What are you saying? Not wanting third world employment conditions in New Zealand deserves a knighthood? Besides I am pretty sure that he was not being rewarded for his contributions to workers rights.
RNZ’s article suggests he was….
Amazing they don’t report the other side of his treatment of workers.
‘Mr Talley is a joint managing director of Talleys Group Limited, one of New Zealand’s leading producers of primary food goods.
He has spent his lifetime promoting the employment of New Zealanders in the fishing industry, including attempts to place Foreign Charter Vessels under the control of New Zealand labour laws.’
He only has money to make charitable donations because he rips his workers off. No different to that bloke that makes those arse-achingly overlong fantasy films in Wellington.
My first question is how did he borrow the money, investors are treated differently to first home owner-occupiers. Have banks changed their rules on loans to investors? Last I heard a first time investor needed around 35% for a deposit, it was only existing investors who could get low deposit loans by using their equity as collateral.
Looks like he’s the LEECH of the family, live rent free, and then what? Hit them up as Guarantor. When’s he going to fix them up for the ‘free’ rent life he’s enjoyed?
“that today’s first-home buyers needed to make sacrifices.”
Or their Parents do. Another half written Advertorial (Can’t call that crap an article) from the Granny
‘He was adamant the nondescript one-storey brick house he now owns would not be his last, and echoed sentiments expressed by Barfoot & Thompson director Peter Thompson that today’s first-home buyers needed to make sacrifices.’
Presumably as it’s a “first home” he only needed 20% deposit by glossing over the fact he’ll never live there. His parents may also have given him money or acted as guarantors.
But the key thing which the article keeps trying to hide under phrases like “through hard work and modest living” is that he worked a 40-hour week while living rent-free at his parents’ place. This is simply impossible for the majority of people, and not because they don’t “work hard”.
Not to mention he was fortunate enough to have lecturers who were okay with him recording and listening to lectures later rather than participating in class.
I don’t want to hate on a guy I know next to nothing about, but having the Herald portray him as some kind of everyman who proves you can ~do anything if you want it enough~ is repugnant.
“Presumably as it’s a “first home” he only needed 20% deposit by glossing over the fact he’ll never live there. ”
That was my first thought too Stephanie but banks are pretty tough on that and since he was granted an interest-only loan it suggests the bank knew they were lending on an investment property (the usual home loan is a table mortgage)
“His parents may also have given him money or acted as guarantors.”
Yeah that’s a more likely scenario, I’d expect to find a sugar-daddy in there somewhere. His $45k is only a 15% deposit and I’ve not heard of banks making commercial loans like that. Commercial property, which is what investment properties are, usually requires a 35-40% deposit or at least guarantees amounting to the same.
I strongly recommend you all go to werewolf.co.nz to read the critique of the convention centre cult we have going. Gordon Campbell drives a bus through the Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Queenstown business cases, showing them to be worse than our sports stadium cult of the 1990s. They are no substitute for an economic development plan from governments local or Central. And they suck hard earned money out of our pockets for dubious benefit. With thanks to Tussock:
“The name’s Lanley, Lyle Lanley. And I come before you good people tonight with an idea. Probably the greatest -Aw, it’s not for you. It’s more a Shelbyville idea.
Mayor: Now, wait just a minute. We’re twice as smart as the people of Shelbyville. Just tell us your idea and we’ll vote for it.
“All right, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll show you my idea. I give you the Springfield Convention Centre!”
(Everyone gasps!)
“I’ve sold convention centres to Brockway, Ogdenville, and Noth Haverbrook, and, by gum, it put them on the map!
Well, sir, there’s nothin’ on earth like a genuine, bond fide, hotel-attached, 3,000 seat, convention centre!
What’d I say?”
Obviously a very dishonest article which is published in the knowledge that its dishonesty can never be challenged in a degree commensurate with its reach. And thus the cargo cult and its devotees are further aggrandised.
I can think of an example, not an article. But Boag g bringing up free trade and the greens aren’t for free trade, on the nation or q&a, and it is dishonesty on several levels. Firstly she did not specify what the Greens failure was, does Boag not get that the Greens are for global trade in carbon, for fair international trade, and implicitly want uniform global governance to save the planet. National are even opposed to tax reform to bring us into alignment with oz, distortions create opportunities where there was none. So how dishonest on Boag to keep bringing up an issue that National are weaker on, Saudi business get special treatment, so much for free trade. And its a theme with Boag, she does not have to be all that smart if she keeps to the prepackage attack that the other guest spend time deconstructing when that’s what its designed to do undermine the TV shows purpose talk about issues of the day, not mislead us into believing National are free traders, they are not. Free trade requires governance to create a fair trading system where all agents get to compete on similar merits. National hate that, they want distortion how else are the wealthy to stare down the newer brighter leaner smarter new competitors.
