But it should be ok because there is still the same amount of money in the world – it just needs a different means of distribution to ensure all are provided for …
Example: My bank owns $1 billion in shares or bonds or mortgages in a companies/farms which go bust. Yesterday the shares, bonds, and mortgages were worth $1 billion. Today it is worthless. $1 billion has disappeared from the bank’s balance sheet. Will the bank be able to cash my cheque? That’s how banks go bust. Deflation.
And in New Zealanders farmers are on the brink.
Dairy farm debt has reached $38 billion.
More than one in 10 are already under pressure from banks over their mortgage.
Part of the coming restructure of our crumbling ponzi scheme banking system may be to require bank lending to rise and fall alongside the activities of the organisation lent to…. like a form of equity return rather than flat interest return which bears no relation to the activities lent to.
The current system is, yet again, being highlighted as fundamentally flawed
Thats a damned good idea, vto. Only trouble is it would require GOVERNMENTS to re-take control of the economy. And the banks ain’t about to allow that!
Yep more deaths but it’s so much easier to blame everything and everybody else for road deaths – young people, 4 km over the limit people etc etc.
Now at least we know that the ACC levy reductions for safer cars are a complete load of tripe designed to benefit the those who can afford expensive late model cars -it’s what hits you that matters.
And how much more expensive bridge strengthening is going to be loaded onto us taxpayers and ratepayers so the extra tonnage can cross over – figures from the government please?
New Study Confirms: Private “Trade” Courts Serve the Ultra-Wealthy
Smaller companies and less-wealthy individuals don’t benefit nearly as much from these private courts as the extremely rich and powerful do. Other interested parties – whether they’re governments, children, working people, or the planet itself – are unable to benefit from these private courts at all.
The model of the global economy Peterson used, the study explains, “assumes that the TPP will affect neither total employment nor the national savings (or equivalently trade balances) of countries.”
Using these assumptions the following can be deduced
The money foreigners might have spent on our cars and other manufactured goods will instead be used to pay Pfizer higher prices for its drugs.
Likewise in NZ, the TPP favours financially just a few at the expense of the rest of the citizens. At same time, the TPP inflicts a host of rules and regulations requiring Government, Local Government, SOEs etc to pay for legal help to get through the potential litigation minefield. The “right to regulate” will be kneecapped by the extrajudicial ISDS “chill”.
TPP: Although not a new article, this piece is useful for those who are making submissions. I particularly like the way the author, Michael Reddell expresses his concerns.
Some of the things I’m most uneasy about are matters of principle. I think it is simply wrong that foreign investors should have access to different courts than New Zealand firms and individuals do in respect of issues relating to their activities in New Zealand. Equal and common access to justice should be a foundational principle of our longstanding democracy – no doubt things might be different in the brutal and corrupt communist regime that is our new treaty partner Vietnam . This isn’t an argument about how many claims there will ever be against New Zealand (probably few), but simply about differential access to justice. Our Courts should be open to all who seek justice in New Zealand (and open more generally), and there should be no special jurisdictions for favoured parties. And New Zealand law should be made by the New Zealand Parliament, with any interested parties (domestic or foreign) free to make their cases in the public debate here.
Maybe “they” see that we must accept the loss of sovereignty as being the price we pay for playing with the big boys of Global Market. But I doubt that Key and his team will even acknowledge that there is a loss.
English must already be involved in the background, but hasn’t been able to calm things down enough to prevent escalation. Not a good sign for Toddy Barclay’s political future.
Barclay could try to sweep staff resignation under carpet with statements about “employment matters” but when his Electorate Chairman ,who is a highly regarded salt of earth Southlander, walks a month before scheduled AGM then he is in real strife.
I don’t know that neck of the woods at all well, but I wonder if it has to do with town mouse-country mouse tensions within National. John Key is clearly a town mouse with town mouse priorities, and I wonder if they are putting up inexperienced people in places like Southland so that they have someone to blame when the good old country mouse gets shortchanged. If I am right, then it’s a bit tricky for English, who has a foot in both camps.
It’s very similar to Northland. Nats have taken Southland for granted and were content to blood an unsuitable but ultra abitious rookie who thought he could bide his time quietly doing photo ops until he qualified for cabinet. Unfortunately for him locals actually want someone to advocate for them. Times are due to get very tough in this neck of woods as the dairy and sheep downturn really starts to bite ,so we will see how Barclay measures up. Given his own comittee are abandoning him the signs aren’t good.
This is the conversation PR was at pains to derail the other day – whether the Key kleptocracy has served their country voter base well. I expect the 20% or so of farmers poised to lose their properties will not think so. Aspiring young farmers watching our land being inflated and snapped up by offshore buyers are probably not too happy either.
In regards to Act’s David Seymour arguing that ACT is more Green than the Green Party, I don’t know that anyone has looked deeply at his comment that there should be more private business involvement in the administration of the conservation estate.
“It’s unclear exactly what that will include, but is expected to centre on Government incentives to increase private environmental custodianship, and moves to better define ownership.”
I think this should be linked into what is happening in the United States where the Koch brothers (and others?) are actively funding groups like the Bundys who recently took over a nature reserve with the aim of privatising the conservation estate in the United States,
So if you put those words in a manifesto you somehow magically become super environmentalist do you? I think it is more to do with the outcome of your policies rather than what you say before hand.
Mike Yardley wrote this in relation to whether Key Team are shoulder tapping prominent people to support the flag change:
“They’ve clearly had to work a long way down the food chain, because even I was propositioned. A senior Government member telephoned me, to sound me out about overtly cheerleading for change. I declined – but was somewhat mystified , given my long-standing support for flag retention. ” http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/the-flag-debate/77381443/mike-yardley-flag-change-campaign-has-been-farcical
And spoken by a National Party voter too. There were a number of those in the comments section too, opposed to a flag change.
Key’s hypocrisy as a Royal schmoozer and the one to bring back the outdated knighthood system, as discussed in that article, hasn’t gone unnoticed by the left or right. Here’s an article from yesterday also referring to that:
“How else to explain the informal alliance of lifelong republicans and ageing anti-establishment boomers with monarchists and RSA traditionalists? If anything unites these camps it seems less likely to be a shared loathing of the prime minister than a nose for what you might call a false dichotomy – an unnecessary choice between two inadequate options.”
False dichotomy indeed. It IS an unnecessary choice between two inadequate options.
Can’t wait till March is over and we can get this flag hoopla over and done with and see how Key is going to handle the defeat of his vanity project. My guess he will go for the petulant sulky style.
Exactly. Everything about the man is as bullshit as his hairdo. Everybody arguing this guy should be US president should be required to see this video. If they still feel the same way afterward they should be taken out the back way, straitjacketed, and driven away in an ambulance for psychiatric evaluation.
He made his money… …inheriting it… …how could he lose in NY real estate… …the guy is all circumstance rather than substance, even become a name in reality tv.
I watched a bit over 10 mins of this and found it largely irrelevant in a nitpicking intellectual cleverly self congratulating lefty liberal kind of way.
Pretty much it is stuff like this which will push Trump over the line on general election day.
Hmm. You should really have watched it all the way through. It’s not just satirical. But never mind, I’ve phoned for the ambulance. Do you mind just taking off your jacket and putting this one on?
I do feel sorry for Americans. Their political system is obviously completely rooted.
You must be joking CV. Christ – his whole persona & business career is based on bullshit.
What a choice Americans have. A screaming fucking nutcase or a faux liberal neocon of extremely dodgy character who’s suffered from convenient alzheimers ever since she married serial philanderer Bill Clinton.
Trust me, they’re even nastier pieces of work, but they try to put prettier faces on it. With Trump, there’s at least a chance he’ll do something neutral or even positive now and then, whereas the rest are entirely nasty from start to finish.
I’ve got no argument with your assessment of Clinton. But I really don’t think you appreciate how unencumbered Trump is by empathy or even the need to fake any other behavioural norms. He really could do anything on a whim, given the opportunity.
But I really don’t think you appreciate how unencumbered Trump is by empathy or even the need to fake any other behavioural norms.
Exactly. I can agree with you on that.
Trump may be an uncaring mean mouthed sonofabitch, but IMO he’s not a clever civilian murdering nation destroying bankster embracing closet sociopath like Clinton has already proven she is.
Trump will just feel the need to prove he can do all those things too, but even more so. And he won’t even see why he should try to keep the sociopath in the closet.
Doesn’t matter mate, because the alternative is Clinton: the bankster embracing, civilian droning, country destroying, regime changing, Empire of Chaos member of the ruling oligarch who charges US$250K for her big corporate speeches.
