visit?
Slick Bodges is outraged at discovering the turd he deposited on the doorstep. Why hasn’t that been cleared up? It’s outrageous.
It’s almost like officials didn’t give Ian all the info at the time.
Something feels off about this whole situation, feels like a set up by the nats.
Why are the nats targeting this particular individual/case/situation?
Especially after we discover the nat’s were happy to let some sex offenders stay in the country when they were in power.
Yep, apparently Eugenie Sage, didn’t feel there was any options apart from grant the Chinese the offshore water permits…. then looked like a hypocrite and fool and untrustworthy for doing so. I’m not sure how Ian made such a botch up on the drug lord residency, but labour campaigned on cleaning up immigration only to be caught granting it to a convicted criminal drug lord who enjoys trips back to his mates in the EU ???
The message to politicians seems to be to WAKE up and do a bit of research themselves and stick to their guns, rather that look like untrustworthy hypocritical fools and rely on reports and advice that are not fit for purpose.
You have an error in your first sentence. It should read:
“To fools she looked like a hypocrite.”
@Solka, Greens campaign on not selling off overseas water rights then one of their MP’s signs off water rights once getting elected. I think you are the fool for not understanding what hypocrite means.
The Greens also campaigned and stand for good process. Changing laws under urgency is bad practice that the Greens were very vocal criticising National for. Passing retrospective legislation is extremely bad practice and contrary to the principles of natural justice.
They also need to work with their partners and at a pace that allows for competing legislative priorities.
AND, Eugenie did not take this action as a Green MP but as a Crown Minister who is obliged to follow the law.
As usual you just prattle on with your own bigoted view of things totally impervious to the actual details of the matter.
It is not the law to approve the application that is why it went to her. She approved it instead of stopping it. Its very simple.
Also after 1 year in office, where is the new laws on stopping practice, from the Greens?
The Minister’s job is to make the final decision based on the law. It really is that simple.
It’s not the law. It was her subjective position that got the consent through.
The whole point is that the Minister is supposed to be objective based on the law. The law as it stands does not allow for a subjective judgement.
subjective
adjective
1Based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.
‘his views are highly subjective’
Contrasted with objective
You’re the fool who doesn’t understand how the rule of law works.
I’m with solkta and well expressed that … solkta!
Really, SaveNZ? Eugenie, selling out at the first opportunity?
Hardly. Have you met the woman? Not a sell-out, by any stretch of (your) imagination.
I wonder if the official who didn’t disclose all the info, disclosed that fact to a slick bodger mate.
I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about
What turd?
https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/l/f/i/z/s/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620×349.1lfi0o.png/1504501119377.jpg
Nats have played one of their get-out-of-jail-free cards.
First, they must pass “Go” and pay their street repairs bill.. There is also a small matter of the sale of the railway stations and the electric utilities!
Mrs Mac1 told me that Guyon Espiner on RNZ this morning really put Simon Bridges and his bluster firmly in place.
Along the lines of
Espiner-“Well, in your time in office you didn’t deport the man.”
Bridges- “Well, the Minister acted on the advice given.”
Espiner- “Well, what’s different, now?”
And the bit I heard at the end- again well-paraphrased.
Espiner-“You want the Minister to resign. Will Mr Woodhouse resign?”
Bridges- “But he’s not the Minister.”
Espiner-“Will he resign as the shadow Minister?”
Bridges-“Rant rant rant”
Bridges never ‘heard’ the Espiner call for Woodhouse’s resignation even though he made it twice.
Chris T, a dismal attempt to attack the government and divert criticism of his own time in power, in all its lacking.
Lets face it, the Natz helped with policy decisions to keep the drugs moving into NZ, created one of the highest immigration in the world for nearly a decade of low skilled people coming here to work in supermarkets, and bakeries and then created committees to put forward policy to evict tenants on Meth tests, and create the shock doctrine housing crisis….
… meanwhile Labour and Greens were blind to it and campaigned on higher taxes, middle class rental standards for people who can’t even afford rental with the above climate created by the Natz, and legalising drugs (Greens)… then they wonder why people can’t choose who to vote for????
People with your view make this country unsafe imo. Drugs are rife idiot. At every sector and height in society. That is why it is a health issue imo. You’d chuck people in jail and that EXPANDS the drug relationships with criminals. Wake up like your name says.
