Stop trade agreements that limit rights of citizens to know where their food is coming from and how it is processed!!
“‘Chinese chicken’ will soon have a whole new meaning, as the US Department of Agriculture [USDA] recently gave the green-light to four chicken processing plants in China, allowing chicken raised and slaughtered in the US to be exported to China for processing, and then shipped back to the US and sold on grocery shelves here.”
Due to the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against the Country of Origin Labeling law (COOL) and it’s subsequent repeal in the Dec., 2015, omnibus bill, the imported processed poultry will not require a country-of-origin label. Additionally, US inspectors will not be on site at processing plants in China before it is shipped to the United States for human consumption.
In 2006 the Bush White House approved the USDA request to certify Chinese facilities for the processing of US-raised poultry. Once processed, these chickens would be shipped back to the US market for sale. Severe health problems arising from the way food is processed in China resulted in Congress defunding this certification program.
China “appealed to the World Trade Organization, which ruled in 2009 that Congress’s treatment of the country was unfair. Funding was restored and the process of approval began again. A series of USDA audits followed, all of which found China unfit to process U.S. poultry. Then, in 2013, without further inspection, the agency granted four Chinese plants certification.”
Fran O’Sullivan pimps for large corporates and forced trade agreements for the 2nd week running.
‘After TPP – fine-tuning to get full value’
Notice the assumption, the TPP is a done deal. By writing that, O’Sullivan is trying to persuade the ever diminishing band of Herald readers that it’s all over. My, some people would sell their country away for a few pieces of silver.
Does the fine tuning include making rushed changes to our domestic laws soon after Feb 4 while the US just sits on this agreement for years. This is a foreign corporate takeover as far as I can tell.
Yes, heard it.
People like Brash do not care about ordinary New Zealanders.
From the Hollow Men wikipedia article.
‘The book describes Brash’s rise to power in the New Zealand National Party as being assisted by an “informal network of people from the right of New Zealand politics”, including a number of ACT members, and alleges the funding of the National Party in the 2005 election was mainly from prominent New Zealand businessmen through blind trusts.’
Seems like people who do not care about democracy or NZ wanted Brash to become PM. When that failed, they put their money behind Key.
Rosemary McD mentioned this on Saturday, and there didn’t seem much I could add then. Last year I had been working on a timeline of the SDHB Compass foodoutsourcing/ Board sacking/ Comissioneer installing story, but it was getting way too long and involved for a post, so was discontinued. Besides, it just angried up the blood way too much.:
A Dunedin woman says she had better food growing up in a Nazi-occupied country than the ‘‘disgusting” meals on wheels trucked from Auckland and Tauranga…
The Otago Daily Times reported on Saturday that fears have emerged about the viability of the volunteer delivery system run by Age Concern Otago, because of cancellations and shrinking delivery runs…
Aileen Baker (89), of Dunedin, said she was likely to cancel the ‘‘dreadful” meals. Her neighbour received St Barnabas Trust meals on wheels, which were excellent but more expensive than the health board service…
The meals were not supposed to be reheated, but Mrs Baker was doing so anyway, as she was used to eating a portion later in the day. Anne Marie Parsons (74), of Dunedin, said she had no choice but to continue with the meals, as at $5 a day they were cheaper than alternatives.
Age Concern executive officer Susan Davidson said the organisation had noticed the runs had become smaller, but did not have a full understanding of the situation yet.
“Overall, the runs do seem to be smaller,” she said.
Cancellations are handled by the health board, and Age Concern did not know how many people had ditched the service…
“If the meals are not satisfactory and people choose to leave that service in droves, it will affect us. It will affect our ability to organise the volunteer delivery of meals on wheels.”
The health board is staying tight-lipped about the number of cancellations in the past couple of weeks, and did not respond to a question on the subject yesterday.
The trial run for Compass/ Medirest meals on Wheels was at Christmas, and didn’t go well – so these issues can hardly be a surprise:
Diana Graham said she was ‘‘absolutely shocked” when she saw what her friend, whom she did not want to name, was given.
‘‘If this is what we can expect in the future from this new Compass Group which has taken over, I really fear for the health and wellbeing of our sick and elderly in our community.
‘‘These people must be making a huge profit at the expense of our sick and elderly,” she said.
The meagre meal her friend was given consisted of tiny bits of potato, two very small bits of broccoli and diced bits of pumpkin, a ‘‘minute sliver of white sauce” and two and a-half paper-thin slices of dry turkey, with gravy too salty for her friend to eat…
The Christmas Day meal was the first frozen meal trucked down from Auckland.
‘‘They are back to normal being made by the kitchen at the moment.”
Thanks Pasupial and Rosemary. I have to say the rage factor is very high for me on this one too. The sheer incompetence that tells elderly people what time of day to eat and gives them measly portions and basically treats them like stock units. Wheels on Meals bought to you by Federated Farmers.
Fuck you National and Act parties (yes all of you) and voters, and fuck you Jonathon Coleman, and fuck you Peter Dunn.
Here are the Health Portfolio contacts if anyone wants to talk to the responsible people,
Hi pasupial, I have kept half an eye on this issue thru last year.
What peeves the most ( blood boiling indeed), is the well renumerated looking to trim fat from their budget, by having the most vulnerable bear the brunt of the boards penny pinching.
Why o why can’t these decisions be viewed from a wider lens?
Eg social cost, carbon footprint, nutritional value.
It reminds me of toll buying their locos from China because they were25% cheaper. Ironically another recent kick in the teeth for Dunedin workers.
Here’s my coverage of that meeting where the majority of the elected board (bar two) voted to accept the Compass contract – after the public were excluded:
The reasoning seemed to be that if they didn’t, then the board would be sacked and a commissioner appointed who would do it anyway. So what happened? They voted for the outsourcing and were soon sacked leaving the new commissioner’s hands clean. The term of democratic hiatus was supposed to be just until the next local elections, then late last year it turned out that the commissioner hadn’t even assembled her staff yet, so it had to be extended to 2019.
This required legislation in parliament, and what was the local Labour MP’s response to this ECaning of the SDHB?
The Labour Party voted for the Bill, but it was opposed by New Zealand First and the Green Party.
The Government is taking the unprecedented step of removing the embattled health board from the 2016 local body elections and extending the commissioner regime until 2019, despite earlier promising the next election would go ahead as usual…
Dunedin North MP David Clark told the Otago Daily Times Labour believed the commissioner’s good work might be lost if a health board election was held next year.
Dunedin North MP David Clark said he did not have a ”crystal ball” and did not know what, if anything, Labour – if elected in 2017 – would do to change the arrangements at the Southern DHB.
Dr Clark said the Government had become incredibly protective about information pertaining to the Southern board, so it was hard to know what was going on.
