It creates the ridiculous straw man of perfect government under FPP. The same FPP which saw the scrapping of the visionary Kirk Superannuation scheme and all that was Muldoonism.
MMP was introduced because of the abject failure of FPP. From 1987 to 1996 FPP elections returned governments that had lied to the electorate then proceeded to behave like elected dictatorships ramming through hard right economic reforms. The purpose of MMP was to ensure that never again Rogernomic/Ruthenania could be inflicted on the country against it’s will and so far it has done that.
For example, we would never have scrapped Kirk’s super scheme in 1975 if we had have MMP. Muldoons “landslide” was with 47.59% of the vote. He would have needed Social Credit to govern, or alternatively Labour, Social Credit and the Values party (5.19%!) could have formed a government.
There’s a double play going on from National here: there’s a short term ploy to weaken NZF’s hand in doing a deal with the Nats.
There’s a long term ploy in trying to weaken and split the Green Party – to split the centrists from the left wingers, both in GP membership and broader support. And also the ploy to de-legitimise any possible NZF-Lab-GP government.
So, folks, we are warned. This is the way the Nats will play it for the next few years, whether the Nats or Labour get to lead a new government.
The Nats will try to continue to weaken the GP and thereby any strong left wing platform. They will also try to continue to de-legitimise MMP.
Good points Carolyn_nth. Normally I would hope that Kiwis would see through such moves but I was discouraged to see how many NZers were willing to believe National’s election campaign lies.
I’ve been picking up the whole theme of “how dare one man hold a country to ransom, blah, blah ,blah..” I note he is described as “unelected” (meaning on the list) which I thought put him in the same category as the Double Dipper yet it doesn’t get said of him.
It does concern me that with so many NZers willing to believe or ignore National’s lying that the same thing may happen with MMP.
From 1987 to 1996 FPP elections returned governments that had lied to the electorate then proceeded to behave like elected dictatorships ramming through hard right economic reforms.
I seem to recall the present government doing exactly that – for three terms.
The purpose of MMP was to ensure that never again Rogernomic/Ruthenania could be inflicted on the country against it’s will and so far it has done that.
No it hasn’t.
The government signed the TPPA against our wishes.
They sold our power SOEs against our wishes.
They put in place 90 day fire at will legislation against our wishes.
The list goes on.
For example, we would never have scrapped Kirk’s super scheme in 1975 if we had have MMP.
It’s entirely possible that a government would have. It’s just less likely that they would have been returned.
Labour, Social Credit and the Values party (5.19%!) could have formed a government.
That would have been good if they’d got round to implementing a sovereign monetary system.
MMP was introduced because of the abject failure of FPP.
The FPP-nostalgics never mention that bit. Although, Damien Grant does kind of cover it off with this line:
“In the New Zealand mind sits, like a gnarled hobbit, the idea of fairness.”
Fairness! What a crock! Let’s all sneer together at this risible concept that your political system should involve fairness! What a bunch of saps! Aah, the admirable senses of empathy and self-awareness displayed by the libertarian, how sad there are so few of them in our country… /sarc
She used lots of words but said the same stuff as all those who refuse to analyse
Greens election promise to not go into coalition with National
Greens complete lack of trust of National in part due to Nationals election promises being what we call in Contract Law an “invitation to treat”. Not binding and only meant to lure you into the shop for the real bargaining to begin.
Scott, its called sore loser, foot stumping comes with that. Of cause you cannot see this when you just have the written article in front of you. But what it does show is, that the manipulators in the media are coming to the surface and now you can identify those who are all year round trying to “massage” public opinion towards a certain goal. It also pinpoints the publications bias, its educational. Stupid is what stupid does.
An interesting nerdy discussion on whether and when radical proposals attract the centre closer by making less extreme proposals look moderate and when they repel the centre away by tarnishing less extreme proposals so they also look nuts.
Very good piece. And sums up John key nicely – can sound like he cares about the least powerful, suffering people…. but actually, is more interested in getting an interviewer talking about a fun run.
Then Slack describes his encounters with/knowledge of grandparents struggling to care their grandchildren, and with very little resources or power.
But it’s entirely possible to look away from these broken lives. It’s entirely possible to ignore what poverty means here today. It’s entirely possible to denigrate feckless parents and suggest that they make “better life choices”.