Its a damn shame that Boat is never pressed and expose or the intellectual fraud she is.
…”An objective look at US interests in the region paint an entirely different picture. The Americans seek to maintain absolute hegemony in the Mideast, even as they exit costly military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their primary interests are 1) access to low cost oil and gas, 2) propping up Israel, and more recently, 3) undermining Russian (and Chinese) influence in the region…
And I read today that ISIS/ISIL/Daesh got hold of 2,300 US built Humvees when Iraqi forces fled Mosul, as well as many, many other items of US made military equipment.
“The AFL-CIO was blunt in the call that went out to Rep. Scott Peters, a Democrat who represents San Diego: Vote yes on fast-track authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, people familiar with the conversation recall, and they’d spend a million dollars to knock him out in next year’s primary. If he managed to win, they’d drop another million against him in the general election.”
Some good reads about US Democrats, TPP, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton.
Australia’s capacity to tackle important public issues – such as climate change, growing inequality, tax avoidance, budget repair, an ageing population, lifting our productivity and our treatment of asylum seekers – is diminishing because of the power of vested interests, with their lobbying power to influence governments in a quite disproportionate way.
Lobbying has grown dramatically in recent years, particularly in Canberra. It now represents a serious corruption of good governance and the development of sound public policy
It had taken just fifty-three days from the announcement of the government’s mining tax proposal to the overthrow of its author, the prime minister. No election, no vote in parliament, no public debate. Greens leader Bob Brown said the mining companies spent $27 million on their lobbying campaign and saved themselves $10 billion when Gillard restructured the tax package
[lprent: Be careful about using too much shouting in conversation. ]
In just 24 hours, Wyden and five of those Democratic holdouts – Michael Bennet of Colorado, Dianne Feinstein of California, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Patty Murray of Washington, and Bill Nelson of Florida – caved and voted for fast-track. Bennet, Murray, and Wyden – all running for re-election in 2016 – received $105,900 between the three of them. Bennet, who comes from the more purple state of Colorado, got $53,700 in corporate campaign donations between January and March 2015, according to Channing’s research.
Almost 100% of the Republicans in the US Senate voted for fast-track – the only two non-votes on TPA were a Republican from Louisiana and a Republican from Alaska
[lprent: Be careful about using too much shouting in conversation. ]
EU moves to regulate hormone-damaging chemicals linked to cancer and male infertility were shelved following pressure from US trade officials over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade deal, newly released documents show.
Draft EU criteria could have banned 31 pesticides containing endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). But these were dumped amid fears of a trade backlash stoked by an aggressive US lobby push, access to information documents obtained by Pesticides Action Network (PAN) Europe show.
[lprent: Be careful about using too much shouting in conversation. ]
Received Andrew Little’s latest monthly newsletter to members and he talks about the budget of course. However he also had the following to say:
In the last week there has been some talk
about Labour and means testing of NZ
Super. This has been a bit of mischief from
the government and some other quarters,
but I’d like to make it very clear that Labour
will not be considering means testing of NZ
Super while I am leader. Universal
superannuation is a cornerstone of a
progressive society.
A bit of mischief sounds like an understatement and it highlights what a bunch of wholesale bastards this government and sections of the media are proving to be. Dirty Politics rolls on and on…
Craig H gave us a good idea what really happened over Little’s original comment and I hope that in future Labour and Little will stop taking this crap and sue the bastards if necessary.
There may also be a growing realisation that this government is not helping those on the breadline as they claim… or maybe more and more people are finding themselves on the breadline…
What makes you think that Winston would go left? In the past he has ( I think gone with the largest party. Also Winston has a very blue seat. This will be part of his thinking. And then would Winston want to play second fiddle to the Greens,
Personally I doubt Winston will never go into a coalition with the greens. He will go withnNational. I have no doubt about that
As far as I can tell the same (as in: the first poll after Budget Day) One News Colmar Brunton Poll in May 2014 showed a 4.0% increase for National and a 1.0% drop for Labour.
This year’s budget supposedly left the Left for dead and we see National dropping one percentage point and Labour staying steady. Interestingly, the fraction of undecided voters rose 4 points to 13%.
National is playing a very strategic game so I would not read too much into this result.
Maybe but it’s a bit deceptive trying to apply margin of error to only select parts of the Poll. But agree the next poll will be defining for Andrew Little and Labour.
Yes, and that is because he is largely invisible these days. I don’t know whether this is intentional and he is quietly gathering momentum in the ‘provinces’ which won’t show through in the polls yet, or whether he has run out of steam for some reason. Its time he again started to show the mettle we saw late last year.
Because it always seems to take longer to show through jester. That is something that was well known back in the 70s and 80s (when I was first involved in politics) and I don’t think it has changed much despite improved technical methods.