The attack on Kosovo is hardly the extent of Sanders’ hawkishness. While it’s true he voted against the Iraq War, he also voted in favor of authorizing funds for that war and the one in Afghanistan. More recently, he voted in favor of a $1 billion aid package for the coup government Ukraine and supported Israel’s assault on Gaza. At a town hall meeting he admitted that Israel may have “overreacted”, but blamed Hamas for the entire conflict. After a woman asked why he refused to condemn Israel’s actions, he told critics: “Excuse me! Shut up! You don’t have the microphone.”
yeah ok, but so? She was working as a public defender at the time I guess? so it was her job.
more relevant to me is that the Clintons, both of them, have overseen foreign policy which has led to the death of millions, including supplying advanced US arms to Israel which used them to kill hundreds of Palestinian children.
Great comment on the flag change on a Stuff article yesterday:
“the NZ public has never had a vote to decide their flag.
therefore there was no robust process, other than parliamentarians debating in the House. Hardly a chance for the masses to have their say.
I have never stated the opinions of my grandparents, and i dare say if i did ask them, Since they all sailed to NZ in the early 1900’s, they would all swear allegiance to the Union Jack, and i do not begrudge them than.
My children on the other hand, were born here. All of the athletes that they hold as role models, Silver ferns, Black Caps, Rowing, Track and field and yes, the All Blacks etc wear the fern with Pride. Our national Airline, flys the fern on it’s tail. My passport is black, and has a fern motif on it.
So, so answer your question, have i considered the argument. Yes i have. I was born in NZ. i do associate with the Silver Fern more than i have ever associated with the Union jack. The Fern is on my money, my passport, my licence plate, the airline i use and the chests, hats and bags of athletes i cheer on.
I do not in anyway begrudge or hold contempt for the Union Jack flag in any way. It is a great flag for the people of Great Britan to fly and to rally to. But it is the flag of Great Britan….Even England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have their own flags to fly for their own people.”
I don’t understand your argument, are you saying we shouldn’t move to the silver fern and southern cross because it is more complicated than the union jack and southern cross?
Are you saying that you identify more as a NZer with the union jack on your flag than the silver fern?
Or are you saying we should just have the silver fern alone, like John Key wanted?
It’s only a “silver fern” because they call it a “silver fern”.
In reality it’s a stylised white fern frond that might be found on any continent (including Antarctica if you count fossils).
The thing about the current one is that it is two seperate and distinct symbols, both highly relevant to NZ (our government and our location) on a maritime blue background that sort of shows the expanse of ocean around us.
The alternative:
Black… coz rugby?
Generic fernly thing, NOT a silver fern
Weird bright blue/sky blue depending on printing errors, because… sky?
Southern cross – well they got that bit ok
And the symbols overlap messily, not being distinct elements of a whole.
Basically, a reasonable argument can be made about the symolism of the current flag. The alternative is more contrived.
Although my main reason for voting for the status quo is simply to fuck off tories.
Black – cos all blacks, black ferns, tall blacks, black caps, the black outfits almost all of our athletes wear when representing our country, the colour that most people outside of New Zealand would associate with us.
Generic fernly thing – Because all flags are stylised! Do you think the maple leaf on the Canadian flag is biologically accurate?
Blue – Again represents the ocean around us
Southern Cross – Points the way home
Messy overlap – Kind of like creating a flag then stuffing the union jack in the top left hand corner?
voting for the status quo is simply to fuck off tories – You’re doing it wrong, true tories are against the change, so you trying to be smart by being a fuckwit is actually supporting the people you claim to be against. That’s a bit like the TPP protestor lining up in McDonald’s for a feed, irony at its best.
black: the colour most people outside of NZ associate with ISIS and darth vader.
The maple leaf is stylised, but still distinctly a maple leaf. Not any one of 12,000-odd fern species
Blue: which blue? Bright blue? Pale blue? The ocean is dark blue. Deep dark blue in the deep seas surrounding us.
Messy overlap: clear separation between element sections in current flag. No horizontal or vertical separation in the alternative. Cluttered. Messy.
Voting for the status quo fucks key. He placed his support around the alternative. He is their only drawcard. He loses prestige, they lose the election. They get fucked off.
what ever, surely he will be better then Hillary and all the others cause he has yet to bomb someone.
Well, we get to see how trigger happy he is once he has got one of the largest nuclear arsenals at his disposition. Fun games for all of us.
Trump has been resolutely resistant to demonising Putin and joining the Pentagon and NATO in sabre rattling against Russia. That’s a good start for avoiding WWIII.
Donald says Putin said Trump’s “a genius and he’s gonna be the leader of the party and he’s gonna be the leader of the world or something”.
The Trumpster then says that they’ll probably get along fine just as long as Putin doesn’t take advantage of him like he takes advantage of Obama; “Nobody’s gonna take advantage of me folks”.
Liberal lefties can scream at Trump all they want, it won’t make fuck all difference.
A lot of people in the US have had it with the post modern liberal lefty agenda.
Personally, I think Trump’s statements that Russia is doing a good job annihilating Islamic terrorists in Syria and the US shouldn’t be getting in the way of Putin hitting terrorist enemies of the US, is damn sensible.
Yes I think that’s a very smart approach as well. But…where do you think he thinks Putin is taking advantage of Obama? Because that’s the kind of weird, egotistical bully boy double-talk he comes out with all the time.
Just remember that Trump is trying to appeal to primary vote wielding Republican delegates at this stage. Hating on Obama for being “weak” is an instant winning message amongst this crowd.
Oh well, it’s the 2016 quadrennial US Presidential Electoral Cycle. Must be the biggest & longest running electoral circus in the world. The actual election’s not until 8 November. A lot can happen between now & then.
There’s nothing we can do meantime but sit back and watch the show. Way too early to tell who is gonna come out the winner. When it comes to digging up & chucking around dirt closer to the actual election Trump should have the edge on Hillers if they’re the two finalists. Just from reading Wikipedia there’s a lot of material to work with there.
Putin has a tremendous popularity in Russia. I was over in Moscow 2 years ago. I’ll tell you what, I tell you, you can get along with those people and get along with them well. You can do deals with them. But Obama can’t…I’d be willing to bet that I would have a great relationship with Putin.
And Trump is willing to say this to the red meat Republican crowd on Fox.
LOL yeah… real baaad gang that one! Drug dealers too… and they consume 2/3rds of the imports of Ibuprofen. Outrageous!
Actually Crusher got double value dog whistle from this one – with “gangs” and “beneficiaries” in the same sentence. The future PM is tough on lawn order, dontcha know.
Beyond trade and tariff turmoil, Donald Trump pushes at the three core elements of Australia’s international policy: the US alliance, the region and multilateralism. What Kevin Rudd called the ‘three fundamental pillars’ are the heart ...
So, having broken its promise to the nation, and dumped 85% of submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill in the trash, National's stooges on the Justice Committee have decided to end their "consideration" of the bill, and report back a full month early: Labour says the Justice Select Committee ...
The 2024 Independent Intelligence Review offers a mature and sophisticated understanding of workforce challenges facing Australia’s National Intelligence Community (NIC). It provides a thoughtful roadmap for modernising that workforce and enhancing cross-agency and cross-sector collaboration. ...
OPINION AND ANALYSIS:Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier’s comments singling out Health NZ for “acting contrary to the law” couldn’t be clearer. If you find my work of value, do consider subscribing and/or supporting me. Thank you.Health NZ has been acting a law unto itself. That includes putting its management under extraordinary ...
Southeast Asia’s three most populous countries are tightening their security relationships, evidently in response to China’s aggression in the South China Sea. This is most obvious in increased cooperation between the coast guards of the ...
In the late 1970s Australian sport underwent institutional innovation propelling it to new heights. Today, Australia must urgently adapt to a contested and confronting strategic environment. Contributing to this, a new ASPI research project will ...
In short this morning in our political economy:The Nelson Hospital waiting list crisis just gets worse, including compelling interviews with an over-worked surgeon who is leaving, and a patient who discovered after 19 months of waiting for a referral that her bowel and ovaries were fused together with scar tissue ...
Plainly, the claims being tossed around in the media last year that the new terminal envisaged by Auckland International Airport was a gold-plated “Taj Mahal” extravagance were false. With one notable exception, the Commerce Commission’s comprehensive investigation has ended up endorsing every other aspect of the airport’s building programme (and ...
Movements clustered around the Right, and Far Right as well, are rising globally. Despite the recent defeats we’ve seen in the last day or so with the win of a Democrat-backed challenger, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, over her Republican counterpart, Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, in the battle for ...