But is that fair, or compassionate, or humane?
How much political will is there to make this right, to tackle poverty, to provide support for the foster parents and grandparents to do their selfless work?
Whatever happened to the discussion just prior to the election about the National party funding sources and the source and number of jobs ex Nat politicians are receiving from overseas interests. Are the Nats too close to overseas governing parties?
It seems to have been shut down real quick in favour of the endless harassment of the Greens going with Nats. If the Nats were serious then they surely would have called the Greens by now but they apparently haven’t.
Martyn Bradbury says he’s going to focus strongly in the future on the Nat MP as Chinese spy issue. This is a narrow focus that looks too much at only influence from China. Needs to be broader than that.
In fact, this has brought attention to certain issues the country (as a whole) need to reconsider.
For example, isn’t it time we take the money out of politics and put an end to political donations?
Should only those born here be able to stand and enter parliament?
Do we need better policing of our MPs and the different ways they can potentially be influenced? Such as, being given prominent roles in companies, boards etc… or being paid a record breaking price for the sale of their home or business?
There are some overseas companies with similar names, but I don’t see any links between them.
So, is there any info that shows Jan Trotman has had links with international Big Pharma in the time the Nat government has been promoting its social bonds policy?
I was implying potential conflict of interest isn’t limited to one particular party or nation for that matter. And it’s not the first time Johnson & Johnson has been implicated.
And also foreign land ownership we may be one of the only developed nations who allow it… of all the things to choose to go against the grain… Key used to say we were too small to lead
Plus, i see via twitter Jim Bolger is still running the Nat-GP coalition line on qu@a.
The Nats are acting like a pack of authoritarian bullies. Doesn’t matter how often GP supporters and members say “No” – they keep with the saturated media and social media spin of why the GP-Nat idea is in the Greens best interests – won’t take NO for an answer.
It is ignorant and patronising. There is not only one view of all this but many in the media are buying that there is only one view and it is the one that sees National being permitted to continue.
Seems all media are frantically interviewing their computers in their frustration at no electoral outcome and in desperation for something to write about.
Patience is a concept they are unfamiliar with.
And all these know-alls being wheeled out to give their opinions – had hoped to see the last of the hair-do and others of his ilk.
My God, Jim Mora is mind numbingly boring on Sunday Morning. Such a conservative mealy mouthed reactionary with an obvious agenda, busily taking Sunday Morning back to the 1970s. I turned off. Couldn’t cope with his trite religious blather.
Yep, can’t wait for Wallace to get back….why the f$%^ is NZ on Air not funding Back Benches any more, so that it has had to be cancelled*….PM Jacinda should have a look at this….it is one of the only programmes I watch on TV and a programme that humanises politics; plenty of humour too.
*of course Prime TV could have funded Back Benches itself-it can’t be very expensive to produce. Says everything about Prime and Sky.
I turned off Q & A this morning because I could no longer stand all the tripe about the Nats and Greens going into coalition. With the exception of John Tamihere, who valiantly tried to keep the debate on a rational footing, it was appalling to hear the other two guests (Wayne Mapp, Josie Pagani) belting out the same lines prepared by Steven Joyce and co.
Here’s a summary of the timelines and facts:
In 1993 a referendum was held which saw MMP introduced. In 1994, merely months after that referedndum, a new political party was established called ACT. It was a direct response to the advent of MMP and was financed into being by some of our wealthiest business tycoons (Alan Gibbs, Craig Heatley, Douglas Myers to name just three of them). It was set up in cahoots with National to provide them with a coalition party.
The Labour Party already had a coalition party (albeit set up for different reasons) the Alliance Party which was born prior to the referendum in 1991.
So the scene was set for MMP well in advance of the first MMP election in 1996.
The Left block – Labour and the Alliance Party.
The Right block – National and ACT.
Sitting in the centre was NZ First.
Nothing has changed since except the fortunes /misfortunes of the coalition parties:
1) the Alliance party imploded and what was left of it morphed into the Green Party. It has since succeeded in maintaining a significant role and potential coalition partner for Labour in parliament.
