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notices and features - Date published:
6:00 am, December 1st, 2023 - 51 comments
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https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.jsKatherine Mansfield left New Zealand when she was 19 years old and died at the age of 34.In her short life she became our most famous short story writer, acquiring an international reputation for her stories, poetry, letters, journals and reviews. Biographies on Mansfield have been translated into 51 ...
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The new team.
So National's intelligentsia thinks it will improve health and education while transferring scarce national resources into the pockets of the landlord and employer class and it diminishes the rights of workers and tenants.
How historic are their ambitions
Oh so lifestyles of poor people will be an excuse … for any failure.
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/
Why not Greg O'Connor for the police portfolio. He seems an obvious choice being a former police officer and, later, spokesperson for the police union.
I suspect he is not very popular with the hierarchy of the party. He is Labour of fifty years ago when they actually tried to represent the working people.
He didn't go on the list. He was probably offered position 95 or so. I doubt if Hipkins would have minded in the slightest if he had lost his seat. H also admitted before the election that Labour were going to get badly beaten.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/350076455/labour-mp-concedes-his-party-will-likely-lose-election
I suspect that pretty much covers it.
Why is Christopher Penk without Ministerial position? Is your reckon that he is not popular within the party or otherwise the new leader?
He's thoroughly administered: 5 portfolios. https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/penk-chris/
Outside of cabinet was all I had noted.
So Building and Construction Minister is outside of Cabinet … just like the Climate Change Minister … Environment Minister …Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills … Minister of State for Trade
The landlords will be happy at the low status of that minister. A lower importance to new building leads to shortages and higher property values.
Greg O’Connor was not an MP until 2017.
His first priority has been to win the electorate seat and secure it for Labour – after the Dunne era.
He is now age 65.
I believe Greg O'Connor is Assistant Speaker in the new parliament, which probably precludes him from having spokespersons roles. I may be wrong and stand to be corrected.
Deputy Speaker in the former parliament 2022-2023.
Those are yet to be elected but you are correct that it precludes spokesperson roles.
Standard practice is to elect at least one assistant speaker each from Labour and National (Jacqui Dean was the National MP in the last Parliament) – will be interesting to see which Labour MP is elected as assistant speaker.
Latest bout of US corporate infighting has been fun, and there's even top-level foreign policy mixed in:
Playing the radical chic card. The idea that media ought to be balanced is an unusually clever notion from the yahoo – almost worth pondering the possibility that Elon took it on board as sage advice.
I am not sure because
For mine at least one person thought he might have done it again
When she moves to another jobs, she'll have on her CV, carried fresh nappies for a billionaire.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67574396
How's X faring as a money-making machine? Seems okay according to this market appraisal: https://www.searchlogistics.com/learn/statistics/twitter-user-statistics/
So they dropped 13%, no big deal really. Those who threw a tanty about Elon will seek out some other media icon to worship.
Such loyalty to the boss is so traditional it almost brings tears to one's eyes. Hipkins may even be so inspired by it he'll issue another random reflex captain's call.
X generates revenue from advertising, not numbers of users.
Yeah so that $4.4 billion will get compared with the 2023 revenue to assess the effect of selective rejection of advertisers, which is the strategy behind the mouth (even if inadvertent). Accountants must do their thing re cost/income ratio to report whatever corporate profit to the market. My guess is that any dent in Elon's reputation for gambling will emerge in a few months from now. Dunno if they do march end-of-financial-year like us (bequeathed by pagans long ago).
A precedent has been set.
If backdating stuff is now OK, why not backdate a future CGT to the original purchase?
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2311/S00204/christmas-coming-early-for-landlords-with-an-extra-900-million-present-from-nact.htm
Estimate number of months it will take to put out Shane McGowan's cremation.
That's in dubious taste but really funny
.
Political prediction:
Question time is going to become appointment-viewing..
(I might start doing commentaries on it…again…
There is often much humour to be had ..)
The Natzos and NActFirst as a group are back to SirKey’s trick of not fronting up for RNZ interviews.
Neither Baldrick, Peters, or Health Minister Dr Cigareti deigned to appear this morning when asked to talk about the WHO provision in the Coalition agreement.
“New Zealand's new government has urgently lodged a reservation–a letter saying the country would not sign up yet–for amendments to WHO health regulations. It was part of National's agreement with New Zealand First”
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/503646/coalition-s-who-policy-leaves-public-health-expert-baffled
Told you so ….
https://thestandard.org.nz/mergers-and-acquisitions/#comment-1977269
One of Cindy’s policies National hasn’t reversed then … avoiding certain early morning radio interviews… you should he happy
Can we please get shot of this misogynist troll?
So you didn't like Ardern doing it but your mobs ok, pull ya skirt down ya hypocrisy is showing
Jack's just having his daily snicker.
Be better if he took a long kit kat.
The Government is a corner overWHO. The system is that when a warning is put out, NZ signs it then considers if it is in the National interest then if so, Ratifies it and acts on it.
What Luxon wants to do is consider the WHO info to considers if it is in the National interest and if so ratify it. So complicated.
I'm busy stocking up my supply of popcorn 😊
Woops, that's supposed to a reply to Philip Ure's comment.
The first one is a Thursday, Phil.
Traditionally, the PM won't be there.
Winston will be taking the role 🙂
Let the good times roll.
Heh..!…chrs…I'll be there..
And I am feeling confident that the new speaker will be worthy of observing…
I actually missed the last speaker…I understand he was pretty good..
