*MAD AS HELL* reporter Andrea Vance about being spied on – a threat if you ask me and a not so quiet warning for anyone disagreeing with government policies.
This is a must read article for everyone as far as I’m concerned.
Anyone have tips on how to avoid being spied on?
I’ve heard about Silent Circle, communicating using the “drafts” folder in email (so messages aren’t actually sent and therefore can’t be intercepted). Seems timely to figure out ways around this. Not that I have anything to hide(!)
Asww
First away from the block! You get the medal for being the most wide-awake around 6 a.m. despite your pseudonym.
‘Anyone have tips on how to avoid being spied on?’
Radionz a.m. interview said something along these lines.
Media freedom – the monitoring of journalists calls ( 13′ 14″ )
09:31 An international press freedom organisation reveals its concerns regarding the monitoring of New Zealand journalists. With Bob Dietz, Asia Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
In answer to a question about what Labour will do about this bill on gaining power, David Cunliffe has said this bill should not, can not, and will not stand.
David Shearer has pointed out (Despite John Key’s denial), that documents reveal that the GCSB were instrumental in illegally passing on the time stamped metadata used to track Andrea Vance’ movements through parliament. This illegally collected and passed on metadata evidence, was used to finger Peter Dunne as the source of the leak of that revealed that 88 Kiwis were being illegally spied on by the GCSB.
In retalliation the GCSB/SIS, (without actually handing it over), let Winston Peters see Peter Dunne’s private email exchange with Andrea Vance. According to Peters, Dunne’s private emails included a lot of personal and embarrassing detail about Peter Dunne’s relationship with Andrea Vance that Peter Dunne would find deeply humiliating or even distressing for him if released.
The GCSB want the right to collect everyone’s metadata.
We have witnessed in microcosm how the GCSB are exercising that power illegally now.
Are you shocked are you appalled?
The GCSB ammendment bill seeks to make the abuse of metadata that we have witnessed in microcosm by this shadowy secret agency against Dunne and Vance not only legal, but universal, over every single inhabitant of this country. Not just monitoring reporters, but everyone. And not just movements through parliament, but the whole of society.
In defence of this (still currently) illegal activity our Prime Minister has lied.
“….I am that journalist and I’m mad as hell. Anyone who has had their confidential details hacked and shared around has the right to be angry.
My visit to Speaker David Carter’s office on Tuesday left me reeling. My jaw gaped open when he sheepishly confessed that a log of all calls I placed to people around Parliament over three months was released to an inquiry focused on the leak of the Kitteridge report on the GCSB.”
Andrea Vance
“On Tuesday, an IT staffer showed me pages of “metadata” – a record of hundreds of calls I made between February and May.
The conversations, of course, aren’t disclosed. But you can glean a lot from matching numbers, time and the dates of published stories.”
Andrea Vance
“Details of inquiry head David Henry’s intrusive and outrageous behaviour have had to be dragged from all parties. (He, curiously, omitted any reference of the swipe card records from his report.)
Can I, and my sources, be confident the records weren’t viewed? They were held on a Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet server up until Tuesday night. Why – if they had acted so properly – did the Henry inquiry not notify me of this intrusion? It rankles that Key was told days before I was.
I don’t know who had access to my records. And I’m suspicious why on June 5, less than a week after the unauthorised release, NZ First leader Winston Peters was making some startling allegations about phone records in the House. Neither the prime minister’s office, the Speaker or Parliamentary Service have been able to offer a guarantee that there was no leak to Peters.”
that documents reveal that the GCSB were instrumental in illegally passing on the time stamped metadata used to track Andrea Vance’ movements through parliament.
Bullshit. Card access data isn’t metadata, it’s the normal bog standard data. Collecting those ‘timestamps’ is what the cards do, it’s the bit of data they are designed to collect. The GCSB wouldn’t be needed to get that data, PS already have it. And the ‘documents’ don’t show anything like what you claim as fact.
Getting this stuff right is important, if you hype it and say stupid shit about it, it hurts the cause.
Community housing providers told a select committee yesterday that they generally supported social housing reforms which were designed to shift housing assistance from the state to the community sector.
Organisations especially supported a proposal to give non-government providers access to the same subsidies as Housing New Zealand. This meant churches, iwi, trusts and other NGOs would be able to charge tenants no more than 25 per cent of their income to rent social houses, and Government would top up the difference to the market rent of the house.
But the community housing sector and public health researchers strongly opposed moves to increase the “churn” or rate of turnover in social housing by making all tenancies fixed-term, three-year contracts.
I think the “churn” is a good idea and can’t see any reason why we should for example allow a single parent who’s children have left to remain in a 3brm house. It is inefficient and a total waste of housing stock not to mention subsidy.
Security of tenure though is important, and where applicable it is possible to persuade people to shift to smaller houses through a process of consultation; ensuring that they are not shoved out of their community and that their present needs really are met.
I somewhat agree with AWW, however and please correct me if i am in error but AWW seems to be pushing a punitive line,
Here is what SHOULD happen at the front end of the tenancy not at the back end when the kids have all grown up and left home,
It’s fine to want the right sized housing stock to match the size of the family that occupies them, BUT, when a tenant with a family is granted such a tenancy they should be informed both verbally and by a condition in the rental agreement that once the family has grown and if they still need State housing that they may be required to move to accommodation that matches their needs,AND,it must be the duty of the PROVIDER to those families required to downsize to provide them with the accommodation that meets their current needs at the same 25% of income as rent,
The only reason we are having this discussion is in fact because every government after the Kirk Labour Government has ensured that the number of State Houses for rent has not grown while the population has grown by 1 million,
We are woefully short of State houses by at least 30,000 houses, and , Auckland’s current and ongoing housing affordability issues in my opinion are a direct result of this,
What i am pleased with is that there now appears to be a consensus that Social and/or State housing should never exceed as a rental 25% of a tenants household income and i would like to see legislation that reflects this,
I still see no evidence or logical reason why large tranches of the States housing stock should be vested in the ‘social sector’, the State has been the major and successful provider of ‘social housing’ since the First Labour Government,
Tinkering with the current State Housing stock will provide nothing but confusion of responsibility, it is not tinkering that is required, what is required is an ongoing comprehensive State House building program which lifts the number of State Houses to such a number so that Low Waged working families can be housed…
Yep, the state should ensure that there is an over supply of housing. Having people living homeless isn’t efficient due to the social harm that it does.
30 years of the State not being a major player in the building of new housing stock isn’t long enough for you to ascertain that the market has failed to respond sufficiently to meet demand,
Even Slippery the Prime Minister has stated that in Auckland the market has failed…
Yes because state houses are cool places to live. I was raised in a state house, and lived in one until I was 17. It is not something anyone should aspire to.
srylands
You wouldn’t aspire to a state house? They probably have been run down since your day. But you are too proud and superior to want to live in a state house aren’t you, not like ‘those people’.
And economists don’t have to. They’re well paid. They can buy up a solid rather stolid old state house and give it a makeover – comes up like a polished gem. The old houses might be a little plain even rough but they were well built. Even today’s which may be less so are somewhere secure to live and are found good by people who want their own place.
It’s only bloody snobs that would turn up their noses at a healthy state house in good repair. And it’s only economists who love figures on a page, rather than real people who would put beneficiaries through an annual scare that they might be turned out for some spurious reason. It’s much like those pictures of Victorian landlords turning a fainting woman with a child in her arms out into the snow.
Further to my comment above – there is another reason why people would turn down a perfectly good state house. That is if it was too far from whatever work is available, whatever education is available, whatever medical help was available, whatever supportive family or friends that are available, and it takes too long to travel to these aids to living, the transport is too sparse, and that the transport is too dear to pay for the family to travel to these places and services.