Actually I’m suggesting deport the drug lord, not have our taxes and judicial system spending hundreds of thousands on his prison stay and sentencing, and any further ones, based on his current crime record, it’s not going to be the last time Kiwi tax payers will support his arse in prison where as you say, the prison system “EXPANDS the drug relationships with criminals”.
Now they have the benefit of EU drug lords helping the expansion, yippee!
Well now a gnat has rolled I’m sure he’ll be on the first flight out. You must be so proud that you’ve saved us all from a baddie.
It’d be a win for NZ
A.
That Espiner/Bridges interview is a Must Listen, IMO.
It is the hardest I have ever seen Espiner go on Bridges and raised some excellent questions and points that need to be followed up.
Here is the link.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018669287/czech-criminal-s-case-did-not-come-before-national-minister-bridges
Am just listening to the midday news, and there is a lot still to go on this issue.
Question Time today has only one question on it from Woodhouse to Lees-Galloway. There are no questions from Bridges or Bennett to the PM or Deputy PM so it is probable that neither Bridges or Bennett will be in the House.
Thanks for the link, veutoviper. I’ll hear how close my paraphrased versions actually were………
Heh, Bridges might have thrown Woodhouse under a bus there. Jeez Guyon, that was bloody good.
Please can Bridges remain as National Party leader.
Yes mac1. I heard Bridges stammer and dodge. He had the gall to say, ” The Minister cannot become a detective and go out and detect.”
But says Guyon, “How is that different from the present case?”
Mumble, deflect mumble.
Very funny Simon.
I agree on the kudos to the minister.
However his reasoning made a mockery of Winston the day before at question time.
Winston made a lot out of Galloway making the decision himself, rather than relying/blaming officials.
Remember, gsays, that Peters made a lot of the Minjster’s decision making by comparing it to the previous government which after 2014 gave the responsibility away to the officials. In this case, Minister Lees-Galloway acted on advice given by officials who did not have for whatever reason the same information that became available to National. That the decision was made by Lees-Galloway was Peter’s point. The quality of advice is another issue and does not reflect at all upon Peters.
Fair enough.
Today’s mentioning of the officials as part of a ‘reconsideration’ jarred with the ‘vibe’ I picked up from ‘Winston’ at QT.
The PM and her deputy have been made to look like fools over this.
They both arrogantly and smuggly defended the decision on Tuesday. By Wednesday “new evidence” was discovered which reopened the case.
Tomorrow the decision will be reversed to get this out of the headlines next week.
What a monumental cluster fuck and embarrassing u turn.
It’s actually not that bad – you’re catastrophying it imo.
Not really
One of National’s attack lines since day 1 has been this government is soft on crime. Why feed into that narrative by giving them an example like this on a plate.
Australia exports criminals who have lived in Australia their whole lives. New Zealand imports lying fraudulent drug dealers. That is what the National trolls will be yelling as a result of this cock up.
That’s not a cock up. This is a cock up.
Yep good points.
Which is exactly why the nats abrogated responsibility to the ministry for several years.
You get the big pay packet, you make the hard call.
The only real problem is that the increased publicity seems to have uncovered the contradictory information, which in turn could well make it look like the minister caved under pressure rather than simply acting on information received.
At least there is hope they will u turn and make sure that the embarrassment goes away, rather than have him served up next election as the government being the reason he is one of our new residents.
No decent human being should ever defend an action as ‘maintaining the integrity of the process’ nuffy nuffy, be his/her arse ever so smooth.
Iain has made a complete idiot of himself. Would love a photo of him to appear hiding behind the pillar to avoid reporters.
The Czech needs to leave the country immediately.
Jimmy, so it’s wrong to change ones mind when presented with new information?
The “new info” will be the excuse for changing the decision. He has clearly not done due diligence in the first place (or made a very big error of judgement). Both National and Labour have been reluctant to send people packing IMO.
Maybe we will find out more soon?
‘Immigration NZ is investigating claims that contradict the reasons why Iain Lees-Galloway granted residency to convicted drug smuggler Karel Sroubek.’
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12152730
Jimmy is an ideologue.
No, not really. Just a practical person. Would you want the Czech living next door to you?
As for ILG, I think its hard to say he’s handled the situation well.
I’m not following the Kiwibuild story as too depressing, but someone told me that the couple in the media who got ballot for the house, are a final year doctor who stands to make a lot of money in the future and they got a 4 bedroom house, when they are just a couple.