My worry is that Little is getting sucked into the perspective of the inward looking Thorndon Bubble, exactly as Cunliffe did by the end of his first 6 months as leader.
Labour has to aggressively rebrand and reposition itself to put daylight between it and National. It is running out of time to do so convincingly before 2017.
He did bring out the call for means tested Super, and since that has been shot down he might be a bit gun shy for a while longer yet. I’m hoping to see some more passion from him, I think that’s what people want to see, something to break steady as she goes Key.
Little had a bad couple of weeks leading up to and during this poll, while the Nats, superficially, looked as if they were actually doing something about Auckland’s housing problems and child poverty. I am actually really relieved that it didn’t support that last Roy Morgan poll.
I notice there are a large percentage of refused and don’t knows (13% in total). I suspect there are a lot of people not that interested at this stage. I’d expect the Greens to get a boost in the next poll because of having a new co-leader and the extra media coverage that provides.
As far as Labour and Little go, there won’t be any dramatic increases, but hopefully there will be some slow steady progress once the policy reviews have concluded. I’m also hoping Labour and the Greens can get some joint policy ideas out there as that would help both parties I think.
Agree Karen but I think Little needs to up the ante now. He’s slipping out of people’s minds and leaves himself vulnerable to a DP type perception campaign that… he hasn’t got what it takes. Those of us who have met and heard him know that he has – in dollops – but once that perception is allowed to set in, he’s in big trouble.
Correct IMO. ‘Waiting for policy to be finalised’ is exactly the wrong strategy. Policy is irrelevant. And Little must avoid being sucked into the Thorndon Bubble perspective which will be the death of his leadership. Cunliffe started off strongly as well but the moment he let himself slip into the Thorndon Bubble perspective he was stuffed.
Being forthright, trust worthiness on working class values and willing to stand up and speak plainly about how the current socioeconomic paradigm is screwing ordinary NZers and how he stands for change is 100x more important.
“Yes, and that is because he is largely invisible these days. I don’t know whether this is intentional and he is quietly gathering momentum in the ‘provinces’ which won’t show through in the polls yet, or whether he has run out of steam for some reason. Its time he again started to show the mettle we saw late last year”
I agree, although I don’t think he is the sort of guy to run out of steam. He is a quality person with integrity, with his head and heart in the right place. And he has good genuine values unlike Key who is simply untrustworthy and a very good deceptive actor in my opinion. I will trust Andrew Little any day over Key, English, Joyce, McCully and Bridges combined. That is for sure!
I also think once the Labour review is completed and the party decides on the major new policies and direction, Andrew Little will begin to get more and more visible and thus increase his preferred PM ‘popularity’. Key has been known to the public for the last 14 years from 2001 to 2015, while Winston has been in politics and is known by the public for over 37 years, from 1978 to 2015.
Whereas, Andrew Little has come from obscurity, from being an unknown in politics to be the leader of the Labour party and the leader of the opposition. He has been in this position for only about 7-8 months. Compare that to Key and Peters tenure of 14 & 37 years!
When Key first appeared on the popularity stage (In Aug, 2006, after being in parliament for 5 years) his initial popularity was 8.5, while at the same time Helen Clark’s preferred PM rating was 52.4.
Herald–DigiPoll[13] 31 August 2006 [nb 1] HC=52.4 Key= 8.5
Herald–DigiPoll[16] 22–24 September 2006 HC=50.8 Key =9.2
But Key did climb up quickly after the ‘under class’ speech in parliament about McGehan Close where Key met 12 year old Aroha and invited her to accompany him to Waitangi celebrations. After his noble act (or stunt) Key’s popularity soared. [Incidentally, Aroha left NZ within 3 years, and while in Australia, she made scathing remarks in an interview about Key, referring to him as an ‘ ‘arsehole’, who has done really nothing for the poor. He is just making every thing better for the high earners’, she said. However this did not diminish Key’s popularity]
Hopefully, Little’s preferred PM rating will grow little by little as time goes by.
Little’s popularity as PM will only go up if both he and Labour can demonstrate a direct understanding and cultural connection with the NZers they are supposed to represent.
Otherwise, its not a rational expectation to hope that Little’s popularity amongst voters will go up as a result of this or that other Labour Party internal process being conducted.
That IS what Labour is about. Check out their social, economic ans environmental policies from before the last election. Don’t get suckered in by the nasty tactics of our enemies and supposed friends as well as by the RW BS, dirty politics, lies and spin.
Hey CV, did you see the bit in Shaw’s speech about if the GP want to govern the country they need to be representative, and that people vote for who they feel a connection with? I thought of you 🙂
I do agree with you CR, that Little needs to be front footing a lot more during the policy review and he needs to talk more emphatically about growing inequality and the damage it is doing to NZ.
