The alternative water "plan" put forward by Mayor Boomer and his two cockie mates yesterday is what happens when you lose control of a political narrative and instead turn your political management settings to "strolling towards suicide". I mean, Boomer and mates have basically proposed they be allowed unaccountable access to a pile of public money to do wjhat they may or may not want to do. “Let us do what you want, or not, but in any event give all the money to spend as we please”. Just imagine the reaction if a Maori group came up with a similar idea!
Labour has allowed three waters to drag on and on and on and on. In putting Mahuta in charge of the process – an almost deliberately provocative act – they provided an optics Godsend to their opponents, who in the absense of a strong government PR game have been enabled to dogwhistle a white racist backlash against the concept of co-governance whilst mobilising around issues of "local democracy". And it doesn't help that Mahuta -who is also foreign minister after all – has hardly been stellar (to be polite, others might use words like "missing in action" or "incompetent") in her (lack of) proactive political management of the job of selling three waters.
That has delivered at the recent local bosdy elections a slew of right wing mayors elected by conservative white voters with an implicit culture war mandate. They are bitterly opposed to progressive policies and they have no problem in bad faith dealings if it helps further their agenda.
The media sense the political vacuum and smell blood and with their usual bullying group think they are piling on with active connivance – allowing Mayor Boomer to announce his new plan yesterday and not take any questions (instead the non entity from Waimakariri has been doing the media) without commenting on this fact is an act of political connivance, as is over-looking whether or not these mayors even have a mandate from their councils for this plan.
Labour can't afford this issue to drag into the new year. Either ram it through under urgency or dump it.
Mayor Boomer is an idiot. It is clearly part of a larger political project – a disruptive anti-labour comms strategy being driven by Matthew Hooten.
However, the point is Hooten wouldn't be the mayor's puppet master if white conservative voters hadn't been galvanised by the right's exploitation of the government’s poor political management.
You mean like the anti-smacking bill, kinda like the way Sue Bradford “took people along” on that? because that little bit of Green "people power" cost Labour nine years in opposition.
The Greens consistantly rely on forming an elite consensus to get Green policy over the line, which is why they never get any Green policy over the line.
The only wins the Greens ever get is when they own the conservatives by scoffing Miraka Kirimi on twitter.
is that post satire? Like the voice of a grumpy old school leftie who can't understand how green politics works?
I was thinking of climate in terms of policy but there are plenty of examples. Remember how Labour was stuck in FPP thinking but couldn't get enough votes to gain power, and the Greens opened the door for campaigning on changing the government and working together. That was relationship building.
The reason the Greens are good at it, is because it's built into their kaupapa. From the charter,
Appropriate Decision-making
For the implementation of ecological wisdom and social responsibility, decisions will be made directly at the appropriate level by those affected.
Non-Violence
Non-violent conflict resolution is the process by which ecological wisdom, social responsibility and appropriate decision making will be implemented. This principle applies at all levels.
See the bit about decisions being made by those affected? Labour work against that, they've tried to impose their own ideas on a population of people who are resistant, and they don't know how to go back to people and work it through. Because they're old school lefties who have neoliberalised and still think power is about who can attain it rather than who can share it.
Seems to be a lot of Boomer ageist hate going down here… And while I disagree with you I support your right to say it…But get it all out of your system cos Kiri's gonna make it illegal nek year. I'll get my hate in early too…I ffing HATE Poto & TUT for demolishing the huts.
So Ok for you to use pejorative words such as Boomer. The comments about Brown would have been made had he been 21,41,81 years. Fundamentally not about age but about the crazy things he is doing.
Auckland's answer to Trump, right here in good old NZ….ya hoo!
Brown has joined my list of twits. There are two so far.
whilst mobilising around issues of "local democracy"
Yep – it's this pretense that they are defenders of 'localism' that is particularly galling. These guys inherently prioritise the economic interests of one portion of their local communities – farming and business – over others. These interests are traditionally handed the right to extract water from the environment at no cost, add pollutants to it (nitrates, animal effluent, etc.), then return it to the environment, also at no cost. Their wealth depends on this privatisation of the 'gifts of nature.' Any centralised structure, change in funding arrangements or co-governance interest from Maori, is a potential threat to this cosy, private wealth-generating tradition.
What I don't like is the implicit view that the other Treaty partner is best left out of this while the big guys, who know all about this, get on with the real oil. Anyone with the most basic understanding of Maori issues knows that water is a taonga not just an extractive resource. We need people with this long term, philosophical political view that neatly falls into a sustainable approach to leaven a wholesale extractive view.
When you get people of far differing views coming together with a common purpose the result is usually/often better than what an individual or group of same/same individuals can achieve. I liken it to the voice you hear when a choir is working well together. Strong voices making a new voice. This is not meant to be a wishy washy irredeemably liberal concept.
The point is with Wayne Brump the second group is locked out and we don't get the chance. Remembering if you keep doing the things the way you have always done it you will get the same result. We don't want that with water, it has not worked.
So locking Maori out and putting the Councils back in control seems very much like the bad old days.
