I cannot help but be disgusted at people who plump for the Chinese takeover of this country. IMO they are no better than those in Europe who collaborated with the Nazi occupiers.
Says someone who would wave their little Chinese flag when the PLA marches up Queen St, along with O’Sullivan, Farrar, Slater, Williams, Hosking and co.
Deng Xiao-peng (the man who I regard as the most influential figure over the past 40 years), said that ‘to get rich is glorious’. Meaning that the Chinese put the making of money over all else. Why else do you think there are no enviromental or labour laws in China?
And what would you do, enlist and fight to save NZ? I bet not.
The history of world is countries being taken over, via military means, economic means and in some cases by invitaion
Its interesting to note that this very country was taken over (but I’m guessing you think thats ok) but you keep warning us against the yellow peril millsy
+100 millsy…”Chinese put the making of money over all else. Why else do you think there are no enviromental or labour laws in China?”…I am afraid that this is the case….Look no further than the trashing of Tibet
The argument seems to be the Chinese can help provide a distribution network, thus generate further growth. Overlooking that a 50% share of the returns will then go to the Chinese, reducing local return from any new growth.
Moreover, ignoring the potential the NZ company has to generate its own growth and secure a contract with a major Chinese distributor. Ensuring the benefits of new growth remains in local hands. Not to mention maintaining full company control.
Know how the ‘money guys’ of this country took the monies we generated and ‘pissed it up the wall’ in a manner of speaking…took it and pumped it into various overseas ‘casino’ type investments, or funneled all the profit streams to their banking mates overseas? And know how most everyone still gets up in the morning and bends over or kneels down for those same guys before they rush out to ‘make a buck’?
I think your ire is seriously misplaced.
If money is needed because NZ set itself up as a fucking toilet cistern that flushed everything away to elsewhere, then where the fuck do you think the money is going to come from if not from elsewhere?
If you’re going to be angry (and I see no reason why you shouldn’t be) then at least be angry at the right people…the ones who have gouged and who continue to gouge this country for all it’s worth.
I get the feeling that the company has been purposely run into the red to justify the merger with Shanghai Maling. There seems to be quite a disconnection between the board in their nice new corporate offices (in the custom refurbished chief main post office) and the farmer cooperative shareholders. The pressure is definitely now on to get the early votes before any counteroffer can emerge:
Silver Fern Farms could be facing insolvency if shareholders do not approve a 50:50 joint venture with Chinese company Shanghai Maling.
Voting has opened on the proposal before a meeting of shareholders at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium on October 16…
The company had carried excessive debt for many years, creating a financial constraint on the operations of the business.
While debt had been reduced significantly over the last two years and was expected to be about $140million to $160million at the end of September, that was considered to be still too high.
Due to the highly seasonal nature of the business, there was a very significant investment in net working capital through the season. Depending on the season, that would normally result in peak debt levels up to $200million higher than opening debt.
New Zealand farmers have had plenty of chances to get local coalitions together.
They are just freaking lucky Shanghai Mailing isn’t asking for a whole bunch more than 50% control, given the dump trucks of cash they are about to roll in to Silver Fern’s Dunedin headquarters.
It’s a nice little schadenfreude for all the 19th century Chinese gold miners in Otago who were treated so badly.
I get a little melancholic over foreign ownership, particularly when there is Ngai Tahu and plenty of old Otago money that could have had a crack at it.
Coulda-woulda-shoulda.
After the melancholy, I remember the political track record of cattle farmers in New Zealand, and it kind of passes.
There have been attempts, but getting the board to go along with it is the problem (from The Chairman’s link above):
Previous reports of an offer by agribusinessman John Rodwell said he had put together a group of New Zealand interests that had offered to put up $40 million for a key stake in Silver Fern Farms (SFF).
SFF chairman Rob Hewett said at the time the Shanghai Maling offer was made public that the Rodwell offer was a significant amount of money but “wasn’t as good [as Shanghai Maling] and didn’t have banking support at this stage”.
Fellow meat processor and co-operative Alliance Group said it had also submitted a bid which was rejected.
Cochrane said shareholders and SFF itself should call the banking consortium’s bluff over calling in its contracts…
“SFF is not only bankable but provides a genuinely attractive investment proposition. “Why else are foreign investors seeking control?” Cochrane asked.
SFF’s year end debt of $140m represented only 20 per cent of total assets as opposed to 46 per cent two years previous when the debt was over $300m.
… And behind that the members of the Board, whom the Meat Industry Excellence group have tried valiantly to stack, and the vacillating voting supplier farmers.
As for the Alliance proposal, why the hell the government could not see how close this was to the dairy industry in the early 2000’s prior to the legislated amalgamation into Fonterra. Same for Zespri. Form locally owned entities in the broader interests of New Zealand. Government inaction here is so ridiculous.
If you are wondering why the general public is so uninformed and consumer focused here is a sample of Granddaddy Herald news – (note the online main article about the mega mall is even recycled from a couple of weeks ago! I guess with the Herald redundancies they just have 1 well connected Nat supporting Journo to recycle advertisements and rebundle them into advertorials)
Mega mall opens today
Naholo has teammates scrambling
Big Wednesday: 209 lucky winners
Apology over parking tickets
Singer begs NZ ‘Beliebers’ for privacy
Foreign policy
Foreign Minister Murray McCully blasts Security Council impotence
Nothing about Dotcom case or TPPA legal challenge that I can see.
You’re right. The Heralds getting worse. Todays paper is also blatantly pushing an Albany retirement village in an advertorial amongst the news that celebrates International day of older persons.
“It’s like living in Club Med or on a cruise ship every day,” coos the paper.
I get enough of that in the free midweek rag that I wrap the rubbish in without getting it in the Herald.
Damn semantics if it was not for the actual meaning of words someone could say something and some one else say they said something completely different.
I am sure she and her good friend John have had a chat. Likewise she is no fool and understands how trade deal negotiations work, the benefits there of, as does labour. She only has the benefit of not having to play silly politics to keep the standards readers happy in her statements
Probably all those people who have vigorously defended this agreement for many months and attacked anyone against it. If they truly looked at deals based on face value they could have stayed quiet until the deal is on the table.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
“No she didn’t. She said “So of course New Zealand has to be in on the action with a [TPPA] and go for the very best deal it can.””
Nice selective quoting, What she actually said was:
“What always haunts one as the New Zealand Prime Minister is ‘will there be a series of trade blocks you’re not part of?’. Because that’s unthinkable for New Zealand, an exporter and small trading nation. So of course New Zealand has to be in on the action with the TPP and go for the very best deal it can.”
I’d hardly expect Helen Clark, given her current position in the UN, to speak out against the NZ Government’s position on the TPPA.
Also, given that she was a proponent of free trade (eg – China, and trying to open discussions with the USA ) and seeing as how she has never, not to my knowledge, changed her position on free trade, then I’d guess she might do no more than harbour private concerns about the government’s ‘game plan’.
But sure, carry on with the tribal spear throwing…
She had a knack with TV reporters of thinking quickly while speaking slowly and very succinctly. I think she scared them more than Key does. Like Muldoon. And it worked. Key charms them. And it works. Labour’s leaders struggle with who to emulate I suspect.
I hope that the Green MPs, and their supporters, are feeling embarrassed when they read this story in the Dom/Post this morning. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/72564945/super-fund-and-infratil-set-to-make-400pc-return-on-z-energy-stake
If it is accurate we must be truly grateful that they, and their fellow idiots in the Labour Party had no influence on the New Superannuation funds policies in the last few years. Adopting the “no investment in fossil fuels” strategy as advocated by Russel Norman would have cost the fund about $3 million per day if this story is correct.
I trust all those who supported the Green view will now apologise.
NZSuper Fund has found plenty of other ways to make landfills full of cash other than fossil fuels for quite some time. If the Greens were in power and retooled the NZSuper governing legislation for that criteria, the world would not end.
How much will it cost the planet – and your grandchildren?
But you don’t give a shit about that so I don’t expect you have ever thought about it – just so long as no 1 is ok!
“I trust all those who supported the Green view will now apologise.”
Why? Their view is that fossil fuel divestment is critical to minimise AGW damage and all that that entails, and that this outweighs making shitloads of money.