Good luck to the people as it is very hard to get a house and they are probably riddled with student debts and being a doctor is of great benefit to society, but it does seem a bit sad that those 3 extra bedrooms will be empty when there are families with a lot more kids living in one bedroom emergency housing, that could have benefited from those extra bedrooms and a new secure house.
And I would have preferred my taxes spent on helping families renting and state housing and land still owned by the state for future generations, rather than helping better resourced people up the property ladder.
Even if the land was leasehold to the state, it would have been better. Maybe removing his student loans in return for staying in NZ for 10 years might also be of more benefit to the public than a house that they can sell in 3 years.
Surprise, KiwiBuy working the way everyone thought it would.
That lovely young couple were bragging on the news hub facebook page about making 50 k already.
People took offence to that and went on the attack, that’s why they deleted their social media accounts, nothing to do with Judith Collins.
Not that you’d ever read that on such unbiased media outlets like TVNZ and Radio Pravda.
Da, comrade BM – Radio Pravda?
“those 3 extra bedrooms will be empty” – doesn’t it seem way more likely they will have some boarders?
Excellent not only do this deserving couple get given 50 k by the taxpayer, but they can also rent out the other three rooms and get themselves some good extra income.
Certainly, help pay for all those overseas trips.
Oh I would rather see any 4 brm homes go to families. But then I don’t set the rules.
I doubt there would have been many families in the draw
99% of the people would have been childless young couples with high earning jobs or young people financed by Mum and Dad looking for quick capital gain.
Kiwi Buy is nothing more than a taxpayer subsidy for young New Zealanders who have come from the middle to upper classes.
You’d say anything to bad mouth the government – similar to your mate bridges in that.
More tribal rubbish from Mars.
You are fake – fake caring and fake tears – you’re full of it.
Off topic but deep breathes’ time – a couple of links at 15 you may be interested in. The second is re home schooling.
Another (genuine) laugh out loud BM comment – please keep ’em coming.
It is just envy. Your mob denied there was a even a problem lol. The problem is big. It will take multiple initiativess to sort. 1 year into this government and things are starting to happen on this one initiative. Somehow some people would prefer the gnats to still be there cos labour aren’t fixing things fast enough – more fool them I say.
They’re not fixing anything they’re actually making the housing situation a lot worse.
Croc tears cos you don’t care.
In 2007, honest John Key said NZ was facing an urgent housing crisis.
Is it too late to ask the now Right Honourable Sir John Key his advice on how to stop “making the housing situation a lot worse”? Or maybe the opposition National party has a productive contribution?
Or kids.
Well hey Sacha, with a few tweaks on the 4 bedroom house plan they could comfortably house a family with three kids.
https://mclennan.co.nz/mclennan-kiwibuild/
Be heaps more betterer than this…https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/107874921/bucket-toilet-for-garage-tenants-the-vulnerable-kiwis-reforms-wont-help …. they’d have a proper flush toilet and everything!!!!
“I’m not following the Kiwibuild story as too depressing”
With you there savenz. The argument for the cheerleading seems to be be, – well National created the mess…
Pretty low bar, and even that is not easily cleared, given the previous Clark government had the wheels in motion for the current house crisis.
Folk have really short memories Molly.
I’ve yet to see compelling evidence that this current manifestation of the New Zealand Labour Party is appreciably different.
Politics of envy, NZs talkback radio fav fodder, tall poppy syndrome etc… divide and conquer, one doesn’t dare stick ones head above the parapet, esp if one wins a KB raffle, how dare they!!! Nek minute, Collins claims innocent, well her fan proxies do…
@ I feel love, The point is, should tax payer money and state land be a raffle? Or should it be means tested and fairly apportioned based on need?
But there is no taxpayer money involved. The houses are sold at cost.
They are giving away free prime state house land as part of the deal. They could retain both the houses and land for the state and future generations. Instead they are doing financial engineering and doublespeak which clearly fools quite a few so called leftie supporters of the Thatcher based scheme, but not all.
They are not giving anything away. It doesn’t cost $650,000 to build one of those houses.
The site is ex-defense force and has never been state housing.
when it suits the right wingers and woke lefties house prices are so high because of the cost of the land, (not lazy immigration in fact we need more immigration because who is going to build the houses cheaply the, the Kiwis are drugged out hopeless types) , however it seems to suit woke lefties to now say that state land is not needed for state housing and rightfully given away in return for middle class housing with all the mod cons… a percentage sold off raffle style to those on $180k and without children in a 4 bedroom house.