On the plus side it at least is a different view.
There may be something in there that could be used. It worries me that he has got together with Chch Mayor. At the risk of annoying some Chch folk there does seem to be a but of anti Maori rhetoric white supremacist thinking there despite the phenomenal success of Ngai Tahu as an Iwi.
What the heck is going on in Auckland though? I thought it was proud to be the biggest Polynesian city in the world?
Go back to the 1980s with that fiction. I've seen more racism in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga than I've ever seen in Christchurch.
Christchurch is by any international standard a progressive city, more progressive than Auckland in a shit load of ways.
I tire of the snobbery of the left in this country bashing Dunedin and Christchurch two leftwing strongholds.
It ain't called the people's socialist republic of Christchurch for no reason, it's a labour strong hold. meanwhile the left in neoliberal/right-wing Auckland which has more skinheads than anywhere else in the country and with 800,000 renters struggles to connect with voters.
From Sheppard to Kirk to Anderton to Rod Donald, to having the first female mp and first female minister, to being the first city to declare itself nuclear free the legacy of Christchurch on the history of the left in NZ is immense and there wouldn't be a single labour government without it's support and it's Auckland not Christchurch that's frothing at the mouth with crazy nutcase right wing psychos and it's Aucklands notoriously fickle voters who keep giving us national govts.
Not liking three waters doesn't make people skinheads or racist.
If the left continue down the road where we refuse to engage and debate ideas then we have become intellectual failures bereft of ideas , demanding censorship of election coverage is bad enough but you know you've lost the debate when you're calling people who disagree with you on policy Nazis and skin heads.
I've noticed the people who bash Christchurch usually have nothing but contempt for working class people and are elitist af
Not liking three waters doesn't make people skinheads or racist.
I agree with this. I did not say this though. What are the reasons for not liking Three Waters? These are the ones I have heard:
Fear of a large body controlling water
Fear of co-governance
Then from a left point of view:
concern that this is not the time and could be an election loser.
Thanks Corey…..I have not said I am against Chch. It has a recent sad past. It also has Ngai Tahu and that organisation is making a good job of working with its Treaty Settlement.
it's Aucklands notoriously fickle voters who keep giving us national govts.
I regret that the last local body election brought a right wing Mayor to Chch and that he has 'found' Wayne Brown.
Agree with your general point to get the legislation through this year.
I was in Roxborough on Saturday for the NZBattery project which is going to be an order of magnitude more disruptive to locals for about 100km radius than 3 Waters, and boy you don't want to raise your head on 3 Waters but for Battery Dam you could see their eyes spinning dollar signs.
All the way down the Clutha there were anti-3 Waters signs.
Its the depth of the short against the NZ$,the worst performer in the G10 currencies,due to the highest current account deficit,high overseas debt liability,and a government deficit.
There are limited avenues to lower the current account problem,and a future that will see next year an increase in inflation as the fuel subsidies end and the biofuel mandate comes in (adding around 10% to fuel costs)
On the otherside of the debt problem,banks have increased term rates for term deposits,which removes liquidity from the economy,improves passive incomes,and increases government revenue from withholding tax,this may reduce international fund flows.
I'm going to suggest if their risk model is making estimates IIS don't understand then they should have a thorough look at it. On the other hand we shouldn't adopt it as a guide to NZs public policy.
The problem is that the IIF is the global institute of financial institutions,where the data of global flows show,the misalignment also captures undervalued currencies such as norway with its through the roof current account surplus (underpriced by 45%)
NZ public policy should be guided by the ability to fund internally,or by borrowing that will result in improvements that show efficiency.
Maybe the market agrees with this and realizes NZ is about to embark on a massive (internally funded) investment in energy efficiency? Going to be very confusing for the IIF before they catch up on the news.
The NZ energy strategy is outside of this governments realm of responsibility due to financial constraints as the governments aspirational goals have been sent back to consultation as the reality is greater then the rhetoric.
A good example of FX changes will be on the RBA cash rate review today (bigger spread then the melbourne cup) with the cross rates pairs with the AUS/US and NZ/Aus due to the interest rate differential.
Roxburgh and Alexandra both owe their existence to Government hydro schemes, there'd be SFA there if it wasn't for those lumps of concrete in the river. Of course their eyes will be a tad glazed.
Must have been the first community briefing for a major project you've been to where they are having to hose down expectations rather than pussy foot around objections
Swordfish makes complete sense to me. He is attacking the ideology that has infiltrated our public service, media, academia and the Labour and Greens Party.
You are the one who accsued Swordfish on being on an ideological crusade. It lies with you to give a rationale for your statement. I think the only reason you wont (and lets face it, it would only have to be a sentence long) is because what you have said isn't true.
He is attacking the ideology that has infiltrated our public service, media, academia and the Labour and Greens Party.
As they say, in this presumption you are 'drawing a long bow.'
Why don't you make a careful and reasoned response to Sanctuary's post. That is the way this work around here.