Olwyn
You offer a practical approach to ‘efficient’ housing for low income people. People shouldn’t be pushed around like pieces on a chess board. There are deep human reasons such as being social animals why people should be able to live in an area where they know others and are familiar with the location.
But more, children from homes with money and/or other difficulties tend not to learn well if they are shifted from one school to another as the family is forced to move when they are in their early to mid school years. Then when they are in college level education their studies and learning routines, if disrupted, can mean poor assessments or examination outcomes. Secure housing is more important than not having a spare bedroom.
It is beginning to sound like Russia after communism arrived. The wealthy had spare rooms in their houses given to the poor as it was deemed to be fair when there were so many poor and needy. In NZ you become equivalent to a decadent aristocrat if living in a 3 bedroom house when you could fit into a 2 bedroom. Garages next!
Hey what about renting those large people movers for overnight accommodation for the homeless. They and large 4wds are often left parked at the kerb just empty. What a waste of expense and space, when opening them up to doss down for the night would be so efficient, and would save land and expense on alternative accommodation. What a brilliant idea!
+1 agreed Rosetinted….”People shouldnt be shifted around like pieces on a chess board” ….and there is no reason they should if the state were to keep up the numbers of houses to accommodate NZers….as well as the jobs and free education and skills training
Another reason for preventing those non NZ overseas residents from buying up scarce NZ housing stock….and helping create unaffordable house pricing.
Indeed, especially as it’s often the older people who have settled down (and whose kids have flown) who have the time and inclination to say “hi” to regulars on the street, have a natter, and generally build a community. It’s one thing to meet in day care or in the school or church (other important community anchors), but actually having people in the street also helps.
Of the people I’ve known that were in state housing, many, many more were overcrowded rather than underutilised. I knew of situations with up to 10 in a 3 bedroom house, but none with a single person. I think we have to be very careful, as always, to frame the dialogue on the basis of need rather than greed. In this case, the greed of developers to get their paws on any appealing land still in the public domain.
One presentation claims the XKeyscore program covers ‘nearly everything a typical user does on the internet’
“Nice” to see that NZ contributes to this – Waihopi highlighted as a data source location.
Given this statement…
“The government doesn’t need to ‘target’ Americans in order to collect huge volumes of their communications,” said Jaffer. “The government inevitably sweeps up the communications of many Americans” when targeting foreign nationals for surveillance.
… I wouldn’t be surprised if the GCSB uses a similar rationale to ‘target’ far more than the 80 odd people they have admitted to.
If everyone is in a raw panic over the threat of a new housing price bubble, why is there seemingly no concern whatsoever about the agricultural land price bubble going on? Today on the rural news they noted a new increase in the milk solids payout to dairy farmers, followed by the usual platitudes abut farmers prudently using it to retire debt, yet then the commentating analyst from the bank noted the total farm debt is actually up again. Surely that is a huge red flag to the government??? Could it be that at a time of unprecedented high dairy prices, farmers appear to be using the money not to retire debt but to get into a pryamid scheme of speculative land purchasing for dairy conversions that can be flicked on for tax-free capital gain? We had better all pray the milk solid prices stay firmly high, because if the bubble ever bursts in the dairy sector you might as board up half of provincial New Zealand.
Yes, its happening. Agricultural debt is now over $50 billion.
When the North Island was in drought early this year the international dairy prices increased. http://www.interest.co.nz/charts/commodities/dairy-prices
A westpac economist claimed that part of the explanation for the increase in the international dairy price was because of the fall in volume caused by the North Island drought, I was surprised when I heard this. I would have thought that a relatively small fall in volume would not impact dairy prices. This just highlights how incredibly volatile the dairy commodity price is. Given the supply of dairy products that are coming out of Chile, Uruguay and other South American countries I guess it is possible that dairy prices could go the same way as coal. But the Bank economists are saying that China etc are going to consume any extra supply, but as we have seen with what happened during the drought, small changes in supply can have fairly big impacts in dairy prices.
Why would farm debt be a “huge red flag to the government”?
The government is owned by the banking system controllers, farming and control over NZ’s primary export industry, and the resources required to keep the industry moving, was identified, long ago, along with NZ’s mineral/oil/gas resources, as required to keep under control.
Can’t have a nation accessing its resources for the greater good of anyone but the so called, elite!
LOLZ, your post jiggled free a LIE that Bill from Dipton told in the Parliament yesterday, in answer to a patsy question from some non-entity on National’s back bench who i have never heard of and probably never will again,
English said this, this National Government has ensured that interest rates are low and families have lowered their household debt as a result of this,
Say what Bill, household debt is higher than it’s ever been and whoever is holding the brown end of the stick as Government when the Reserve Bank finally gets round to raising interest rates wont last longer than the following election as the pain from the over-blown debt being carried by the middle class gets translated into votes…
“We had better all pray the milk solid prices stay firmly high, because if the bubble ever bursts in the dairy sector you might as board up half of provincial New Zealand.”
You had better buy timber company shares then, because when the Chinese and the Russians start using the expertise they have siphoned from buying up our farms and agriculture companies to establish huge super dairy farms the size of this country on the steppes of Siberia, etc, and simply railing the produce out to Europe, then our farmers will go the way of our manufacurers.
Excepting of course that the major competitive advantage we have over most is the relativily friendly climate which helps keep production high and input costs comparitivily low…
the Russians start using the expertise they have siphoned from buying up our farms and agriculture companies to establish huge super dairy farms the size of this country on the steppes of Siberia, etc,
The Russians (lavrov) offered us substantive low cost land for enhanced sustainable agriculture development key and Grocer stuffed it up by insisting on short term (tariff reduction) in the FTA.
Sanctuary
What a blow to find that every time we appear to be going ahead successfully in farming or anything it gets screwed up and we end up pressing the wrong buttons and going down the wrong track. If we do well our dollar goes up and our exports stagnate and we import too much stuff.
(Theres a book looking at the role of clothing on consumption in the world, I think it is second in the spending stakes after food.) If anyone wants to know the name of the book I’ve got it, just have to look it up.
And you wonder, is it actually a one-way track. Is there no way back? And then you think about who is driving this thing – are they well-trained, practical and careful thinkers or are they like that Spanish guy, in the wrong place and going too fast to stop wrecking everything.
Is this the framework for our bill ?? STOP THE GCSB BILL AT ALL COSTS !
“The Guardian today has revealed a training guide for a program called XKeyscore, which NSA documents call the agency’s “widest-reaching” system for gathering Internet information. The program monitors everything anyone does on the Internet, from the content of emails to websites visited, searches, chats, and metadata. It can also be used to watch real-time Internet activity. The quantity of data collected is so huge—1 billion to 2 billion records a day—that they can only be stored for several days, with more “interesting” data saved for longer.
Though an NSA worker would need a warrant to target a U.S. citizen, the agency can collect data on any citizen in communication with someone on foreign soil without a warrant.
I doubt if Labour, whether under Cunliffe or Shearer, will repeal the GCSB bill. Once in government they would like nothing more than to be able to spy on us. So don’t think it will ever be repealed. Such talk from Labour leaders is there to appease the masses and to get votes in 2014. Secretly they will welcome the bill, they are revelling in the fact that it is the current government giving them a nice present. This bill is designed to create a Gestapo (right wing) or a Stasi (left wing) organisation to keep us all under surveillance.
It will be an election issue. You really think Labout are going to campaign saying they will repeal the bill, and then renege after the election, given that if they win they will most likely win by a small margin? Don’t forget the GP either.
Wrong approach, if I may suggest. You pressure Labour to commit to completely reworking the GCSB legislation to ensure the absolute maximum of democratic transparency and oversight possible as part of their manifesto, and then when Labour get in you pile on the pressure and absolutely force them to do it via popular pressure, as part of their first year in Government.