Really? The idea of talking to his constituents is obviously too much for Clark to contemplate. Fuck that shithead!! The only good thing I have to say about him is that he isn’t Michael Woodhouse.
The only board member who remains democratically accountable is Richard Thomson, who is still a city councillor while acting as deputy commissioner. As he voted for the compass plan at that closed meeting, I suspect that he will lose his place in next year’s council election. I sure as hell won’t be putting him very high up the list!
So he’ll only have the $900/ day he gets in his new job (the commissioner gets $1400/ day).
when do we stop playing by their rules, and start doing stuff for ourselves.
a fight can’t be won by fighting against someone who writes the rules and judges the outcomes.
is there an option of a local group starting up a local food supply initiative, with food from community gardens, donated food and labour?
harvesting, preperation, cooking and drop off by volunteers/community groups.
scouts, rotary, schools, retired folk.
start small and sure, maybe have a small premium to start with and grow the service.
i know there is lots of knowledge and experience sitting in retirement villages and council flats just waiting to be organized/utilized.
+100 to you Gsays. No you’re not naive. Neither are you an effete anti-social like The Gauche Man Key. Your comments mark our community being taken away from us. In favour of a small percentage of already fabulously wealthy people distinguished by their narcissism, sociopathy, and greed. Key to a tee. We will come up with answers !
“Dunedin North MP David Clark said he did not have a ”crystal ball” ”
Or any balls at all?
You know…this shit has to stop, but won’t unless Labour pulls whatever from out its collective aft crevasse and totally refuses to back…in fact kick up mega shit…when National pulls anti democratic stunts like this.
Free Tertiary for Three Years is all very well…but it is the bedrock that is being undermined….
If miracles happen and they ever get to the government benches there will be nothing solid left for them to build on.
Hi draco, I am teeing up an exit interview with my rural cafe owner boss.
The main bug bear is low staffing levels.
Now I all too well know, the perils of being overstaffed- cruise mode, some one else will do.it …
When wages are 40% of yr income you have to be careful.
Surely one of these business minded execs could see the wider good of investing in their communities. The pay off isn’t: on this years balance sheet, it occurs on someone elses or on yours in years down the line.
I do this with my meagre income even easier with someone else’s money.
Norway has announced that the armament of its police officers, which began in 2014, will cease “as soon as possible” after it was no longer deemed necessary.
A raised terror threat level saw officers ordered to carry firearms at all times in November 2014, but the measure was described as temporary….
…The Police Directorate announced plans to end the armament on 13 November 2015, but it was extended after the Paris terror attacks hit that same evening.
Police have announced once again that the armament will cease, with the Police Directorate saying that “there are no longer grounds to continue”.
“Since Lynton Crosby OBE started showing off about his “dead cat” news management methods, we can now see dead cats coming a mile off, like smallpox-infected pigs catapulted over the walls of a besieged medieval citadel, and a political gaff one might once have forgiven as a thoughtless slip of the tongue, we now realise is in fact a cynically scripted media misdirection strategy.
In short, if Cameron said “bunch of migrants” by accident, he is a dick, but if he said it on purpose, in order to draw the eye, dead-cat-style, away from the Google atrocity, which he did, then he is a bastard, which is worse.
Increasingly, the once proud visionary dreamer of the “big society” is like those sleazy guys they warn you about on posters at railway stations, who call your attention to an imaginary problem while pick-pocketing your wallet and grabbing your genitals. David Cameron is the Cologne New Year’s Eve of British politics. “
i heard on the ozzy segment on rnz, just before the 9.00am news, an item about immunisation and child care centres.
i dont want to open an immunisation debate.
to me this is wrong.
i see many parallels with mid central health’s policy of not having sugary drinks in the vending machines. instead you can have your sweet soda laced with an accumulative neuro-toxin.
it is disgraceful the hospital holding hands with coke all in the name of a few $ more.
how about getting rid of all the vending machines and having chilled water dispenser instead?
Could this possibly go up as a Guest Post if that’s o.k.? It has some points of connection with Andrew Little’s comments on the Future of Work in his State of the Nation Speech and presents a different point of view.
Politics is Pointless …
That’s the answer. So, what’s the question?
It’s the Economy, Stupid – this is the political equivalent of a black hole that all political discourse gets sucked into.
Almost everything political is put in an economic framework and discussed in economic terms. Our ‘wellbeing’ is described in economic terms, in metrics, data tables and stats dutifully compiled by Treasury. Quality of life that cannot be easily measured or indexed is often ignored. For example, elderly or disabled people living in dignity, dying with dignity (cf. euthanasia debate) are put into the too-hard basket. Economic indicators such as CPI, GDP or Government surplus, for example, get a special status that they don’t deserve and this detracts from dealing with real and pressing issues.
At the same time it is becoming more obvious that all is not well in and with our political system. Democracy is in dire straits according to some. But we have little idea what to do about it, on how to ‘fix’ it. Some political parties are almost tearing themselves apart (AKA ‘soul-searching’) in an attempt to reconquer lost political ground and regain some traction in the polls. Voter turn-out is at an all-time low and still declining. People just want to get on with their lives, which is somewhat ironic given that through politics it is decided what we can and cannot do.
This delicate and dire situation is further threatened by rapid changes in the nature of labour. While productivity is going up the shrinking labour market combined with growing labour force will force wages down. It must be neo-liberal Nirvana when work-seekers compete ferociously with each other for fewer jobs at ever-decreasing pay – a Darwinian struggle for ‘life’ and survival of the fittest. This is literally a race to the bottom.
We are slowly running out of secure well-paid full-time employment in the traditional sense because we may have passed peak-employment some time ago – the precariat is growing. But we are so used to the current situation and conditioned by the economic thinking of our time that we haven’t got a clue what to do.
Our current plight and the ongoing conflict between liberty and equality will not be resolved by clinging to dogmatic orthodoxy or through (new) Schools of Economic Thought and/or economic theories. Neither will a solution be found on the left or right sides of the political divide. I believe that we need a new and different approach.
What might this look like? Well, it seems that our behaviour is conditioned to a large degree, i.e. it depends on and is influenced by many factors but foremost by cultural and societal forces and we, in turn, collectively exert these influences on the members of our society, i.e. on ourselves! So, if we could integrate our own internal conflicting personality traits and resolve swings between empathy and cooperation, or group solidarity, on the one hand, and selfishness and competition, or individualism, on the other, we may find a way forward out of the current quagmire. According to primatologist Frans de Waal it all depends on the environmental context which of the two traits dominates. But we can and do influence our environment!
If/when we know what we want, how we want to live our lives in a truly meaningful manner guided by purpose, besides and alongside working for a living or trying to find work, we will (have to) see this mirrored in politics. After all, politics exists for us, because of us and through us and parties need to align with us, not the other way round. Most of all, the Government of the day needs to reflect and represent the ‘will of the people’, and most definitely not the other way round.