I trust now you will apologise to everyone’s grandchildren.
Where is the coverage of the Kim Dotcom extradition case? now we are in court i notice all his cheerleaders here and on the daily blog are awfully silent. Is it because the fat german isn’t what he made himself out to be and everyone rushed to friend him as he was against John Key?
The left feting and promoting KDC and making the pilgrimage to Mecca (sorry) the pilgrimage to Coatsville told enough of the voters all they needed to know and they voted accordingly
Or to put it a little more accurately you could start by saying that
“Russel Norman claims that he” etc, etc.
Still, I suppose we should simply accept that Russel is a politician and like all of them he would say anything he thought he could get away with.
Rather like Corbyn in a way. There is a story in the Dom/Post today. It is on page B1 but I can’t find it on-line. Apparently in his speech to the Party Conference big sections were lifted from a speech originally written by a free-lancer in the 1980’s and which has been offered to every Labour leader since. They all declined to use it.
Corbyn’s spokesman originally denied the source of the material and claimed similarities were “pure coincidence” Finally he had to admit that his team had spoken to the original author.
Why do left leaders feel the need to lie as a first option about things that really don’t matter?
Alwyn, I know that you work for Crosby Textor* and they don’t have to pay you particularly well because you are an ideological willing worker. So of course you are going to tell lies about politics and do so in a creepy smeary way rather than just coming out with it and saying you hate the GP.
*see how that works? Smear, smear.
I don’t believe all politicians lie, so am happy to judge each on their behaviour. Norman has no reason to lie in that situation and his account is entirely plausible so I’m happy enough to go with his version.
“I discovered for the first time that Corbyn had used the passage almost exactly in the form I offered it to him (and others). I also discovered that some British media were suggesting that his use was unauthorised. This is quite untrue. I am delighted that the passage has been used, and am sorry that a spurious story might detract from its message. I have many disagreements with Corbyn, but I now have to admire his rhetorical judgment. On the issues where I agree with him, particularly on fundamental values of his party and mine, he is welcome to call on me for other uplifting and memorable tropes.“
I wasn’t aware that a paper, or papers was claiming that Corbyn didn’t have permission to use the material. That isn’t really relevant though is it?
Corbyn’s problem is that his spokesman’s first reaction seems to have been to deny that it was written by someone else and wasn’t directly written by Corbyn. He claimed that the same words being used was “pure coincidence”. Then he was forced to back-down and admit that they had spoken to the original author and that the words did come from Heller. If the spokesman didn’t know, which is possible but seems unlikely, he could simply have said something like “I don’t know where the original material came from. I’ll find out.” Then he could say later that it came unsolicited from Heller and that Corbyn liked it, or something like that.
It is the original denial that becomes the story. If they had started by saying that the ideas had come from Heller in the first place there would have been no story would there? It was lying about it and then having to admit to the lie that caused all the problem.
I was providing background for those who might not have known what you were talking about.
As I understand it, the article reprinted in The Press/Dom Post was from the Daily Telegraph, wasn’t it? Something about another faux pas in a beleaguered leadership?
Why are you so quick to call it a ‘lie’? You yourself provide a quite believable account of how it could have been a minor error on the part of a spokesman.
Haven’t ‘lefties’ here been accused of wrongly calling Key himself (much less one of his spokespeople) a liar despite having much stronger grounds for the claim than is present here?
Labour MP Clare Curran, who hails from the Deep South, was at Dotcom’s Coatesville estate “at least twice, and once with a large suitcase”, a source said. She caught a taxi once and was chauffeured another time. But why the baggage?
Curran confirmed she did go to the mansion twice, but can’t recall travelling heavy.
“I was probably on my way to or from home,” she told The Diary.
Theres probably more that managed to fly under the radar
Pretty sure the Right have had more people at (and surrounding) Coatseville than the Left.
Everything Key says is not true PR, and his laughing jibes about all of the left and KDC are patently false. Even on this site the left and the left have attacked each other over KDC damage tot he election.
Yes I wasn’t clear enough, there are some on the left with integrity and principles and they did say, prior to the election, that KDC wasn’t going to help the left and good on them for saying that (you know who you are) but sadly they’re in the minority
Plus this yesterday on NRT, and reposted on this very site:
Kim Dotcom’s extradition hearing is currently underway, and it appears to have hit a hurdle: the government can’t find key documentation… A key question in extradition hearings is whether the supporting documents have been produced to the court. The fact that they can’t do that (and apparently failed to follow due process in briefing the Minister, creating instant grounds for judicial review) makes them look like a bunch of muppets.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much Chooky, KDC will eventually get his day in court (american court that is) where he’ll be finally be able to prove the veracity of his claims
You mean apart from comment sin Open Mike and other places? Oh and the entire post about the stuff up the MOJ has made of the warrant and other paperwork?
IF the MSM is quiet, you might want to ask yourself why.
“The key difference between the Russian and Western campaigns in Syria is that Moscow has been asked for help Damascus officially, unlike the US who “neither waited for the Syrian government to ask for help, nor had a mandate from the UN,” experts say.
‘Washington gives tacit support’
“US’ “tacit support” for the Russian operation is a major change to its previous stance, and the reason is that “the Western bombing of Islamic State has been a complete failure,” says John Laughland, Director of Studies, Institute of Democracy and Cooperation in Paris.
“We know that Washington and Moscow are cooperating and that Washington is giving tacit support. It’s precisely the result of the meeting that occurred in the UN building between presidents Putin and Obama. Moscow would inform Washington about its airstrikes in order to prevent any kind of accidents, any kind of conflict breaking out,” he said….
What else would you expect from her – she is as wedded to the FTA’s as Grocer and equally misguided. Who was it that pushed through our disastrous FTA with China? And where are we now? Billions in debt. Unemployment around 6% and no sign of reducing, 25% of youth under and unemployed. 25% of our children living in poverty, underfunding of health and record numbers of people living on the streets or in shoddy housing. All the result of exporting jobs overseas and importing crap from off shore. FTA’s are so good for us arn’t they.
The thing is tho Draco – it’s not even a level playing field. NZ has to be the most naive of all nations when it comes to opening our borders to all manner of crap. And the amazing thing is – after 30 years of this idiocy – will still expect other countries to do the same as us! Here we think we have this amazing deal with China when we can export unsawn logs and get wine bottles in return! We can’t export sawn timber – China won’t allow that – they want the jobs of saw milling for themselves. Similarly with almost every other product. We allow carte blanche the importation of almost every imaginable product thereby under cutting almost all of our productive capacity – in the hope that we can export the unprocessed product of of our agriculture, fisheries and forestry.This is the only “economic” plan that NZ has had since 1984. And we wonder why our economy is so sick.
I know I’m preaching to the converted here – you understand this as well if not better than I. But we – u and me and the others on here have to keep repeating this theme because it is only when the penny finally drops with those wedded to the “conventional wisdom” will we ever be able to move ahead as a country
The image was used as an visual affect. The fact that it was a stillborn is largely irrelevant as the image of an aborted child (in the context of discussion) would have been similar.
However, they should have foreseen this type of attack, thus used real footage.
Did it occur to you than an abortion in those circumstances (late term, 20+ weeks) would be more likely because of medical necessity than an unwanted pregnancy?
Interesting stat on infoshare: 67 out of 13,000 abortions occurred after the twentieth week of gestation.
The image was used “as visual effect” in order to misrepresent the issue of abortion.
The image was used as an visual affect. The fact that it was a stillborn is largely irrelevant as the image of an aborted child (in the context of the discussion) would have been similar.
What’s so hard to understand about that?
If the visual affect is the same, where is the manipulation?
In the visual context (with the two being the same) it is irrelevant.
You (by highlighting this allegation) are attempting to take it out of that context.
Moreover, It’s rather ironic seeing you attempting to get upon a high horse defending an organization that’s accused of profiting from the sale of body parts.
A near-term still-birth is not anatomically (let alone “visually”) “the same” as 99.5% of abortions, and the abortions that might look the same probably took place as a result of a medical emergency in order to save a life that actually exists, rather than one that potentially, in your imagination, might exist.
the only thing that the two foetuses necessarily have in common is that neither is ever going to be a living human being, and even a healthy foetus is not viable at that stage.