He also needs to do speak a lot louder, or get a phone that enhances his voice. I always have to turn the radio up when he is speaking on National Radio in order to hear what he is saying. This has been the case since he got elected. Am I the only one who has noticed this?
Nasty little incident right at the start of Seven Sharp
Television One, Monday 1 June 2015
Mike Hosking’s away tonight, but the nastiness quotient has not abated one little bit on this travesty of a show. I’m sure I was not the only viewer to have enjoyed the following bit of cattiness from the smiling assassin/attack dog/cat Pippa Wetzell. Meeeow….
PIPPA WETZELL: Hey you’re a dog… person aren’t you?
….[Slight but significant pause]….
NADINE CHALMERS ROSS: I like dogs, yes. More doggy discourse later in the program. PIPPA WETZELL: First up, though….
Anybody with a brain, however, will be watching Road Cops over on TV3— it’s much funnier and has more thoughtful people on it.
I got sick of explaining over and over again about the Green Party and James Shaw’s position on forming government with National (tl;dr, they won’t), so I wrote a synopsis, with quotes and links, that can be linked to whenever people are confused or when the NACT spinners are out and about (great quote about the spinners from Anarkaytie at the end).
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground PictureMany Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney Steve Smith, one of this generation’s finest batters, has conquered much of the cricketing world during his career, and he now has set his sights on a new frontier: the United ...
Madeleine Ballard reviews the debut novel from romesh dissanayake.when I open the shop, the debut novel by Naarm-based Aotearoa writer romesh dissanayake (Sri Lankan, Koryo Saram), is a narrative of grief. Devendra loses his mother, opens a noodle shop on The Terrace, grieves, and emerges changed. But just as ...
One of the bloody Tally brothers received a knighthood for in reality services to the National Party by way of donations …
I never, ever buy Talleys at the supermarket.
Me too. They’re on the same list as Shell, McDonalds, and the Eagles.
nor do I
Never mind that he was responsible for ensuring that overseas fishing fleets fell under NZ labour laws, or that he donates to many charities, aye?
What are you saying? Not wanting third world employment conditions in New Zealand deserves a knighthood? Besides I am pretty sure that he was not being rewarded for his contributions to workers rights.
No, it’s you being a cock by saying that it’s only because of his “services to the National Party by way of donations” that got it.
Are you saying that the largesse that Talley displayed to a number of National MPs’ campaign funds was totally irrelevant?
RNZ’s article suggests he was….
Amazing they don’t report the other side of his treatment of workers.
‘Mr Talley is a joint managing director of Talleys Group Limited, one of New Zealand’s leading producers of primary food goods.
He has spent his lifetime promoting the employment of New Zealanders in the fishing industry, including attempts to place Foreign Charter Vessels under the control of New Zealand labour laws.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/275089/nz's-newest-knights-and-dames
He only has money to make charitable donations because he rips his workers off. No different to that bloke that makes those arse-achingly overlong fantasy films in Wellington.
“No different to that bloke that makes those arse-achingly overlong fantasy films in Wellington.”
I have heard a lot of descriptions about the crap Jackson makes, but that beats them all. Excellent.
Typical rightwing approach, give all the credit to the individual motivated by personal profit and none to the collective motivated by protecting the workers …
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8540637/Talleys-and-unions-decry-slave-ships
How many holes can people find in this story?
Student becomes property investor
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11457713
My first question is how did he borrow the money, investors are treated differently to first home owner-occupiers. Have banks changed their rules on loans to investors? Last I heard a first time investor needed around 35% for a deposit, it was only existing investors who could get low deposit loans by using their equity as collateral.
“he could while living a modest life rent-free at his parents’ home.
He only has a 15% deposit.
And no real income
He must have guarantor.
Looks like he’s the LEECH of the family, live rent free, and then what? Hit them up as Guarantor. When’s he going to fix them up for the ‘free’ rent life he’s enjoyed?
“that today’s first-home buyers needed to make sacrifices.”
Or their Parents do. Another half written Advertorial (Can’t call that crap an article) from the Granny
Article paid for by the BNZ and Barfoots.
‘He was adamant the nondescript one-storey brick house he now owns would not be his last, and echoed sentiments expressed by Barfoot & Thompson director Peter Thompson that today’s first-home buyers needed to make sacrifices.’
‘He is now working full-time for BNZ….’
“And no real income”
It does say near the bottom he’s now working full-time for BNZ. I’m wondering if that job includes some perks on borrowing money.
Good on him for getting those 2 properties, but he should credit his parents for helping him at least.
Typical appalling Herald story with an overt dishonest agenda.
Presumably as it’s a “first home” he only needed 20% deposit by glossing over the fact he’ll never live there. His parents may also have given him money or acted as guarantors.