So, now you know what the question is, as well as the answer.
Some good news then, we’re going to have a fisiani-free summer 😀 May I suggest we make the most of it? Instead of filling the void with another RWer with a man-crush on FJK, how about we start talking to each other about the things that really matter? Or what we want to have happen in the world?
Make the capital Invercargill. That way we have employment substitutes for the folks out of work when the smelter is shut down, and we can sell the Manapouri power to north islanders for huge profit.
@PR
Perfect! With transport policy tested at the Highlands race track, food safety sampled at one of the orchards, and tourism strategy explored out on the lake. What a winner!
As a north islander I’d vote for that, you can have your barren rock and your racist undertones. Hell I’m white and they treated me with a vague sort of racism when I lived there for time. “Pig Islander” ring a bell
No wonder Herald readers might think the TPPA isn’t a disaster for NZ.
It allows propagandists to write pieces without any challenge.
Neither article has the damning quote marks the Herald uses when it says this is an opinion we disagree with.
I wonder if the insurance company paid the claim that Andrew Little signed off in the story he told in his speech? It sounds like there was so much gross negligence in that episode that I’m sure the insurance company would have framed the insurance claim form to be put on display.
The screeching noise coming from Audrey’s column was from her agony for having to write even mild approval.
“Never mind,” she was heard to mutter.”I’ll put the knife in and twist next time!”
Why is Cruz so weak? Can’t he find the money to have a simple neg ad! How stupid Trump would look in Office whinging and whining, Pocking fun at world leaders, etc.
Ain’t it obvious the guy is there to lose big, just to draw out the rep party into the public arena, for some eleventh hour selection at the come.
Hi draco, I am teeing up an exit interview with my rural cafe owner boss.
The main bug bear is low staffing levels.
Now I all too well know, the perils of being overstaffed- cruise mode, some one else will do.it …
When wages are 40% of yr income you have to be careful.
Surely one of these business minded execs could see the wider good of investing in their communities. The pay off isn’t: on this years balance sheet, it occurs on someone elses or on yours in years down the line.
I do this with my meagre income even easier with someone else’s money.
Duncan Garner on the TPPA in his NewShub column says “We won’t get rich buying and selling to each other”
Ffs this is one of the most basic errors silly eggs make… perhaps best explained by asking “how then has the world itself got richer? By trading with f$#king Mars or Venus?”
People who think the only way to get wealth is by bringing in from the outside… sheesh, fails at the outset.
Based on your logic, China has no need to trade with the world. There are over 1B of them happily trading with each other, all of them are equally getting richer together!
Try some reading comprehension . Vto’s post does not imply that vto considers internal trade to be the only way to trade, only that external trade is not the only path to wealth.
realistically for an educated, innovative nation of 4.5 million stuck at the bottom of the Pacific, international trade is pretty much the only path to wealth.
That is correct Indiana, and there are many many many similar examples of past societies on the planet which achieved extraordinary wealth with little to no dealings or trade with other societies on the planet at the time.
You might even want to look at the contribution such external dealings contributed to earlier US wealth.. you know, virtually zip..
This idea that we can only get wealth by bringing it in from outside is just loopy banana-head thinking believed by true believers and other extremists. And poorly thinking opinionists like Duncan Garner
I have a friend that designs and sells specialist steel framed building systems best suited to extreme climate conditions.
He employs 130 staff, is a major contributor to technical advances within his industry and runs a very successful business.
Over 95% of his sales are international, NZ simply does not have either the population or extreme weather conditions that his product is designed for.
Sheesh VTO, simple examples like this are everywhere.
I’m sure if the rest of the world did not exist your very talented friend would be contributing very successfully to the only 4.5million people on the planet here in NZ. And that we would not be living under a rock.
But do please answer the question – if the only way to wealth is to bring in money from outside the system, then how has the world got wealthier? Where has the money come from? Mars? Or Venus? Does the moon have a secret bank perhaps?
You believers need to open your eyes to some basic assumptions in your bible.
Yeah these opinionists are like politicians – get people liking them by talking about fishing and boats then morph that popularity into a qualification for informed comment…..
We were having a conversation yesterday about disability and it was discussed how the Ministry of Health has contracted out the supports for disabled people to various providers.
On the surface it is a happy clappy article about sudden disability, institutionalisation and ultimate liberation to community living with the assistance of the contracted provider tasked with the job of providing Needs Assessment and Service Coordination for those with disabilities.
However, the employee of this business credited with enabling this move from residential care to community living is quoted as saying…
“”When I found Cathy in this environment, at 38, it just broke my heart really.”
Disability Support Link can help with home care, supported independent living, rehabilitation and respite.
“It took several months before we could get her into a community home,” Walters said.
“She had to be able to stay overnight on her own and to be able to look after her personal needs.””
Now lets stop right there….”…and to be able to look after her personal needs.”
Wrong. Bollocks. Total misrepresentation.
You do NOT have to be able to look after your own personal care needs to be able to live in the community as opposed to living in a residential care facility.
That’s why there are Home and Community Support Services providers…to assist those with disabilities with personal care needs.
The victim of a “horrendous” Dunedin dog attack is set to be evicted from her cottage as she remains unable to work, struggling to pay rent.
The woman sustained injuries to much of her body when three Irish wolfhounds attacked her in Walter St about 6.30am on December 2 last year.
The most serious injury was to her right leg.
“My leg will never be the same again … the deep wounds are still healing and raw.”
Before the attack, the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, worked two part-time jobs, delivering newspapers and doing cleaning jobs, to supplement her benefit, but the injuries left her unable to work.
She declined ACC compensation for lost income because every dollar ACC gave would reduce her benefit by a dollar – making her financially no better off.
————————————————————————————————————————-
New Zealand, not so compassionate, and WINZ and ACC missing in action. And for what its worth, personally i would like the dog owner charged with providing for this women to the tune of lost wages. She would not be where it not for his dogs – and yeah I know stuff happens, but having three irish wolfhounds by yourself does not seem safe to me in the first place, unless i were partnered up to controll and maintain the dogs.
“Tim Leissner, chairman of Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia’s operations, has taken a “personal leave” amidst corruption scandals associated with Malaysia’s state-owned 1MDB fund, with which Goldman worked closely.
President of Goldman’s Singapore operations since 2006 and chairman of its Southeast Asia operations since 2014, Leissner oversaw the bank’s operations in Malaysia, where it became the top international bank with a 20.3 percent market share since 2010.
Leissner was seen as a “key player” in cultivating the bank’s very profitable relationships with Kuala’ Lumpur’s banking and government elite, including Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Financial Times reports….