If an ideology (your explanation/Swordfish's) has it filled with 'woke this' and 'woke that' and generally unclear words) has infiltrated all those places and has had has the effect of righting wrongs etc what possible objection can there be to it? Or have you forgotten that looking at the way a country treats its citizens most in need is a reflection of the worth of that country.
Have you anything to add Swordfish other than a grumpy view of
a) Treaty of Waitangi issues
b) wider issues involving Maori
And of course using current terms that are supposed to be gut wrenchingly slaying personally but which no-one knows what they mean as they have been misused for forever and day ie
woke
anti-woke
Today I see you have served these with a side of 'critical race theory'
I won't say any more as I don't want a repeat of the personal attack you made on me last week.
As an aside I am not finding that these are the musings of the Swordfish of old. I am hoping that things are Ok with you.
Swordfish makes complete sense to me. He is attacking the ideology that has infiltrated our public service, media, academia and the Labour and Greens Party.
You are the one who accsued Swordfish on being on an ideological crusade. It lies with you to give a rationale for your statement. I think the only reason you wont (and lets face it, it would only have to be a sentence long) is because what you have said isn't true.
I was referring to Swordfish's comment at 1.4 and his comments in general.
I think his blank comment was in response to your asking Swordfish if you have anything to add.
I hate to talk on Swordfish's behalf, but I think he like me and a small number of commentators on this site, see how ideologically driven Labour have become (think gender ideology and critical race theory). Also the PMC making decisions like not kicking anti social abusive tennants out of State Homes, leaving vulnerable State house tennants (such as Swordfish's elderly parents) to have their lives wrecked by the failure of decency by those who are responsible for managing the tennants in state houses.
The ideological stance of Labour e.g. setting up a new health authority during a pandemic, while denying there is a health crisis and that we are 3000 plus nurses short, is another good example of Labours failure to act decently and solve the real problems we all face.. Andrew Little dissing the nurses union and having nurses strike and mid wives forced to take legal action. Meanwhile we have a shiny new (extremely costly) NZ Health. I have a contact in NZ Health who tells me it is in a state of chaos and is unlikely in their opinion to achieve health equity) .
And the statement realeased about racism by NZ Health NZ (Chris Trotter has written about it if you want to read it) is drenched in CRT. Do they not realize what a slap in the face such a statement by NZ Health will be to most health professionals? Said health professionals are far more liketly to experience abuse and even assault just trying to do their job, than be racist. Health professionals go into this work mostly cause they care about people. Not whites only.
In a past life (so to speak) I was a health professional. We all worked our guts out and we cared deeply about doing a good job for our patients. There was no racism at all in our service. We did of course appreciate and maybe go the extra mile for some patients. These were the people who were pleasant and cooperative and helped make our lives easy in the demanding work we did. They could be any race and any sex. We really didn't care.
Getting back to Swordfish, I hope he won't mind me reminding people on this site, but he is seriously ill with cancer. He has had to go through chemo. And Swordfish if you are reading this, sending you my best regards. He is facing this while his elderly parents have had years of some bastard who sounds anti social making their lives hell. It is the sort of thing that makes you not give a dam if people find you grumpy or otherwise. I am sure if I was facing what he is facing I would be worse. Aside from all he is going through and how he may come across to some as grumpy, his actual views in my opinion are bang on.
Cheers, Anker …. genuinely appreciate your support & camaraderie.
I'll let you into a little secret … I don't always read replies from geezers I suspect are going to overly-irritate me … particularly those saddled with the classic Woke personality-type … narcissistic teens inhabiting adult bodies (quite often decidely middle-aged adult bodies) … all that ostentatious moral posturing & yet possessing zero actual ethics or morality. It's like they've adopted The Young One's Rik as their role model.
Suits everyone … I get my say … and they get to have the last word … and they do so without agravating the living hell out of me because I never have know what they said … which is fantastic for my health
.
Cheers, Red … by coincidence I've recently been thinking I'd like to have some on-going discussion with you in a more private setting … particularly as you're moving away from frequent engagement on The Standard.
Have you considered Twitter ? I know you don't have an account … but it's very easily set up … allows private direct messaging (I've had some great private discussions & kept in touch with a couple of former commenters here) … and you can deactivate your account any time you like.
Let me know if you're interested in heading in that direction.
Crude, dogmatic Cult members … whether they be simple-minded SJWs like yourself, L. Ron Hubbard-worshipping Scientologists or born-again Evangelical Christians should always be strenuously dissuaded from treading the boards.
As Noel Coward almost sang: “Don’t put your Wokester on the Stage, Mrs Muttonbird, don’t put your Wokester on the stage … he’s really quite a bore, for the audience he’s a chore, just don’t put your Wokester on the Stage !“.
A sensible approach (which is probably not mine ).
Would like to add that Anker's replies above are a much more articulate relating of my views and perspectives than I would achieve. Add to that a repetition of her wishes for your continued contributions and wellbeing.
Ok but how does that explain your personal attack on me then. You not only read something from me, presumably someone you disagreed with, and then instead of whizzing on by, decided to reply in a post that contained a multitude of ad hominem stuff and no substance.
I have actually been supportive of you in the bad tenants next to your parents.