No more fucking trusting any politician bastards to keep their word, we have to make them do the right thing.
BTW you can’t just have the new legislation repealed, because the old legislation is an absolute dogs breakfast full of loopholes to start with.
I see there will be an Privileges committee inquiry into the leaking of Andrea Vances Emails/phone records. However I feel there will be another coverup/whitewash as the leader of the inquiry is the NAT MP Finlayson. Why oh Why can’t they JUST have an independent inquiry?
It’s not easy to look at Tamati, 1/3 of the screen is taken up with battleship grey. It’s a bloody screen use it all, and don’t say just lose it by pressing a few more buttons, useability should mean pressing less bloody buttons. BTW, that was a beauty, a real big jolt.
From what the Boffins have been saying Christchurch was more or less ‘direct hits’ whereas Wellingtons lot where more of ‘proximity’,
Should the 6.5 have occurred on the Wellington Fault which hasn’t apparently moved in a zillion years i could well imagine that the damage would have been way more severe and widespread,
The last biggy that moved things around a bit in Wellington was on the Wairarapa Fault and raised parts of Wellington by a meter, Kairangi, the island i live on, at that point i believe stopped being an island…
It looks pretty good on my Samsung only snag been I don’t have a reply button on each of the comments.
Am enjoying the fast load of comment heavy posts previously once a post got near 100 comments I had to flush the cache etc to even have a chance of getting them to load let alone have the ability to scroll through with any speed
Wow! Now that is better, so easy to see now. I am commenting on my Laptop but i just had to have a look on phone. A LG Optimus one with a 320 x 480 pixel, 3.2 inch (~180 ppi pixel density) screen
Second reading of the GCSB bill today and the reality has to now be setting in.
Sir Bruce Ferguson and Sir Jeffery Palmer have been out spoken in the last week exposing how undemocratic this bill is, e.g. rushed, will pass with a 1 vote majority and how the bill needs to be a conscience vote.
The sad reality is that Key cannot see the damage which he is going to cause with the passing of the bill and his attitude is I will have it my way like a SPOILT BRAT. Also Key has excluded many other better options e.g. having a review, looking at other international models, appointing people with intelligence and legal experience to have oversight of the GCSB/SIS (Shearer raised these points on morning report).
Yeah who does he think he is? The Prime Minister of the country or something? Its almost as if he thinks that getting enough votes to pass a bill means it becomes law or something…the gall of the man
“Yeah who does he think he is? The Prime Minister of the country or something?”
What makes a good Prime Minister?
Power corrupts as in being a dictator and those who surround a dictator are also culpable. Palmer even used the word “dictator” when he was interviewed on Campbell Live earlier in the week.
Golly gee well if Geoff Palmer says it then it was be true, that explains why JKs cancelled all elections, banned other political parties and why editors and journalists are being thrown in prison left right and centre
I am not going to split hairs, on second thoughts Palmer may have said dictatorial.
If you think a good Prime Minister can run the GCSB using legislation going back to 1976 before computers/smart phones were part of everyday life and knowlingly being aware of how the public feel about the management of the GCSB I find this to be short sighted.
Does an inquiry into an inquiry which is not independent some how make it alright?
And I note there is no clock as to what time comments were made. Handy if replying to something that may be hours ( or days old ), and the whole argument has moved on. And also handy to see if it’s just the booze talking at 2am.
There is a one wee problem with the new mobile version – no reply button.
Adrian *might* be using a mobile. I have a query off with the developers asking WTF! It isn’t a hard trick to do, they have the threading ok in this version…
Prime Minister John Key has justified the changes to the country’s spying laws by saying some people in New Zealand have been trained by al-Qaeda in places such as Yemen.
Mr Key said in “the real world” powers to spy on civilians was necessary.
“In New Zealand there are people who’ve been trained for al-Qaeda camps who operate out of New Zealand, who are in contact with people overseas, who have gone off to Yemen and other countries to train.
“I’m sorry, but that’s the real world.”
He said it was a “robust regime” before a signature was placed on a warrant to spy on someone.
“I wish those things didn’t happen in New Zealand,” Mr Key said.
“But if people don’t believe there’s the odd person in New Zealand who presents a potential threat, either on the international stage or in New Zealand, unfortunately they’re wrong.”
The question is why are they still trading in the NZ marketplace?
Whilst Key suggests that we need to be guarded as to a handful of people who have trained in Yemen,do we also have to have watching briefs on MBA from Harvard.
We know US residents are more prone to criminal behavior as the US has 25% of the worlds prison population,should we enhance our border protection to target visitors from the US?
Following the Roy Morgan poll it is noticable that alot of the Cunliffe harpies (excluding the institutionalised ones) on this site have gone very quiet. The Shearer hating appears to have died down.
It is not like there hasn’t been bait laid either. Alot of recent posts have provided ample opportunity to put the boot in.
Of course we all know that Shearer is going to get rolled, what we don’t know is when.
This weird lull could be viewed as a barometer reading for a very fast approaching storm.
I haven’t noticed a decrease in criticism of Shearer here. It’s just that we’ve been talking about the GCSB so much. But when the talk turns to Labour, amongst the good discussion on policy, there’s still plenty of comments about Shearer. What blog are you actually reading?
A vote for Labour is a vote for Shearer or a vote for Shearer is a vote for Labour?
Either way it makes no difference even though a person may have a preference for whom they would like to be the leader of a political party. E.g. Banks and the Act party.
The polls always reflect last month or so. At the moment they reflect Duncan Garner’s solo Labour leadership challenge, and the “man ban” beat up. Next month (or the next) they will reflect this lot…
Yep. After watching the damn things closely for the last 6 years, the lag seems to vary between 5 and 8 weeks most of the time. It shortens to about 2-3 weeks at election times. But they are always laggy.
On the other hand, there is a distinct trend over the last 3 polls and that GCR is “disturbing”
I take much heart from your previous comments McFlock that we mustn’t look at a single poll result and cry that the sky is falling. Shearer is doing fine, Labour is sitting on a natural rate of 32%-33% and this is most likely a one off low result which won’t be repeated.
Even at 29%, its still a good deal higher than the actual 2011 election result and Shearer must be given credit for that, as you have correctly mentioned on previous occasions.
🙄
It’s not the 29% that’s a concern (although it is a threshold-breaker), it’s the last four polls results. And what about the Greens, bucko? Is their lowest result since the election (and below their election performance) Shearer’s fault, too?
I mean, I know nobody’s happier than you at the thought of the left being back to where it was 18 months ago (not even Key), but you might have the decency to cut a hole in your trouser pocket rather than simply unzipping to show everyone your ecstatic reaction.
I do love how the new tactic to deflect commentary on Labour’s poll results is “butbutbut the GREENS are down too!!!! You must think that’s Shearer’s fault!!!!”
Makes just as much sense as demanding that we ignore Labour’s performance unless we also talk about Act’s.
No, because I’ve always argued for a left government, not just a labour one.
Try thinking about it a bit:
Problem: national are gaining support, the opposition are losing support. Both of them. Both the greens and labour have lost similar proportions of support in the same time period.
Whatever caused the sudden shift is not just restricted to labour. I know it goes against the gripefest mantra that it’s all just down to the (possibly imaginary) warring faction in the labour caucus that the fanclub doesn’t support, but reality can be a bitch like that.
When the Greens DO get into government watch their support crash to 6% as the Oriental Bay and Aro Valley Greens who own 2 rental properties see the light.
What? Greens support is hovering totally within its true level of 12% +/- 2%.
yeah, we’ll just ignore their couple of 14.5%s since 2011, shall we?
So basically, what you’re sarcastically arguing is that labour has a “true level” of something like 32% (and this is due to their bad performance), whereas their likely coalition partners have a “true level” of around 12% (perfectly fine performance from them, though).