…and in New Zealand…where NZ KiwiRail is being run down
bookmark that link.
Another nactoid will probably recycle the same bullshit tomorrow, and pretend to be equally surprised that they’re not the first one to mention it 🙂
Why why why did Jordan Williams get a platform on the Panel this afternoon?
Why does someone representing the viewpoints of the ACT Party get so many opportunities to propagate their extreme viewpoints?
Please explain Mr Mora.
Please explain Mr Griffin.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign is about standing with the (multimillionaire and establishment) leader. Bernie Sanders’s campaign is about the grassroots rising up together, with Bernie: it’s not about me, but about *us*.
As the Iowa caucus looms with Bernie and Hillary tied….go Bernie!
God I hope so. Of course if Bernie did make it he wouldn’t be long for this Earth. The one world government of multi-billionaires would swing into action.
Euthanasia submissions close tonight. if you make a submission by email or through the website, it must be sent through by midnight (ie before.)
Please send any submissions on the petition of Hon Maryan Street to Health@parliament.govt.nz
and from chienfou
There’s a prospect of appearing before the committee to speak to your submission. I’d encourage anyone who possibly can to volunteer. It adds a lot of weight to the democratic process, especially if it’s not just the same old Wellington hacks turning up.
Ms Seales took legal action for the right to die with dignity in a case that played out as the curtain fell on her life. She died hours after the High Court ruled it was a debate that needed to be had by Parliament and not the courts.
Lecretia Seales’ husband Matt Vickers after her death and the judge’s decision
Parliament picked up on that challenge, with its health select committee launching an inquiry in response to a petition calling for a law change to permit medically assisted dying in the event of terminal illness or other specific circumstances.
Her husband Matt Vickers said it would be a tragedy if the chance to have a debate on the topic was wasted.
Lecretia and Matt’s blog – http://lecretia.org/ Lecretia’s Choice
Lecretia Seales believed ill people enduring intolerable suffering with no hope of recovery should have the choice to request assistance to end their lives.
And Compass’s response – “Last week Compass issued a statement saying it welcomed feedback and would make changes if there were “genuine problems”. ” What alot of bullshit !
For those who don’t know, these “pick up artists” think things like: women shouldn’t be allowed to vote, rape is sometimes okay (like, on private property), a woman’s value depends on her beauty and fertility while a mans value depends on his resources, intellect and character…
And a bunch of other self serving BS.
The “pick up” tips they advocate border on illegal. Some of it instructs guys to physically force women to do as they wish, sexually. Which is sexual assault. Illegal.
So… with the NZ police all up in arms about groups that promote terrorising the public… I wonder if they’ve got these guys under surveillance?
Yeah. Right.
It’s just NZ women at risk here. I suspect the NZ police don’t give a shit actually.
Hmmm. 12,000 global likes and he reckons he has handlers/contacts in 44 locations, including Dunedin.
I wonder if they’ll lurk in their anoraks in front of the Dunedin town hall, or do they mean down the Harrop St side, or in the Octagon?
I suspect that the role of the contact is to immediately collect a large amount of money from the sad, frustrated dicks for a skype session where they’re told that they’re lions, not timid little rats.
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TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
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 ...
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 ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
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. ...
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 ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
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Stop trade agreements that limit rights of citizens to know where their food is coming from and how it is processed!!
“‘Chinese chicken’ will soon have a whole new meaning, as the US Department of Agriculture [USDA] recently gave the green-light to four chicken processing plants in China, allowing chicken raised and slaughtered in the US to be exported to China for processing, and then shipped back to the US and sold on grocery shelves here.”
Due to the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against the Country of Origin Labeling law (COOL) and it’s subsequent repeal in the Dec., 2015, omnibus bill, the imported processed poultry will not require a country-of-origin label. Additionally, US inspectors will not be on site at processing plants in China before it is shipped to the United States for human consumption.
FULL ARTICLE: http://bit.ly/1WUZMGy
______________________
2009 WTO RULING OVERRIDES CONGRESS
In 2006 the Bush White House approved the USDA request to certify Chinese facilities for the processing of US-raised poultry. Once processed, these chickens would be shipped back to the US market for sale. Severe health problems arising from the way food is processed in China resulted in Congress defunding this certification program.
China “appealed to the World Trade Organization, which ruled in 2009 that Congress’s treatment of the country was unfair. Funding was restored and the process of approval began again. A series of USDA audits followed, all of which found China unfit to process U.S. poultry. Then, in 2013, without further inspection, the agency granted four Chinese plants certification.”
FULL ARTICLE: http://bit.ly/1SqbxkG
_____________________
And then there’s the carbon footprint to take into account!
Fran O’Sullivan pimps for large corporates and forced trade agreements for the 2nd week running.
‘After TPP – fine-tuning to get full value’
Notice the assumption, the TPP is a done deal. By writing that, O’Sullivan is trying to persuade the ever diminishing band of Herald readers that it’s all over. My, some people would sell their country away for a few pieces of silver.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11582661
Maybe she needed to come and listen to Lori Wallach. It is not a done deal.
Does the fine tuning include making rushed changes to our domestic laws soon after Feb 4 while the US just sits on this agreement for years. This is a foreign corporate takeover as far as I can tell.
‘This is a foreign corporate takeover as far as I can tell.’
Yes and it’s obvious by who supports it.
Key. Merrill Lynch henchman.
Brash. Ex-Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
The Hollow Men.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hollow_Men_(book)
Hear for yourselves Don Brash being his usual self, up against a graciously determined Jeanette Fitzsimons…
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201787485/don-brash-and-jeanette-fitzsimons-politics-2016
I believe it is very important to remind ourselves who the enemy is.
Yes, heard it.
People like Brash do not care about ordinary New Zealanders.
From the Hollow Men wikipedia article.
‘The book describes Brash’s rise to power in the New Zealand National Party as being assisted by an “informal network of people from the right of New Zealand politics”, including a number of ACT members, and alleges the funding of the National Party in the 2005 election was mainly from prominent New Zealand businessmen through blind trusts.’
Seems like people who do not care about democracy or NZ wanted Brash to become PM. When that failed, they put their money behind Key.
“I believe it is very important to remind ourselves who the enemy is.”
wise words indeed
the Hollow Men, as Paul mentions below, are still here, still dong their thing, for themselves. We know and we don’t forget.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8taG38o_bo
encore for Wayne
We all need to remember that is not a free trade agreement.
It’s a forced trade agreement.