Clearly logic was at work. I understand the right wingers being on board with the privatisation of state land, but the woke lefties seem just as eager.
And they say, the voters are stupid….
rightfully given away
Nothing has been given away. Spinning yourself around in circles won’t change that fact.
Approx 2/3 of the land is no longer owned by the public and according to the woke lefties and righties once upon a time, they said it was the land that was worth all the money. Now suddenly the land is not worth much and they will swap it for building 1/3 houses.
Confused. Well I guess that’s he point but it all end up as state assets sell offs, disguised.
Now somehow the state no longer owns 2/3 of it’s valuable land because it has been non transparently taken through third parties and the state is left with approx 1/3 of the land it once had often with a similar amount of state houses it once had.
And the houses built are only affordable for the top 40% of people who would have got a house anyway.
Yes i think you are confused. I can’t make sense of any of that.
Wokey savey? That a Star Wars thingy?
Just some grammatical incoherence.
+1 Molly
Thinking about the new 4 bedroom house that will not house a family in need, I wonder what happened to that poor homeless family and little girl who narrowly missed out on a scholarship at St Cuthbert’s. That was a heart wrenching story.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11653678
Sorry I can only find the Granny link, but John Campbell lead the story for TV3 or radio NZ
“Over the next 10 years, 100,000 “affordable” homes will be built around the country.
But they’re not for low-income people, they’re not a gift from taxpayers and – in the end, anyway – the price the houses sell for is not the most important aspect of the scheme.
Here are five common myths about KiwiBuild.” ;
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/108210155/Five-myths-about-KiwiBuild-and-who-its-meant-to-help
This piece may go someway to cover a few misconceptions ….
JC: “But they’re not for low-income people, they’re not a gift from taxpayers and – in the end, anyway – the price the houses sell for is not the most important aspect of the scheme.”
The Kiwibuild could never help people under say $40,000. Never intended to. The rebuilding of State houses are the best option for the working poor.
Imagine if Donald Trump was a rock star
He’d be named Gene, and he’d be even worse than he is now….
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/12/general_debate_23_december_2017.html/comment-page-1#comment-2105352
I’d hate to be a musician in his band. The lead singer (what else?) wouldn’t listen to the band, he’d have a different drummer in his head, and the songs (who else would be permitted to write them?) would be disassociated ramblings full of the first person singular.
Wonder what the band would be called? Probably none. Full billing to the lead singer only. No lead breaks for the guitarist and as for the vocal chorus, we won’t go there.
How many members of the family would be involved? What style of music? A little mix of punk, country, and hillbilly, but no blues, Mex or reggae for sure.
And guess who’d own the venues he played at?
He’d be something like THIS godawful singer….
EDUCATION
On RNZ Nine to Noon there were two very interesting interviews on education.
The first was with Hamish Brewer, a NZer who “now calls Virginia home where his mission is to turn around ailing schools. He is tattooed, he skateboards and he tells the students he loves them, in case no one else in their lives is telling them that. Hamish has won many awards and given speeches about his work.”
This guy was compelling in a “Ted Talks” way – which I don’t usually connect with. We really should be getting him back here, even if just temporarily, for some good ‘out of the box’ thinking. He was actually very supportive of the education he received here and the NZ system overall, but he certainly could give some educators here a bit of a shake-up.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018669306/hamish-brewer-disrupting-education-with-love
Calling marty mars and other home schoolers (or those interested in home schooling) in relation to the second interview.
I recommend listening to it if you didn’t hear it. It was with Natalie Donaldson and Siobhan Porter, both part of Auckland Home Educators, a support and advocacy group for parent educators. They have five children each and have home-schooled them all.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018669313/home-schooling-pros-and-cons
{As an aside but also in relation to this morning’s Nine to Noon, the description of the interview with Jessica Young, University of Otago, at 11 above on attitudes to assisted dying earlier on in the programme was well off the mark. The interview did cover the restrictions etc on who could carry out or assist in an assisted death in detail – the person themself or a doctor, but not family members. ]
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018669299/majority-support-some-form-of-euthanasia
Ta. Forwarding
A.
I assume one “veutoviper” is referring to my contribution at 9:25 am when he/she writes:
As an aside but also in relation to this morning’s Nine to Noon, the description of the interview with Jessica Young, University of Otago, at 11 above on attitudes to assisted dying earlier on in the programme was well off the mark.