In February 2025, John Cook gave two webinars for republicEN explaining the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. 20 February 2025: republicEN webinar part 1 - BUST or TRUST? The scientific consensus on climate change In the first webinar, Cook explained the history of the 20-year scientific consensus on climate change. How do ...
After three decades of record-breaking growth, at about the same time as Xi Jinping rose to power in 2012, China’s economy started the long decline to its current state of stagnation. The Chinese Communist Party ...
The Pike River Coal mine was a ticking time bomb.Ventilation systems designed to prevent methane buildup were incomplete or neglected.Gas detectors that might warn of danger were absent or broken.Rock bolting was skipped, old tunnels left unsealed, communication systems failed during emergencies.Employees and engineers kept warning management about the … ...
Regional hegemons come in different shapes and sizes. Australia needs to think about what kind of hegemon China would be, and become, should it succeed in displacing the United States in Asia. It’s time to ...
RNZ has a story this morning about the expansion of solar farms in Aotearoa, driven by today's ground-breaking ceremony at the Tauhei solar farm in Te Aroha: From starting out as a tiny player in the electricity system, solar power generated more electricity than coal and gas combined for ...
After the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, and almost a year before the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, US President George H W Bush proclaimed a ‘new world order’. Now, just two months ...
Warning: Some images may be distressing. Thank you for those who support my work. It means a lot.A shopfront in Australia shows Liberal leader Peter Dutton and mining magnate Gina Rinehart depicted with Nazi imageryUS Government Seeks Death Penalty for Luigi MangioneMangione was publicly walked in front of media in ...
Aged care workers rallying against potential roster changes say Bupa, which runs retirement homes across the country, needs to focus on care instead of money. More than half of New Zealand workers wish they had chosen a different career according to a new survey. Consumers are likely to see a ...
The scurrilous attacks on Benjamin Doyle, a list Green MP, over his supposed inappropriate behaviour towards children has dominated headlines and social media this past week, led by frothing Rightwing agitators clutching their pearls and fanning the flames of moral panic over pedophiles and and perverts. Winston Peter decided that ...
Twilight Time Lighthouse Cuba, Wigan Street, Wellington, Sunday 6 April, 5:30pm for 6pm start. Twilight Time looks at the life and work of Desmond Ball, (1947-2016), a barefooted academic from ‘down under’ who was hailed by Jimmy Carter as “the man who saved the world”, as he proved the fallacy ...
The landedAnd the wealthyAnd the piousAnd the healthyAnd the straight onesAnd the pale onesAnd we only mean the male ones!If you're all of the above, then you're ok!As we build a new tomorrow here today!Lyrics Glenn Slater and Allan Menken.Ah, Democracy - can you smell it?It's presently a sulphurous odour, ...
US President Donald Trump’s unconventional methods of conducting international relations will compel the next federal government to reassess whether the United States’ presence in the region and its security assurances provide a reliable basis for ...
Things seem to be at a pretty low ebb in and around the Reserve Bank. There was, in particular, the mysterious, sudden, and as-yet unexplained resignation of the Governor (we’ve had four Governors since the Bank was given its operational autonomy 35 years ago, and only two have completed their ...
Long story short:PMChristopher Luxon said in January his Government was ‘going for growth’ and he wanted New Zealanders to develop a ‘culture of yes.’ Yet his own Government is constantly saying no, or not yet, to anchor investments that would unleash real private business investment and GDP growth. ...
Long story short:PMChristopher Luxon said in January his Government was ‘going for growth’ and he wanted New Zealanders to develop a ‘culture of yes.’ Yet his own Government is constantly saying no, or not yet, to anchor investments that would unleash real private business investment and GDP growth. ...
For decades, Britain and Australia had much the same process for regulating media handling of defence secrets. It was the D-notice system, under which media would be asked not to publish. The two countries diverged ...
For decades, Britain and Australia had much the same process for regulating media handling of defence secrets. It was the D-notice system, under which media would be asked not to publish. The two countries diverged ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission.In this article, I make a not-entirely-serious case for ripping out Spaghetti Junction in Auckland, replacing it with a motorway tunnel, and redeveloping new city streets and neighbourhoods above it instead. What’s ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission.In this article, I make a not-entirely-serious case for ripping out Spaghetti Junction in Auckland, replacing it with a motorway tunnel, and redeveloping new city streets and neighbourhoods above it instead. What’s ...
In short this morning in our political economy:The Nelson Hospital crisis revealed by 1News’Jessica Roden dominates the political agenda today. Yet again, population growth wasn’t planned for, or funded.Kāinga Ora is planning up to 900 house sales, including new ones, Jonathan Milne reports for Newsroom.One of New Zealand’s biggest ...
In short this morning in our political economy:The Nelson Hospital crisis revealed by 1News’Jessica Roden dominates the political agenda today. Yet again, population growth wasn’t planned for, or funded.Kāinga Ora is planning up to 900 house sales, including new ones, Jonathan Milne reports for Newsroom.One of New Zealand’s biggest ...
The war between Russia and Ukraine continues unabated. Neither side is in a position to achieve its stated objectives through military force. But now there is significant diplomatic activity as well. Ukraine has agreed to ...
One of the first aims of the United States’ new Department of Government Efficiency was shutting down USAID. By 6 February, the agency was functionally dissolved, its seal missing from its Washington headquarters. Amid the ...
If our strategic position was already challenging, it just got worse. Reliability of the US as an ally is in question, amid such actions by the Trump administration as calling for annexation of Canada, threating ...
Small businesses will be exempt from complying with some of the requirements of health and safety legislation under new reforms proposed by the Government. The living wage will be increased to $28.95 per hour from September, a $1.15 increase from the current $27.80. A poll has shown large opposition to ...
Summary A group of senior doctors in Nelson have spoken up, specifically stating that hospitals have never been as bad as in the last year.Patients are waiting up to 50 hours and 1 death is directly attributable to the situation: "I've never seen that number of patients waiting to be ...
Although semiconductor chips are ubiquitous nowadays, their production is concentrated in just a few countries, and this has left the US economy and military highly vulnerable at a time of rising geopolitical tensions. While the ...
Health and Safety changes driven by ACT party ideology, not evidence said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff. Changes to health and safety legislation proposed by the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden today comply with ACT party ideology, ignores the evidence, and will compound New ...
In short in our political economy this morning:Fletcher Building is closing its pre-fabricated house-building factory in Auckland due to a lack of demand, particularly from the Government.Health NZ is sending a crisis management team to Nelson Hospital after a 1News investigation exposed doctors’ fears that nearly 500 patients are overdue ...
Exactly 10 years ago, the then minister for defence, Kevin Andrews, released the First Principles Review: Creating One Defence (FPR). With increasing talk about the rising possibility of major power-conflict, calls for Defence funding to ...
In events eerily similar to what happened in the USA last week, Greater Auckland was recently accidentally added to a group chat between government ministers on the topic of transport.We have no idea how it happened, but luckily we managed to transcribe most of what transpired. We share it ...
Hi,When I look back at my history with Dylan Reeve, it’s pretty unusual. We first met in the pool at Kim Dotcom’s mansion, as helicopters buzzed overhead and secret service agents flung themselves off the side of his house, abseiling to the ground with guns drawn.Kim Dotcom was a German ...
Come around for teaDance me round and round the kitchenBy the light of my T.VOn the night of the electionAncient stars will fall into the seaAnd the ocean floor sings her sympathySongwriter: Bic Runga.The Prime Minister stared into the camera, hot and flustered despite the predawn chill. He looked sadly ...
Has Winston Peters got a ferries deal for you! (Buyer caution advised.) Unfortunately, the vision that Peters has been busily peddling for the past 24 hours – of several shipyards bidding down the price of us getting smaller, narrower, rail-enabled ferries – looks more like a science fiction fantasy. One ...
Completed reads for March: The Heart of the Antarctic [1907-1909], by Ernest Shackleton South [1914-1917], by Ernest Shackleton Aurora Australis (collection), edited by Ernest Shackleton The Book of Urizen (poem), by William Blake The Book of Ahania (poem), by William Blake The Book of Los (poem), by William Blake ...
First - A ReminderBenjamin Doyle Doesn’t Deserve ThisI’ve been following posts regarding Green MP Benjamin Doyle over the last few days, but didn’t want to amplify the abject nonsense.This morning, Winston Peters, New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister, answered the alt-right’s prayers - guaranteeing amplification of the topic, by going on ...
US President Donald Trump has shown a callous disregard for the checks and balances that have long protected American democracy. As the self-described ‘king’ makes a momentous power grab, much of the world watches anxiously, ...