But no it is 'woke' this 'woke' that, narcissistic etc. and many other buzz words that don't add much to the argument.
Sorry but I liked the Swordfish of old not this current 'geezer'. I know the temptation when facing bad health is to let all hell rip. My advice is to resist it.
The rift between the proponents of 3 waters/co=governance and the back benchers within Labour who fear for their ongoing political careers after the next election must be reaching boiling point – something will have to give soon.
Ardern will pay no mind to the Dead Meat Walking backbenchers coming on the unrepeatable 51% surge of 2020. Ardern can actually count.
What is remarkable is how well Labour's polls are holding up. Labour have a very good shot at forming a government next year, in no small part because Ardern is clearly a better tv and youtube performer than Luxon.
Jacinda is a superb communicator….she was so good on RNZ yesterday and she is always eloquent in parliament…..I predict that Luxon will refuse to debate her live at the election.
Luxon will be sufficiently trained to front-up. He'll Gish-gallop like a pro and surprise with a hot-button up-setter for Ardern. I hope her trainers are smart enough to know it's coming and advise her well. If she's prepared, she'll slay him 🙂
OK, are we done with this drug yet? Is this nice US randomized trial enough to convince people that results from a petri dish don't always transfer to humans, regardless of the presence or absence of an evil pharmaceutical cabal?
No, of course not. At this point, I can predict the responses. The dose wasn't high enough. It wasn't given early enough. The patients weren't sick enough, or they were too sick. This is motivated reasoning, plain and simple. It's not to say that there isn't a chance that this drug has some off-target effects on COVID that we haven't adequately measured, but studies like ACTIV-6 effectively rule out the idea that it's a miracle cure. And you know what? That's OK. Miracle cures are vanishingly rare. Most things that work in medicine work OK; they make us a little better, and we learn why they do that and improve on them, and try again and again. It's not flashy; it doesn't have that allure of secret knowledge. But it's what separates science from magic.
Of course, supposedly smart doctors are prescribing a drug that doesnt work.. because really they're either conspiracy theorists or stupid republicans.
Some of Bolsonaro’s closest allies have publicly acknowledged Lula’s victory, including Sao Paulo governor-elect Tarcisio de Freitas and Senator-elect Damares Alves, both of whom served as ministers under Bolsonaro.
“The will of the majority seen on ballots shall never be contested,” another ally, Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira, told reporters on Sunday. Evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, who has been a strident Bolsonaro supporter, also called for God to bestow his “blessing” on Lula.
In March 1999 all state houses in Wairarapa were given to a community trust. Trust House – in 2014 it became New Zealand’s first registered social housing provider in the government’s new social housing scheme to make rents even more affordable for people on low incomes.
MSD, ACC and Enable New New Zealand are left with finding them a home suitable for modification for wheel chair access in the area. Maybe Kainga Ora buy such a home in the area (or starts building some) and takes over the provision of homes for those with disability in this region?
A concern about the increase in share of tax revenue coming from income tax (48 to 51% because of no indexing of tax thresholds).
Maybe when we tax annually the increase in wealth (a form of CG tax) on rising property value resulting from "inflation"? (much better than a land tax given we already do this when paying rates)
No I've been reliable informed that making poor people unemployed Is how you control inflation, lowering profits for grifters large and small just won't do it.
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It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
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The alternative water "plan" put forward by Mayor Boomer and his two cockie mates yesterday is what happens when you lose control of a political narrative and instead turn your political management settings to "strolling towards suicide". I mean, Boomer and mates have basically proposed they be allowed unaccountable access to a pile of public money to do wjhat they may or may not want to do. “Let us do what you want, or not, but in any event give all the money to spend as we please”. Just imagine the reaction if a Maori group came up with a similar idea!
Labour has allowed three waters to drag on and on and on and on. In putting Mahuta in charge of the process – an almost deliberately provocative act – they provided an optics Godsend to their opponents, who in the absense of a strong government PR game have been enabled to dogwhistle a white racist backlash against the concept of co-governance whilst mobilising around issues of "local democracy". And it doesn't help that Mahuta -who is also foreign minister after all – has hardly been stellar (to be polite, others might use words like "missing in action" or "incompetent") in her (lack of) proactive political management of the job of selling three waters.
That has delivered at the recent local bosdy elections a slew of right wing mayors elected by conservative white voters with an implicit culture war mandate. They are bitterly opposed to progressive policies and they have no problem in bad faith dealings if it helps further their agenda.
The media sense the political vacuum and smell blood and with their usual bullying group think they are piling on with active connivance – allowing Mayor Boomer to announce his new plan yesterday and not take any questions (instead the non entity from Waimakariri has been doing the media) without commenting on this fact is an act of political connivance, as is over-looking whether or not these mayors even have a mandate from their councils for this plan.
Labour can't afford this issue to drag into the new year. Either ram it through under urgency or dump it.
I think you give far too much credibility to Wayne Brown Sanc. He is clearly a nutter-witness the way he operates.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/130332317/auckland-mayor-sprang-three-waters-alternative-on-council-with-8-minutes-notice
Mayor Boomer is an idiot. It is clearly part of a larger political project – a disruptive anti-labour comms strategy being driven by Matthew Hooten.