But the key thing which the article keeps trying to hide under phrases like “through hard work and modest living” is that he worked a 40-hour week while living rent-free at his parents’ place. This is simply impossible for the majority of people, and not because they don’t “work hard”.
Not to mention he was fortunate enough to have lecturers who were okay with him recording and listening to lectures later rather than participating in class.
I don’t want to hate on a guy I know next to nothing about, but having the Herald portray him as some kind of everyman who proves you can ~do anything if you want it enough~ is repugnant.
This quote by the Herald’s Ayn Randian John Galt hero suggests there might be reasons to not admire the guy.
“It’s not going to stop at one. There will be another purchase – it’s just a matter of time.”
“Presumably as it’s a “first home” he only needed 20% deposit by glossing over the fact he’ll never live there. ”
That was my first thought too Stephanie but banks are pretty tough on that and since he was granted an interest-only loan it suggests the bank knew they were lending on an investment property (the usual home loan is a table mortgage)
“His parents may also have given him money or acted as guarantors.”
Yeah that’s a more likely scenario, I’d expect to find a sugar-daddy in there somewhere. His $45k is only a 15% deposit and I’ve not heard of banks making commercial loans like that. Commercial property, which is what investment properties are, usually requires a 35-40% deposit or at least guarantees amounting to the same.
He will probably end up becoming one of those fine specimens that lurk over here
I strongly recommend you all go to werewolf.co.nz to read the critique of the convention centre cult we have going. Gordon Campbell drives a bus through the Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Queenstown business cases, showing them to be worse than our sports stadium cult of the 1990s. They are no substitute for an economic development plan from governments local or Central. And they suck hard earned money out of our pockets for dubious benefit. With thanks to Tussock:
“The name’s Lanley, Lyle Lanley. And I come before you good people tonight with an idea. Probably the greatest -Aw, it’s not for you. It’s more a Shelbyville idea.
Mayor: Now, wait just a minute. We’re twice as smart as the people of Shelbyville. Just tell us your idea and we’ll vote for it.
“All right, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll show you my idea. I give you the Springfield Convention Centre!”
(Everyone gasps!)
“I’ve sold convention centres to Brockway, Ogdenville, and Noth Haverbrook, and, by gum, it put them on the map!
Well, sir, there’s nothin’ on earth like a genuine, bond fide, hotel-attached, 3,000 seat, convention centre!
What’d I say?”
Everyone: Convention Centre!
Castles in The Square
Obviously a very dishonest article which is published in the knowledge that its dishonesty can never be challenged in a degree commensurate with its reach. And thus the cargo cult and its devotees are further aggrandised.
Which article?
I can think of an example, not an article. But Boag g bringing up free trade and the greens aren’t for free trade, on the nation or q&a, and it is dishonesty on several levels. Firstly she did not specify what the Greens failure was, does Boag not get that the Greens are for global trade in carbon, for fair international trade, and implicitly want uniform global governance to save the planet. National are even opposed to tax reform to bring us into alignment with oz, distortions create opportunities where there was none. So how dishonest on Boag to keep bringing up an issue that National are weaker on, Saudi business get special treatment, so much for free trade. And its a theme with Boag, she does not have to be all that smart if she keeps to the prepackage attack that the other guest spend time deconstructing when that’s what its designed to do undermine the TV shows purpose talk about issues of the day, not mislead us into believing National are free traders, they are not. Free trade requires governance to create a fair trading system where all agents get to compete on similar merits. National hate that, they want distortion how else are the wealthy to stare down the newer brighter leaner smarter new competitors.
Its a damn shame that Boat is never pressed and expose or the intellectual fraud she is.
A Middle Eastern woman analyst gives her opinion on how to beat ISIS
Sharmine Narwani is a commentator and analyst of Middle East geopolitics. She tweets @snarwani
‘To beat ISIS, kick out US-led coalition’
http://rt.com/op-edge/262393-isis-us-coalition-syria-iraq/
…”An objective look at US interests in the region paint an entirely different picture. The Americans seek to maintain absolute hegemony in the Mideast, even as they exit costly military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their primary interests are 1) access to low cost oil and gas, 2) propping up Israel, and more recently, 3) undermining Russian (and Chinese) influence in the region…
And I read today that ISIS/ISIL/Daesh got hold of 2,300 US built Humvees when Iraqi forces fled Mosul, as well as many, many other items of US made military equipment.
NZ troops should be pulled out NOW!
http://rt.com/news/263769-iraq-isis-humvees-weapons/
‘2,300 Humvees in Mosul alone’: Iraq reveals number of US arms falling into ISIS hands
Yep, we should never have sent our forces in to a sectarian, tribal civil war.