They can be the very same words. And yet their meaning can vary very much.You can say I'll kill him about your colleague who accidentally deleted your presentation the day before a big meeting.You can say I'll kill him to — or, for that matter, about — Tony Soprano.They’re the ...
Back in 2020, the then-Labour government signed contracted for the construction and purchase of two new rail-enabled Cook Strait ferries, to be operational from 2026. But when National took power in 2023, they cancelled them in a desperate effort to make the books look good for a year. And now ...
The fragmentation of cyber regulation in the Indo-Pacific is not just inconvenient; it is a strategic vulnerability. In recent years, governments across the Indo-Pacific, including Australia, have moved to reform their regulatory frameworks for cyber ...
Welcome to the March 2025 Economic Bulletin. The feature article examines what public private partnerships (PPPs) are. PPPs have been a hot topic recently, with the coalition government signalling it wants to use them to deliver infrastructure. However, experience with PPPs, both here and overseas, indicates we should be wary. ...
Willis announces more plans of plans for supermarketsYesterday’s much touted supermarket competition announcement by Nicola Willis amounted to her telling us she was issuing a 6 week RFI1 that will solicit advice from supermarket players.In short, it was an announcement of a plan - but better than her Kiwirail Interislander ...
This was the post I was planning to write this morning to mark Orr’s final day. That said, if the underlying events – deliberate attempts to mislead Parliament – were Orr’s doing, the post is more about the apparent uselessness of Parliament (specifically the Finance and Expenditure Committee) in holding ...
Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC’s plan to build a plant in the United States looks like a move made at the behest of local officials to solidify US support for Taiwan. However, it may eventually lessen ...
This is a Guest Post by Transport Planner Bevan Woodward from the charitable trust Movement, which has lodged an application for a judicial review of the Governments Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024 Auckland is at grave risk of having its safer speed limits on approx. 1,500 local streets ...
We're just talkin' 'bout the futureForget about the pastIt'll always be with usIt's never gonna die, never gonna dieSongwriters: Brian Johnson / Angus Young / Malcolm YoungMorena, all you lovely people, it’s good to be back, and I have news from the heartland. Now brace yourself for this: depending on ...
Today is the last day in office for the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Adrian Orr. Of course, he hasn’t been in the office since 5 March when, on the eve of his major international conference, his resignation was announced and he stormed off with no (effective) notice and no ...
Treasury and Cabinet have finally agreed to a Crown guarantee for a non-Government lending agency for Community Housing Providers (CHPs), which could unlock billions worth of loans and investments by pension funds and banks to build thousands of more affordable social homes. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories shortest:Chris Bishop ...
Australia has plenty of room to spend more on defence. History shows that 2.9 percent of GDP is no great burden in ordinary times, so pushing spending to 3.0 percent in dangerous times is very ...
In short this morning in our political economy:Winston Peters will announce later today whether two new ferries are rail ‘compatible’, requiring time-consuming container shuffling, or the more efficient and expensive rail ‘enabled,’ where wagons can roll straight on and off.Nicola Willisthreatened yesterday to break up the supermarket duopoly with ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 23, 2025 thru Sat, March 29, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
For prospective writers out there, Inspired Quill, the publisher of my novel(s) is putting together a short story anthology (pieces up to 10,000 words). The open submission window is 29th March to 29th April. https://www.inspired-quill.com/anthology-submissions/ The theme?This anthology will bring together diverse voices exploring themes of hope, resistance, and human ...
Prime minister Kevin Rudd released the 2009 defence white paper in May of that year. It is today remembered mostly for what it said about the strategic implications of China’s rise; its plan to double ...
In short this morning in our political economy:Voters want the Government to retain the living wage for cleaners, a poll shows.The Government’s move to provide a Crown guarantee to banks and the private sector for social housing is described a watershed moment and welcomed by Community Housing Providers.Nicola Willis is ...
The recent attacks in the Congo by Rwandan backed militias has led to worldwide condemnation of the Rwandan regime of Paul Kagame. Following up on the recent Fabian Zoom with Mikela Wrong and Maria Amoudian, Dr Rudaswinga will give a complete picture of Kagame’s regime and discuss the potential ...
New Zealand’s economic development has always been a partnership between the public and private sectors.Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) have become fashionable again, partly because of the government’s ambitions to accelerate infrastructural development. There is, of course, an ideological element too, while some of the opposition to them is also ideological.PPPs come in ...
How Australia funds development and defence was front of mind before Tuesday’s federal budget. US President Donald Trump’s demands for a dramatic lift in allied military spending and brutal cuts to US foreign assistance meant ...
Questions 1. Where and what is this protest?a. Hamilton, angry crowd yelling What kind of food do you call this Seymour?b.Dunedin, angry crowd yelling Still waiting, Simeon, still waitingc. Wellington, angry crowd yelling You’re trashing everything you idiotsd. Istanbul, angry crowd yelling Give us our democracy back, give it ...
Two blueprints that could redefine the Northern Territory’s economic future were launched last week. The first was a government-led economic strategy and the other an industry-driven economic roadmap. Both highlight that supporting the Northern Territory ...
In December 2021, then-Climate Change Minister James Shaw finally ended Tiwai Point's excessive pollution subsidies, cutting their "Electricity Allocation Factor" (basically compensation for the cost of carbon in their electricity price) to zero on the basis that their sweetheart deal meant they weren't paying it. In the process, he effectively ...
Green MP Tamatha Paul has received quite the beat down in the last two days.Her original comments were part of a panel discussion where she said:“Wellington people do not want to see police officers everywhere, and, for a lot of people, it makes them feel less safe. It’s that constant ...
US President Donald Trump has raised the spectre of economic and geopolitical turmoil in Asia. While individual countries have few options for pushing back against Trump’s transactional diplomacy, protectionist trade policies and erratic decision-making, a ...
Jobs are on the line for back-office staff at the Department of Corrections, as well as at Archives New Zealand and the National Library. A “malicious actor” has accessed and downloaded private information about staff in districts in the lower North Island. Cabinet has agreed to its next steps regarding ...
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...
Today’s announcement of 10 percent tariffs for New Zealand goods entering the United States is disappointing for exporters and consumers alike, with the long-lasting impact on prices and inflation still unknown. ...
The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...
The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...
April 1 used to be a day when workers could count on a pay rise with stronger support for those doing it tough, but that’s not the case under this Government. ...
Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...
The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to scrap proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, after attending a petition calling for the Government to ‘Put tamariki at the heart of decisions about ECE’. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill today that will remove the power of MPs conscience votes and ensure mandatory national referendums are held before any conscience issues are passed into law. “We are giving democracy and power back to the people”, says New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters. ...
Welcome to members of the diplomatic corp, fellow members of parliament, the fourth estate, foreign affairs experts, trade tragics, ladies and gentlemen. ...
In recent weeks, disturbing instances of state-sanctioned violence against Māori have shed light on the systemic racism permeating our institutions. An 11-year-old autistic Māori child was forcibly medicated at the Henry Bennett Centre, a 15-year-old had his jaw broken by police in Napier, kaumātua Dean Wickliffe went on a hunger ...
Confidence in the job market has continued to drop to its lowest level in five years as more New Zealanders feel uncertain about finding work, keeping their jobs, and getting decent pay, according to the latest Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index. ...
The Greens are calling on the Government to follow through on their vague promises of environmental protection in their Resource Management Act (RMA) reform. ...
“Make New Zealand First Again” Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, thank you for being here today. We know your lives are busy and you are working harder and longer than you ever have, and there are many calls on your time, so thank you for the chance to speak ...
Hundreds more Palestinians have died in recent days as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues and humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, is blocked. ...
National is looking to cut hundreds of jobs at New Zealand’s Defence Force, while at the same time it talks up plans to increase focus and spending in Defence. ...
It’s been revealed that the Government is secretly trying to bring back a ‘one-size fits all’ standardised test – a decision that has shocked school principals. ...
The Green Party is calling for the compassionate release of Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old kaumātua on hunger strike at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility, after visiting him at the prison. ...
The Green Party is calling on Government MPs to support Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence and illegal actions in Palestine, following another day of appalling violence against civilians in Gaza. ...
The Green Party stands in support of volunteer firefighters petitioning the Government to step up and change legislation to provide volunteers the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid counterparts. ...
At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated ...
Living Strong, Aging Well There is much discussion around the health of our older New Zealanders and how we can age well. In reality, the delivery of health services accounts for only a relatively small percentage of health outcomes as we age. Significantly, dry warm housing, nutrition, exercise, social connection, ...
Shane Jones’ display on Q&A showed how out of touch he and this Government are with our communities and how in sync they are with companies with little concern for people and planet. ...