Rosemary McD mentioned this on Saturday, and there didn’t seem much I could add then. Last year I had been working on a timeline of the SDHB Compass foodoutsourcing/ Board sacking/ Comissioneer installing story, but it was getting way too long and involved for a post, so was discontinued. Besides, it just angried up the blood way too much.:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30012016/#comment-1126040
However there is an update in today’s ODT:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/371588/better-meals-under-nazis-87-year-old-says
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/371407/absolutely-yuck-meals-upset-elderly
The trial run for Compass/ Medirest meals on Wheels was at Christmas, and didn’t go well – so these issues can hardly be a surprise:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/368472/compass-dinner-panned
Compass is to food what Serco is to ‘security’.
Well worth a google cruise….I’m having computer problems else would have put up some links yesterday.
? If over 50% of the consumers think the Compass food is inedible should the 15 year contract be cancelled.?
Links for Compass Group linked; Listeria, employee exploitation, horsemeat in school meals & bribery:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/possible-listeria-exposure-in-ontario-jails-1.702077
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/22/i-am-a-cook-in-the-us-senate-but-i-still-need-food-stamps-to-feed-my-children?CMP=share_btn_tw
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-21476736
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/oct/16/money.internationalnews
R McD’s comparison of Compass to Serco is apt.
COMPASS – specialists in bribery, listeria and horse meat.
joe90 4.4
20 March 2015 at 10:22 am
Bribery, listeria and horse meat, things go better with Compass.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/oct/16/money.internationalnews
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/possible-listeria-exposure-in-ontario-jails-1.702077
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21476736
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-20032015/#comment-988733
my Mother gave up on ‘Meals on Wheels’…she now has scrambled eggs on toast for lunch
( mind you the people who delivered ‘Meals on Wheels’ were lovely…and I am sure the cooks were too and did their best)
Thanks Pasupial and Rosemary. I have to say the rage factor is very high for me on this one too. The sheer incompetence that tells elderly people what time of day to eat and gives them measly portions and basically treats them like stock units. Wheels on Meals bought to you by Federated Farmers.
Fuck you National and Act parties (yes all of you) and voters, and fuck you Jonathon Coleman, and fuck you Peter Dunn.
Here are the Health Portfolio contacts if anyone wants to talk to the responsible people,
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/portfolio/health
Credit where credit is due, when the nats fuck something up, they fuck it up good and proper.
I suppose a pensioner could commit a crime if they want a decent meal – I think prison food is still made on site…
Hi pasupial, I have kept half an eye on this issue thru last year.
What peeves the most ( blood boiling indeed), is the well renumerated looking to trim fat from their budget, by having the most vulnerable bear the brunt of the boards penny pinching.
Why o why can’t these decisions be viewed from a wider lens?
Eg social cost, carbon footprint, nutritional value.
It reminds me of toll buying their locos from China because they were25% cheaper. Ironically another recent kick in the teeth for Dunedin workers.
gsays
Here’s my coverage of that meeting where the majority of the elected board (bar two) voted to accept the Compass contract – after the public were excluded:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-07052015/#comment-1011080
The reasoning seemed to be that if they didn’t, then the board would be sacked and a commissioner appointed who would do it anyway. So what happened? They voted for the outsourcing and were soon sacked leaving the new commissioner’s hands clean. The term of democratic hiatus was supposed to be just until the next local elections, then late last year it turned out that the commissioner hadn’t even assembled her staff yet, so it had to be extended to 2019.
This required legislation in parliament, and what was the local Labour MP’s response to this ECaning of the SDHB?
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/366244/sdhb-bill-passes-its-first-reading
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/365764/no-dhb-election-2016
Really? The idea of talking to his constituents is obviously too much for Clark to contemplate. Fuck that shithead!! The only good thing I have to say about him is that he isn’t Michael Woodhouse.
The only board member who remains democratically accountable is Richard Thomson, who is still a city councillor while acting as deputy commissioner. As he voted for the compass plan at that closed meeting, I suspect that he will lose his place in next year’s council election. I sure as hell won’t be putting him very high up the list!
So he’ll only have the $900/ day he gets in his new job (the commissioner gets $1400/ day).
call me naive..
when do we stop playing by their rules, and start doing stuff for ourselves.
a fight can’t be won by fighting against someone who writes the rules and judges the outcomes.
is there an option of a local group starting up a local food supply initiative, with food from community gardens, donated food and labour?
harvesting, preperation, cooking and drop off by volunteers/community groups.
scouts, rotary, schools, retired folk.
start small and sure, maybe have a small premium to start with and grow the service.
i know there is lots of knowledge and experience sitting in retirement villages and council flats just waiting to be organized/utilized.
keep up your good work in keeping us updated.
+100 to you Gsays. No you’re not naive. Neither are you an effete anti-social like The Gauche Man Key. Your comments mark our community being taken away from us. In favour of a small percentage of already fabulously wealthy people distinguished by their narcissism, sociopathy, and greed. Key to a tee. We will come up with answers !
“Dunedin North MP David Clark said he did not have a ”crystal ball” ”
Or any balls at all?
You know…this shit has to stop, but won’t unless Labour pulls whatever from out its collective aft crevasse and totally refuses to back…in fact kick up mega shit…when National pulls anti democratic stunts like this.
Free Tertiary for Three Years is all very well…but it is the bedrock that is being undermined….
If miracles happen and they ever get to the government benches there will be nothing solid left for them to build on.
THIS is what we need to hear from Labour.
Thanks for the links….
Because then the profits, a dead-weight loss, would have to be decreased.
Hi draco, I am teeing up an exit interview with my rural cafe owner boss.
The main bug bear is low staffing levels.
Now I all too well know, the perils of being overstaffed- cruise mode, some one else will do.it …
When wages are 40% of yr income you have to be careful.
Surely one of these business minded execs could see the wider good of investing in their communities. The pay off isn’t: on this years balance sheet, it occurs on someone elses or on yours in years down the line.
I do this with my meagre income even easier with someone else’s money.
oops, poor grammer and punctuation, typed above on my phone at the river.
Good graphic comic explaining “Free Trade” and the TPPA (pg 24 onwards) over on filmsforaction.org.
Thank you for this, it made me late but was a good way to start the day.
Strange world in Norwegian politics, where “temporary” means … temporary.
Norway to disarm its police force after officers ordered to carry guns for just one year’
Great news for those of us who oppose the lockwood tea towel:
“John Key’s hopes of changing the flag have been dealt a blow with a poll showing 61% of voters want to keep the flag we’ve got.
The Newshub/Reid Research poll shows only 30% want to change to the Kyle Lockwood Silver Fern design. The other 9% either didn’t know or didn’t care about changing the flag.”
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/poll-shows-most-kiwis-opposed-to-changing-nzs-flag-2016020103#axzz3yqtgPwjt
**Keep the NZ flag** and get rid of Key.
Turnout will be interesting. I bet there are a lot of people motivated to make sure they vote specifically to prevent the teatowel.