If your idea of a “true level” of support is not complete bullshit, what is national’s “true level” of support?
And doesn’t that mean an eternity of national rule, because 31+12 will always be 43, never 53?
No, don’t ignore them, but I would expect a couple of results (very marginally) outside the +/-2% margin of error on the basis of a 95% CI
actually, fair call on that given your broad MoE and 37 datapoints..
and your thoughts on:
If your idea of a “true level” of support is not complete bullshit, what is national’s “true level” of support?
And doesn’t that mean an eternity of national rule, because 31+12 will always be 43, never 53?
I’m being at all negative – I’ve just adopted your view that the Labour Leader, whoever it may be, is not really an important factor for electoral success.
BTW, National can’t help but sabotage themselves and help out their crony millionaire mates. They’ll be thrown out eventually. But post WWII, National has been in power for many more years than Labour.
I’ve just adopted your view that the Labour Leader, whoever it may be, is not really an important factor for electoral success.
Come now, not “just”, by any means. You are being far to modest. You’ve added an entirely new and boldly innovative sociopolitical model of a static “true level” of party support within the NZ population.
Thank goodness Labour now has your political genius working for it!
May I also commend you on your boldly innovative concept that a political party’s leader is largely irrelevant to how that party performs in the electorate. Quite stunning thinking, really.
You are most kind, but it’s hardly revolutionary to suggest that a single person might have slightly less effect on an outcome than their three-dozen (give or take) colleagues, 65 more powerful competitors, and the aligned ranks of the New Zealand media.
“.. so how how come they are going up in the polls ?
What does that say about New Zealand today ?”
The real question might be: What does that say about the polling system?
Are polls conducted via landlines only? Of those wealthy enough/culturally still interested in paying for a landline? Many people I know now only use cell phones.
[lprent: Off topic – moved to OpenMike. Read the policy and consider yourself warned. ]
I hear Roy Morgan only polls people still on party lines.
The polls are complete nonsense, Labour is incredibly popular and these polls are purely a bankster neo liberalist smoke screen to keep the population in the dark and prop up a dying rich prick fascist dictatorship.
Irony is not your thing BM…….you’re far too piggishly “my own selfishly perceived interests” driven. Arising no doubt out of your prideful claims of having “done fabulously well in business blah blah blah.”
I was just thinking when looking at the Open Parachute rankings about how nice it’d been not having long server outages last month. And then the server system had an outage….
Drat… And I still haven’t finished having the fallbacks all running – 2 out of 3 bits ain’t good enough.
At least this support crew were on to it immediately
Big ups to the person or persons who have written statements in chalk on the footpaths in the Johnsonville shopping area about why Peter Dunne is an arse. I noticed people stopping and reading and some were even smiling with acknowledgment. Well done! We need more and more awareness raising exercises like this in the sleepy hamlet of Ohariu.
I am curious about the ‘Feeds’ box to the left of the screen. It seems that ‘No Minister’ is a bit of an oddball among the other sites that are there. Is there any particular reason for having this site among the Feeds?
Copyright advocates have long (and successfully) argued that keeping books copyrighted assures that owners can make a profit off their intellectual property, and that that profit incentive will “assure [the books’] availability and adequate distribution.” The evidence, it appears, says otherwise.
And another capitalist truism blown out of the water.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=10906694
Soon there will be minimal ability with rising interest rates for a CGT to achieve any revenue for the govt. My worry is that should Labour win the next election (still possible with Dave) and to extract any revenue from a CGT that the LLG (Lab led govt) will be forced to supporting & implementing additional neo-lib policies in allowing for even greater housing inflation in order to balance the books.
Conformance to the neoliberal monetary system will always have this result. The Government spends its entire effort on trying to “balance the books” (a pointless and unproductive task) instead of getting done what is required.
Damn it looks like my planned annual holiday to the Yemen will have to be cancelled this year, i might get accused of being an Al Quaeda training recruit,
If the Slippery little Shyster is going to try and protect Himself by Him and his office not only spying upon the private communications between Members of the Parliament and the Fourth Estate by releasing what to all extents and purposes is classified information about New Zealand residents supposedly training at Al Quaeda camps in the Yemen then the little Shyster should release the names of these supposed trainees as well so that wrong aspersions cannot be directed in any direction,
The Prime Minister should also tell the Parliament NOW whether either the SIS or GCSB are or ever have been monitoring all the cell phone traffic going into and out of the Parliamentary precinct…
Yeah. Yemen. So tell me the US and UK don’t have capabilities to spy on (digitally surveil) people in Yemen?
I am puzzled by Key’s statement:
Academics believe the terror threat from New Zealanders being trained by al-Qaeda is too minimal to change the country’s spying laws.
Their comments follow an interview with John Key on More FM today in which the Prime Minister justified changes to the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) law because he said some people in New Zealand were being trained by the terror organisation in places such as Yemen.
He said there was the “odd person” here who presented a potential threat, either on the international stage or in New Zealand.
Otago University head of politics Professor Robert Patman said while it could not be ruled out that some members of the public were being trained by al-Qaeda, “it’s difficult to know whether the Prime Minister is accurate in his depiction of New Zealand members of al-Qaeda”.
“But that actually, is not really the point. The point, I think is that many people are concerned that we’re creating a national security state in order to deal with what is a relatively minor threat.”
And wouldn’t the SIS be monitoring any alleged terrorist threats from Kiwis in NZ?
Prof Jackson also said there was no evidence that mass surveillance of the type being put forward in the GCSB bill would stop terrorism.
“Most terrorist attacks are stopped by community policing and by directed intelligence operations.”
To correct Professor Jackson most terrorist attacks are stopped by no-one in spite of the billions and billions of dollars worldwide spent upon security and intelligence…
Remember who was the last high profile person to visit the country ?
“..Holmes said. “But the amazing thing is I cannot recall ever going to a friendlier country than this. Even people who are taken hostage report that they’re treated beautifully by the people who have taken them hostage. So they’re welcoming even when they’re holding you prisoner. Fantastic.” – Who are we to believe ?? http://tvnz.co.nz/intrepid-journeys/paul-holmes-yemen-1754392
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
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. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
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http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8987970/Spy-scandal-journalist-speaks-out
*MAD AS HELL* reporter Andrea Vance about being spied on – a threat if you ask me and a not so quiet warning for anyone disagreeing with government policies.
This is a must read article for everyone as far as I’m concerned.
Anyone have tips on how to avoid being spied on?
I’ve heard about Silent Circle, communicating using the “drafts” folder in email (so messages aren’t actually sent and therefore can’t be intercepted). Seems timely to figure out ways around this. Not that I have anything to hide(!)
Asww
First away from the block! You get the medal for being the most wide-awake around 6 a.m. despite your pseudonym.
‘Anyone have tips on how to avoid being spied on?’
Radionz a.m. interview said something along these lines.
Media freedom – the monitoring of journalists calls ( 13′ 14″ )
09:31 An international press freedom organisation reveals its concerns regarding the monitoring of New Zealand journalists. With Bob Dietz, Asia Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
Permanent link
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2564121/media-freedom-the-monitoring-of-journalists-calls
In answer to a question about what Labour will do about this bill on gaining power, David Cunliffe has said this bill should not, can not, and will not stand.
David Shearer has pointed out (Despite John Key’s denial), that documents reveal that the GCSB were instrumental in illegally passing on the time stamped metadata used to track Andrea Vance’ movements through parliament. This illegally collected and passed on metadata evidence, was used to finger Peter Dunne as the source of the leak of that revealed that 88 Kiwis were being illegally spied on by the GCSB.