In addition to the differences in mode of leaving the woman’s body, your assumption is that serious developmental differences were not the reason for the fact of the stillbirth or the need for the medical procedure of abortion.
Would you prefer “an organisation with leaders closely connected to a terrorist organisation” as a more accurate description? It doesn’t really improve their reputation.
The phone number for Operation Rescue’s senior policy advisor, Cheryl Sullenger, was found on the dashboard of Scott Roeder’s car.[32] At first Sullenger, who was convicted for conspiring to blow up a California abortion clinic in 1988, denied any contact with him, saying that her phone number is freely available online. Then, she revised her statements, indicating that she informed Scott Roeder of where Dr Tiller would be at specific times[…]
That’s not a smear, that’s a pretty solid connection.
By the State (Government) and related authorities.
Organizations as such tend to attract the odd extremist. They can’t be held accountable for the individual actions of a few nutters.
When you’ve got something showing they have been convicted of terrorism (or are officially declared terrorist) then you’ll have something of substance. But for now, you’re still attempting to smear by association.
Again, when you’ve got something showing they have been convicted of terrorism (or are officially declared terrorist) then you’ll have something of substance.
Er, wouldn’t the people who might “officially declare” them a terrorist organisation be the same “State (Government) and related authorities” you dismiss as unreliable in the very same comment?
That you’re citing rabid hate machine the Alliance Defending Freedom makes me think you should fuck off back to where you belong.
Partnered with more than 300 like-minded institutions, including the Federalist Society, the Home School Legal Defense Association, the rabidly anti-LGBT Pacific Justice Institute, the Thomas More Law Center, anti-gay hate group the Family Research Council, the Heritage Foundation, and the now-defunct “ex-gay” organization Exodus International.
Filed a brief supporting statutory bans on gay sex in Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 case in which the Supreme Court ultimately found state anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional.
Opposed anti-bullying efforts in public schools, calling for exceptions for speech or actions based on religious views and decrying “tolerance training” and “special protection” for LGBT students.
Created its own “Day of Truth” to combat the Day of Silence, which commemorates LGBT victims of bullying, harassment, and violence.
Crusaded against a gay-inclusive Boy Scouts of America, calling the BSA’s decision to allow gay scouts an assault on “freedom” and working with churches that sponsor scout troops to work around the new membership policy.
Offered free representation to Iowa county recorders who refused to provide same-sex couples with marriage licenses.
Dispatched chief counsel Benjamin Bull to Russia to meet with Yelena Mizulina, the legislative leader of that country’s crackdown on LGBT people.
Represented 18 plaintiffs challenging the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that for-profit employers cover contraception at no additional cost to employees.
[lprent: Please be a little more careful when you paste crap HTML into our pages. It “FUBAR’ed” the page because
1. you put in li tags without an enclosing ul or ol
2. you started with a i tag and didn’t close it (besides you should have used blockquote and /blockquote)
I manually fixed it. But this isn’t something that I plan to make a career of. ]
One can only assume you have nothing credible to put forward.
*sniff*
joe90 …
30 August 2015 at 10:17 am
Planned Parenthood commissioned an independent review of the videos and the conclusion – yet another dishonest smear campaign waged by unhinged, deceptive anti-choice arseholes.
A thorough review of these videos in consultation with qualified experts found that they do not present a complete or accurate record of the events they purport to depict.
Each release by CMP contained a short edited video, between eight and fifteen minutes in length, that intercuts clips from the undercover recordings with other content, and a “full footage” video that claims to provide the raw, unedited footage of each interview. A video forensics expert, a television producer, an independent transcription agency, and Fusion GPS staff reviewed this material. While these analysts found no evidence that CMP inserted dialogue not spoken by Planned Parenthood staff, their review did conclude that CMP edited content out of the alleged “full footage” videos, and heavily edited the short videos so as to misrepresent statements made by Planned Parenthood representatives. In addition, the CMP transcript for the “full footage” video shot at Planned Parenthood’s Gulf Coast facility in Texas differs substantially from the content of the tape.
At this point, it is impossible to characterize the extent to which CMP’s undisclosed edits and cuts distort the meaning of the encounters the videos purport to document. However, the manipulation of the videos does mean they have no evidentiary value in a legal context and cannot be relied upon for any official inquiries unless supplemented by CMP’s original material and forensic authentication that this material is supplied in unaltered form. The videos also lack credibility as journalistic products.
URGENT! TPPA – WALK AWAY! PROTEST! TODAY 1 October 2015
Focus – John Key / shareholder in Bank of America!
Have new petition focused on John Key + plenty of TPPA leaflets!
Plus banners / placards / John Key / Tim Groser masks / street theatre!
WHEN: Today 1 October 2015
TIME: 3 – 5.30pm
WHERE: Outside Auckland University
Symonds St / Grafton Rd intersection
_____________________________________________________
WORDING OF NEW PETITION:
To Prime Minister John Key
MP for Helensville
We, the undersigned:
Are deeply concerned that as a key advocate for the ‘Trans-PacificPartnership Agreement’ (TPPA), you are a shareholder in the Bank of America, as detailed in the 2015 MPs Register of Financial Interests: (Pg 29)
“Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
2 Other companies and business entities
………………………………………….
Bank of America – banking”
We see this as a serious ‘conflict of interest’, given that big banks like the Bank of America, stand to benefit, and profit from this pro-corporate TPPA.
If this National Government, which you lead, does not ‘walk away’ from the secretive, undemocratic, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’ (TPPA), then we pledge to campaign vigorously amongst our friends, families, neighbours and workmates, for the voting public to ‘walk away’ from National.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
……
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
‘Open Letter’ to Auckland Mayor and Councillors / ALL MPs / Media:
“Please provide evidence proving that I have ever stated anything that was factually inaccurate, concerning Auckland Council, or Auckland Council CCOs.”
Kind regards
Penny Bright
…………………..
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
Oh come on you know key is just a little puppy who is addicted to pats ,he’ll try and please any one who is vocal enough.
I suspect he’s got father issues.
When Oz signed a FTA with China – they retained their right to block foreign buying of property and they got a better deal on dairy than we did.
When we signed one, we gave Chinese the same rights to invest here as those in Oz, and that included property ownership.
Our negotiators are second rate.
But what could we expect we gave the world free trade for nothing, all we have left to give is governance sovereignty.
Back in the 80’s the left of the Labour caucus took pineapple lumps (nuclear free status) and gave away the economy to the free market. A position on Cabinet and a chance to be leader by adhering to the deal. Once one learns that the climb up the ladder is enabled by betraying those below, there is no position that is then out of reach.
When did Jim Mora and co EVER discuss the TPPA seriously? The Panel, Radio NZ National, Thursday 1 October 2015
Jim Mora, Beck Eleven, Kevin Milne
After noting that the old trougher Helen Clark has undermined the Labour Party by backing the TPPA [1], host Jim Mora then said: “We’re not having another big discussion about the TPPA now…”
“Another big discussion”? I would appreciate it if someone tell us when Mora’s light chat show dealt with the TPPA in more than a perfunctory, scoffing fashion, leave alone any “big discussion”.
The only topics that Mora—or more likely, Richard Griffin—deals with in any depth are coffee, football and vexillology.
Mora’s appalling panel discuss declining ratings on TV3 without even mentioning the boycott of the channel after the political axing of Campbell Live.
Self censorship or total ignorance by the woeful panel.
Mora must have self censored.
His Tory bones doesn’t allow debate of topics that question his comfortable life.
Well spotted Paul. But why did neither Beck Eleven nor Kevin Milne dare to mention it? My bet is that they know that “management”, i.e. John Key’s man Richard Griffin, would not approve, so they kept silent.
Mora is on now. No idea what they are saying. It’s just white noise. Regarding Clark. A while ago my husband told me he had been speaking to a Nat. Party stalwart who told him that at a Nat P meeting they were told that according to a local NP mp that NZ would be shocked if they knew how often Clark had flown into NZ to have secret meetings with key. I scorned the idea but am now wondering if there is some truth in it. Also, has she seen the text that is so secret, if so is she happy that the good citizens of NZ are being treated like mushrooms.