The Government’s new planning legislation to replace the Resource Management Act will make it easier to get things done while protecting the environment, say Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court. “The RMA is broken and everyone knows it. It makes it too hard to build ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay has today launched a public consultation on New Zealand and India’s negotiations of a formal comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. “Negotiations are getting underway, and the Public’s views will better inform us in the early parts of this important negotiation,” Mr McClay says. We are ...
More than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost from next week, an uplift Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says will help support them through cost-of-living challenges. “I am pleased to confirm that from 1 ...
Progressing a holistic strategy to unlock the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources, possibly in applications beyond energy generation, is at the centre of discussions with mana whenua at a hui in Rotorua today, Resources and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is in the early stages ...
New annual data has exposed the staggering cost of delays previously hidden in the building consent system, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I directed Building Consent Authorities to begin providing quarterly data last year to improve transparency, following repeated complaints from tradespeople waiting far longer than the statutory ...
Increases in water charges for Auckland consumers this year will be halved under the Watercare Charter which has now been passed into law, Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown say. The charter is part of the financial arrangement for Watercare developed last year by Auckland Council ...
There is wide public support for the Government’s work to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity protections, says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. “The Ministry for Primary Industries recently completed public consultation on proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act and the submissions show that people understand the importance of having a strong biosecurity ...
A new independent review function will enable individuals and organisations to seek an expert independent review of specified civil aviation regulatory decisions made by, or on behalf of, the Director of Civil Aviation, Acting Transport Minister James Meager has announced today. “Today we are making it easier and more affordable ...
The Government will invest in an enhanced overnight urgent care service for the Napier community as part of our focus on ensuring access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown has today confirmed. “I am delighted that a solution has been found to ensure Napier residents will continue to ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey attended a sod turning today to officially mark the start of construction on a new mental health facility at Hillmorton Campus. “This represents a significant step in modernising mental health services in Canterbury,” Mr Brown says. “Improving health infrastructure is ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has welcomed confirmation the economy has turned the corner. Stats NZ reported today that gross domestic product grew 0.7 per cent in the three months to December following falls in the June and September quarters. “We know many families and businesses are still suffering the after-effects ...
The sealing of a 12-kilometre stretch of State Highway 43 (SH43) through the Tangarakau Gorge – one of the last remaining sections of unsealed state highway in the country – has been completed this week as part of a wider programme of work aimed at improving the safety and resilience ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters says relations between New Zealand and the United States are on a strong footing, as he concludes a week-long visit to New York and Washington DC today. “We came to the United States to ask the new Administration what it wants from ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has welcomed changes to international anti-money laundering standards which closely align with the Government’s reforms. “The Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) last month adopted revised standards for tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism to allow for simplified regulatory measures for businesses, organisations and sectors ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says he welcomes Medsafe’s decision to approve an electronic controlled drug register for use in New Zealand pharmacies, allowing pharmacies to replace their physical paper-based register. “The register, developed by Kiwi brand Toniq Limited, is the first of its kind to be approved in New ...
The Coalition Government’s drive for regional economic growth through the $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund is on track with more than $550 million in funding so far committed to key infrastructure projects, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. “To date, the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) has received more than 250 ...
[Comments following the bilateral meeting with United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio; United States State Department, Washington D.C.] * We’re very pleased with our meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this afternoon. * We came here to listen to the new Administration and to be clear about what ...
The intersection of State Highway 2 (SH2) and Wainui Road in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will be made safer and more efficient for vehicles and freight with the construction of a new and long-awaited roundabout, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop. “The current intersection of SH2 and Wainui Road is ...
The Ocean Race will return to the City of Sails in 2027 following the Government’s decision to invest up to $4 million from the Major Events Fund into the international event, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown says. “New Zealand is a proud sailing nation, and Auckland is well-known internationally as the ...
Improving access to mental health and addiction support took a significant step forward today with Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announcing that the University of Canterbury have been the first to be selected to develop the Government’s new associate psychologist training programme. “I am thrilled that the University of Canterbury ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened the new East Building expansion at Manukau Health Park. “This is a significant milestone and the first stage of the Grow Manukau programme, which will double the footprint of the Manukau Health Park to around 30,000m2 once complete,” Mr Brown says. “Home ...
The Government will boost anti-crime measures across central Auckland with $1.3 million of funding as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Fund, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “In recent years there has been increased antisocial and criminal behaviour in our CBD. The Government ...
The Government is moving to strengthen rules for feeding food waste to pigs to protect New Zealand from exotic animal diseases like foot and mouth disease (FMD), says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. ‘Feeding untreated meat waste, often known as "swill", to pigs could introduce serious animal diseases like FMD and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held productive talks in New Delhi today. Fresh off announcing that New Zealand and India would commence negotiations towards a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, the two Prime Ministers released a joint statement detailing plans for further cooperation between the two countries across ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the forestry sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the horticulture sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new Family Court Judges. The new Judges will take up their roles in April and May and fill Family Court vacancies at the Auckland and Manukau courts. Annette Gray Ms Gray completed her law degree at Victoria University before joining Phillips ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Wellington Regional Hospital’s first High Dependency Unit (HDU). “This unit will boost critical care services in the lower North Island, providing extra capacity and relieving pressure on the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and emergency department. “Wellington Regional Hospital has previously relied ...
Namaskar, Sat Sri Akal, kia ora and good afternoon everyone. What an honour it is to stand on this stage - to inaugurate this august Dialogue - with none other than the Honourable Narendra Modi. My good friend, thank you for so generously welcoming me to India and for our ...
Starving public services of resources, gutting the workforce and then proposing private market solutions has been a key strategy of this government, says Vanessa Cole, spokesperson for Public Housing Futures. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hayley Geyle, Ecologist, Charles Darwin University Sarah Maclagan/Author provided The greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is one of Australia’s most iconic yet at-risk animals — and the last surviving bilby species. Once found across 70% of Australia, its range has contracted by ...
The government’s own Regulatory Impact Statement acknowledges that organic producers will bear the financial burden of adapting to the risks posed by GMO expansion. ...
The committee has "rammed it through with outrageous haste", with a report now expected tomorrow, but excluding thousands of submissions, Duncan Webb says. ...
The US president’s sweeping programme of global tariffs will hit every country abroad, including New Zealand, and dramatically raise prices at home. This is an excerpt from The World Bulletin, our weekly global current affairs newsletter exclusively for Spinoff Members. Sign up here.In a dramatic, flag-draped address from the White ...
Alex Casey talks to Bariz Shah and Saba Afrasyabi, the couple who launched a project to change 51 lives in honour of those lost in the Christchurch mosque attacks. When Bariz Shah and Saba Afrasyabi walked into Naeem’s house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, they knew immediately that he needed their help. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Deane, Professor of Trade Law, Taxation and Climate Change, Queensland University of Technology US President Donald Trump has imposed a range of tariffs on all products entering the US market, with Australian exports set to face a 10% tariff, effective April ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra US President Donald Trump singled out Australia’s beef trade for special mention in his announcement that the United States would impose a 10% global tariff as well as “reciprocal tariffs” on many countries. In ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hayley Geyle, Ecologist, Charles Darwin University Sarah Maclagan/Author provided The greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is one of Australia’s most iconic yet at-risk animals — and the last surviving bilby species. Once found across 70% of Australia, its range has contracted by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra US President Donald Trump singled out Australia’s beef trade for special mention in his announcement that the United States would impose a 10% global tariff as well as “reciprocal tariffs” on many countries. In ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Shutterstock Recent media coverage in the Nine newspapers highlights a surge in non-medical ultrasound providers offering “reassurance ultrasounds” to expectant parents. The service has resulted in serious harms, such as misdiagnosed ectopic pregnancies and ...
The three MPs whose rule-breaking haka caught the world’s attention didn’t attend their scheduled hearing yesterday. Constitutional law expert Andrew Geddis has the rundown of what happened, why, and what’s likely to come next. I see Te Pāti Māori and the privileges committee are in some sort of stand-off – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Turner, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University The Eurasian and North American tectonic plates in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland.Nido Huebl/Shutterstock Earth is the only known planet which has plate tectonics today. The constant movement of these giant slabs of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra US President Donald Trump singled out Australia’s beef trade for special mention in his announcement that the United States would impose a 10% global tariff as well as “reciprocal tariffs” on many countries. In ...
Meta has stolen millions of books to train its AI, including books by kaituhi Māori. What does that mean for mātauranga and its status as taonga? New Zealand authors are among the millions whose books have been pirated and scraped by Meta to train its AI. The New Zealand Society of ...