2) the ACT Party started out as a significant presence but over time lost its support and ended up with one seat courtesy of the Nats. National has been able to cobble together coalition governments by including the tiddler parties of ACT, UF and the Maori Party.
It does not alter the Left/Right blocks arrangement we inherited under MMP.
Now we are seeing a mischievous attempt by National and the highly suspect MSM re-writing history (see John Roughan’s latest appallingly inaccurate opinion piece in the Herald) and trying to snaffle Labour’s natural support party away from them using the usual dirty political tactics.
It is yet another of the myriad of examples that already exist where National is so devoid of principles and values, they will do anything to retain power and wealth for themselves and to hell with the rest of us. The Greens will be the ultimate loser if they succumb.
I hope the Greens and NZ First don’t fall for it!
Edit: if someone has the time to play around with this and turn it into a post I don’t mind. It is such an important message to get out there.
There are some interesting insights but, he claims the MSM are not really that biased.
‘Media bias’ is everyone’s excuse for everything that happens in politics that they don’t like. Occasionally it’s true, but mostly it’s a more palatable alternative to admitting that your values aren’t popular or that the politicians you admire aren’t very good at their jobs. Of course there’s always bias, but as an institution the media are biased towards whoever produces good content for them, and this election that was Jacinda.
That is partially true, in that the MSM do tend to foreground drama, clickbait, etc.
But, it doesn’t explain how so many MSM journos are running the Nat line on Nat-GP coalition.
I suspect that people in the centre ground of politics, like McLauchlan, are blind to the narrow range of views that are allowed to dominate around the (shifting) centre of politics in the MSM.
The MSM probably connects with their view of the world. I also think MSM journos tend to respond positively to politicians who speak and behave somewhat like themselves and their social set.
Ardern does that somewhat, so they feel connected to her – but then she also sometimes steps outside that cultural frame, and then Ardern gets hammered.
Yes she did by way of agreeing with everything Wayne Mapp said. It stupifies me they keep her on these Q&A panels when her Labour/Left credentials have been so torn asunder.
And if she does win, where is the extra money coming from? And if she does win does that mean the company that owns the hospital isn’t making much profit?
So much for the constant refrain that the younger suffer from a need for instant gratification. Their parents and grandparents are barely stopping short of tantrums to satisfy their instant gratification.
There are plenty of other stories out there. Start writing them?
In the meantime this is an interesting piece which could be applied to Nats from the GFC and Earthquakes and how they “used” those to implement their own Shock Doctrine.
When you read this kind of stuff you realise how shallow our media writing is.
Anyone who wonders why Labour didn’t do as well as expected in the election should read this brilliant exposition of just how it is that political rhetoric meshes with economics:
Clayton’s privatisation of public services, employed in various forms by neo-liberal governments the world over. (or how to privatise essential services without telling anybody).
Professor Allyson Pollock, director of Newcastle University’s Institute of Health and Society, said the change in the law during the Coalition years has paved the way for the part-privatisation of the health service.
She said: “It’s not a surprise to see foundation trusts with niche specialities like cancer or cardiac [care] are turning to private patients.
“The problem is formerly these hospitals were almost 100 per cent public. Up to 49 per cent of the capacity – doctors, nurses and beds – can be diverted to private patients. In London … some of these patients will be very wealthy, medical tourists.
“The NHS is being squeezed and inevitably there will be a diversion of funds [from ordinary NHS patients to private ones]. We are losing our NHS. We will lose our NHS unless the Government stops commercial contracting and stops foundation trusts from bringing in private patients.”
Blinded by the Media National argument that Winston is a rogue and how dare he hold the country to ransom, it dimly occurred to me it is not Winston’s fault. He is just dealing with the MMP hand that he was dealt. How else would it have worked out? Huh?
it is the ‘its not me’ syndrome, it must be the fault of the other. so blame winston, the system, the greens, humpty dumpty but lets not blame the ones that have been running the country for 9 years.
A bit like for the first 5 years of N everything was the fault of Helen Clark, then it was look how awesome John Key is and don’t you want your pony tail pulled too?, and now its the fault of Winston. IT must be the others fault cause if it ain’t it must be National that has done the fucking up.
Question??
if nzf offer the nats c and s and stay on the cross benches , would it not allow the greens and or labour to work with the nats on policy they want that nzf is against.