How was I “off the mark” in pointing out the deceitful, anodyne language used (“self-administration of a death”) and the fact that Kathryn Ryan had failed to ask the obvious question, viz., Who is going to kill these people?
The interview did cover the restrictions etc on who could carry out or assist in an assisted death in detail – the person themself [sic] or a doctor, but not family members.
Doctors take an oath to look after people. “Look after” is not a synonym for “kill”.
She DID ask the question you claim she didn’t raise. As I said above, the answer was that the only people who would legally be allowed to carry out or assist in an assisted death would be the person themselves and/or a doctor; no-one else including family members would be allowed to.
But par for the course for you. Perhaps we (and Kiwiblog) should set up a Give A Little page for hearing aids for you.
the answer was that the only people who would legally be allowed to carry out or assist in an assisted death
To “carry out an assisted death” is a deceitful, euphemistic way of saying “to kill a dying person.” I am correct when I state that Ms. Ryan accepted this distortion of plain language, and failed to ask the pertinent question.
would be the person themselves [sic] and/or a doctor
Doctors take an oath to look after their patients. Palliative care, as in a hospice is assisting the dying; it is a world away from putting someone to death.
I’ll skip your witless little sortie into personal abuse.
Leaving someone in agony for the sake of it is not a caring thing.
And killing that person is?
That option is refuted by palliative care doctors and nurses.
When i see a bird dying in my garden i put a spade through its neck. When my old dog was so close to death that he was just suffering i took him for a final visit to the vet. These things to most people seem humane and sensible. When i do these things i feel like i am caring.
Human beings are not like stray birds. Leading humanitarian philosophers like Michael Laws and David Seymour would no doubt appreciate your analogy though.
My dog on the other hand was the best natured person i have ever known.
I’ll be there for ya solka, you stay the fuck away from me though.
lol
Thanks
WOO HOO!
Letting fees are toast 😀
This will help the working poor amongst others AWW. Yay!
yei. excellent news.
Cracker read for aviation tragics and fearful fliers.
15:30:21 Capt got any ideas?
15:30:23 F/O actually not.
15:30:38 Capt we’re gonna brace.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/10/14/1577211/-The-A320-and-the-Hudson
Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute
This is hope fully a good out come for the common people of Yemen Peace and diplomacy is what is best for All Kia kaha
It has taken three years, 14 million people on the brink of starving to death and 10,000 dead civilians before the US finally asked for the chaos in Yemen to stop.
But it may be too late for the impoverished Arab nation, which borders Saudi Arabia, as it faces effectively being wiped off the Earth as more than half its population starve due to a sickening Saudi war tactic.
It was already one of the world’s poorest countries before a brutal civil war began in 2015 when rebel Houthi fighters seized the presidential compound in the country’s capital Sana’a and overthrew the government. Ka kite ano Link is below.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12152869
New Neighbour the last lot were sandflys contracted Actors and now it looks like a single wahine is moving in she will be a sandfly payed actor trying to set me up I know they are listening to everything in the house the perverts . So if anything happen its a sandfly set up. The muppets will try anything Ka kite ano
Eco Maori Give A ka pai to the Google employees who have made a stand to back up there wahine employees Equality is what the new generation wants and need.
We not stupid Equality for all and environmentally friendly.Hundreds of Google engineers and other workers around the world walked off the job Thursday (Friday NZ time) to protest the internet company’s lenient treatment of executives accused of sexual misconduct.Kia kaha people ka kite ano link is below.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/108297125/google-employees-walk-out-to-protest-treatment-of-women
Eco Maori did warn MP that there staff could be pro national and set them up and the immigration issue that Labour is having at the minute sure looks like a SET UP JOB.
‘ looking like the Government has made an embarrassing stuff-up over the controversial decision to allow a Czech criminal to stay in the country after he finishes his prison sentence. SET UP Ka kite ano link is below. P.S I will give the turned lefty a bit of a ——–
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12153476
I say trump and the gop are going to need a huge box of tissue in about 5 days
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/31/trump-abandoned-civility-republican-party
Kia ora Te Kaea the water isuses I say we need to audit all country’s council and legerslate to make them clean up our water.
That was awesome that the sights of the Southern right whale off Ohope Bay of plenty.
The Maori All Blacks will have a good team playing in Chicago this weekend.
Ka kite ano P.S Maori does some thing wrong no name suppression it’s gets plastered in the media???????.