Mike Hosking has a great interview with Andrew Little re the tertiary policy. Well answered Andrew. Good questions too from Hosking.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/video.cfm?c_id=1&gal_cid=1&gallery_id=157449
Yes, that was weird….
Hosking actually listened and did not speak over Little
Little also was very well briefed it appeared.
Holy shit a Polly that talks clearly and concisely, no evasiveness or spin , never triggered my bullshit detector once ,
I liked this…. from the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/31/google-tax-osborne-cameron-spaghetti-westerns
“Since Lynton Crosby OBE started showing off about his “dead cat” news management methods, we can now see dead cats coming a mile off, like smallpox-infected pigs catapulted over the walls of a besieged medieval citadel, and a political gaff one might once have forgiven as a thoughtless slip of the tongue, we now realise is in fact a cynically scripted media misdirection strategy.
In short, if Cameron said “bunch of migrants” by accident, he is a dick, but if he said it on purpose, in order to draw the eye, dead-cat-style, away from the Google atrocity, which he did, then he is a bastard, which is worse.
Increasingly, the once proud visionary dreamer of the “big society” is like those sleazy guys they warn you about on posters at railway stations, who call your attention to an imaginary problem while pick-pocketing your wallet and grabbing your genitals. David Cameron is the Cologne New Year’s Eve of British politics. “
i heard on the ozzy segment on rnz, just before the 9.00am news, an item about immunisation and child care centres.
i dont want to open an immunisation debate.
to me this is wrong.
i see many parallels with mid central health’s policy of not having sugary drinks in the vending machines. instead you can have your sweet soda laced with an accumulative neuro-toxin.
it is disgraceful the hospital holding hands with coke all in the name of a few $ more.
how about getting rid of all the vending machines and having chilled water dispenser instead?
Could this possibly go up as a Guest Post if that’s o.k.? It has some points of connection with Andrew Little’s comments on the Future of Work in his State of the Nation Speech and presents a different point of view.
Politics is Pointless …
That’s the answer. So, what’s the question?
It’s the Economy, Stupid – this is the political equivalent of a black hole that all political discourse gets sucked into.
Almost everything political is put in an economic framework and discussed in economic terms. Our ‘wellbeing’ is described in economic terms, in metrics, data tables and stats dutifully compiled by Treasury. Quality of life that cannot be easily measured or indexed is often ignored. For example, elderly or disabled people living in dignity, dying with dignity (cf. euthanasia debate) are put into the too-hard basket. Economic indicators such as CPI, GDP or Government surplus, for example, get a special status that they don’t deserve and this detracts from dealing with real and pressing issues.
At the same time it is becoming more obvious that all is not well in and with our political system. Democracy is in dire straits according to some. But we have little idea what to do about it, on how to ‘fix’ it. Some political parties are almost tearing themselves apart (AKA ‘soul-searching’) in an attempt to reconquer lost political ground and regain some traction in the polls. Voter turn-out is at an all-time low and still declining. People just want to get on with their lives, which is somewhat ironic given that through politics it is decided what we can and cannot do.
This delicate and dire situation is further threatened by rapid changes in the nature of labour. While productivity is going up the shrinking labour market combined with growing labour force will force wages down. It must be neo-liberal Nirvana when work-seekers compete ferociously with each other for fewer jobs at ever-decreasing pay – a Darwinian struggle for ‘life’ and survival of the fittest. This is literally a race to the bottom.
We are slowly running out of secure well-paid full-time employment in the traditional sense because we may have passed peak-employment some time ago – the precariat is growing. But we are so used to the current situation and conditioned by the economic thinking of our time that we haven’t got a clue what to do.
Our current plight and the ongoing conflict between liberty and equality will not be resolved by clinging to dogmatic orthodoxy or through (new) Schools of Economic Thought and/or economic theories. Neither will a solution be found on the left or right sides of the political divide. I believe that we need a new and different approach.
What might this look like? Well, it seems that our behaviour is conditioned to a large degree, i.e. it depends on and is influenced by many factors but foremost by cultural and societal forces and we, in turn, collectively exert these influences on the members of our society, i.e. on ourselves! So, if we could integrate our own internal conflicting personality traits and resolve swings between empathy and cooperation, or group solidarity, on the one hand, and selfishness and competition, or individualism, on the other, we may find a way forward out of the current quagmire. According to primatologist Frans de Waal it all depends on the environmental context which of the two traits dominates. But we can and do influence our environment!
If/when we know what we want, how we want to live our lives in a truly meaningful manner guided by purpose, besides and alongside working for a living or trying to find work, we will (have to) see this mirrored in politics. After all, politics exists for us, because of us and through us and parties need to align with us, not the other way round. Most of all, the Government of the day needs to reflect and represent the ‘will of the people’, and most definitely not the other way round.
So, now you know what the question is, as well as the answer.
If you want to follow NZ politics on Facebook, there’s a new list which brings all the different pages together at http://bit.ly/NZpolitics
The list has MPs, media, interest groups etc. Completely cross-partisan.
It’s easy to miss updates in your timeline because of the Facebook algorithm, so the list is a way to make Facebook politics a bit easier.
Labour caucus on the TPP
Odd, people were claiming just yesterday that the caucus was completely unified behind Andrew Little.
lol that really says so much about your motivations – real scraping the bottom of the barrel – why bother?
This bloke blogged his Conspira-sea Cruise. Hilarious.
http://violentmetaphors.com/2016/01/26/a-skeptic-on-the-conspira-sea-cruise-day-1/
http://violentmetaphors.com/
Some good news then, we’re going to have a fisiani-free summer 😀 May I suggest we make the most of it? Instead of filling the void with another RWer with a man-crush on FJK, how about we start talking to each other about the things that really matter? Or what we want to have happen in the world?
🙂
“Or what we want to have happen in the world?”
Anyone for a South Island Independence Party? 🙂
independent of what/whom?
Only if the headquarters are based in Cromwell
That’s an odd choice.
Yeah true Cromwells so nice why would you want to ruin it…Dunedin it is then
yeah, nah.
Make the capital Invercargill. That way we have employment substitutes for the folks out of work when the smelter is shut down, and we can sell the Manapouri power to north islanders for huge profit.
I have a soft spot for Invers. Some local bright spark has even been stealing the lockwood tea towel from Queen’s Park.
I like it
@PR
Perfect! With transport policy tested at the Highlands race track, food safety sampled at one of the orchards, and tourism strategy explored out on the lake. What a winner!
I knew the left and right could work together
Tempting cogito, but I’m not sure how the left/right balance would work out.
I’m sure theres enough consensus that the South Island is superior to the North between the left and the right to smooth things over
Too many Aucklanders living here now.