McKinsey ‘assessing’ Fonterra ….. again
Good fees for the McKinsey partners.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/01/us/politics/challenging-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-gains-momentum-in-iowa.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytimes
“Challenging Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Gains Momentum in Iowa”
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/democrats-recount-labors-pressure-tactics-118305.html
“The AFL-CIO was blunt in the call that went out to Rep. Scott Peters, a Democrat who represents San Diego: Vote yes on fast-track authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, people familiar with the conversation recall, and they’d spend a million dollars to knock him out in next year’s primary. If he managed to win, they’d drop another million against him in the general election.”
Some good reads about US Democrats, TPP, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton.
Reasons to go vegetarian No94:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2015/may/29/its-time-to-wean-ourselves-off-the-fairytale-version-of-farming?fb_action_ids=958871387477189&fb_action_types=og.shares
Or to support ethical animal farming.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/how-the-rise-of-the-lobbyist-is-corrupting-australias-democracy-20150517-gh2iyw.html
Australia’s capacity to tackle important public issues – such as climate change, growing inequality, tax avoidance, budget repair, an ageing population, lifting our productivity and our treatment of asylum seekers – is diminishing because of the power of vested interests, with their lobbying power to influence governments in a quite disproportionate way.
Lobbying has grown dramatically in recent years, particularly in Canberra. It now represents a serious corruption of good governance and the development of sound public policy
http://www.mybudget360.com/financial-hunger-games-reality-tv-money-for-poverty/
TV show is The Briefcase. I can’t boycott it since I already don’t watch TV now Campbell is gone.
http://meanjin.com.au/articles/post/lobbying-for-the-dark-side/
It had taken just fifty-three days from the announcement of the government’s mining tax proposal to the overthrow of its author, the prime minister. No election, no vote in parliament, no public debate. Greens leader Bob Brown said the mining companies spent $27 million on their lobbying campaign and saved themselves $10 billion when Gillard restructured the tax package
[lprent: Be careful about using too much shouting in conversation. ]
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/27/corporations-paid-us-senators-fast-track-tpp
In just 24 hours, Wyden and five of those Democratic holdouts – Michael Bennet of Colorado, Dianne Feinstein of California, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Patty Murray of Washington, and Bill Nelson of Florida – caved and voted for fast-track.
Bennet, Murray, and Wyden – all running for re-election in 2016 – received $105,900 between the three of them. Bennet, who comes from the more purple state of Colorado, got $53,700 in corporate campaign donations between January and March 2015, according to Channing’s research.
Almost 100% of the Republicans in the US Senate voted for fast-track – the only two non-votes on TPA were a Republican from Louisiana and a Republican from Alaska
[lprent: Be careful about using too much shouting in conversation. ]
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/22/eu-dropped-pesticide-laws-due-to-us-pressure-over-ttip-documents-reveal
EU moves to regulate hormone-damaging chemicals linked to cancer and male infertility were shelved following pressure from US trade officials over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade deal, newly released documents show.
Draft EU criteria could have banned 31 pesticides containing endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). But these were dumped amid fears of a trade backlash stoked by an aggressive US lobby push, access to information documents obtained by Pesticides Action Network (PAN) Europe show.
[lprent: Be careful about using too much shouting in conversation. ]
Received Andrew Little’s latest monthly newsletter to members and he talks about the budget of course. However he also had the following to say:
In the last week there has been some talk
about Labour and means testing of NZ
Super. This has been a bit of mischief from
the government and some other quarters,
but I’d like to make it very clear that Labour
will not be considering means testing of NZ
Super while I am leader. Universal
superannuation is a cornerstone of a
progressive society.
A bit of mischief sounds like an understatement and it highlights what a bunch of wholesale bastards this government and sections of the media are proving to be. Dirty Politics rolls on and on…
Craig H gave us a good idea what really happened over Little’s original comment and I hope that in future Labour and Little will stop taking this crap and sue the bastards if necessary.
http://thestandard.org.nz/labour-and-the-greens-2/#comment-1023166
Latest Colmar Brunton is out. National is at 48% Labour 31% Greens 10% NZ First 7%. No budget bump or maybe the budget bump was affected by Ponygate …
There may also be a growing realisation that this government is not helping those on the breadline as they claim… or maybe more and more people are finding themselves on the breadline…
Nice on the way to L 35% G15% nzf 4.5%
Still need to keep an eye on the polls over the next month or two to fully assess the impact of the Budget.
LAB + GR + NZF = 48%. Still 3% to 4% shy of forming a solid govt.
12% refused to answer or undecided. Would be good to see a margin of error analysis.
What makes you think that Winston would go left? In the past he has ( I think gone with the largest party. Also Winston has a very blue seat. This will be part of his thinking. And then would Winston want to play second fiddle to the Greens,
Personally I doubt Winston will never go into a coalition with the greens. He will go withnNational. I have no doubt about that
NZF could indeed go with National in the future, but John Key would have to be gone for that to happen.
