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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David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
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April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
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. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
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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 …