They can stay as long as they pledge allegiance to the South Island (or Richie)
Yeah but they might not play by the Mainland rules and so your point about the left/right divide being smoothed over probably won’t work.
“They can stay as long as they pledge allegiance to the South Island (or Richie)”
….and join the local pipe band!
I’m ok with that
As a north islander I’d vote for that, you can have your barren rock and your racist undertones. Hell I’m white and they treated me with a vague sort of racism when I lived there for time. “Pig Islander” ring a bell
Pig Islander, I’ve not heard that before, what does it mean?
I agree about the racism. Kāi Tahu’s recolonisation of Te Waipounamu will eventually sort that out 😉
Indeed it does – anyone born in the South Island.
LOL. You should have rolled your “r”s and not complained about the porridge!
No wonder so many New Zealanders don’t know about the TPPA or the state of the global economy. The corporate media wants them to talk about this
Christchurch cafe trims its coffee menu – and maybe some customers
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11582804
No wonder Herald readers might think the TPPA isn’t a disaster for NZ.
It allows propagandists to write pieces without any challenge.
Neither article has the damning quote marks the Herald uses when it says this is an opinion we disagree with.
Stephen Jacobi: What Labour’s not seeing in TPP deal
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11582655
Charles Finny: TPP deserves praise from Maori, not condemnation
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11582657
Maybe you can enlighten us where these two opinions are wrong Paul,
@Reddelusion 11.34am re Paul’s 16 comment, this might help :
http://www.bryangould.com/a-second-bite-at-the-cherry/
A clear history and explanation as to how we have been beguiled in to thinking the TPP is a ‘trade’ agreement.
Waste of time trying to enlighten you deluded Red.
Here we go
Have a read on what the experts think.
Jacobi is not an expert, rather a publicist.
https://tppascratchspace.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/complete-public-citizen.pdf
https://tpplegal.wordpress.com/nzlf-expert-paper-series/
Jacobi is a National PR Agent – Academic
I wonder if the insurance company paid the claim that Andrew Little signed off in the story he told in his speech? It sounds like there was so much gross negligence in that episode that I’m sure the insurance company would have framed the insurance claim form to be put on display.
His story was about as believable as Rufus Paynter
Yea, nah, nah,
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/295415/six-iwi-refuse-to-perform-tpp-powhiri
Silly but their call, not sure anyone will really care
A pretty good non-violent protest sabine.
Audrey Young has written a mildly pro-Labour article.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11582692
The screeching noise coming from Audrey’s column was from her agony for having to write even mild approval.
“Never mind,” she was heard to mutter.”I’ll put the knife in and twist next time!”
Why is Cruz so weak? Can’t he find the money to have a simple neg ad! How stupid Trump would look in Office whinging and whining, Pocking fun at world leaders, etc.
Ain’t it obvious the guy is there to lose big, just to draw out the rep party into the public arena, for some eleventh hour selection at the come.
Hi draco, I am teeing up an exit interview with my rural cafe owner boss.
The main bug bear is low staffing levels.
Now I all too well know, the perils of being overstaffed- cruise mode, some one else will do.it …
When wages are 40% of yr income you have to be careful.
Surely one of these business minded execs could see the wider good of investing in their communities. The pay off isn’t: on this years balance sheet, it occurs on someone elses or on yours in years down the line.
I do this with my meagre income even easier with someone else’s money.
Duncan Garner on the TPPA in his NewShub column says “We won’t get rich buying and selling to each other”
Ffs this is one of the most basic errors silly eggs make… perhaps best explained by asking “how then has the world itself got richer? By trading with f$#king Mars or Venus?”
People who think the only way to get wealth is by bringing in from the outside… sheesh, fails at the outset.
Bloody useless Duncan Garner
http://www.newshub.co.nz/opinion/opinion-tpp-or-die—-why-we-need-it-2016013120#ixzz3ysTIhKlQ
Based on your logic, China has no need to trade with the world. There are over 1B of them happily trading with each other, all of them are equally getting richer together!
Try some reading comprehension . Vto’s post does not imply that vto considers internal trade to be the only way to trade, only that external trade is not the only path to wealth.
realistically for an educated, innovative nation of 4.5 million stuck at the bottom of the Pacific, international trade is pretty much the only path to wealth.
I see that the point has been missed.
That is correct Indiana, and there are many many many similar examples of past societies on the planet which achieved extraordinary wealth with little to no dealings or trade with other societies on the planet at the time.
You might even want to look at the contribution such external dealings contributed to earlier US wealth.. you know, virtually zip..
This idea that we can only get wealth by bringing it in from outside is just loopy banana-head thinking believed by true believers and other extremists. And poorly thinking opinionists like Duncan Garner
I have a friend that designs and sells specialist steel framed building systems best suited to extreme climate conditions.
He employs 130 staff, is a major contributor to technical advances within his industry and runs a very successful business.
Over 95% of his sales are international, NZ simply does not have either the population or extreme weather conditions that his product is designed for.
Sheesh VTO, simple examples like this are everywhere.
Sure. But you miss the point.
I’m sure if the rest of the world did not exist your very talented friend would be contributing very successfully to the only 4.5million people on the planet here in NZ. And that we would not be living under a rock.
But do please answer the question – if the only way to wealth is to bring in money from outside the system, then how has the world got wealthier? Where has the money come from? Mars? Or Venus? Does the moon have a secret bank perhaps?
You believers need to open your eyes to some basic assumptions in your bible.
Garner is a dreadful journalist.
Where did he learn his trade?
Stop it VTO…..Garner’s a bumptious fellow and a ‘star’. Is that not enough for you ? Do not question Te Wahanui !
Yeah these opinionists are like politicians – get people liking them by talking about fishing and boats then morph that popularity into a qualification for informed comment…..
…. suppose it gets them the audiences
nothing else matters in their worlds
it is what pays them
We were having a conversation yesterday about disability and it was discussed how the Ministry of Health has contracted out the supports for disabled people to various providers.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31012016/#comment-1126446
Further conversation was had about the “piss-poor” service from some of these providers.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31012016/#comment-1126504
Almost on cue, this article appears in the local rag…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/76437205/hamilton-woman-who-had-stroke-at-38-said-her-life-is-much-better-than-before
On the surface it is a happy clappy article about sudden disability, institutionalisation and ultimate liberation to community living with the assistance of the contracted provider tasked with the job of providing Needs Assessment and Service Coordination for those with disabilities.
However, the employee of this business credited with enabling this move from residential care to community living is quoted as saying…
“”When I found Cathy in this environment, at 38, it just broke my heart really.”
Disability Support Link can help with home care, supported independent living, rehabilitation and respite.
“It took several months before we could get her into a community home,” Walters said.
“She had to be able to stay overnight on her own and to be able to look after her personal needs.””