However, the point is Hooten wouldn't be the mayor's puppet master if white conservative voters hadn't been galvanised by the right's exploitation of the government’s poor political management.
Sanc-I agree totally that the perception management of 3 Waters has been a disaster from the start-and it still is.
What to do though? Put Megan Woods or Michael Wood in charge?
give it to the Greens who know how to work with people and bring them along (notable exception notwithstanding)
Is this post satirical?
You mean like the anti-smacking bill, kinda like the way Sue Bradford “took people along” on that? because that little bit of Green "people power" cost Labour nine years in opposition.
The Greens consistantly rely on forming an elite consensus to get Green policy over the line, which is why they never get any Green policy over the line.
The only wins the Greens ever get is when they own the conservatives by scoffing Miraka Kirimi on twitter.
is that post satire? Like the voice of a grumpy old school leftie who can't understand how green politics works?
I was thinking of climate in terms of policy but there are plenty of examples. Remember how Labour was stuck in FPP thinking but couldn't get enough votes to gain power, and the Greens opened the door for campaigning on changing the government and working together. That was relationship building.
The reason the Greens are good at it, is because it's built into their kaupapa. From the charter,
https://www.greens.org.nz/charter
See the bit about decisions being made by those affected? Labour work against that, they've tried to impose their own ideas on a population of people who are resistant, and they don't know how to go back to people and work it through. Because they're old school lefties who have neoliberalised and still think power is about who can attain it rather than who can share it.
Oh! it's in the Green party charter. Well, that'll teach 'em!
Seems to be a lot of Boomer ageist hate going down here… And while I disagree with you I support your right to say it…But get it all out of your system cos Kiri's gonna make it illegal nek year. I'll get my hate in early too…I ffing HATE Poto & TUT for demolishing the huts.
Good grief. Get a life.
So anti the demolition of some ageing rat infested huts
Interesting that FMC don't see things your way, thankfully
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/477672/te-urewera-huts-federated-mountain-clubs-backs-ngai-tuhoe-s-enlightened-plans.
So Ok for you to use pejorative words such as Boomer. The comments about Brown would have been made had he been 21,41,81 years. Fundamentally not about age but about the crazy things he is doing.
Auckland's answer to Trump, right here in good old NZ….ya hoo!
Brown has joined my list of twits. There are two so far.
Jordan Peterson
Wayne Brown
are prize twits.
Yep – it's this pretense that they are defenders of 'localism' that is particularly galling. These guys inherently prioritise the economic interests of one portion of their local communities – farming and business – over others. These interests are traditionally handed the right to extract water from the environment at no cost, add pollutants to it (nitrates, animal effluent, etc.), then return it to the environment, also at no cost. Their wealth depends on this privatisation of the 'gifts of nature.' Any centralised structure, change in funding arrangements or co-governance interest from Maori, is a potential threat to this cosy, private wealth-generating tradition.
What I don't like is the implicit view that the other Treaty partner is best left out of this while the big guys, who know all about this, get on with the real oil. Anyone with the most basic understanding of Maori issues knows that water is a taonga not just an extractive resource. We need people with this long term, philosophical political view that neatly falls into a sustainable approach to leaven a wholesale extractive view.
When you get people of far differing views coming together with a common purpose the result is usually/often better than what an individual or group of same/same individuals can achieve. I liken it to the voice you hear when a choir is working well together. Strong voices making a new voice. This is not meant to be a wishy washy irredeemably liberal concept.
The point is with Wayne Brump the second group is locked out and we don't get the chance. Remembering if you keep doing the things the way you have always done it you will get the same result. We don't want that with water, it has not worked.
So locking Maori out and putting the Councils back in control seems very much like the bad old days.
On the plus side it at least is a different view.
There may be something in there that could be used. It worries me that he has got together with Chch Mayor. At the risk of annoying some Chch folk there does seem to be a but of
anti Maori rhetoricwhite supremacist thinking there despite the phenomenal success of Ngai Tahu as an Iwi.What the heck is going on in Auckland though? I thought it was proud to be the biggest Polynesian city in the world?
Go back to the 1980s with that fiction. I've seen more racism in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga than I've ever seen in Christchurch.
Christchurch is by any international standard a progressive city, more progressive than Auckland in a shit load of ways.
I tire of the snobbery of the left in this country bashing Dunedin and Christchurch two leftwing strongholds.
It ain't called the people's socialist republic of Christchurch for no reason, it's a labour strong hold. meanwhile the left in neoliberal/right-wing Auckland which has more skinheads than anywhere else in the country and with 800,000 renters struggles to connect with voters.
From Sheppard to Kirk to Anderton to Rod Donald, to having the first female mp and first female minister, to being the first city to declare itself nuclear free the legacy of Christchurch on the history of the left in NZ is immense and there wouldn't be a single labour government without it's support and it's Auckland not Christchurch that's frothing at the mouth with crazy nutcase right wing psychos and it's Aucklands notoriously fickle voters who keep giving us national govts.