In retalliation the GCSB/SIS, (without actually handing it over), let Winston Peters see Peter Dunne’s private email exchange with Andrea Vance. According to Peters, Dunne’s private emails included a lot of personal and embarrassing detail about Peter Dunne’s relationship with Andrea Vance that Peter Dunne would find deeply humiliating or even distressing for him if released.
The GCSB want the right to collect everyone’s metadata.
We have witnessed in microcosm how the GCSB are exercising that power illegally now.
Are you shocked are you appalled?
The GCSB ammendment bill seeks to make the abuse of metadata that we have witnessed in microcosm by this shadowy secret agency against Dunne and Vance not only legal, but universal, over every single inhabitant of this country. Not just monitoring reporters, but everyone. And not just movements through parliament, but the whole of society.
In defence of this (still currently) illegal activity our Prime Minister has lied.
Andrea Vance speaks out:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8987970/Spy-scandal-journalist-speaks-out
As David Cunliffe says “this bill cannot stand”.
ffs.
that documents reveal that the GCSB were instrumental in illegally passing on the time stamped metadata used to track Andrea Vance’ movements through parliament.
Bullshit. Card access data isn’t metadata, it’s the normal bog standard data. Collecting those ‘timestamps’ is what the cards do, it’s the bit of data they are designed to collect. The GCSB wouldn’t be needed to get that data, PS already have it. And the ‘documents’ don’t show anything like what you claim as fact.
Getting this stuff right is important, if you hype it and say stupid shit about it, it hurts the cause.
Please stop.
+1, PB. And this piece of ‘fact’ also got me
“In retalliation the GCSB/SIS, (without actually handing it over), let Winston Peters see Peter Dunne’s private email exchange with Andrea Vance.”
Further: Read section 65-66 on page 9 of the Henry report:
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/all/files/Henry%20Report.pdf
Could that explain why the GCSB provided records, (and what records they might be), to the inquiry Jenny?
Income related rent subsidy extended to all:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10906247
Community housing providers told a select committee yesterday that they generally supported social housing reforms which were designed to shift housing assistance from the state to the community sector.
Organisations especially supported a proposal to give non-government providers access to the same subsidies as Housing New Zealand. This meant churches, iwi, trusts and other NGOs would be able to charge tenants no more than 25 per cent of their income to rent social houses, and Government would top up the difference to the market rent of the house.
But the community housing sector and public health researchers strongly opposed moves to increase the “churn” or rate of turnover in social housing by making all tenancies fixed-term, three-year contracts.
I think the “churn” is a good idea and can’t see any reason why we should for example allow a single parent who’s children have left to remain in a 3brm house. It is inefficient and a total waste of housing stock not to mention subsidy.
Security of tenure though is important, and where applicable it is possible to persuade people to shift to smaller houses through a process of consultation; ensuring that they are not shoved out of their community and that their present needs really are met.
I somewhat agree with AWW, however and please correct me if i am in error but AWW seems to be pushing a punitive line,
Here is what SHOULD happen at the front end of the tenancy not at the back end when the kids have all grown up and left home,
It’s fine to want the right sized housing stock to match the size of the family that occupies them, BUT, when a tenant with a family is granted such a tenancy they should be informed both verbally and by a condition in the rental agreement that once the family has grown and if they still need State housing that they may be required to move to accommodation that matches their needs,AND,it must be the duty of the PROVIDER to those families required to downsize to provide them with the accommodation that meets their current needs at the same 25% of income as rent,
The only reason we are having this discussion is in fact because every government after the Kirk Labour Government has ensured that the number of State Houses for rent has not grown while the population has grown by 1 million,
We are woefully short of State houses by at least 30,000 houses, and , Auckland’s current and ongoing housing affordability issues in my opinion are a direct result of this,
What i am pleased with is that there now appears to be a consensus that Social and/or State housing should never exceed as a rental 25% of a tenants household income and i would like to see legislation that reflects this,
I still see no evidence or logical reason why large tranches of the States housing stock should be vested in the ‘social sector’, the State has been the major and successful provider of ‘social housing’ since the First Labour Government,
Tinkering with the current State Housing stock will provide nothing but confusion of responsibility, it is not tinkering that is required, what is required is an ongoing comprehensive State House building program which lifts the number of State Houses to such a number so that Low Waged working families can be housed…
I dont know about anyone else, but I seem to think that increasing the state housing stock would solve the problem of housing affordability….
Yep, the state should ensure that there is an over supply of housing. Having people living homeless isn’t efficient due to the social harm that it does.
“Yep, the state should ensure that there is an over supply of housing”
Or markets could provide houses. We need efficient markets.
No such thing as an efficient market. If there was then the government wouldn’t need to step in to provide housing.
30 years of the State not being a major player in the building of new housing stock isn’t long enough for you to ascertain that the market has failed to respond sufficiently to meet demand,
Even Slippery the Prime Minister has stated that in Auckland the market has failed…
Yes because state houses are cool places to live. I was raised in a state house, and lived in one until I was 17. It is not something anyone should aspire to.
My experience with state houses is that they’re no different to any other house and in many cases a lot better.
Is this another of your ‘story’s akin to i am a big time economist looking to hire employees for 150 grand a year,
People aspire to be housed in such a situation where their income can pay the rent plus put a decent feed on the table at meal times,
What do you find to be so ‘wrong’ with State Housing…
srylands
You wouldn’t aspire to a state house? They probably have been run down since your day. But you are too proud and superior to want to live in a state house aren’t you, not like ‘those people’.
And economists don’t have to. They’re well paid. They can buy up a solid rather stolid old state house and give it a makeover – comes up like a polished gem. The old houses might be a little plain even rough but they were well built. Even today’s which may be less so are somewhere secure to live and are found good by people who want their own place.
It’s only bloody snobs that would turn up their noses at a healthy state house in good repair. And it’s only economists who love figures on a page, rather than real people who would put beneficiaries through an annual scare that they might be turned out for some spurious reason. It’s much like those pictures of Victorian landlords turning a fainting woman with a child in her arms out into the snow.
Further to my comment above – there is another reason why people would turn down a perfectly good state house. That is if it was too far from whatever work is available, whatever education is available, whatever medical help was available, whatever supportive family or friends that are available, and it takes too long to travel to these aids to living, the transport is too sparse, and that the transport is too dear to pay for the family to travel to these places and services.
And you want other kids to live on the street…?
Olwyn
You offer a practical approach to ‘efficient’ housing for low income people. People shouldn’t be pushed around like pieces on a chess board. There are deep human reasons such as being social animals why people should be able to live in an area where they know others and are familiar with the location.
But more, children from homes with money and/or other difficulties tend not to learn well if they are shifted from one school to another as the family is forced to move when they are in their early to mid school years. Then when they are in college level education their studies and learning routines, if disrupted, can mean poor assessments or examination outcomes. Secure housing is more important than not having a spare bedroom.
It is beginning to sound like Russia after communism arrived. The wealthy had spare rooms in their houses given to the poor as it was deemed to be fair when there were so many poor and needy. In NZ you become equivalent to a decadent aristocrat if living in a 3 bedroom house when you could fit into a 2 bedroom. Garages next!
Hey what about renting those large people movers for overnight accommodation for the homeless. They and large 4wds are often left parked at the kerb just empty. What a waste of expense and space, when opening them up to doss down for the night would be so efficient, and would save land and expense on alternative accommodation. What a brilliant idea!
+1 agreed Rosetinted….”People shouldnt be shifted around like pieces on a chess board” ….and there is no reason they should if the state were to keep up the numbers of houses to accommodate NZers….as well as the jobs and free education and skills training
Another reason for preventing those non NZ overseas residents from buying up scarce NZ housing stock….and helping create unaffordable house pricing.
Indeed, especially as it’s often the older people who have settled down (and whose kids have flown) who have the time and inclination to say “hi” to regulars on the street, have a natter, and generally build a community. It’s one thing to meet in day care or in the school or church (other important community anchors), but actually having people in the street also helps.