Some hoped the open of the New Zealand markets would open with a bounce as certain tariffs fell short of the worst-case scenario, but investors were met with a deflated thud.The New Zealand market fell immediately as stock market darling Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s shares were punished, with no update ...
Healthcare dominated the debate in an unusually sober and serious question time. “Hey David!” a group of high school students in the public gallery called out as Act leader David Seymour entered the debating chamber. Standing in the middle of the floor, before any other MPs had arrived, he happily ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Heaslip, Senior Lecturer in Naval History, University of Portsmouth How the Shuqiao barges may be used to ferry troops ashore. X (formerly Twitter) China’s intentions when it comes to Taiwan have been at the centre of intense discussion for years. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kiera Vaclavik, Professor of Children’s Literature & Childhood Culture, Queen Mary University of London This spring, Babe is returning to cinemas to mark the 30th anniversary of its release in 1995. The much-loved family film tells the deceptively simple but emotionally powerful ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie King-Hill, Associate Professor at the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham Netflix television series Adolescence follows a 13-year-old boy accused of the murder of his female classmate. It touches upon incel online hate groups, toxic influencers and the misogynistic online ...
I don’t want my neuroses about someone being ‘good enough’ to keep me from finding love. But choosing to be with someone who isn’t quite right seems like a death sentence.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,I’m a straight single woman in my late 20s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claudia Reyes, Postdoctoral Fellow, Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Australian National University Pavel Gabzdyl / Shutterstock The “music” of starquakes – enormous vibrations caused by bursting bubbles of gas that ripple throughout the bodies of many stars – can reveal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Clune, Honorary Associate, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney The five-week election campaign is now in full swing throughout the nation. Amid the flurry of photo opportunities and press conferences, candidates campaign in specific areas for a reason: to shore ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Whittle, ANZMUSC Practitioner Fellow, Monash University Marinesea/Shutterstock More than 500 million people around the world live with osteoarthritis. The knee is affected more often than any other joint, with symptoms (such as pain, stiffness and reduced movement) affecting work, sleep, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cornelia Sattler, Research Fellow in Ecology, Macquarie University Samantha Terrell/Shutterstock If you go walking in the wild, you might expect that what you’re seeing is natural. All around you are trees, shrubs and grasses growing in their natural habitat. But there’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeleine Fraser, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Australian Catholic University One of the first things parents want to ask their children after school is “how was your day?” We simply want to know how they are going and what happened at school. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Johnston, Director of Learning and Teaching at Excelsia University College and Research Affiliate, University of Sydney As Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young waved a decapitated salmon dripping with blood in parliament last week, you could feel the election coming. Hanson-Young ...
The head of the Mental Health Foundation says he is not confident there will not be a repeat of a mistake that saw an 11-year-old girl wrongly identified as an adult mental health patient. ...
Staff at Kāinga Ora face restructuring, with a Green MP claiming another 500 jobs are set to go and staff are worried front line housing services will suffer. ...
The government is scheduled to announce reforms to fast-track new drugs based on prior overseas approvals, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.Quicker drug approvals on their way The government is expected to unveil reforms today that ...
Comment: The Consumer Data Right is now part of New Zealand law. The CDR is intended to give customers (including consumers and business customers) greater control over the data that certain service providers hold about them.The introduction of the CDR was confirmed by the enactment of the Customer and Product ...
1.8 million Chinese steel and coal workers being laid off. 15% of workforce.
Just another statistic to show to oncoming collapse of the world economy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-employment-idUSKCN0W205X
But it should be ok because there is still the same amount of money in the world – it just needs a different means of distribution to ensure all are provided for …
No, there is not the same amount of money.
Example: My bank owns $1 billion in shares or bonds or mortgages in a companies/farms which go bust. Yesterday the shares, bonds, and mortgages were worth $1 billion. Today it is worthless. $1 billion has disappeared from the bank’s balance sheet. Will the bank be able to cash my cheque? That’s how banks go bust. Deflation.
The moment when someone realises that when it comes to “cash or cash equivalents”, the “cash equivalents” are not like cash at all.
China endures, Paul. China endures.
Yep. Worlds oldest bureaucracy.
And in New Zealanders farmers are on the brink.
Dairy farm debt has reached $38 billion.
More than one in 10 are already under pressure from banks over their mortgage.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/297776/fears-banks-will-leave-farms-in-the-cold
Part of the coming restructure of our crumbling ponzi scheme banking system may be to require bank lending to rise and fall alongside the activities of the organisation lent to…. like a form of equity return rather than flat interest return which bears no relation to the activities lent to.
The current system is, yet again, being highlighted as fundamentally flawed
Thats a damned good idea, vto. Only trouble is it would require GOVERNMENTS to re-take control of the economy. And the banks ain’t about to allow that!
The government’s and trucking sector’s desire for bigger and heavier trucks makes such sense eh….
http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/news/77382030/crash-between-a-car-and-a-truck-leaves-one-dead
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/77379469/patea-crash-tanker-driver-found-dead
more death coming soon to a town near you
………………………………………………………
Yep more deaths but it’s so much easier to blame everything and everybody else for road deaths – young people, 4 km over the limit people etc etc.
Now at least we know that the ACC levy reductions for safer cars are a complete load of tripe designed to benefit the those who can afford expensive late model cars -it’s what hits you that matters.
And how much more expensive bridge strengthening is going to be loaded onto us taxpayers and ratepayers so the extra tonnage can cross over – figures from the government please?
New Study Confirms: Private “Trade” Courts Serve the Ultra-Wealthy
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/new-study-confirms-privat_b_9348238.html
“Op-Ed The jobs tradeoffs in the TPP trade deal”
Using these assumptions the following can be deduced
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0225-baker-trans-pacific-trade-20160225-story.html
Likewise in NZ, the TPP favours financially just a few at the expense of the rest of the citizens. At same time, the TPP inflicts a host of rules and regulations requiring Government, Local Government, SOEs etc to pay for legal help to get through the potential litigation minefield. The “right to regulate” will be kneecapped by the extrajudicial ISDS “chill”.
A good basis for a submission re TPPA. Only super big corporations stand to benefit from those insidious “private Trade Courts.” Well spotted TMM.
TPP: Although not a new article, this piece is useful for those who are making submissions. I particularly like the way the author, Michael Reddell expresses his concerns.
He then goes on in depth about Temporary Safeguard Measures in Chapter 29 Exceptions and General Provisions.
http://croakingcassandra.com/2015/11/09/temporary-safeguards-crises-and-tpp/
There is concern about this issue in Australia.
http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2016/02/29/Australias-national-interest-statement-on-TPP-neglects-capital-control-risks.aspx
Maybe “they” see that we must accept the loss of sovereignty as being the price we pay for playing with the big boys of Global Market. But I doubt that Key and his team will even acknowledge that there is a loss.
Todd Barclay haemorrhaging support in Clutha Southland.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/77386997/national-party-cluthasouthland-chairman-stuart-davie-resigns
How long before Bill English is required to step in and steady the ship?
English must already be involved in the background, but hasn’t been able to calm things down enough to prevent escalation. Not a good sign for Toddy Barclay’s political future.
Up in low tar smoke.
medicinal cannabis for OZ, maybe now our Politicians find some guts and glory?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/australia-to-legalise-growing-of-medicinal-marijuana
not holding my breath tho.
Wee Toddy would insist that his staff be part paid in snout, and made them promise to inhale.
Barclay could try to sweep staff resignation under carpet with statements about “employment matters” but when his Electorate Chairman ,who is a highly regarded salt of earth Southlander, walks a month before scheduled AGM then he is in real strife.
And that’s an understatement.
Would love to know if English is making calls around his old electorate on behalf of his protege.
I don’t know that neck of the woods at all well, but I wonder if it has to do with town mouse-country mouse tensions within National. John Key is clearly a town mouse with town mouse priorities, and I wonder if they are putting up inexperienced people in places like Southland so that they have someone to blame when the good old country mouse gets shortchanged. If I am right, then it’s a bit tricky for English, who has a foot in both camps.
It’s very similar to Northland. Nats have taken Southland for granted and were content to blood an unsuitable but ultra abitious rookie who thought he could bide his time quietly doing photo ops until he qualified for cabinet. Unfortunately for him locals actually want someone to advocate for them. Times are due to get very tough in this neck of woods as the dairy and sheep downturn really starts to bite ,so we will see how Barclay measures up. Given his own comittee are abandoning him the signs aren’t good.
This is the conversation PR was at pains to derail the other day – whether the Key kleptocracy has served their country voter base well. I expect the 20% or so of farmers poised to lose their properties will not think so. Aspiring young farmers watching our land being inflated and snapped up by offshore buyers are probably not too happy either.