As far as I can tell the same (as in: the first poll after Budget Day) One News Colmar Brunton Poll in May 2014 showed a 4.0% increase for National and a 1.0% drop for Labour.
This year’s budget supposedly left the Left for dead and we see National dropping one percentage point and Labour staying steady. Interestingly, the fraction of undecided voters rose 4 points to 13%.
National is playing a very strategic game so I would not read too much into this result.
Can’t be a hit from Ponytailgate Mickey, Key’s PM popularity rises to 44. Littles popularity now even with Winston on 9%
Margin of error stuff Jester. The result is in stark contrast with the last Roy Morgan so the next poll will be interesting.
Maybe but it’s a bit deceptive trying to apply margin of error to only select parts of the Poll. But agree the next poll will be defining for Andrew Little and Labour.
No it won’t. National will throw a lot more stuff at him and this may or may not work. Politics is a medium term game.
Littles popularity now even with Winston on 9%.
Yes, and that is because he is largely invisible these days. I don’t know whether this is intentional and he is quietly gathering momentum in the ‘provinces’ which won’t show through in the polls yet, or whether he has run out of steam for some reason. Its time he again started to show the mettle we saw late last year.
Why won’t the momentum in the provinces show through in the Poll Anne?
Because it always seems to take longer to show through jester. That is something that was well known back in the 70s and 80s (when I was first involved in politics) and I don’t think it has changed much despite improved technical methods.
Q. In a world rife with data manipulation why would the polls be given even a modicum of kudos ?
My worry is that Little is getting sucked into the perspective of the inward looking Thorndon Bubble, exactly as Cunliffe did by the end of his first 6 months as leader.
Labour has to aggressively rebrand and reposition itself to put daylight between it and National. It is running out of time to do so convincingly before 2017.
He did bring out the call for means tested Super, and since that has been shot down he might be a bit gun shy for a while longer yet. I’m hoping to see some more passion from him, I think that’s what people want to see, something to break steady as she goes Key.
Little had a bad couple of weeks leading up to and during this poll, while the Nats, superficially, looked as if they were actually doing something about Auckland’s housing problems and child poverty. I am actually really relieved that it didn’t support that last Roy Morgan poll.
I notice there are a large percentage of refused and don’t knows (13% in total). I suspect there are a lot of people not that interested at this stage. I’d expect the Greens to get a boost in the next poll because of having a new co-leader and the extra media coverage that provides.
As far as Labour and Little go, there won’t be any dramatic increases, but hopefully there will be some slow steady progress once the policy reviews have concluded. I’m also hoping Labour and the Greens can get some joint policy ideas out there as that would help both parties I think.
Agree Karen but I think Little needs to up the ante now. He’s slipping out of people’s minds and leaves himself vulnerable to a DP type perception campaign that… he hasn’t got what it takes. Those of us who have met and heard him know that he has – in dollops – but once that perception is allowed to set in, he’s in big trouble.
Correct IMO. ‘Waiting for policy to be finalised’ is exactly the wrong strategy. Policy is irrelevant. And Little must avoid being sucked into the Thorndon Bubble perspective which will be the death of his leadership. Cunliffe started off strongly as well but the moment he let himself slip into the Thorndon Bubble perspective he was stuffed.
Being forthright, trust worthiness on working class values and willing to stand up and speak plainly about how the current socioeconomic paradigm is screwing ordinary NZers and how he stands for change is 100x more important.
“Yes, and that is because he is largely invisible these days. I don’t know whether this is intentional and he is quietly gathering momentum in the ‘provinces’ which won’t show through in the polls yet, or whether he has run out of steam for some reason. Its time he again started to show the mettle we saw late last year”
I agree, although I don’t think he is the sort of guy to run out of steam. He is a quality person with integrity, with his head and heart in the right place. And he has good genuine values unlike Key who is simply untrustworthy and a very good deceptive actor in my opinion. I will trust Andrew Little any day over Key, English, Joyce, McCully and Bridges combined. That is for sure!
I also think once the Labour review is completed and the party decides on the major new policies and direction, Andrew Little will begin to get more and more visible and thus increase his preferred PM ‘popularity’. Key has been known to the public for the last 14 years from 2001 to 2015, while Winston has been in politics and is known by the public for over 37 years, from 1978 to 2015.
Whereas, Andrew Little has come from obscurity, from being an unknown in politics to be the leader of the Labour party and the leader of the opposition. He has been in this position for only about 7-8 months. Compare that to Key and Peters tenure of 14 & 37 years!
When Key first appeared on the popularity stage (In Aug, 2006, after being in parliament for 5 years) his initial popularity was 8.5, while at the same time Helen Clark’s preferred PM rating was 52.4.