Of the people I’ve known that were in state housing, many, many more were overcrowded rather than underutilised. I knew of situations with up to 10 in a 3 bedroom house, but none with a single person. I think we have to be very careful, as always, to frame the dialogue on the basis of need rather than greed. In this case, the greed of developers to get their paws on any appealing land still in the public domain.
XKEYSCORE
One of the NSAs most powerful tools now revealed.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/31/nsa-top-secret-program-online-data
“Nice” to see that NZ contributes to this – Waihopi highlighted as a data source location.
Given this statement…
… I wouldn’t be surprised if the GCSB uses a similar rationale to ‘target’ far more than the 80 odd people they have admitted to.
Authoritarianism pure and simple.
Yesterdays joke on fb, –“GCSB and NSA, the only NZ and US government departments that really listen to you”
If everyone is in a raw panic over the threat of a new housing price bubble, why is there seemingly no concern whatsoever about the agricultural land price bubble going on? Today on the rural news they noted a new increase in the milk solids payout to dairy farmers, followed by the usual platitudes abut farmers prudently using it to retire debt, yet then the commentating analyst from the bank noted the total farm debt is actually up again. Surely that is a huge red flag to the government??? Could it be that at a time of unprecedented high dairy prices, farmers appear to be using the money not to retire debt but to get into a pryamid scheme of speculative land purchasing for dairy conversions that can be flicked on for tax-free capital gain? We had better all pray the milk solid prices stay firmly high, because if the bubble ever bursts in the dairy sector you might as board up half of provincial New Zealand.
Yes, its happening. Agricultural debt is now over $50 billion.
When the North Island was in drought early this year the international dairy prices increased.
http://www.interest.co.nz/charts/commodities/dairy-prices
A westpac economist claimed that part of the explanation for the increase in the international dairy price was because of the fall in volume caused by the North Island drought, I was surprised when I heard this. I would have thought that a relatively small fall in volume would not impact dairy prices. This just highlights how incredibly volatile the dairy commodity price is. Given the supply of dairy products that are coming out of Chile, Uruguay and other South American countries I guess it is possible that dairy prices could go the same way as coal. But the Bank economists are saying that China etc are going to consume any extra supply, but as we have seen with what happened during the drought, small changes in supply can have fairly big impacts in dairy prices.
Watch this space.
Why would farm debt be a “huge red flag to the government”?
The government is owned by the banking system controllers, farming and control over NZ’s primary export industry, and the resources required to keep the industry moving, was identified, long ago, along with NZ’s mineral/oil/gas resources, as required to keep under control.
Can’t have a nation accessing its resources for the greater good of anyone but the so called, elite!
LOLZ, your post jiggled free a LIE that Bill from Dipton told in the Parliament yesterday, in answer to a patsy question from some non-entity on National’s back bench who i have never heard of and probably never will again,
English said this, this National Government has ensured that interest rates are low and families have lowered their household debt as a result of this,
Say what Bill, household debt is higher than it’s ever been and whoever is holding the brown end of the stick as Government when the Reserve Bank finally gets round to raising interest rates wont last longer than the following election as the pain from the over-blown debt being carried by the middle class gets translated into votes…
“We had better all pray the milk solid prices stay firmly high, because if the bubble ever bursts in the dairy sector you might as board up half of provincial New Zealand.”
You had better buy timber company shares then, because when the Chinese and the Russians start using the expertise they have siphoned from buying up our farms and agriculture companies to establish huge super dairy farms the size of this country on the steppes of Siberia, etc, and simply railing the produce out to Europe, then our farmers will go the way of our manufacurers.
Excepting of course that the major competitive advantage we have over most is the relativily friendly climate which helps keep production high and input costs comparitivily low…
the Russians start using the expertise they have siphoned from buying up our farms and agriculture companies to establish huge super dairy farms the size of this country on the steppes of Siberia, etc,
The Russians (lavrov) offered us substantive low cost land for enhanced sustainable agriculture development key and Grocer stuffed it up by insisting on short term (tariff reduction) in the FTA.
Sanctuary
What a blow to find that every time we appear to be going ahead successfully in farming or anything it gets screwed up and we end up pressing the wrong buttons and going down the wrong track. If we do well our dollar goes up and our exports stagnate and we import too much stuff.
(Theres a book looking at the role of clothing on consumption in the world, I think it is second in the spending stakes after food.) If anyone wants to know the name of the book I’ve got it, just have to look it up.
And you wonder, is it actually a one-way track. Is there no way back? And then you think about who is driving this thing – are they well-trained, practical and careful thinkers or are they like that Spanish guy, in the wrong place and going too fast to stop wrecking everything.
Is this the framework for our bill ?? STOP THE GCSB BILL AT ALL COSTS !
“The Guardian today has revealed a training guide for a program called XKeyscore, which NSA documents call the agency’s “widest-reaching” system for gathering Internet information. The program monitors everything anyone does on the Internet, from the content of emails to websites visited, searches, chats, and metadata. It can also be used to watch real-time Internet activity. The quantity of data collected is so huge—1 billion to 2 billion records a day—that they can only be stored for several days, with more “interesting” data saved for longer.
Though an NSA worker would need a warrant to target a U.S. citizen, the agency can collect data on any citizen in communication with someone on foreign soil without a warrant.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/31/nsa-top-secret-program-online-data?CMP=twt_gu
And frakking General Alexander claims that the system is so safe that he can’t even access his daughter’s emails. Fucking lying prick.
I doubt if Labour, whether under Cunliffe or Shearer, will repeal the GCSB bill. Once in government they would like nothing more than to be able to spy on us. So don’t think it will ever be repealed. Such talk from Labour leaders is there to appease the masses and to get votes in 2014. Secretly they will welcome the bill, they are revelling in the fact that it is the current government giving them a nice present. This bill is designed to create a Gestapo (right wing) or a Stasi (left wing) organisation to keep us all under surveillance.
It will be an election issue. You really think Labout are going to campaign saying they will repeal the bill, and then renege after the election, given that if they win they will most likely win by a small margin? Don’t forget the GP either.
Wrong approach, if I may suggest. You pressure Labour to commit to completely reworking the GCSB legislation to ensure the absolute maximum of democratic transparency and oversight possible as part of their manifesto, and then when Labour get in you pile on the pressure and absolutely force them to do it via popular pressure, as part of their first year in Government.
No more fucking trusting any politician bastards to keep their word, we have to make them do the right thing.
BTW you can’t just have the new legislation repealed, because the old legislation is an absolute dogs breakfast full of loopholes to start with.
I see there will be an Privileges committee inquiry into the leaking of Andrea Vances Emails/phone records. However I feel there will be another coverup/whitewash as the leader of the inquiry is the NAT MP Finlayson. Why oh Why can’t they JUST have an independent inquiry?
Because then there will need to be an inquiry into the Privileges Committee inquiry. Then an inquiry into that inquiry…
Cheers to who made the new mobile site! Very clean and easy to use.
No it’s not!
Not new or not easy to use?
It’s not easy to look at Tamati, 1/3 of the screen is taken up with battleship grey. It’s a bloody screen use it all, and don’t say just lose it by pressing a few more buttons, useability should mean pressing less bloody buttons. BTW, that was a beauty, a real big jolt.
I am out East of the city, sure felt that one, not quite as big out here tho i think, maybe a third of the power of the 6.5…
4.9 geonet says?
Has there been any discussion about the current quakes in light of what happened to Chch? Smaller quake first and then big one 6 months later?