Dead right Stuart and that will all be playing out around election time. Even Nathan Guy is starting to concede it.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/77414152/farmers-getting-increasingly-desperate-bank-signals-it-wont-finance-some-debt
This is the real story.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201790904/the-dairy-downturn-starts-to-bite-in-rural-new-zealand
Foreign investors will be all that stands in the way of a major land price correction. Either way its a major headache in the making for the Nats.
In regards to Act’s David Seymour arguing that ACT is more Green than the Green Party, I don’t know that anyone has looked deeply at his comment that there should be more private business involvement in the administration of the conservation estate.
“It’s unclear exactly what that will include, but is expected to centre on Government incentives to increase private environmental custodianship, and moves to better define ownership.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/77288879/david-seymour-launches-attack-on-greens-says-theyre-doing-bugger-all-for-the-environment
I think this should be linked into what is happening in the United States where the Koch brothers (and others?) are actively funding groups like the Bundys who recently took over a nature reserve with the aim of privatising the conservation estate in the United States,
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/02/11/3748602/koch-brothers-funding-bundy-agenda/
Sections of the Republican Party are also supporting this.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/01/ken-ivory-federal-land-bundy
When ACT puts in their manifesto that protection of the environment is far more important than corporate profits I might start to listen to them.
So if you put those words in a manifesto you somehow magically become super environmentalist do you? I think it is more to do with the outcome of your policies rather than what you say before hand.
Mike Yardley wrote this in relation to whether Key Team are shoulder tapping prominent people to support the flag change:
“They’ve clearly had to work a long way down the food chain, because even I was propositioned. A senior Government member telephoned me, to sound me out about overtly cheerleading for change. I declined – but was somewhat mystified , given my long-standing support for flag retention. ”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/the-flag-debate/77381443/mike-yardley-flag-change-campaign-has-been-farcical
National’s database ain’t perfect. I hope it includes a lot more errors.
I love the way he calls out Shipley for being the total fucking hypocrite she is.
+1. Exquisitely done.
And spoken by a National Party voter too. There were a number of those in the comments section too, opposed to a flag change.
Key’s hypocrisy as a Royal schmoozer and the one to bring back the outdated knighthood system, as discussed in that article, hasn’t gone unnoticed by the left or right. Here’s an article from yesterday also referring to that:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/297717/has-the-pm-mistaken-himself-for-a-flag
“How else to explain the informal alliance of lifelong republicans and ageing anti-establishment boomers with monarchists and RSA traditionalists? If anything unites these camps it seems less likely to be a shared loathing of the prime minister than a nose for what you might call a false dichotomy – an unnecessary choice between two inadequate options.”
False dichotomy indeed. It IS an unnecessary choice between two inadequate options.
Can’t wait till March is over and we can get this flag hoopla over and done with and see how Key is going to handle the defeat of his vanity project. My guess he will go for the petulant sulky style.
Bernie Sanders trounces Hillary Clinton at first Super Tuesday contest – in Wellington
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/77402782/bernie-sanders-trounces-hillary-clinton-at-first-super-tuesday-contest–in-wellington
These socialist leaning Kiwi Americans are practically communists…lol
They’re feeling the burn
https://youtu.be/XQP6nzhi4s8
And a singles dating website for Bernie Sanders supporters lol
Must be Clinton Derangement Syndrome, no other explanation for it!
Maybe the left should not get inspired by the Trump
Exactly. Everything about the man is as bullshit as his hairdo. Everybody arguing this guy should be US president should be required to see this video. If they still feel the same way afterward they should be taken out the back way, straitjacketed, and driven away in an ambulance for psychiatric evaluation.
“It’s the sound produced when a morbidly obese pigeon flies into the window of a foreclosed old lady: Drumpf!”
He made his money… …inheriting it… …how could he lose in NY real estate… …the guy is all circumstance rather than substance, even become a name in reality tv.
I watched a bit over 10 mins of this and found it largely irrelevant in a nitpicking intellectual cleverly self congratulating lefty liberal kind of way.
Pretty much it is stuff like this which will push Trump over the line on general election day.
Hmm. You should really have watched it all the way through. It’s not just satirical. But never mind, I’ve phoned for the ambulance. Do you mind just taking off your jacket and putting this one on?
I do feel sorry for Americans. Their political system is obviously completely rooted.
Here y’ go….
http://www.monkeydungeon.com/images/white-6-d-straight-jacket.gif
Ha!!!
As I have said elsewhere, I’m for Trump and day in a head to head between him and that country destroying civilian droning closet sociopath Clinton.
With Trump he’s not pretending to be something he’s not.
You must be joking CV. Christ – his whole persona & business career is based on bullshit.
What a choice Americans have. A screaming fucking nutcase or a faux liberal neocon of extremely dodgy character who’s suffered from convenient alzheimers ever since she married serial philanderer Bill Clinton.
I didn’t say that Trump wasn’t full of shit.
I said that in a head to head against civilian droning, bankster embracing, Benghazi lying Hillary Clinton, I am going for Trump every time.
I know… I know… Would you please hold still so I can get these bloody straps done up properly…
You know, I don’t even know that much about the other Republican contenders. This clown Trump has sucked all the attention off everyone else.
Trust me, they’re even nastier pieces of work, but they try to put prettier faces on it. With Trump, there’s at least a chance he’ll do something neutral or even positive now and then, whereas the rest are entirely nasty from start to finish.
http://www.salon.com/2016/02/29/rubio_and_cruz_are_the_real_monsters_liberals_should_be_rooting_for_trump_and_hell_be_easier_to_beat_come_november/
Kasich is just as nasty as Cruz or Rubio, for all that he’s presented as “moderate”.
Cheers. I see your point.
“I do feel sorry for Americans. Their political system is obviously completely rooted.”
…this is why they have no faith in the Clintons or Bushes…
How to handle Trump (or should that be Drumpf?)…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-showed-how-to-take-down-donald-trump-five-years-ago-and-its-just-as-brutal-today_us_56d45adce4b0871f60ec03e6?utm_hp_ref=politics
Or even…
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/73fxht/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-don-t-forget–donald-trump-wants-to-bang-his-daughter
Yes, he went there.
If its Trump vs Clinton, my money is on Trump every time.
I’ve got no argument with your assessment of Clinton. But I really don’t think you appreciate how unencumbered Trump is by empathy or even the need to fake any other behavioural norms. He really could do anything on a whim, given the opportunity.
Exactly. I can agree with you on that.
Trump may be an uncaring mean mouthed sonofabitch, but IMO he’s not a clever civilian murdering nation destroying bankster embracing closet sociopath like Clinton has already proven she is.
Trump will just feel the need to prove he can do all those things too, but even more so. And he won’t even see why he should try to keep the sociopath in the closet.
Exactly. Plus, Trump probably thinks sociopath is just another name for pavement.
A bit like choosing between diarrhea and constipation, isn’t it?
Malaria or cholera
I choose the gin and soda water.
lol. +1
Great company you’re keeping dude.
/
http://archive.li/6Gnb7/a54009bccb9327b0530528e307f8c04755c3e681.png
Doesn’t matter mate, because the alternative is Clinton: the bankster embracing, civilian droning, country destroying, regime changing, Empire of Chaos member of the ruling oligarch who charges US$250K for her big corporate speeches.
And Sanders is a dove, righto…
/
The attack on Kosovo is hardly the extent of Sanders’ hawkishness. While it’s true he voted against the Iraq War, he also voted in favor of authorizing funds for that war and the one in Afghanistan. More recently, he voted in favor of a $1 billion aid package for the coup government Ukraine and supported Israel’s assault on Gaza. At a town hall meeting he admitted that Israel may have “overreacted”, but blamed Hamas for the entire conflict. After a woman asked why he refused to condemn Israel’s actions, he told critics: “Excuse me! Shut up! You don’t have the microphone.”
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-sanders-troubling-history-supporting-us-military-violence-abroad
http://thinkprogress.org/world/2015/08/31/3697175/bernie-sanders-wouldnt-end-obamas-drone-program-promises-to-use-it-very-selectively/
joe90, what’s your point? That Clinton is the best candidate for President out of some very limited options?
I would disagree with that position. Out of the Republicans Trump would be best for the world IMO, and out of the Democrats, it’s got to be Sanders.
Two old white men. But that’s the way it is this time around.
Not withstanding that Hillary Rodham defended a child rapist in 1975
yeah ok, but so? She was working as a public defender at the time I guess? so it was her job.
more relevant to me is that the Clintons, both of them, have overseen foreign policy which has led to the death of millions, including supplying advanced US arms to Israel which used them to kill hundreds of Palestinian children.