I truly doubt that there is much intersection between Nats and Labour/Greens in policy.
Private members bills for areas with significant policy overlap between Labour , Greens and NZ First would be hell to deal with for both the Nats and NZ First in such a situation
It was Gareth’s lumping together of all property owners and pensioners as an elite group screwing over the young that was largely his downfall.
Coupled with wanting to reduce the rate of our current UBI (Super) and his willingness to add to the cost of home ownership while taxing home owning low income earners out of their homes.
to ‘The Chairman’ at 14 : yes, I agree these aspects of TOP policy were scary, and not to my mind emphasised/criticised in press . We pensioners are certainly NOT all well-heeled. I have always felt he thinks from wealthy viewpoint albeit given to philanthropy.
A vigorous campaign by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to break Catalonia off from Spain, further splintering Europe, is landing him in hot water with the government of Ecuador that has provided him with diplomatic refuge in its embassy in London.
Assange and Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno have traded barbs this week over whether his behavior comports with that of someone granted political asylum.
Assange challenged Moreno Thursday to try to silence him.
“If President Moreno wants to gag my reporting of human rights abuses in Spain he should say so explicitly—together with the legal basis,” Assange tweeted.
If President Moreno wants to gag my reporting of human rights abuses in Spain he should say so explicitly–together with the legal basis.
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) September 28, 2017
Friction between Assange and his Ecuadorean hosts has grown since May, when Moreno took office and surprised his nation’s voters by departing sharply from the path set by his predecessor, the fiery populist Rafael Correa. Moreno was considered Correa’s protégé.
Moreno has told two international television networks in the past week that Assange should watch his tongue and not harm Ecuador’s relations with its allies.
national are despite and making fools of them selves trying to hold a hand out to the Greens and we no that that would be like crossing the positive and negative 12 volt terminals together a lot of sparks and boom . One of the main goals of the coalition should be to ensure there long term rule in a fair and just way as the changes needed to fix our country will not happen over nite compulsory voting would be one and another would be to keep the media honest and un biased ban social media video ads and poll’s 2 month’s before a election
To Gareth Morgan you mite not have achieved directly what you wanted to achieve but you have help the debate on topics everyone else was to scared to talk about and TOPs policy will have some influence on our new laws that will make our country more equal for everyone
It was awesome to see the General Silveria setting a excellent example on how racism should not be tolerated anywhere in OUR WORLD .
BIG UPPS to see 2 of my favorite people on the news they make excellent role models for all people
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Scottish doctor Malcolm Kendrick looks at the pandemic and the responses to it 30th December 2020 I have not written much about COVID19 recently. What can be said? In my opinion the world has simply gone bonkers. The best description can be found in Dante’s Inferno, written many hundreds of ...
I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is unexpectedly missing or the numbers seem very low please check this out. After correcting send me the URL for your ...
The deed is done, the doers undoneHad I been a Brit, I would have voted ‘Remain’ rather than Brexit (or ‘Leave’). Instead, I have been bemused by the comic theatre of British politics, fascinated by what the Brits actual think and professionally interested by the revelations of the complexity of ...
But Will She Keep Smiling? Kindness is as kindness does. And the one thing kindness cannot do is force people to be kind. Understanding that was the single most important factor in the Prime Minister’s success at stamping out the Coronavirus. She took New Zealanders with her; she encouraged them ...
Completed reads for 2020: The History of the Britons, by NenniusThe Annales CambriaeThe Life of King Alfred, by AsserThe Wood Beyond the World, by William MorrisThe Life of Merlin, by Geoffrey of MonmouthThe History of the Kings of Britain, by Geoffrey of MonmouthThe Life of Gildas, by Caradoc ...
As per my blog tradition, here is where my blog viewers came from in 2020: United StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaNew ZealandBrazilGermanySpainSwedenThe Netherlands The top four remain as per 2019. After four years at #6, New Zealand gains a spot. Brazil is up four, and The Netherlands jumps from #16 to #10. ...
As we welcome in the new year, our focus is on continuing to keep New Zealanders safe and moving forward with our economic recovery. There’s a lot to get on with, but before we say a final goodbye to 2020, here’s a quick look back at some of the milestones ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has added her warm congratulations to the New Zealanders recognised for their contributions to their communities and the country in the New Year 2021 Honours List. “The past year has been one that few of us could have imagined. In spite of all the things that ...