Not liking three waters doesn't make people skinheads or racist.
If the left continue down the road where we refuse to engage and debate ideas then we have become intellectual failures bereft of ideas , demanding censorship of election coverage is bad enough but you know you've lost the debate when you're calling people who disagree with you on policy Nazis and skin heads.
I've noticed the people who bash Christchurch usually have nothing but contempt for working class people and are elitist af
I agree with this. I did not say this though. What are the reasons for not liking Three Waters? These are the ones I have heard:
Then from a left point of view:
Thanks Corey…..I have not said I am against Chch. It has a recent sad past. It also has Ngai Tahu and that organisation is making a good job of working with its Treaty Settlement.
I regret that the last local body election brought a right wing Mayor to Chch and that he has 'found' Wayne Brown.
Agree with your general point to get the legislation through this year.
I was in Roxborough on Saturday for the NZBattery project which is going to be an order of magnitude more disruptive to locals for about 100km radius than 3 Waters, and boy you don't want to raise your head on 3 Waters but for Battery Dam you could see their eyes spinning dollar signs.
All the way down the Clutha there were anti-3 Waters signs.
Yeah and the market has priced significant risk into the NZ$ shorting it at 30% against the US$.
With a terminal rate of 5.5% for the ocr,and little sign of reduction in the CA deficit,funding for big projects is vary limited.
https://twitter.com/RobinBrooksIIF/status/1586742405251973121?cxt=HHwWgoC-8fDznoUsAAAA
If the market is shorting every major currency against the US$ then is this really related to NZ policy?
Its the depth of the short against the NZ$,the worst performer in the G10 currencies,due to the highest current account deficit,high overseas debt liability,and a government deficit.
There are limited avenues to lower the current account problem,and a future that will see next year an increase in inflation as the fuel subsidies end and the biofuel mandate comes in (adding around 10% to fuel costs)
On the otherside of the debt problem,banks have increased term rates for term deposits,which removes liquidity from the economy,improves passive incomes,and increases government revenue from withholding tax,this may reduce international fund flows.
"Its the depth of the short against the NZ$"
Isn't that chart cumulative?
Its expansive with the currency rating shown.the IIF risk model show the NZ $ overvalued by 36%.
I'm going to suggest if their risk model is making estimates IIS don't understand then they should have a thorough look at it. On the other hand we shouldn't adopt it as a guide to NZs public policy.
The problem is that the IIF is the global institute of financial institutions,where the data of global flows show,the misalignment also captures undervalued currencies such as norway with its through the roof current account surplus (underpriced by 45%)
NZ public policy should be guided by the ability to fund internally,or by borrowing that will result in improvements that show efficiency.
Maybe the market agrees with this and realizes NZ is about to embark on a massive (internally funded) investment in energy efficiency? Going to be very confusing for the IIF before they catch up on the news.
have you met the crew from the IIF? at the recent meeting concurrent with the IMF.
https://www.iif.com/Events/2022_AMM_DC/meetingid/54717ecf-19b1-ec11-9840-00224826b530
The NZ energy strategy is outside of this governments realm of responsibility due to financial constraints as the governments aspirational goals have been sent back to consultation as the reality is greater then the rhetoric.
A good example of FX changes will be on the RBA cash rate review today (bigger spread then the melbourne cup) with the cross rates pairs with the AUS/US and NZ/Aus due to the interest rate differential.
Roxburgh and Alexandra both owe their existence to Government hydro schemes, there'd be SFA there if it wasn't for those lumps of concrete in the river. Of course their eyes will be a tad glazed.
Must have been the first community briefing for a major project you've been to where they are having to hose down expectations rather than pussy foot around objections
Graeme we should catch up about Queenstown. Can we figure out how.
Yeah, what's the best way to do do that.
.
Sanctuary
I see you're currently in the Critical Race Theory phase of your wild swings back & forth between Woke & anti-Woke commentary.
Actually you've detected thinking.
You're the one on the ideological crusade.
What is the ideology that Swordfish is crusading about Ad?
You can go directly to any of Swordfishes' extensive verbatim quotes and see for yourself. Don't ask me to make sense of it for you.
Swordfish makes complete sense to me. He is attacking the ideology that has infiltrated our public service, media, academia and the Labour and Greens Party.
You are the one who accsued Swordfish on being on an ideological crusade. It lies with you to give a rationale for your statement. I think the only reason you wont (and lets face it, it would only have to be a sentence long) is because what you have said isn't true.
As they say, in this presumption you are 'drawing a long bow.'
Why don't you make a careful and reasoned response to Sanctuary's post. That is the way this work around here.
If an ideology (your explanation/Swordfish's) has it filled with 'woke this' and 'woke that' and generally unclear words) has infiltrated all those places and has had has the effect of righting wrongs etc what possible objection can there be to it? Or have you forgotten that looking at the way a country treats its citizens most in need is a reflection of the worth of that country.
Vogon poetry
There's always one fan of the surrealism of the underlying metaphor.