Now lets stop right there….”…and to be able to look after her personal needs.”
Wrong. Bollocks. Total misrepresentation.
You do NOT have to be able to look after your own personal care needs to be able to live in the community as opposed to living in a residential care facility.
That’s why there are Home and Community Support Services providers…to assist those with disabilities with personal care needs.
See what we have to put up with?
Eviction notice worsens dog attack victim’s woe
By Shawn McAvinue
6:08 AM Monday Feb 1, 2016
The victim of a “horrendous” Dunedin dog attack is set to be evicted from her cottage as she remains unable to work, struggling to pay rent.
The woman sustained injuries to much of her body when three Irish wolfhounds attacked her in Walter St about 6.30am on December 2 last year.
The most serious injury was to her right leg.
“My leg will never be the same again … the deep wounds are still healing and raw.”
Before the attack, the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, worked two part-time jobs, delivering newspapers and doing cleaning jobs, to supplement her benefit, but the injuries left her unable to work.
She declined ACC compensation for lost income because every dollar ACC gave would reduce her benefit by a dollar – making her financially no better off.
————————————————————————————————————————-
New Zealand, not so compassionate, and WINZ and ACC missing in action. And for what its worth, personally i would like the dog owner charged with providing for this women to the tune of lost wages. She would not be where it not for his dogs – and yeah I know stuff happens, but having three irish wolfhounds by yourself does not seem safe to me in the first place, unless i were partnered up to controll and maintain the dogs.
‘Goldman Sachs executive takes ‘personal leave’ amid Malaysian fund corruption probes’
https://www.rt.com/business/330665-goldman-leissner-malaysia-corruption/
“Tim Leissner, chairman of Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia’s operations, has taken a “personal leave” amidst corruption scandals associated with Malaysia’s state-owned 1MDB fund, with which Goldman worked closely.
President of Goldman’s Singapore operations since 2006 and chairman of its Southeast Asia operations since 2014, Leissner oversaw the bank’s operations in Malaysia, where it became the top international bank with a 20.3 percent market share since 2010.
Leissner was seen as a “key player” in cultivating the bank’s very profitable relationships with Kuala’ Lumpur’s banking and government elite, including Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Financial Times reports….
…and in New Zealand…where NZ KiwiRail is being run down
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/treasury-hires-goldman-sachs-run-ruler-over-kiwibank-bd-136461
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11262662
http://www.goldmansachs.com/what-we-do/investing-and-lending/direct-private-investing/equity-folder/gs-infrastructure-partners.html
http://jacobi.co.nz/open-letter-to-andrew-little-leader-labour-party-on-tpp/
Not sure if this has been posted but food for thought
Are you too incompetent to use the search function much?
bookmark that link.
Another nactoid will probably recycle the same bullshit tomorrow, and pretend to be equally surprised that they’re not the first one to mention it 🙂
Why why why did Jordan Williams get a platform on the Panel this afternoon?
Why does someone representing the viewpoints of the ACT Party get so many opportunities to propagate their extreme viewpoints?
Please explain Mr Mora.
Please explain Mr Griffin.
Mora also regularly has on David Farrar…
Jordan Williams in this instance was invited for his ‘expert’ opinion. The panellists were two others.
Interesting contrast between the Clinton and Sanders campaigns…
Clinton’s hashtag/slogan: #StandWithHillary #ImWithHer
Sanders hashtag/slogan: #NotMeUs
Hillary Clinton’s campaign is about standing with the (multimillionaire and establishment) leader. Bernie Sanders’s campaign is about the grassroots rising up together, with Bernie: it’s not about me, but about *us*.
As the Iowa caucus looms with Bernie and Hillary tied….go Bernie!
God I hope so. Of course if Bernie did make it he wouldn’t be long for this Earth. The one world government of multi-billionaires would swing into action.
Euthanasia submissions close tonight.
if you make a submission by email or through the website, it must be sent through by midnight (ie before.)
Please send any submissions on the petition of Hon Maryan Street to Health@parliament.govt.nz
Just to recap – another way of submitting:
This link put up by a commenter on RADIONZ comment channel RNZ Talk –
Frithogar
Make submissions here – note there is a verification process at the bottom of the page
The closing date is February 1
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/sc/make-submission/0SCHE_SCF_51DBHOH_PET63268_1/petition-of-hon-maryan-street-and-8974-others
and from chienfou
There’s a prospect of appearing before the committee to speak to your submission. I’d encourage anyone who possibly can to volunteer. It adds a lot of weight to the democratic process, especially if it’s not just the same old Wellington hacks turning up.
RADIONZ broadcast Matt Vickers asking people to come forward and take up Lecretia’s plea.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/294319/have-your-say-on-euthanasia,-urges-lecretia%27s-husband
Lecretia and Matt’s blog – http://lecretia.org/
Lecretia’s Choice
Lecretia Seales believed ill people enduring intolerable suffering with no hope of recovery should have the choice to request assistance to end their lives.
Scoop reporting the Lecretia Seales tragedy and the initiative taken by her and her husband.
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=76594
Another of The Gauche Man Key’s Higher Standards – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11582779
It’s unabashed “Let them eat cake !”
And Compass’s response – “Last week Compass issued a statement saying it welcomed feedback and would make changes if there were “genuine problems”. ” What alot of bullshit !
Holy shit – NZers get free dental care in the UK. We don’t even get that in our own country.
But we should.
I’ve never seen or heard any reasoning why dental and visual health is excluded from governmental health assistance for adults in New Zealand.
So… this is planned for 6th February.
I figured they’d find their way to NZ eventually.
For those who don’t know, these “pick up artists” think things like: women shouldn’t be allowed to vote, rape is sometimes okay (like, on private property), a woman’s value depends on her beauty and fertility while a mans value depends on his resources, intellect and character…
And a bunch of other self serving BS.
The “pick up” tips they advocate border on illegal. Some of it instructs guys to physically force women to do as they wish, sexually. Which is sexual assault. Illegal.
So… with the NZ police all up in arms about groups that promote terrorising the public… I wonder if they’ve got these guys under surveillance?
Yeah. Right.
It’s just NZ women at risk here. I suspect the NZ police don’t give a shit actually.
Hmmm. 12,000 global likes and he reckons he has handlers/contacts in 44 locations, including Dunedin.
I wonder if they’ll lurk in their anoraks in front of the Dunedin town hall, or do they mean down the Harrop St side, or in the Octagon?
I suspect that the role of the contact is to immediately collect a large amount of money from the sad, frustrated dicks for a skype session where they’re told that they’re lions, not timid little rats.
The Aussie Unity Flag:
http://www.flagforaustralia.org/
Now that is a pretty stunning flag. Makes that lockwood piece of sh*t look even worse than it did already.