It’s all the same journey involving familiar names
All the candidates are establishment. That is not a question
The Clintons are compromised and controlled. That is not a question
Who will be the lesser evil doer as POTUS. That is not a question
How can all of this stopped. That is a question
Ahhhh, you are interested in the big question(s), not the question of which party/candidate represents the lesser evil.
This century, “how can all of this be stopped” is the biq question indeed. Because stop, it will, one way or another.
George H.W. Bush Throat Cut Gesture To Trump (CNN GOP Debate Houston, Texas)
https://youtu.be/rx35I7Yb2Xc
+100 The Chairman…the verdict of history has yet to be written on George H Bush , his sons and the Clintons
Trump is a threat alright!
An interview with Roger Stone on his recent book ‘Jeb! And the Bush Crime family’
https://www.rt.com/shows/watching-the-hawks/332840-petition-march-white-house/
Is there anyone on the NZ scene who gives answers in slightly ambiguous form but designed to suit what the audience wants to hear? No?
This one’s for b waghorn.
When I saw it, I was reminded of your rant about Fletcher’s a while ago. Vocabulary is a bit limited, but more than makes up for it with the delivery.
Definitely NSFW, especially since it’s best appreciated with the volume up loud.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/25/pebble-cockatoo-swearing-saskatoon_n_9322066.html?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Green
Its a shame the parrots around here are not that funny.
Great comment on the flag change on a Stuff article yesterday:
“the NZ public has never had a vote to decide their flag.
therefore there was no robust process, other than parliamentarians debating in the House. Hardly a chance for the masses to have their say.
I have never stated the opinions of my grandparents, and i dare say if i did ask them, Since they all sailed to NZ in the early 1900’s, they would all swear allegiance to the Union Jack, and i do not begrudge them than.
My children on the other hand, were born here. All of the athletes that they hold as role models, Silver ferns, Black Caps, Rowing, Track and field and yes, the All Blacks etc wear the fern with Pride. Our national Airline, flys the fern on it’s tail. My passport is black, and has a fern motif on it.
So, so answer your question, have i considered the argument. Yes i have. I was born in NZ. i do associate with the Silver Fern more than i have ever associated with the Union jack. The Fern is on my money, my passport, my licence plate, the airline i use and the chests, hats and bags of athletes i cheer on.
I do not in anyway begrudge or hold contempt for the Union Jack flag in any way. It is a great flag for the people of Great Britan to fly and to rally to. But it is the flag of Great Britan….Even England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have their own flags to fly for their own people.”
But wait a moment. Its not the fern alone, the sourthern cross..
…canada simplicity of the maple leaf, is not clutered by two different symbols on one flag.
I don’t understand your argument, are you saying we shouldn’t move to the silver fern and southern cross because it is more complicated than the union jack and southern cross?
Are you saying that you identify more as a NZer with the union jack on your flag than the silver fern?
Or are you saying we should just have the silver fern alone, like John Key wanted?
It’s only a “silver fern” because they call it a “silver fern”.
In reality it’s a stylised white fern frond that might be found on any continent (including Antarctica if you count fossils).
The thing about the current one is that it is two seperate and distinct symbols, both highly relevant to NZ (our government and our location) on a maritime blue background that sort of shows the expanse of ocean around us.
The alternative:
Black… coz rugby?
Generic fernly thing, NOT a silver fern
Weird bright blue/sky blue depending on printing errors, because… sky?
Southern cross – well they got that bit ok
And the symbols overlap messily, not being distinct elements of a whole.
Basically, a reasonable argument can be made about the symolism of the current flag. The alternative is more contrived.
Although my main reason for voting for the status quo is simply to fuck off tories.
The alternatve:
Black – cos all blacks, black ferns, tall blacks, black caps, the black outfits almost all of our athletes wear when representing our country, the colour that most people outside of New Zealand would associate with us.
Generic fernly thing – Because all flags are stylised! Do you think the maple leaf on the Canadian flag is biologically accurate?
Blue – Again represents the ocean around us
Southern Cross – Points the way home
Messy overlap – Kind of like creating a flag then stuffing the union jack in the top left hand corner?
voting for the status quo is simply to fuck off tories – You’re doing it wrong, true tories are against the change, so you trying to be smart by being a fuckwit is actually supporting the people you claim to be against. That’s a bit like the TPP protestor lining up in McDonald’s for a feed, irony at its best.
black: the colour most people outside of NZ associate with ISIS and darth vader.
The maple leaf is stylised, but still distinctly a maple leaf. Not any one of 12,000-odd fern species
Blue: which blue? Bright blue? Pale blue? The ocean is dark blue. Deep dark blue in the deep seas surrounding us.
Messy overlap: clear separation between element sections in current flag. No horizontal or vertical separation in the alternative. Cluttered. Messy.
Voting for the status quo fucks key. He placed his support around the alternative. He is their only drawcard. He loses prestige, they lose the election. They get fucked off.
oh well, can’t make this shit up.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/02/trump-jr-offers-to-pay-for-black-celebrities-to-leave-us-when-president-trump-is-elected/
what ever, surely he will be better then Hillary and all the others cause he has yet to bomb someone.
Fun games for all of us.
Well, we get to see how trigger happy he is once he has got one of the largest nuclear arsenals at his disposition.
Trump has been resolutely resistant to demonising Putin and joining the Pentagon and NATO in sabre rattling against Russia. That’s a good start for avoiding WWIII.
Donald says Putin said Trump’s “a genius and he’s gonna be the leader of the party and he’s gonna be the leader of the world or something”.
The Trumpster then says that they’ll probably get along fine just as long as Putin doesn’t take advantage of him like he takes advantage of Obama; “Nobody’s gonna take advantage of me folks”.
http://www.reuters.com/video/2016/02/17/trump-putin-called-me-a-genius?videoId=367432272
Of course Putin’s gonna “take advantage” of this dork: then it’s anybody’s guess what the bombastic dickhead is likely to do.
*Shrug*
Liberal lefties can scream at Trump all they want, it won’t make fuck all difference.
A lot of people in the US have had it with the post modern liberal lefty agenda.
Personally, I think Trump’s statements that Russia is doing a good job annihilating Islamic terrorists in Syria and the US shouldn’t be getting in the way of Putin hitting terrorist enemies of the US, is damn sensible.
Yes I think that’s a very smart approach as well. But…where do you think he thinks Putin is taking advantage of Obama? Because that’s the kind of weird, egotistical bully boy double-talk he comes out with all the time.
Just remember that Trump is trying to appeal to primary vote wielding Republican delegates at this stage. Hating on Obama for being “weak” is an instant winning message amongst this crowd.
TL/DR Trump is playing primary politics.
Oh well, it’s the 2016 quadrennial US Presidential Electoral Cycle. Must be the biggest & longest running electoral circus in the world. The actual election’s not until 8 November. A lot can happen between now & then.
There’s nothing we can do meantime but sit back and watch the show. Way too early to tell who is gonna come out the winner. When it comes to digging up & chucking around dirt closer to the actual election Trump should have the edge on Hillers if they’re the two finalists. Just from reading Wikipedia there’s a lot of material to work with there.
So if Russia indiscriminately bombs civilians that’s ok, but if the USA does it (generally less discriminately), that is not?
One set of morals for Russia, a different set for the USA?
The US has caused the deaths of approx 2M Muslims since 1990. Most of them civilians.
Russia has also done some pretty unpleasant stuff in the same timeframe but its a rounding error.
bwhahahahashahahahahahah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Ng7PF7ru4
yeah right tui.
Trump says:
Putin has a tremendous popularity in Russia. I was over in Moscow 2 years ago. I’ll tell you what, I tell you, you can get along with those people and get along with them well. You can do deals with them. But Obama can’t…I’d be willing to bet that I would have a great relationship with Putin.
And Trump is willing to say this to the red meat Republican crowd on Fox.
+100 CV…to all your comments on this
Can I believe this?
Gangs cost $714m in welfare
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/77419828/gangs-cost-714m-in-welfare-report-reveals-as-new-intelligence-centre-launched
Is it Collins dog whistle party leadership yada yada yada
Best set up a legalised market for drugs then, to tank the profits of gangs.
“Gangs cost $714m in welfare”
Around 9 out of 10 members in Grey Power are on a pension.
LOL yeah… real baaad gang that one! Drug dealers too… and they consume 2/3rds of the imports of Ibuprofen. Outrageous!
Actually Crusher got double value dog whistle from this one – with “gangs” and “beneficiaries” in the same sentence. The future PM is tough on lawn order, dontcha know.