Have you anything to add Swordfish other than a grumpy view of
a) Treaty of Waitangi issues
b) wider issues involving Maori
And of course using current terms that are supposed to be gut wrenchingly slaying personally but which no-one knows what they mean as they have been misused for forever and day ie
woke
anti-woke
Today I see you have served these with a side of 'critical race theory'
I won't say any more as I don't want a repeat of the personal attack you made on me last week.
As an aside I am not finding that these are the musings of the Swordfish of old. I am hoping that things are Ok with you.
He does seem different, eh.
Swordfish makes complete sense to me. He is attacking the ideology that has infiltrated our public service, media, academia and the Labour and Greens Party.
You are the one who accsued Swordfish on being on an ideological crusade. It lies with you to give a rationale for your statement. I think the only reason you wont (and lets face it, it would only have to be a sentence long) is because what you have said isn't true.
Not complicated. Simple response to: "I am not finding that these are the musings of the Swordfish of old". Sometimes a cigar..
Crusading is best addressed in your mirror.
Not me. No mention of ideological crusade. Just a comment about him being grumpy and not the Swordfish of old.
Looks like Anker has replied to the wrong tweet.
Sorry to hear about the cancer, swordfish. Had missed that.
Yes I am too. I did not know.
Though how coming on here will help that I do not know, each to his own I guess.
Swordfish I think you are bang on. Keep commenting if you are able
Is this a joke? The post 1.5 you were replying to is blank.
I was referring to Swordfish's comment at 1.4 and his comments in general.
I think his blank comment was in response to your asking Swordfish if you have anything to add.
I hate to talk on Swordfish's behalf, but I think he like me and a small number of commentators on this site, see how ideologically driven Labour have become (think gender ideology and critical race theory). Also the PMC making decisions like not kicking anti social abusive tennants out of State Homes, leaving vulnerable State house tennants (such as Swordfish's elderly parents) to have their lives wrecked by the failure of decency by those who are responsible for managing the tennants in state houses.
The ideological stance of Labour e.g. setting up a new health authority during a pandemic, while denying there is a health crisis and that we are 3000 plus nurses short, is another good example of Labours failure to act decently and solve the real problems we all face.. Andrew Little dissing the nurses union and having nurses strike and mid wives forced to take legal action. Meanwhile we have a shiny new (extremely costly) NZ Health. I have a contact in NZ Health who tells me it is in a state of chaos and is unlikely in their opinion to achieve health equity) .
And the statement realeased about racism by NZ Health NZ (Chris Trotter has written about it if you want to read it) is drenched in CRT. Do they not realize what a slap in the face such a statement by NZ Health will be to most health professionals? Said health professionals are far more liketly to experience abuse and even assault just trying to do their job, than be racist. Health professionals go into this work mostly cause they care about people. Not whites only.
In a past life (so to speak) I was a health professional. We all worked our guts out and we cared deeply about doing a good job for our patients. There was no racism at all in our service. We did of course appreciate and maybe go the extra mile for some patients. These were the people who were pleasant and cooperative and helped make our lives easy in the demanding work we did. They could be any race and any sex. We really didn't care.
Getting back to Swordfish, I hope he won't mind me reminding people on this site, but he is seriously ill with cancer. He has had to go through chemo. And Swordfish if you are reading this, sending you my best regards. He is facing this while his elderly parents have had years of some bastard who sounds anti social making their lives hell. It is the sort of thing that makes you not give a dam if people find you grumpy or otherwise. I am sure if I was facing what he is facing I would be worse. Aside from all he is going through and how he may come across to some as grumpy, his actual views in my opinion are bang on.
.
Cheers, Anker …. genuinely appreciate your support & camaraderie.
I'll let you into a little secret … I don't always read replies from geezers I suspect are going to overly-irritate me … particularly those saddled with the classic Woke personality-type … narcissistic teens inhabiting adult bodies (quite often decidely middle-aged adult bodies) … all that ostentatious moral posturing & yet possessing zero actual ethics or morality. It's like they've adopted The Young One's Rik as their role model.
Suits everyone … I get my say … and they get to have the last word … and they do so without agravating the living hell out of me because I never have know what they said … which is fantastic for my health
Win-Win.
Excellent strategySwordfish.
Take care. And please continue to give your take on things on this site, but only if its o.k. for you to do so.
Please contact Lynn Prentice. I would like to get in contact if that is Ok with you.
.
Cheers, Red … by coincidence I've recently been thinking I'd like to have some on-going discussion with you in a more private setting … particularly as you're moving away from frequent engagement on The Standard.
Have you considered Twitter ? I know you don't have an account … but it's very easily set up … allows private direct messaging (I've had some great private discussions & kept in touch with a couple of former commenters here) … and you can deactivate your account any time you like.
Let me know if you're interested in heading in that direction.
OK I will go down that path. Let me know your account name please.
RedLogix
@RedLogixTS
Says you cannot be messaged.
Your new movement is off to a rocky start.
Best leave humour to the grown-ups.