Attorney-General and Minister for the Environment David Parker has congratulated two retired judges who have had their contributions to the country and their communities recognised in the New Year 2021 Honours list. The Hon Tony Randerson QC has been appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the New Year’s Honours List 2021 highlights again the outstanding contribution made by Pacific people across Aotearoa. “We are acknowledging the work of 13 Pacific leaders in the New Year’s Honours, representing a number of sectors including health, education, community, sports, the ...
The Government’s investment in digital literacy training for seniors has led to more than 250 people participating so far, helping them stay connected. “COVID-19 has meant older New Zealanders are showing more interest in learning how to use technology like Zoom and Skype so they can to keep in touch ...
New virus variants and ongoing high rates of diseases in some countries prompt additional border protections Extra (day zero or day one) test to be in place this week New ways of reducing risk before people embark on travel being investigated, including pre-departure testing for people leaving the United Kingdom ...
Hundreds more Cook Islanders are expected to begin criss-crossing the Pacific, Air NZ will triple the number of flights to Rarotonga next week, and about 300 managed isolation places will be freed up for Kiwis returning from other parts of the world. When Thomas Tarurongo Wynne took a job in Wellington at ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Ena Manuireva in Auckland It seems a long time ago – some 124 days – since Mā’ohi Nui deplored its first covid-19 related deaths of an elderly woman on 11 September 2020 followed by her husband just hours later, both over the age of 80. The local ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Turnbull, Postdoctoral research associate, UNSW A global coalition of more than 50 countries have this week pledged to protect over 30% of the planet’s lands and seas by the end of this decade. Their reasoning is clear: we need greater protection ...
The Reserve Bank Governor’s apology and claim he will ‘own the issue’ is laughable given the lack of answers and timing of its release. Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union said: “It’s been five days since they came clean, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olga Kokshagina, Researcher – Innovation & Entrepreneurship, RMIT University Are too many online meetings and notifications getting you down? Online communication tools – from email to virtual chat and video-conferencing – have transformed the way we work. In many respects they’ve made ...
The Reserve Bank acknowledges information about some of its stakeholders may have been breached in a malicious data hack. The Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has commissioned an independent inquiry into how stakeholders' information was compromised when hackers breached a file sharing service used by the bank. “We ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlin Syme, PhD in Vertebrate Palaeontology, The University of Queensland This story contains spoilers for Ammonite Palaeontologist Mary Anning is known for discovering a multitude of Jurassic fossils from Lyme Regis on England’s Dorset Coast from the age of ten in 1809. ...
A tribute to the sitcoms of old? In the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Yup. Sam Brooks reviews the audacious WandaVision.Nothing sends a chill up my spine like the phrase “Marvel Cinematic Universe”. Since launching in 2008 with Iron Man, the MCU has become a shambling behemoth, with over 23 films (not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University The alt-right, QAnon, paramilitary and Donald Trump-supporting mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6 claimed they were only doing what the so-called “founding fathers” of the US had done in ...
The Point of Order Ministerial Workload Watchdog and our ever-vigilant Trough Monitor were both triggered yesterday by an item of news from the office of Conservation Minister Kititapu Allan. The minister was drawing attention to new opportunities to dip into the Jobs for Nature programme (and her statement was the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Kupz, Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University In July 1921, a French infant became the first person to receive an experimental vaccine against tuberculosis (TB), after the mother had died from the disease. The vaccine, known as Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), is ...
The first Friday Poem for 2021 is by Wellington poet Rebecca Hawkes.While you were partying I studied the bladeI your ever-loving edgelord God-emperorof the bot army & bitcoin mine subsistingon an IV drip of gamer girl bathwaterfinally my lonelinessis your responsibility………. you seeI need a girlfriend assigned to me by the ...
The arming of police officers in Canterbury was inevitable with the growing numbers and brazenness of the gangs across the country – this should be a permanent step, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. “It is unfortunate that we have come to the point ...
Celebrations in Aotearoa New Zealand to mark the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will begin on Thursday 21 January with ICAN Aotearoa New Zealand’s Wellington and online event, and continue on Friday ...