From what the Boffins have been saying Christchurch was more or less ‘direct hits’ whereas Wellingtons lot where more of ‘proximity’,
Should the 6.5 have occurred on the Wellington Fault which hasn’t apparently moved in a zillion years i could well imagine that the damage would have been way more severe and widespread,
The last biggy that moved things around a bit in Wellington was on the Wairarapa Fault and raised parts of Wellington by a meter, Kairangi, the island i live on, at that point i believe stopped being an island…
What kind of phone? What screen size?
How does it compare to the old theme? Which had the banner at the top.
It looks pretty good on my Samsung only snag been I don’t have a reply button on each of the comments.
Am enjoying the fast load of comment heavy posts previously once a post got near 100 comments I had to flush the cache etc to even have a chance of getting them to load let alone have the ability to scroll through with any speed
Wow! Now that is better, so easy to see now. I am commenting on my Laptop but i just had to have a look on phone. A LG Optimus one with a 320 x 480 pixel, 3.2 inch (~180 ppi pixel density) screen
Second reading of the GCSB bill today and the reality has to now be setting in.
Sir Bruce Ferguson and Sir Jeffery Palmer have been out spoken in the last week exposing how undemocratic this bill is, e.g. rushed, will pass with a 1 vote majority and how the bill needs to be a conscience vote.
The sad reality is that Key cannot see the damage which he is going to cause with the passing of the bill and his attitude is I will have it my way like a SPOILT BRAT. Also Key has excluded many other better options e.g. having a review, looking at other international models, appointing people with intelligence and legal experience to have oversight of the GCSB/SIS (Shearer raised these points on morning report).
Yeah who does he think he is? The Prime Minister of the country or something? Its almost as if he thinks that getting enough votes to pass a bill means it becomes law or something…the gall of the man
“Yeah who does he think he is? The Prime Minister of the country or something?”
What makes a good Prime Minister?
Power corrupts as in being a dictator and those who surround a dictator are also culpable. Palmer even used the word “dictator” when he was interviewed on Campbell Live earlier in the week.
Golly gee well if Geoff Palmer says it then it was be true, that explains why JKs cancelled all elections, banned other political parties and why editors and journalists are being thrown in prison left right and centre
I am not going to split hairs, on second thoughts Palmer may have said dictatorial.
If you think a good Prime Minister can run the GCSB using legislation going back to 1976 before computers/smart phones were part of everyday life and knowlingly being aware of how the public feel about the management of the GCSB I find this to be short sighted.
Does an inquiry into an inquiry which is not independent some how make it alright?
The position of PM isn’t that of a dictator no matter how much you RWNJs wish it was.
some journalist said ‘temporary leader’ which i thought was the right description.
And I note there is no clock as to what time comments were made. Handy if replying to something that may be hours ( or days old ), and the whole argument has moved on. And also handy to see if it’s just the booze talking at 2am.
If you use the reply button, your comments will make more sense 🙂
There is a one wee problem with the new mobile version – no reply button.
Adrian *might* be using a mobile. I have a query off with the developers asking WTF! It isn’t a hard trick to do, they have the threading ok in this version…
Interesting. So is this something written specifically for ts, or is it a more general thing that you’ve adapted?
I presume this is for the new mobile version? I’ll be attacking that part of the theme tonight. I didn’t notice it when I was testing *bad lprent*
The lack of a reply is the most severe functional problem though.
Works a whole lot better than the old version. I get some rendering hassles on my android test phone which are irritating.
Thank you for your practical suggestion and I usually give the day at least!
Re the booze, not applicable concerning me.
The best I can do is to provide the following info.
GCSB bill heads back to Parliament for second reading 08:09 1 August 2013 morning report.
Mr Key’s latest… Al Qaeda have “trainees” in NZ, they have been trained in places like Yemen… ffs
The man thinks we’re fools..or something else.
Prime Minister John Key has justified the changes to the country’s spying laws by saying some people in New Zealand have been trained by al-Qaeda in places such as Yemen.
Mr Key said in “the real world” powers to spy on civilians was necessary.
“In New Zealand there are people who’ve been trained for al-Qaeda camps who operate out of New Zealand, who are in contact with people overseas, who have gone off to Yemen and other countries to train.
“I’m sorry, but that’s the real world.”
He said it was a “robust regime” before a signature was placed on a warrant to spy on someone.
“I wish those things didn’t happen in New Zealand,” Mr Key said.
“But if people don’t believe there’s the odd person in New Zealand who presents a potential threat, either on the international stage or in New Zealand, unfortunately they’re wrong.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10906592
Sounds sensible to me and it will for most New Zealanders. No traction there.
The changes in the GCSB bill emphasize the “economic well being of New Zealand”.
Which entails the careful watch of money launderers and recidivist cartels that have gone rogue.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/130291230/GF-Co-JPM-Out-of-Control
The question is why are they still trading in the NZ marketplace?
Whilst Key suggests that we need to be guarded as to a handful of people who have trained in Yemen,do we also have to have watching briefs on MBA from Harvard.
We know US residents are more prone to criminal behavior as the US has 25% of the worlds prison population,should we enhance our border protection to target visitors from the US?
Looks like the Mark Taylor story is about to get dusted off for another outing:
Key’s initial spin: http://www.3news.co.nz/Key-confirms-Kiwi-linked-to-al-Qaeda-living-in-NZ/tabid/423/articleID/224171/Default.aspx
But then the truth comes out: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10751170
Problem for Key is that this all happened in 2009-2011
Following the Roy Morgan poll it is noticable that alot of the Cunliffe harpies (excluding the institutionalised ones) on this site have gone very quiet. The Shearer hating appears to have died down.
It is not like there hasn’t been bait laid either. Alot of recent posts have provided ample opportunity to put the boot in.
Of course we all know that Shearer is going to get rolled, what we don’t know is when.
This weird lull could be viewed as a barometer reading for a very fast approaching storm.
I haven’t noticed a decrease in criticism of Shearer here. It’s just that we’ve been talking about the GCSB so much. But when the talk turns to Labour, amongst the good discussion on policy, there’s still plenty of comments about Shearer. What blog are you actually reading?
I think there’s not all that much left to say on Shearer. We’re just waiting now.
Which one?
A vote for Labour is a vote for Shearer or a vote for Shearer is a vote for Labour?
Either way it makes no difference even though a person may have a preference for whom they would like to be the leader of a political party. E.g. Banks and the Act party.
.. so how how come they are going up in the polls ?
What does that say about New Zealand today ?
[lprent: off topic – moved to OpenMike. Read the policy and consider yourself warned. ]
The polls always reflect last month or so. At the moment they reflect Duncan Garner’s solo Labour leadership challenge, and the “man ban” beat up. Next month (or the next) they will reflect this lot…
The polls reflect that most peoples exposure to politics is the shit John Key spins on More FM etc.
Yep. After watching the damn things closely for the last 6 years, the lag seems to vary between 5 and 8 weeks most of the time. It shortens to about 2-3 weeks at election times. But they are always laggy.
On the other hand, there is a distinct trend over the last 3 polls and that GCR is “disturbing”
Indeed. I’m not liking the vibe. Even if there’s a slight bounce next time, it’ll still not mean labour’s out of the woods.
I take much heart from your previous comments McFlock that we mustn’t look at a single poll result and cry that the sky is falling. Shearer is doing fine, Labour is sitting on a natural rate of 32%-33% and this is most likely a one off low result which won’t be repeated.
Even at 29%, its still a good deal higher than the actual 2011 election result and Shearer must be given credit for that, as you have correctly mentioned on previous occasions.
🙄
It’s not the 29% that’s a concern (although it is a threshold-breaker), it’s the last four polls results. And what about the Greens, bucko? Is their lowest result since the election (and below their election performance) Shearer’s fault, too?
I mean, I know nobody’s happier than you at the thought of the left being back to where it was 18 months ago (not even Key), but you might have the decency to cut a hole in your trouser pocket rather than simply unzipping to show everyone your ecstatic reaction.