Crude, dogmatic Cult members … whether they be simple-minded SJWs like yourself, L. Ron Hubbard-worshipping Scientologists or born-again Evangelical Christians should always be strenuously dissuaded from treading the boards.
As Noel Coward almost sang: “Don’t put your Wokester on the Stage, Mrs Muttonbird, don’t put your Wokester on the stage … he’s really quite a bore, for the audience he’s a chore, just don’t put your Wokester on the Stage !“.
Well, if you two want to fight woke nonsense and stop the Maoris you'd better learn to how to work social media. Just saying.
The reason I wanted to contact Swordfish has nothing to do with your fevered imaginings.
A sensible approach (which is probably not mine ).
Would like to add that Anker's replies above are a much more articulate relating of my views and perspectives than I would achieve. Add to that a repetition of her wishes for your continued contributions and wellbeing.
Ok but how does that explain your personal attack on me then. You not only read something from me, presumably someone you disagreed with, and then instead of whizzing on by, decided to reply in a post that contained a multitude of ad hominem stuff and no substance.
I have actually been supportive of you in the bad tenants next to your parents.
But no it is 'woke' this 'woke' that, narcissistic etc. and many other buzz words that don't add much to the argument.
Sorry but I liked the Swordfish of old not this current 'geezer'. I know the temptation when facing bad health is to let all hell rip. My advice is to resist it.
Why the hell hasn't this been sold as a money saver and a life saver?
Blank slate, clean slate so deep its zooming over me. if 1.5 from Swordfish is the answer what was the question
The rift between the proponents of 3 waters/co=governance and the back benchers within Labour who fear for their ongoing political careers after the next election must be reaching boiling point – something will have to give soon.
Ardern will pay no mind to the Dead Meat Walking backbenchers coming on the unrepeatable 51% surge of 2020. Ardern can actually count.
What is remarkable is how well Labour's polls are holding up. Labour have a very good shot at forming a government next year, in no small part because Ardern is clearly a better tv and youtube performer than Luxon.
Jacinda is a superb communicator….she was so good on RNZ yesterday and she is always eloquent in parliament…..I predict that Luxon will refuse to debate her live at the election.
Luxon will be sufficiently trained to front-up. He'll Gish-gallop like a pro and surprise with a hot-button up-setter for Ardern. I hope her trainers are smart enough to know it's coming and advise her well. If she's prepared, she'll slay him 🙂
Want a “miracle cure“? Try "magic" – provided there's a sound reason to trust the magician.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2797483
Of course, supposedly smart doctors are prescribing a drug that doesnt work.. because really they're either conspiracy theorists or stupid republicans.
https://twitter.com/bhrenton/status/1430971184699617283
So far so good.
https://twitter.com/DLBiller/status/1587167214398050304
Some of Bolsonaro’s closest allies have publicly acknowledged Lula’s victory, including Sao Paulo governor-elect Tarcisio de Freitas and Senator-elect Damares Alves, both of whom served as ministers under Bolsonaro.
“The will of the majority seen on ballots shall never be contested,” another ally, Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira, told reporters on Sunday. Evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, who has been a strident Bolsonaro supporter, also called for God to bestow his “blessing” on Lula.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/31/after-lula-victory-brazil-asks-wheres-bolsonaro
The IRD wanting to tax sweets gifted to children on Halloween to teach them about tax. Who the hell came up with this gem?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/130334088/inland-revenue-deletes-halloweenthemed-tweet-after-it-backfires
Hi Jimbo. Who the hell came up with this gem? Well, why don't you find out then you can tell us all .
I'm sure all the dads have been taxing the plunder, !!
In March 1999 all state houses in Wairarapa were given to a community trust. Trust House – in 2014 it became New Zealand’s first registered social housing provider in the government’s new social housing scheme
to make rents even more affordable for people on low incomes.https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/11/disabled-woman-and-family-facing-homelessness-after-poor-wheelchair-modifications-see-them-evicted-from-rental-home.html
MSD, ACC and Enable New New Zealand are left with finding them a home suitable for modification for wheel chair access in the area. Maybe Kainga Ora buy such a home in the area (or starts building some) and takes over the provision of homes for those with disability in this region?
A concern about the increase in share of tax revenue coming from income tax (48 to 51% because of no indexing of tax thresholds).
Maybe when we tax annually the increase in wealth (a form of CG tax) on rising property value resulting from "inflation"? (much better than a land tax given we already do this when paying rates)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/300726868/individuals-tax-bill-up-55-in-five-years
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/prosper/finances/130326242/cheat-sheet-where-to-turn-if-youre-broke-and-struggling
Apparently most intend a 5% rent increase – c$600 to $630. But some might be facing 10%.
A rent freeze would lower the inflation rate before the election …
No I've been reliable informed that making poor people unemployed Is how you control inflation, lowering profits for grifters large and small just won't do it.
Oh god, I love this:
Have I Got News For You
@haveigotnews
12h
Amid claims Liz Truss's phone was hacked, MI5 reassures everyone that absolutely no intelligence will have been found.
Those who work in intelligence did not maintain contact as they knew it only have to be repeated later …