Helen Clark’s unwelcome re-entry into New Zealand politics, unsurprisingly endorsing the undemocratic and secretive National government, is a reminder how little serious scrutiny has been carried out on her actions in government. (The foul abuse and ridiculous campaigns by the likes of David Farrar, Whaleoil, Ian Wishart and the rest of the National Party’s foaming right wing army do not qualify as serious.)
Helen comes to NZ quite a few times each year, usually as a leg on one of the enormous trips that her work requires. They are hardly a secret – they show up on facebook. Her husband Peter lives here and so do her parents. I rather suspect that has more to do with it than with anything else. /irony
But being at the UNDP and with NZ trying to get onto the security council (and now on it), it isn’t that surprising that John Key was trying to catch her when she was here.
It is probably like the amount that every kiwi politicians and diplomat going to New York seems to try to get a meeting with her if she is in town. Just like they try to get time with whoever is the ambassador and/or their staff if they get to Washington. It is about getting local information. /sarc
Not everything is about the damn TPPA /irritation
I suspect that when we finally find out what is in the TPPA, it is going to be way worse than expected even two years ago. I’ll disagree with Helen unless I can see a considerable movement from what has been leaked. The problems it is going to cause for the tech export industry alone is going to be immense.
It beggars belief how so many people create false conspiracies about everything Helen does. And she’s always been open about her travels and activities. Since her mother died, she phones her Dad (now in his nineties) every day. She and her husband hook up whenever they can – she comes to NZ whenever she can fit it in… he goes to her in New York 2 or 3 times a year. That’s my understanding anyway.
In other words, her trips to NZ are for personal reasons and have nothing to do with politics. Of course she keeps in touch with friends she made during her political years, but she made it clear from the start of her new career that NZ politics was out of bounds as far as she was concerned. All the indications are: she has kept strictly to that resolution.
Ffloyd, that is mischief-making on the part of the National Party dirty tricks brigade. You know, the one ‘wot John Key knows nuffink about’ even though it was closely linked to his office.
In the last term of the Clark govt. some of the malice ridden fantasies spread around about Helen – and indeed her husband – were utterly grotesque. The worst were by word of mouth because if they had appeared in print, the courts would have been submerged in defamation suits brought by all manner of people.
“I think Story‘s a GREAT show! I think Heather’s doing BRILLIANTLY.”
Kevin Milne’s ludicrously false praise does his reputation no good at all. The Panel, Radio NZ National, Thursday 1 October 2015
Jim Mora, Beck Eleven, Kevin Milne
Since John Key’s man Richard Griffin has obviously forbidden him from dealing with anything “boring” (i.e., serious) during his program, host Jim Mora has to find SOMETHING to talk about each day. So the program is full of chatter, over a bed of endless laughter, about virtually meaningless trivia taken straight off the bottom of the page on Google News.
This afternoon, casting about desperately for something to take up five minutes or so in the last part of the program, Mora noted that Television One’s god-awful Rawdon Christie vehicle, Breakfast, had been canned. This led on to a bit of chat about the (possibly terminal) decline of TV3. Utterly unmemorable, except for this horrible example of misplaced loyalty to a friend by Kevin Milne….
KEVIN MILNE: I think Story‘s a GREAT show! I think Heather’s doing BRILLIANTLY….
As time is almost up, the host utters one of the few straight-up statements he’s made in weeks….
JIM MORA: We’ve got ninety seconds. Now, uh, we can’t speak very usefully about Islamic State….
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
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Farmer John Cochrane said the white knight needed to make his move soon.
“We can’t disclose who it is but whoever it is needs to go public by the end of the week,” Cochrane said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/72560581/new-suitor-claimed-to-be-in-wings-for-silver-ferns-farms
Lot of unpatriotic comments below that article.
I cannot help but be disgusted at people who plump for the Chinese takeover of this country. IMO they are no better than those in Europe who collaborated with the Nazi occupiers.
IMO you don’t know what you’re talking about and are resorting to hyperbole
You seem to have thing about china taking over NZ, its starting to sound a little racist
Says someone who would wave their little Chinese flag when the PLA marches up Queen St, along with O’Sullivan, Farrar, Slater, Williams, Hosking and co.
Deng Xiao-peng (the man who I regard as the most influential figure over the past 40 years), said that ‘to get rich is glorious’. Meaning that the Chinese put the making of money over all else. Why else do you think there are no enviromental or labour laws in China?
Soon they will get rid of them here.
And what would you do, enlist and fight to save NZ? I bet not.
The history of world is countries being taken over, via military means, economic means and in some cases by invitaion
Its interesting to note that this very country was taken over (but I’m guessing you think thats ok) but you keep warning us against the yellow peril millsy
@millsy (1.1.1.1) re your final two sentences re Chinese labour laws, relating to NZ …
We are almost there now!
+100 millsy…”Chinese put the making of money over all else. Why else do you think there are no enviromental or labour laws in China?”…I am afraid that this is the case….Look no further than the trashing of Tibet
http://freetibet.org/about/environment
http://freetibet.org/about/human-rights
http://www.tibet.org/Activism/Rights/chinajustice.html
For heaven’s sake China is a country – we feel the same way about Australia.
I’m sure you do, I’m not so sure Millsy does
The argument seems to be the Chinese can help provide a distribution network, thus generate further growth. Overlooking that a 50% share of the returns will then go to the Chinese, reducing local return from any new growth.
Moreover, ignoring the potential the NZ company has to generate its own growth and secure a contract with a major Chinese distributor. Ensuring the benefits of new growth remains in local hands. Not to mention maintaining full company control.
Know how the ‘money guys’ of this country took the monies we generated and ‘pissed it up the wall’ in a manner of speaking…took it and pumped it into various overseas ‘casino’ type investments, or funneled all the profit streams to their banking mates overseas? And know how most everyone still gets up in the morning and bends over or kneels down for those same guys before they rush out to ‘make a buck’?
I think your ire is seriously misplaced.
If money is needed because NZ set itself up as a fucking toilet cistern that flushed everything away to elsewhere, then where the fuck do you think the money is going to come from if not from elsewhere?
If you’re going to be angry (and I see no reason why you shouldn’t be) then at least be angry at the right people…the ones who have gouged and who continue to gouge this country for all it’s worth.
Why can’t she be aggrieved by the actions of both? In some cases, they’re one and the same.
” IMO they are no better than those in Europe who collaborated with the Nazi occupiers.”
This Chinese Company or the Goverment of China remind you of Nazi Germany?
I get the feeling that the company has been purposely run into the red to justify the merger with Shanghai Maling. There seems to be quite a disconnection between the board in their nice new corporate offices (in the custom refurbished chief main post office) and the farmer cooperative shareholders. The pressure is definitely now on to get the early votes before any counteroffer can emerge:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/357776/chinese-deal-vital-sff-says
So really; the base debt is less than the seasonal variation of the business. This all feels like a giant scam.
New Zealand farmers have had plenty of chances to get local coalitions together.
They are just freaking lucky Shanghai Mailing isn’t asking for a whole bunch more than 50% control, given the dump trucks of cash they are about to roll in to Silver Fern’s Dunedin headquarters.
It’s a nice little schadenfreude for all the 19th century Chinese gold miners in Otago who were treated so badly.
To be completely honest when you look at all the options that could possibly come to be, China taking over NZ isn’t so bad
I get a little melancholic over foreign ownership, particularly when there is Ngai Tahu and plenty of old Otago money that could have had a crack at it.
Coulda-woulda-shoulda.
After the melancholy, I remember the political track record of cattle farmers in New Zealand, and it kind of passes.
There has been a number of local offers, but its seems the banks don’t support them.
The Chinese will also be expecting a share of the company’s assets and a return on their money to go with their 50% control.
I think the Chinese have pushed it to limit. Asking for more now would have blown it for them. They’ll be playing the long game.
Ad
There have been attempts, but getting the board to go along with it is the problem (from The Chairman’s link above):
… And behind that the members of the Board, whom the Meat Industry Excellence group have tried valiantly to stack, and the vacillating voting supplier farmers.
As for the Alliance proposal, why the hell the government could not see how close this was to the dairy industry in the early 2000’s prior to the legislated amalgamation into Fonterra. Same for Zespri. Form locally owned entities in the broader interests of New Zealand. Government inaction here is so ridiculous.