Hardly anyone is using their Covid Tracer app. Something needs to change.As the mercury approaches 30°C in Aotearoa, there is a good deal of slipping and slopping, but, let’s face it, piss-all scanning. As few as around 500,000 QR codes are being scanned by users of the NZ Covid Tracer ...
On the East Coast, a group of Māori-owned enterprises is innovating to create new revenue streams while doing what they love.New Zealand’s remote and sparsely populated regions are typically not the best places to create thriving brick-and-mortar businesses. In small communities miles away from any major centres, there are so ...
As we reach the height of summer, it’s not too late to do a safety check on your gas bottle. The Environmental Protection Authority’s Safer Homes programme has some tips and tricks to keep in mind before you fire up the grill. "If you’ve ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1Troy: The Siege of Troy Retold by Stephen Fry (Michael Joseph, $37)If you’re in any way unsure about ...
“We may as well knock on the gang headquarters around this country and tell them we all give up," says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust. “It is simply outrageous that violent offender, James Tuwhangai, has been released from ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Ireland, Israel, and Lebanon. Chart by Keith Rankin. The countries with the most recent large outbreaks of Covid19 are those with large numbers of recent recorded cases, but yet to record the deaths that most likely will result. In this camp, this time, are Ireland, Israel ...
RuPaul is in Aotearoa, kicking back in managed isolation to await the filming of an Australasian version of her hugely popular reality show Drag Race. But not everyone is happy about, explains Eli Matthewson. The world’s most famous drag queen, RuPaul, is in New Zealand, the government confirmed earlier this week ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Melleuish, Professor, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong What can we make of Clive Palmer? This week, he announced his United Australia Party (UAP) would not contest the upcoming West Australian state election on March 13. After a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gisela Kaplan, Emeritus Professor in Animal Behaviour, University of New England Have you ever seenmagpies play-fighting with one another, or rolling around in high spirits? Or an apostlebird running at full speed with a stick in its beak, chased by a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Jackson, Program Director, Centre for Policy Development, and Associate Professor of Education, Mitchell Institute, Victoria University Childcare centres across Australia are suffering staff shortages, which have been exacerbated by the COVID crisis. Many childcare workers across Australia left when parents started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Barrett, Senior Lecturer in Taxation, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Rhetoric plays an important role in tax debate and therefore tax policy. If your side manages to gain traction in the public imagination with labels such as “death ...
*This article was first published on The Conversation and is republished with permission* Whoever leads the Republican Party post-Trump will need to consider how they will maintain the rabid support of his “base”, while working to regain more moderate voters who defected from the party in the 2020 election. In a historic ...
Covid-19 fears accelerated banks’ moves towards cashless transactions. But the Reserve Bank is fighting to protect cash, and those who still use it. ...
Good morning and welcome to this one-off edition of The Bulletin, covering major stories from the last few weeks.A quick preamble to this: Today’s special edition of The Bulletin is all about filling you in on some of the stories you might have missed over the summer period. Perhaps you had ...
Summer reissue: In this episode of Bad News, Alice Snedden is forced to confront her own mortality before hosting a very special dinner party to get to grips with the euthanasia debate.First published August 27, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is ...
The debate over cutting down a large macrocarpa to make way for a new residential development has highlighted a wider agreement between developers and protesters: that we also need to be planting far more trees. At the corner of Great North Road and Ash Street in Avondale, a 150-year-old macrocarpa stands its ground ...
The contrast between the words of John F Kennedy and today’s anti-democratic demagogue is inescapable, writes Dolores Janiewski I still remember three eloquent speeches by an American president. One happened in January 1961 and spoke about a “torch being passed to a new generation”. Two years later and one day apart, ...
More infectious variants of Covid-19 are increasingly being intercepted at the country’s borders, but the minister running New Zealand’s response is resisting pressure to accelerate vaccination plans despite demands from health experts as well as political friends and foes, Justin Giovannetti reports.New Zealand’s first Covid-19 jabs will be administered in ...
As CEO of her iwi rūnanga, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer was on the frontline protecting her community during the first outbreak of Covid-19. Now that more virulent strains threaten to breach our borders, the Māori Party co-leader calls on the government to introduce much stricter measures.As we enter the New Year I ...