Herald–DigiPoll[13] 31 August 2006 [nb 1] HC=52.4 Key= 8.5
Herald–DigiPoll[16] 22–24 September 2006 HC=50.8 Key =9.2
But Key did climb up quickly after the ‘under class’ speech in parliament about McGehan Close where Key met 12 year old Aroha and invited her to accompany him to Waitangi celebrations. After his noble act (or stunt) Key’s popularity soared. [Incidentally, Aroha left NZ within 3 years, and while in Australia, she made scathing remarks in an interview about Key, referring to him as an ‘ ‘arsehole’, who has done really nothing for the poor. He is just making every thing better for the high earners’, she said. However this did not diminish Key’s popularity]
Hopefully, Little’s preferred PM rating will grow little by little as time goes by.
Little’s popularity as PM will only go up if both he and Labour can demonstrate a direct understanding and cultural connection with the NZers they are supposed to represent.
Otherwise, its not a rational expectation to hope that Little’s popularity amongst voters will go up as a result of this or that other Labour Party internal process being conducted.
That IS what Labour is about. Check out their social, economic ans environmental policies from before the last election. Don’t get suckered in by the nasty tactics of our enemies and supposed friends as well as by the RW BS, dirty politics, lies and spin.
http://campaign.labour.org.nz/all_our_announced_policies
Hey CV, did you see the bit in Shaw’s speech about if the GP want to govern the country they need to be representative, and that people vote for who they feel a connection with? I thought of you 🙂
I do agree with you CR, that Little needs to be front footing a lot more during the policy review and he needs to talk more emphatically about growing inequality and the damage it is doing to NZ.
He also needs to do speak a lot louder, or get a phone that enhances his voice. I always have to turn the radio up when he is speaking on National Radio in order to hear what he is saying. This has been the case since he got elected. Am I the only one who has noticed this?
Nasty little incident right at the start of Seven Sharp
Television One, Monday 1 June 2015
Mike Hosking’s away tonight, but the nastiness quotient has not abated one little bit on this travesty of a show. I’m sure I was not the only viewer to have enjoyed the following bit of cattiness from the smiling assassin/attack dog/cat Pippa Wetzell. Meeeow….
PIPPA WETZELL: Hey you’re a dog… person aren’t you?
….[Slight but significant pause]….
NADINE CHALMERS ROSS: I like dogs, yes. More doggy discourse later in the program.
PIPPA WETZELL: First up, though….
Anybody with a brain, however, will be watching Road Cops over on TV3— it’s much funnier and has more thoughtful people on it.
Mozzy
“PIPPA WETZELL: Hey you’re a dog… person aren’t you?
….[Slight but significant pause]….”
“Anybody with a brain, however, will be watching Road Cops over on TV3— it’s much funnier and has more thoughtful people on it.”
This explains why you were watching seven sharp Mozzy.
Ya got me, nigela—and ya got me good!
I got sick of explaining over and over again about the Green Party and James Shaw’s position on forming government with National (tl;dr, they won’t), so I wrote a synopsis, with quotes and links, that can be linked to whenever people are confused or when the NACT spinners are out and about (great quote about the spinners from Anarkaytie at the end).
http://thestandard.org.nz/labour-and-the-greens-2/#comment-1023716
(wouldn’t mind someone proof reading it).
Short sharp shock felt here in Dunners 3 to 4 mins ago
Quake just inland from Dunedin (4.4). How rare is that?
http://geonet.org.nz/quakes/region/newzealand/2015p409380
snap CV.
edit, upgraded to a 4.7
People living out west of Dunedin are reporting it was pretty scary. Guessing there will be minor reports of damage come tomorrow morning.
I bet, shallow and felt widespread. Looks like epicentre not far off the Middlemarch Rd, between Outram and Clark’s Junction.
There’s a fault through there,
https://dunedinstadium.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/254648019.jpg
thanks for that weka…a wee bit close to home for my liking…literally
always good practice I feel 😉
I thought quakes near Dunedin would be rare, but there was a shallow 4.1 in Oct last year in pretty much the same place.
http://earthquaketrack.com/nz-f7-dunedin/recent
Did you hear it?
I did hear today’s quake coming maybe two and a half seconds off before I felt it jolt…
a few people tweeting bout the sound.
Found this too,
http://ukeq.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/dunedin-rocked-by-moderate-quake.html?m=1
wow that was a damn quick (and passably thorough) write up
edit – lol Oct 16, 2014 – thanks for the link anyways weka, very informative
sorry, that’s the 2014 one.
People are keen at reporting on Geonet, aye?
A few thousand have completed the online report in just a short space of time.
Yeah, seemed a lot very quickly.
I suppose that’s a good sign. If power and Internet went out, it would be much worse.
I keep on meaning to get a disaster kit together. I think I’ll do it this week.
esp important going into winter.