@ Pasupial
Apparently, the Chinese offer has banking support.
Wherever there is potential to gain, there is always potential for underhanded behaviour.
However, policing of this in NZ seems rather relaxed.
If you are wondering why the general public is so uninformed and consumer focused here is a sample of Granddaddy Herald news – (note the online main article about the mega mall is even recycled from a couple of weeks ago! I guess with the Herald redundancies they just have 1 well connected Nat supporting Journo to recycle advertisements and rebundle them into advertorials)
Mega mall opens today
Naholo has teammates scrambling
Big Wednesday: 209 lucky winners
Apology over parking tickets
Singer begs NZ ‘Beliebers’ for privacy
Foreign policy
Foreign Minister Murray McCully blasts Security Council impotence
Nothing about Dotcom case or TPPA legal challenge that I can see.
You’re right. The Heralds getting worse. Todays paper is also blatantly pushing an Albany retirement village in an advertorial amongst the news that celebrates International day of older persons.
“It’s like living in Club Med or on a cruise ship every day,” coos the paper.
I get enough of that in the free midweek rag that I wrap the rubbish in without getting it in the Herald.
Much easier if you think of the NZHerald as a great big full colour advertising spreadsheet, salted with a little gossip and opinion.
Open the Herald if you want to know what to buy. Which show to go to.
That’s it.
But there is this….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/maori/news/article.cfm?c_id=252&objectid=11521631
which IMHO, is well worth a read.
Yeah, Interesting. Pity Granny didn’t allow comments. I bet plenty would’ve been rippers.
Yes, but it would have been dominated by the “Duff’s a Bounty Bar” brigade on one side and the reactionary rednecks on the other.
And the message he tries to get across…about cultures adapting and changing, and the devolution of traditional power structures is lost.
He is saying in this piece pretty much verbatim what I have been told in conversations with (mostly) rural Maori.
Sad.
Good to see Helen Clark backing the TPP from NY this morning on breakfast and while meeting with John Key
No she didn’t. She said “So of course New Zealand has to be in on the action with a [TPPA] and go for the very best deal it can.”
She was talking in generic terms about trade deals.
Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/world/john-key-helen-clark-discuss-tppa-2015100107#ixzz3nG5HO7MT
Semantics Micky, she backs it and realises been out of it is no option
Damn semantics if it was not for the actual meaning of words someone could say something and some one else say they said something completely different.
Plus, she’s right.
And was right on trade long, long before John Key.
“And realises been out of it is no option”
Without even knowing what we’re signing up too?
Only an idiot would come to that conclusion.
I am sure she and her good friend John have had a chat. Likewise she is no fool and understands how trade deal negotiations work, the benefits there of, as does labour. She only has the benefit of not having to play silly politics to keep the standards readers happy in her statements
See my post at 3.1.2.1
So yes to a TPPA but no to this particular TPPA, glad thats cleared up
It’s clear she is saying we need to be in on the negotiations, in an attempt to secure a good deal.
It doesn’t automatically mean we will secure a good deal, thus it’s not an endorsement to sign it.
I agree, anything less would be a disgrace.
I was replying to mickysavages dancing on the head of a pin arguement
One picture tells you what Helen and Key said in private:
http://www.3news.co.nz/world/john-key-helen-clark-discuss-tppa-2015100107
Read their body language. They agreed on NOTHING.
Meh, just two alphas jockeying for top position
It doesn’t automatically mean we will secure a good deal, thus it’s not an endorsement to sign it.
Who has any position other than this?
Probably all those people who have vigorously defended this agreement for many months and attacked anyone against it. If they truly looked at deals based on face value they could have stayed quiet until the deal is on the table.
If they truly looked at deals based on face value they could have stayed quiet until the deal is on the table.
There’s only one side being noisy.
“No she didn’t. She said “So of course New Zealand has to be in on the action with a [TPPA] and go for the very best deal it can.””
Nice selective quoting, What she actually said was:
“What always haunts one as the New Zealand Prime Minister is ‘will there be a series of trade blocks you’re not part of?’. Because that’s unthinkable for New Zealand, an exporter and small trading nation. So of course New Zealand has to be in on the action with the TPP and go for the very best deal it can.”
Not really, but its to be expected.
I’d hardly expect Helen Clark, given her current position in the UN, to speak out against the NZ Government’s position on the TPPA.
Also, given that she was a proponent of free trade (eg – China, and trying to open discussions with the USA ) and seeing as how she has never, not to my knowledge, changed her position on free trade, then I’d guess she might do no more than harbour private concerns about the government’s ‘game plan’.
But sure, carry on with the tribal spear throwing…
Good to see Key supporters admiring Clark’s opinion
Theres quite a lot to admire about Ms Clark which is why John Key has modelled quite a bit of his leadership on her
You’d think successive Labour leaders would try to emulate more of her style
She had a knack with TV reporters of thinking quickly while speaking slowly and very succinctly. I think she scared them more than Key does. Like Muldoon. And it worked. Key charms them. And it works. Labour’s leaders struggle with who to emulate I suspect.
I hope that the Green MPs, and their supporters, are feeling embarrassed when they read this story in the Dom/Post this morning.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/72564945/super-fund-and-infratil-set-to-make-400pc-return-on-z-energy-stake
If it is accurate we must be truly grateful that they, and their fellow idiots in the Labour Party had no influence on the New Superannuation funds policies in the last few years. Adopting the “no investment in fossil fuels” strategy as advocated by Russel Norman would have cost the fund about $3 million per day if this story is correct.
I trust all those who supported the Green view will now apologise.
30 pieces of silver, eh?
30 pieces of silver, eh?
NZSuper Fund has found plenty of other ways to make landfills full of cash other than fossil fuels for quite some time. If the Greens were in power and retooled the NZSuper governing legislation for that criteria, the world would not end.
How much will it cost the planet – and your grandchildren?
But you don’t give a shit about that so I don’t expect you have ever thought about it – just so long as no 1 is ok!
+1
Exactly. Making money out of something that kills you isn’t a winning position.
“I trust all those who supported the Green view will now apologise.”
Why? Their view is that fossil fuel divestment is critical to minimise AGW damage and all that that entails, and that this outweighs making shitloads of money.
I trust now you will apologise to everyone’s grandchildren.
Where is the coverage of the Kim Dotcom extradition case? now we are in court i notice all his cheerleaders here and on the daily blog are awfully silent. Is it because the fat german isn’t what he made himself out to be and everyone rushed to friend him as he was against John Key?
this is the real moment of truth.
My enemies enemy is my friend, nothing else matters
The left cuddling up to this fruadster is becoming a little uncomfortable
It is in court so we need to be careful what we comment on. And remind me where TS authors cuddled up to Dotcom.
I’ve always believed that the enemy of my enemey might also be my enemy as well, something the left in NZ doesn’t quite understand
Which enemy?
1. John Key
2. Judith Collins
3. US style police tactics and spying
4. the empire that will impose its laws on anyone, anywhere
The left feting and promoting KDC and making the pilgrimage to Mecca (sorry) the pilgrimage to Coatsville told enough of the voters all they needed to know and they voted accordingly
Citation please. A visit by Russel Norman for a chat does not make a pilgrimage by the left.
esp given Norman went there to ask KDC to not form the IP because of the damage it would do.
Really? I didn’t know that Norman has said why he went? Mind you I would have been looking for it in MSM
Just double checked. He talked to KDC about the IT sector, and about not forming the IP incase it meant National got back in.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11200563
Or to put it a little more accurately you could start by saying that
“Russel Norman claims that he” etc, etc.
Still, I suppose we should simply accept that Russel is a politician and like all of them he would say anything he thought he could get away with.
Rather like Corbyn in a way. There is a story in the Dom/Post today. It is on page B1 but I can’t find it on-line. Apparently in his speech to the Party Conference big sections were lifted from a speech originally written by a free-lancer in the 1980’s and which has been offered to every Labour leader since. They all declined to use it.
Corbyn’s spokesman originally denied the source of the material and claimed similarities were “pure coincidence” Finally he had to admit that his team had spoken to the original author.
Why do left leaders feel the need to lie as a first option about things that really don’t matter?