I do love how the new tactic to deflect commentary on Labour’s poll results is “butbutbut the GREENS are down too!!!! You must think that’s Shearer’s fault!!!!”
Makes just as much sense as demanding that we ignore Labour’s performance unless we also talk about Act’s.
No, because I’ve always argued for a left government, not just a labour one.
Try thinking about it a bit:
Problem: national are gaining support, the opposition are losing support. Both of them. Both the greens and labour have lost similar proportions of support in the same time period.
Whatever caused the sudden shift is not just restricted to labour. I know it goes against the gripefest mantra that it’s all just down to the (possibly imaginary) warring faction in the labour caucus that the fanclub doesn’t support, but reality can be a bitch like that.
What? Greens support is hovering totally within its true level of 12% +/- 2%.
Don’t panic McFlock, the sky is NOT falling, the “Left” which you are so proud of is still on track to win.
As you wish it, so it will be. I have total faith in Labour and the Greens. Why don’t you? Find your faith again, and let’s get this ride moving!
When the Greens DO get into government watch their support crash to 6% as the Oriental Bay and Aro Valley Greens who own 2 rental properties see the light.
yeah, we’ll just ignore their couple of 14.5%s since 2011, shall we?
So basically, what you’re sarcastically arguing is that labour has a “true level” of something like 32% (and this is due to their bad performance), whereas their likely coalition partners have a “true level” of around 12% (perfectly fine performance from them, though).
If your idea of a “true level” of support is not complete bullshit, what is national’s “true level” of support?
And doesn’t that mean an eternity of national rule, because 31+12 will always be 43, never 53?
No, don’t ignore them, but I would expect a couple of results (very marginally) outside the +/-2% margin of error on the basis of a 95% CI.
But the vast majority of results for the Greens lie exactly +/- 2% of 12%.
actually, fair call on that given your broad MoE and 37 datapoints..
and your thoughts on:
National could actually rule the country permanently, if they were focussed on serving the top 33%, instead of just the top 1%.
so everything is futile, and the leadership really doesn’t matter.
Bit of a fucking grim viewpoint, though.
I’m being at all negative – I’ve just adopted your view that the Labour Leader, whoever it may be, is not really an important factor for electoral success.
BTW, National can’t help but sabotage themselves and help out their crony millionaire mates. They’ll be thrown out eventually. But post WWII, National has been in power for many more years than Labour.
Come now, not “just”, by any means. You are being far to modest. You’ve added an entirely new and boldly innovative sociopolitical model of a static “true level” of party support within the NZ population.
Thank goodness Labour now has your political genius working for it!
May I also commend you on your boldly innovative concept that a political party’s leader is largely irrelevant to how that party performs in the electorate. Quite stunning thinking, really.
You are most kind, but it’s hardly revolutionary to suggest that a single person might have slightly less effect on an outcome than their three-dozen (give or take) colleagues, 65 more powerful competitors, and the aligned ranks of the New Zealand media.
Worth a laugh: http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/8988229/Meridian-sends-letter-to-lamp-post
“.. so how how come they are going up in the polls ?
What does that say about New Zealand today ?”
The real question might be: What does that say about the polling system?
Are polls conducted via landlines only? Of those wealthy enough/culturally still interested in paying for a landline? Many people I know now only use cell phones.
[lprent: Off topic – moved to OpenMike. Read the policy and consider yourself warned. ]
I hear Roy Morgan only polls people still on party lines.
The polls are complete nonsense, Labour is incredibly popular and these polls are purely a bankster neo liberalist smoke screen to keep the population in the dark and prop up a dying rich prick fascist dictatorship.
Irony is not your thing BM…….you’re far too piggishly “my own selfishly perceived interests” driven. Arising no doubt out of your prideful claims of having “done fabulously well in business blah blah blah.”
I have an opening for a shoe shiner if you’re interested.
BM – how wonderfully you illustrate my point ! Thanks.
No worries, Uncle North.
Read the Roy Morgan report (linked elsewhere). Not just landlines.
Also read the date of polling period.
I’m on an Ipad lprent. on broadband wi=fi in a house, yeah and no reply button.
As always, the motive, happen here…nah…never
/
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/07/money-nsa-vote/
why didnt dunne just tell hendry he had soup on his tie and why didnt he just piss off?
what sort of whore is he?
I was just thinking when looking at the Open Parachute rankings about how nice it’d been not having long server outages last month. And then the server system had an outage….
Drat… And I still haven’t finished having the fallbacks all running – 2 out of 3 bits ain’t good enough.
At least this support crew were on to it immediately
Big ups to the person or persons who have written statements in chalk on the footpaths in the Johnsonville shopping area about why Peter Dunne is an arse. I noticed people stopping and reading and some were even smiling with acknowledgment. Well done! We need more and more awareness raising exercises like this in the sleepy hamlet of Ohariu.
Nice tidy writing too:-)
yes, good job!
So, the head of Parliamentary Services has taken the knife in the back. There are no words to describe key. He’s just a pimple on the r sole of life.
I am curious about the ‘Feeds’ box to the left of the screen. It seems that ‘No Minister’ is a bit of an oddball among the other sites that are there. Is there any particular reason for having this site among the Feeds?
Decades of books have vanished because of US copyright protections
And another capitalist truism blown out of the water.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=10906694
Soon there will be minimal ability with rising interest rates for a CGT to achieve any revenue for the govt. My worry is that should Labour win the next election (still possible with Dave) and to extract any revenue from a CGT that the LLG (Lab led govt) will be forced to supporting & implementing additional neo-lib policies in allowing for even greater housing inflation in order to balance the books.
Conformance to the neoliberal monetary system will always have this result. The Government spends its entire effort on trying to “balance the books” (a pointless and unproductive task) instead of getting done what is required.
Damn it looks like my planned annual holiday to the Yemen will have to be cancelled this year, i might get accused of being an Al Quaeda training recruit,
If the Slippery little Shyster is going to try and protect Himself by Him and his office not only spying upon the private communications between Members of the Parliament and the Fourth Estate by releasing what to all extents and purposes is classified information about New Zealand residents supposedly training at Al Quaeda camps in the Yemen then the little Shyster should release the names of these supposed trainees as well so that wrong aspersions cannot be directed in any direction,
The Prime Minister should also tell the Parliament NOW whether either the SIS or GCSB are or ever have been monitoring all the cell phone traffic going into and out of the Parliamentary precinct…
Yeah. Yemen. So tell me the US and UK don’t have capabilities to spy on (digitally surveil) people in Yemen?
I am puzzled by Key’s statement:
And wouldn’t the SIS be monitoring any alleged terrorist threats from Kiwis in NZ?
To correct Professor Jackson most terrorist attacks are stopped by no-one in spite of the billions and billions of dollars worldwide spent upon security and intelligence…
Remember who was the last high profile person to visit the country ?
“..Holmes said. “But the amazing thing is I cannot recall ever going to a friendlier country than this. Even people who are taken hostage report that they’re treated beautifully by the people who have taken them hostage. So they’re welcoming even when they’re holding you prisoner. Fantastic.” – Who are we to believe ??
http://tvnz.co.nz/intrepid-journeys/paul-holmes-yemen-1754392
LOL
http://www.thecivilian.co.nz/al-qaeda-offered-charter-school-contract-after-showing-proficiency-in-training-new-zealanders/
Indeed triples the LOLZ…
Was Key talking about Tamati Iti and the rest of Tuhoe, I wonder. They were real terrorists weren’t they. Even Auntie Helen’s mob thought so.
Who on Earth is Tamati Iti? Get back to the slime from whence you crawled. The WhaleSpew Army is missing you.
“They were real terrorists weren’t they”
Of course they weren’t, what makes you think that?
Ooops.