And has probably left the bar too high for brownlee…
Labour will also provide fodder..(plenty of room for acerbic quips at their words there..versus their record of (in) action when in power..
It is all grist to the mill..
I sometimes watch US political comment all they way through and was pleased I watched all of 'Orange Jesus: Media still not ready to cover Trump after years of his lies." Comments are pertinent to how our media, and specifically our political media operates. It also has some blunt historical stuff.
Brian Klass is quoted
The true cost of the Government's tobacco policy, the true cost of returning interest deductibility to landlords, the effectiveness of boot camps? Nah, let's talk about Tory Whanau.
The stupidity is mind boggling:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/503646/coalition-s-who-policy-leaves-public-health-expert-baffled
A “National Interest” test? So, just in case they’re planning to harm the entire population a security service investigation must be conducted first?
Professor Baker calls it incoherent. That is the nice way of putting it.
Nothing to fear from a national interest test for signing up to such multilateral agreements.
It's how NZ has and continues to function for over a century, and those tests are routine.
What Verrall etc will need to be vigilant over is crappy public health medical facts being inserted by tinfoil-hatted morons.
Are there any examples of ones we have not signed up to previously?
Not aware of any in international public health.
But I claim no expertise in this field.
So it isn't really how we've functioned?
I'm bemused as to the point of the legislative changed wanted,
"But, no. One of the later acts of the dying Labour Government was, having said we couldn't just 'turn the tap on' again to inbound migration, then itself turning on every tap in view and leaving them all on."
https://www.interest.co.nz/personal-finance/125426/david-hargreaves-has-look-economic-developments-past-year-and-lines-these
Which begs the question…. has the election result had any more than a marginal impact?
Yeah it's tempting.
But let's wait for Speech from the Throne next week and mini-budget week after that.
The mini budget may contain some interesting details but do you think the general direction of the NZ economy will be fundamentally changed..i.e. a substantial reduction in migration?
Anything short of a fundamental change to the economic drivers will have no more than a marginal impact on how we fare in the near term future and I see nothing in the coalition agreement that changes the economic fundamentals.
The tap was turned on a lot, but could have been turned on a lot more. One change signalled by the new government is the removal of the median wage minimum for work visas, which could significantly increase migration.
Given we have had record immigration in the 12 months prior to the election (118,000 net) the application of median wage minimum for work visas appears not to have been applied in any case.
As the reports from within Immigration NZ appear to support with staff being told to rubber stamp applications.
Elon's not the only gambler on the global stage:
Betting on human survival in such an organised way is helpful, I guess. Helps victims while the problem-producing behaviour is unaffected…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/503648/cop28-kicks-off-with-climate-disaster-fund-victory
How many countries have funded their previous committments …
It's another pretence of momentum, they are not even trying to hide it any more.
I should expand.
There have been past promises to fund assistance to the third world for renewables etc. But the money has not been forthcoming in the amounts promised (GFC and pandemic since etc).
Last year at 27, they talked about setting up a fund to assist nations suffering from "weather/climate change – flood or drought" related events.
The US is wary of it being seen as an admission of liability (little wonder they are not with the ICC). And offer an amount as risible as their honouring of a promise back in the 1970's to provide 0.7% GDP in foreign aid (one of many nations in this category).
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67581277
The US offer of $17m says a lot, we could afford to do more ourselves but the landlords got all the money.
It was worth the effort to contextualise the UN `climate victory' framing as you did. Tokenism can be overly cynical but this context does give it partial basis.
admission of liability
Yank paranoia is rational inasmuch as they took over from the Brits as primary culprit, yet China took over from them as primary culprit this century.
However it's technically possible for each of those 3 to grow up & act like adults on a better late than never rational basis. The UN could ask the 3 reps to all join hands and wish upon a star for instant transformation in front of a media cabal with live global coverage. The UN guys could stand by with 3 conical dunce hats with the word dunce in bold capitals as brand labelling so neolibs get the message if any or all 3 wimp out when encountering this challenge in front of the global audience.
Watching all three dorks simultaneously trying to stop the UN dunce hats being placed upon their heads would entertain kiddies everywhere.
Labour were the last of the big spenders? Farrar gets specific about it:
Is he right about that amount? I don't recall govts being rated on weekly spending increases before so it could be an accountancy spin thing.
Well obviously that's due to allowing Labour & National to be in govt way too long past their use-by date. These leopards don't change their spots. Only way to improve is to delete both options. System re-boot!
Ever noted an Auditor-General (or any auditor) asking for less meaningful and comprehensive measuring what difference is being made; and less systems in place to assessing the stewardship, oversight, and monitoring functions of departments?
This has nothing to do with political parties and their coming and going, but the increasing bureaucratisation of governance itself in all areas subject to a regulatory compliance regime.
The problem I have with his concern about integrity when process is rushed is that government is responsible for acting in emergency situations – and might well need to develop an alternative process in that circumstance.
PS DPF’s billion dollar figure does not come from the link, he is once again slipping in a misrepresentation aside – and way out of context.
When do governments expand spending like that – GFC, pandemic …
Thanks, I wondered if he was finagling the data somehow. If he was accurate someone in the media would have spotted it due to headline appeal, I suspected.
Yeah pandemic spending is a credible dimension too. Re A-G wish-list, I'm agnostic about the realism. Efficiency & accountability are excellent aspirations but politicians are slippery fish…