Alwyn, I know that you work for Crosby Textor* and they don’t have to pay you particularly well because you are an ideological willing worker. So of course you are going to tell lies about politics and do so in a creepy smeary way rather than just coming out with it and saying you hate the GP.
*see how that works? Smear, smear.
I don’t believe all politicians lie, so am happy to judge each on their behaviour. Norman has no reason to lie in that situation and his account is entirely plausible so I’m happy enough to go with his version.
HI alwyn,
Background concerning Corbyn’s use of Richard Heller’s words:
“I discovered for the first time that Corbyn had used the passage almost exactly in the form I offered it to him (and others). I also discovered that some British media were suggesting that his use was unauthorised. This is quite untrue. I am delighted that the passage has been used, and am sorry that a spurious story might detract from its message. I have many disagreements with Corbyn, but I now have to admire his rhetorical judgment. On the issues where I agree with him, particularly on fundamental values of his party and mine, he is welcome to call on me for other uplifting and memorable tropes.“
@Puddleglum.
I wasn’t aware that a paper, or papers was claiming that Corbyn didn’t have permission to use the material. That isn’t really relevant though is it?
Corbyn’s problem is that his spokesman’s first reaction seems to have been to deny that it was written by someone else and wasn’t directly written by Corbyn. He claimed that the same words being used was “pure coincidence”. Then he was forced to back-down and admit that they had spoken to the original author and that the words did come from Heller. If the spokesman didn’t know, which is possible but seems unlikely, he could simply have said something like “I don’t know where the original material came from. I’ll find out.” Then he could say later that it came unsolicited from Heller and that Corbyn liked it, or something like that.
It is the original denial that becomes the story. If they had started by saying that the ideas had come from Heller in the first place there would have been no story would there? It was lying about it and then having to admit to the lie that caused all the problem.
alwyn,
I was providing background for those who might not have known what you were talking about.
As I understand it, the article reprinted in The Press/Dom Post was from the Daily Telegraph, wasn’t it? Something about another faux pas in a beleaguered leadership?
Why are you so quick to call it a ‘lie’? You yourself provide a quite believable account of how it could have been a minor error on the part of a spokesman.
Haven’t ‘lefties’ here been accused of wrongly calling Key himself (much less one of his spokespeople) a liar despite having much stronger grounds for the claim than is present here?
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Russel-Norman-on-his-two-meetings-at-Kim-Dotcoms-mansion/tabid/506/articleID/40565/Default.aspx
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11201739
Labour MP Clare Curran, who hails from the Deep South, was at Dotcom’s Coatesville estate “at least twice, and once with a large suitcase”, a source said. She caught a taxi once and was chauffeured another time. But why the baggage?
Curran confirmed she did go to the mansion twice, but can’t recall travelling heavy.
“I was probably on my way to or from home,” she told The Diary.
Theres probably more that managed to fly under the radar
And your point is?
Pretty sure the Right have had more people at (and surrounding) Coatseville than the Left.
Everything Key says is not true PR, and his laughing jibes about all of the left and KDC are patently false. Even on this site the left and the left have attacked each other over KDC damage tot he election.
Yes I wasn’t clear enough, there are some on the left with integrity and principles and they did say, prior to the election, that KDC wasn’t going to help the left and good on them for saying that (you know who you are) but sadly they’re in the minority
I await the day when you realise your friend (Key) is really your enemy).
All politicians are my enemy, its merely a matter of who is going to have the least amount of impact on my life
We understand it just fine. It’s National and their supporters who keep having us cuddling up to those who are bad for NZ.
@ Nessalt and Reddelusion… Does this help?…obviously you can’t read..or haven’t read and got up to date on Dotcom trial:
‘The Government can’t find the original notices in the Kim Dotcom case? Is this a joke?’
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/09/30/the-government-cant-find-the-original-notices-in-the-kim-dotcom-case-is-this-a-joke/
Also getting up to date with Nicky Hager :
‘Police plotted to arrest and spy on Nicky Hager – the most interesting parts of 1 year on from Dirty Politics ‘
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/09/30/police-plotted-to-arrest-and-spy-on-nicky-hager-the-most-interesting-parts-of-1-year-on-from-dirty-politics/
Plus this yesterday on NRT, and reposted on this very site:
http://thestandard.org.nz/nrt-muppets/
I wouldn’t worry about it too much Chooky, KDC will eventually get his day in court (american court that is) where he’ll be finally be able to prove the veracity of his claims
+ 100
I wouldn’t be so sure – and neither were Sony.
Everything looking like the US and NZ governments getting egg all over their face with all charges against KDC being dropped.
They have “found” the paper work. Yeah right. More lies. Let have them put them online so we can verify them!
#savekim
You mean apart from comment sin Open Mike and other places? Oh and the entire post about the stuff up the MOJ has made of the warrant and other paperwork?
IF the MSM is quiet, you might want to ask yourself why.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CBwQqQIwAGoVChMI0vOe1P2fyAIVBoyUCh0DqQfQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2015%2F9%2F28%2F9409847%2Fmegaupload-extradition-hearing-kim-dotcom&usg=AFQjCNF_-8WHnnRWD3cQ0r4n9GY8fLa2dg&bvm=bv.104226188,d.dGo
The other side of the story:
‘Russian military in Syria: ‘Diametrically different approach’
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/317035-syria-isis-russia-troops/
“The key difference between the Russian and Western campaigns in Syria is that Moscow has been asked for help Damascus officially, unlike the US who “neither waited for the Syrian government to ask for help, nor had a mandate from the UN,” experts say.
‘Washington gives tacit support’
“US’ “tacit support” for the Russian operation is a major change to its previous stance, and the reason is that “the Western bombing of Islamic State has been a complete failure,” says John Laughland, Director of Studies, Institute of Democracy and Cooperation in Paris.
“We know that Washington and Moscow are cooperating and that Washington is giving tacit support. It’s precisely the result of the meeting that occurred in the UN building between presidents Putin and Obama. Moscow would inform Washington about its airstrikes in order to prevent any kind of accidents, any kind of conflict breaking out,” he said….
Obama wants Assad (a democratically elected leader) replaced.
https://youtu.be/iU__J3pKKf8
Can one imagine the US response if it were Assad saying Obama should go?
Very good to see former PM Helen Clark supporting the TPP
http://www.3news.co.nz/world/john-key-helen-clark-discuss-tppa-2015100107#axzz3nGTi3I2f
No no you don’t understand, she was only talkign about TPPAs in general, not this specific TPPA
There is a difference apparantly 🙂
See my post at 3.1.2.1
What else would you expect from her – she is as wedded to the FTA’s as Grocer and equally misguided. Who was it that pushed through our disastrous FTA with China? And where are we now? Billions in debt. Unemployment around 6% and no sign of reducing, 25% of youth under and unemployed. 25% of our children living in poverty, underfunding of health and record numbers of people living on the streets or in shoddy housing. All the result of exporting jobs overseas and importing crap from off shore. FTA’s are so good for us arn’t they.
+ 1
These ‘trade’ agreements are bogus trojan horses full of nasty capitalists.
+1
The free-marketeers don’t seem to understand that if we had the level playing field that is necessary for free-trade to work none would happen.
The thing is tho Draco – it’s not even a level playing field. NZ has to be the most naive of all nations when it comes to opening our borders to all manner of crap. And the amazing thing is – after 30 years of this idiocy – will still expect other countries to do the same as us! Here we think we have this amazing deal with China when we can export unsawn logs and get wine bottles in return! We can’t export sawn timber – China won’t allow that – they want the jobs of saw milling for themselves. Similarly with almost every other product. We allow carte blanche the importation of almost every imaginable product thereby under cutting almost all of our productive capacity – in the hope that we can export the unprocessed product of of our agriculture, fisheries and forestry.This is the only “economic” plan that NZ has had since 1984. And we wonder why our economy is so sick.
I know I’m preaching to the converted here – you understand this as well if not better than I. But we – u and me and the others on here have to keep repeating this theme because it is only when the penny finally drops with those wedded to the “conventional wisdom” will we ever be able to move ahead as a country
+100 Macro
So, you cite Clark when you agree with her?
Terrorist admits deceit.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/this-wasnt-an-abortion-cnn-forces-anti-planned-parenthood-group-to-admit-fiorina-was-wrong/
Another beat up and appeal to the ignorant.
The image was used as an visual affect. The fact that it was a stillborn is largely irrelevant as the image of an aborted child (in the context of discussion) would have been similar.
However, they should have foreseen this type of attack, thus used real footage.
And no, they’re not a terrorist organization.
Did it occur to you than an abortion in those circumstances (late term, 20+ weeks) would be more likely because of medical necessity than an unwanted pregnancy?
Interesting stat on infoshare: 67 out of 13,000 abortions occurred after the twentieth week of gestation.
The image was used “as visual effect” in order to misrepresent the issue of abortion.
If the visual affect is the same, where is the misrepresentation?
try asking women about the differences between miscarrying and having an abortion.
The anti-abortion activists lied in a fairly gross and manipulative way, and got caught out, what’s do hard to understand about that?
Try sticking to the context of the discussion.
The image was used as an visual affect. The fact that it was a stillborn is largely irrelevant as the image of an aborted child (in the context of the discussion) would have been similar.
What’s so hard to understand about that?
If the visual affect is the same, where is the manipulation?
Dishonest use of images of a personal tragedy is irrelevant, really?.
https://drjengunter.wordpress.com/2015/09/29/the-center-for-bio-ethical-reform-promotes-illegally-taped-video-of-perineum-and-premature-delivery-and-fiorina-supports-them/
In the visual context (with the two being the same) it is irrelevant.
You (by highlighting this allegation) are attempting to take it out of that context.
Moreover, It’s rather ironic seeing you attempting to get upon a high horse defending an organization that’s accused of profiting from the sale of body parts.
Planned Parenthood do not profit from ‘body parts for sale’.
Watch this to see the lack of knowledge and honesty the anti-choice republicans exhibit,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdd1HvwfmOc
Yes, it was used to support a lie.
What do you presume they were lying about?
They implied that it was the normal abortion when it isn’t. That implication is lie and you know it.
Yes, they should have foreseen this type of attack, thus used real footage.
But, apart from that, the visualization used was the same as what was being implied.
What “visual effect” are you talking about?
A near-term still-birth is not anatomically (let alone “visually”) “the same” as 99.5% of abortions, and the abortions that might look the same probably took place as a result of a medical emergency in order to save a life that actually exists, rather than one that potentially, in your imagination, might exist.
The one were an image of a stillborn was used.
In the context of discussion, the visual representation in this case is the same, regardless if the baby was a stillborn or aborted.
I’m not questioning the legitimacy of an abortion, I’m concerned about the goings on before and after the fact.
And you assert that based on what?
On the information I’ve seen. Thus, they are being challenged on the use of the stillborn image and not the actual visual comparison.
Well, forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.
After all, the discussion is about somebody making misleading claims about illegal footage in order to further their political agenda.
How do you know that the “information you have seen” wasn’t similarly lied about?
Don’t take my word for it. Use you own commonsense.
A stillborn at 20 weeks would generally be as developed as a aborted foetus at 20 weeks. Thus, the visual comparison is the same.
ROBERTS: Lexi, do you hope that the organization that put together this video reaches out and apologizes to you or offers any sort of explanation?
LEXI FRETZ: No. I have talked to them directly and we’ve cleared the air and my husband and I are fine that it’s been used.
http://www.lifenews.com/2015/09/29/msnbc-got-a-big-surprise-while-pushing-its-abortion-agenda-on-mom-of-this-stillborn-baby/
Seems it’s no longer illegal use.
the only thing that the two foetuses necessarily have in common is that neither is ever going to be a living human being, and even a healthy foetus is not viable at that stage.
In addition to the differences in mode of leaving the woman’s body, your assumption is that serious developmental differences were not the reason for the fact of the stillbirth or the need for the medical procedure of abortion.
Connections to the operation rescue terror network makes them terrorists.
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/07/17/board-member-behind-planned-parenthood-video-close-ties-abortion-clinic-violence/
No, it doesn’t.
Hence, they’re not officially considered a terrorist organization.
Therefore, claiming so is incorrect, but continuing to do so assists your smear-tactic affect.
Would you prefer “an organisation with leaders closely connected to a terrorist organisation” as a more accurate description? It doesn’t really improve their reputation.
That’s also incorrect.
Operation Rescue is also not officially considered a terrorist organization.
But hey, if attempted smears is all you’ve got, go for it.
“Officially” – by whom?
One of their staff (who was convicted for conspiring to blow up a California abortion clinic) fed the various movements of a doctor to the doctor’s murderer.
That’s not a smear, that’s a pretty solid connection.
By the State (Government) and related authorities.
Organizations as such tend to attract the odd extremist. They can’t be held accountable for the individual actions of a few nutters.
When you’ve got something showing they have been convicted of terrorism (or are officially declared terrorist) then you’ll have something of substance. But for now, you’re still attempting to smear by association.
Feel free to try again.
lol
“Odd” extremist – one convicted bombing conspirator feeding information to a murderer with the same political agenda.
One is accidental, two is more than careless.
Again, when you’ve got something showing they have been convicted of terrorism (or are officially declared terrorist) then you’ll have something of substance.
Constructing a bomd that’s planted outside a family planning clinic doesn’t count as “terrorism”?
(or are officially declared terrorist)
Er, wouldn’t the people who might “officially declare” them a terrorist organisation be the same “State (Government) and related authorities” you dismiss as unreliable in the very same comment?
You seem to be a little confused.
I didn’t dismiss the state (Government) and related authorities as unreliable.
True – I apologise. Shouldn’t drink and comment.
No evidence of manipulation in Planned Parenthood videos
http://www.adfmedia.org/files/CoalfireCMPvideosReport.pdf
That you’re citing rabid hate machine the Alliance Defending Freedom makes me think you should fuck off back to where you belong.
http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/12/04/meet-alliance-defending-freedom-foxs-favorite-a/197132
[lprent: Please be a little more careful when you paste crap HTML into our pages. It “FUBAR’ed” the page because
1. you put in li tags without an enclosing ul or ol
2. you started with a i tag and didn’t close it (besides you should have used blockquote and /blockquote)
I manually fixed it. But this isn’t something that I plan to make a career of. ]
Wake up.
I’m citing a independent report prepared by Coalfire Systems, Inc.
I see you’re still playing the smear-tactic game.
One can only assume you have nothing credible to put forward.
*sniff*
joe90 …
30 August 2015 at 10:17 am
Planned Parenthood commissioned an independent review of the videos and the conclusion – yet another dishonest smear campaign waged by unhinged, deceptive anti-choice arseholes.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30082015/#comment-1064529
Yes, I’ve seen the report, hence I posted a link to another independent review refuting it.
But you can’t be arsed citing the independent review refuting it.
No need really. I provided a link to the report. Surely you can read it yourself?
Yeah, apologies, blockquote it is then – thought the i > would work but obviously not
FYI
URGENT! TPPA – WALK AWAY! PROTEST! TODAY 1 October 2015
Focus – John Key / shareholder in Bank of America!
Have new petition focused on John Key + plenty of TPPA leaflets!
Plus banners / placards / John Key / Tim Groser masks / street theatre!
WHEN: Today 1 October 2015
TIME: 3 – 5.30pm
WHERE: Outside Auckland University
Symonds St / Grafton Rd intersection
_____________________________________________________
WORDING OF NEW PETITION:
To Prime Minister John Key
MP for Helensville
We, the undersigned:
Are deeply concerned that as a key advocate for the ‘Trans-PacificPartnership Agreement’ (TPPA), you are a shareholder in the Bank of America, as detailed in the 2015 MPs Register of Financial Interests: (Pg 29)
“Rt Hon John Key (National, Helensville)
2 Other companies and business entities
………………………………………….
Bank of America – banking”
We see this as a serious ‘conflict of interest’, given that big banks like the Bank of America, stand to benefit, and profit from this pro-corporate TPPA.
If this National Government, which you lead, does not ‘walk away’ from the secretive, undemocratic, ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’ (TPPA), then we pledge to campaign vigorously amongst our friends, families, neighbours and workmates, for the voting public to ‘walk away’ from National.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
……
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate
FYI
‘Open Letter’ to Auckland Mayor and Councillors / ALL MPs / Media:
“Please provide evidence proving that I have ever stated anything that was factually inaccurate, concerning Auckland Council, or Auckland Council CCOs.”
Kind regards
Penny Bright
…………………..
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
………………..
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate
It’s over. In my opinion TPP will pass this weekend. Key is being to smirky
Let’s hope all the pressure applied from many different groups in nz has made get a deal worth having.
It was always going to be a good deal for NZ, you lefties will not be able to stand there and take credit for it
Be interesting to see the public reaction to this “good deal”.
Oh come on you know key is just a little puppy who is addicted to pats ,he’ll try and please any one who is vocal enough.
I suspect he’s got father issues.
Oops. somebody broke it. Looks like it could be This one but I could be wrong on that.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11521631
Alan Duff doesn’t pull his punches. I would find it hard to disagree with what he has to say.
When Oz signed a FTA with China – they retained their right to block foreign buying of property and they got a better deal on dairy than we did.
When we signed one, we gave Chinese the same rights to invest here as those in Oz, and that included property ownership.
Our negotiators are second rate.
But what could we expect we gave the world free trade for nothing, all we have left to give is governance sovereignty.
Back in the 80’s the left of the Labour caucus took pineapple lumps (nuclear free status) and gave away the economy to the free market. A position on Cabinet and a chance to be leader by adhering to the deal. Once one learns that the climb up the ladder is enabled by betraying those below, there is no position that is then out of reach.
When did Jim Mora and co EVER discuss the TPPA seriously?
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Thursday 1 October 2015
Jim Mora, Beck Eleven, Kevin Milne
After noting that the old trougher Helen Clark has undermined the Labour Party by backing the TPPA [1], host Jim Mora then said: “We’re not having another big discussion about the TPPA now…”
“Another big discussion”? I would appreciate it if someone tell us when Mora’s light chat show dealt with the TPPA in more than a perfunctory, scoffing fashion, leave alone any “big discussion”.
The only topics that Mora—or more likely, Richard Griffin—deals with in any depth are coffee, football and vexillology.
Anything else gets the once-over-lightly. [2]
[1] http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/72604363/former-pm-clark-backs-controversial-trade-deal
[2] http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-20082015/#comment-1060938
Mora’s appalling panel discuss declining ratings on TV3 without even mentioning the boycott of the channel after the political axing of Campbell Live.
Self censorship or total ignorance by the woeful panel.
Mora must have self censored.
His Tory bones doesn’t allow debate of topics that question his comfortable life.
Well spotted Paul. But why did neither Beck Eleven nor Kevin Milne dare to mention it? My bet is that they know that “management”, i.e. John Key’s man Richard Griffin, would not approve, so they kept silent.
Obviously they both need the money.
Mora is on now. No idea what they are saying. It’s just white noise. Regarding Clark. A while ago my husband told me he had been speaking to a Nat. Party stalwart who told him that at a Nat P meeting they were told that according to a local NP mp that NZ would be shocked if they knew how often Clark had flown into NZ to have secret meetings with key. I scorned the idea but am now wondering if there is some truth in it. Also, has she seen the text that is so secret, if so is she happy that the good citizens of NZ are being treated like mushrooms.
Helen Clark’s unwelcome re-entry into New Zealand politics, unsurprisingly endorsing the undemocratic and secretive National government, is a reminder how little serious scrutiny has been carried out on her actions in government. (The foul abuse and ridiculous campaigns by the likes of David Farrar, Whaleoil, Ian Wishart and the rest of the National Party’s foaming right wing army do not qualify as serious.)
Chris Laidlaw gave her a free and uninterrupted platform last year….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-06012014/#comment-753962
As did Lisa Owen a couple of months ago….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29082015/#comment-1064147
The only decent grilling she ever got was by John Campbell.
Helen comes to NZ quite a few times each year, usually as a leg on one of the enormous trips that her work requires. They are hardly a secret – they show up on facebook. Her husband Peter lives here and so do her parents. I rather suspect that has more to do with it than with anything else. /irony
But being at the UNDP and with NZ trying to get onto the security council (and now on it), it isn’t that surprising that John Key was trying to catch her when she was here.
It is probably like the amount that every kiwi politicians and diplomat going to New York seems to try to get a meeting with her if she is in town. Just like they try to get time with whoever is the ambassador and/or their staff if they get to Washington. It is about getting local information. /sarc
Not everything is about the damn TPPA /irritation
I suspect that when we finally find out what is in the TPPA, it is going to be way worse than expected even two years ago. I’ll disagree with Helen unless I can see a considerable movement from what has been leaked. The problems it is going to cause for the tech export industry alone is going to be immense.
Thanks for that lprent.
It beggars belief how so many people create false conspiracies about everything Helen does. And she’s always been open about her travels and activities. Since her mother died, she phones her Dad (now in his nineties) every day. She and her husband hook up whenever they can – she comes to NZ whenever she can fit it in… he goes to her in New York 2 or 3 times a year. That’s my understanding anyway.
In other words, her trips to NZ are for personal reasons and have nothing to do with politics. Of course she keeps in touch with friends she made during her political years, but she made it clear from the start of her new career that NZ politics was out of bounds as far as she was concerned. All the indications are: she has kept strictly to that resolution.
+100
Ffloyd, that is mischief-making on the part of the National Party dirty tricks brigade. You know, the one ‘wot John Key knows nuffink about’ even though it was closely linked to his office.
In the last term of the Clark govt. some of the malice ridden fantasies spread around about Helen – and indeed her husband – were utterly grotesque. The worst were by word of mouth because if they had appeared in print, the courts would have been submerged in defamation suits brought by all manner of people.
+100 Anne
“I think Story‘s a GREAT show! I think Heather’s doing BRILLIANTLY.”
Kevin Milne’s ludicrously false praise does his reputation no good at all.
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Thursday 1 October 2015
Jim Mora, Beck Eleven, Kevin Milne
Since John Key’s man Richard Griffin has obviously forbidden him from dealing with anything “boring” (i.e., serious) during his program, host Jim Mora has to find SOMETHING to talk about each day. So the program is full of chatter, over a bed of endless laughter, about virtually meaningless trivia taken straight off the bottom of the page on Google News.
This afternoon, casting about desperately for something to take up five minutes or so in the last part of the program, Mora noted that Television One’s god-awful Rawdon Christie vehicle, Breakfast, had been canned. This led on to a bit of chat about the (possibly terminal) decline of TV3. Utterly unmemorable, except for this horrible example of misplaced loyalty to a friend by Kevin Milne….
KEVIN MILNE: I think Story‘s a GREAT show! I think Heather’s doing BRILLIANTLY….
As time is almost up, the host utters one of the few straight-up statements he’s made in weeks….
JIM MORA: We’ve got ninety seconds. Now, uh, we can’t speak very usefully about Islamic State….
Masochists and aficionados of the comedy of mortification may like to check out just how “BRILLIANTLY” Heather is doing…..
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24082015/#comment-1062391
Are you sure he said it’s the Breakfast show that’s been canned?
I know the Good Morning show’s going to be axed in December (no loss really, it’s pretty much just compered infomercials from what little I’ve seen).
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/72506926/tvnzs-good-morning-show-to-be-axed
I haven’t heard or been able to find anything suggesting Breakfast ‘s for the chop as well though.
Thanks for that, my friend. I knew it was too much to hope that Christie and co. had been consigned to the scrap-heap.
I’ll miss Good Morning; it was so bad and so crass it was almost a masterpiece.
Highlights include:
1.) Wallace Chapman, Willie Jackson and Miles Davis discussing “relationship woes”….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-08062013/#comment-645516
2.) Jeanette Thomas interviewing a foolish luvvie who vapoured moronically about the Anders Breivik massacre without mentioning that he was a Christian or a terrorist….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-28082015/#comment-1063760
So the government’s “investment approach” to social security is NOT really a proper investment approach, according to Bill Rosenberg from the CTU:
http://union.org.nz/sites/union.org.nz/files/Investment%20Approach%20is%20not%20an%20investment%20approach%20-%20Rosenberg_0.pdf
Yet more proof of the flawed welfare reforms we have been served up!