The Prada Cup challenger series starts today. Suzanne McFadden goes behind the scenes of the world's only live yachting regatta to see what's in store for the next five weeks. At 6am on race days, Iain Murray wakes up and immediately checks the weather outside his Auckland window. “It’s all ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Raquel Peel, Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland This story contains spoilers for Bridgerton The first season of Bridgerton, Netflix’s new hit show based on Julia Quinn’s novels, premiered on December 25 last year. The show is set in London, during the ...
The New Zealand government believes its own negotiations with Rio Tinto will be resolved "fairly quickly" now there is certainty about the future of the Tiwai Point smelter. ...
Amanda Thompson and her family are attempting to cut back on the meat, so they gave all the vego sausies the local supermarket had to offer a hoon on the barbie. Here are the results.I was a vegetarian once. Even the best of us take a well-meaning wrong turn on ...
The Taxpayers’ Union welcomes the call by Wellington City Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons for a shift to land value based rates charges. Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, "Local government leaders across the country should join in Fitzsimons’s call ...
It’s been described as ‘pointless revenge’, but impeaching the president has a firm moral purpose, argues Michael Blake – setting a limit to what sorts of action a society will accept.A House majority, including 10 Republicans, voted today to impeach President Trump for “incitement of insurrection”. The vote will initiate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bryan Cranston, Lead Academic Teacher – Politics & Social Science (Swinburne Online), Swinburne University of Technology In a historic vote today, Donald Trump became the only US president to be impeached twice. By a margin of 232–197, the Democrat-controlled US House of ...
Hurrah. The PM is back to posting her announcements on the government’s official website, her deputy is back in the business of self-congratulation, Rio Tinto is back in the business of sucking up cheap electricity to produce aluminium at Tiwai Point, near Bluff. And overseas students (some, anyway) can come ...
The electricity sector, Government and people of Southland are rejoicing after Tiwai Point aluminium smelter owner Rio Tinto announced the major industrial would be open until the end of 2024, Marc Daalder reports Stakeholders in the electricity sector and across Southland are celebrating the extension of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter's ...
If you’ve been on social media this week, you may well have come across a surge in interest in sea shanties. We asked a veteran of the style why. In case you missed it, soon may the Wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum. If that sentence is even ...
“It is basic human decency to speak up and protect any vulnerable child from harm, so withholding information in child abuse cases and allowing the abuse to happen by not speaking up is, put simply, a cowardly move,” says Jess McVicar Co-Leader ...
Allowing 1,000 returning international students back to New Zealand is the right move by the Government, and hopefully we will be able to welcome more, says ExportNZ Executive Director Catherine Beard. "International education has contributed ...
A majority of the House of Representatives have voted to make Donald Trump the first US president ever to be impeached twice, formally charging him in his waning days in power with inciting an insurrection just a week after a violent mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol. Follow the ...
The Youth of NZ will be standing up for climate action once again on January 26th outside of Parliament for School Strike 4 Climate NZ’s 100 Days 4 Action campaign rally. “We believe it is vital to hold our new Labour-led government to account ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Rotorua Lakes District Council to urgently release the engineering report on the public safety and structural integrity of the visible foundation-misalignment and lean of the City’s Hemo Gorge monument to government ...
Changes in income and movement in and out of poverty over time are only weakly associated with higher rates of child hospitalisation in New Zealand, according to a new University of Auckland study. Published today in PLOS ONE, the collaborative study led by Dr ...
With a long, hot summer upon us, pet owners are urged to be extra mindful of their pet’s health and safety. Unusually warm weather can quickly take its toll on furry family members, who aren’t well equipped for dealing with blazing heat. The National ...
The Council for Civil Liberties is challenging a claim by former National Party leader Simon Bridges that people should have total freedom of expression on Twitter. ...
A century of sexual abuse of women in New Zealand is analysed in a University of Auckland study. The newly-published research looks back as far as 1922 by analysing interviews with thousands of women about their lifetime experiences. The study indicates ...
62,686 more native trees will be planted in New Zealand in 2021 thanks to generous Kiwis who chose to go green for Christmas gifting. <img src="https://img.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/2101/cf409712f141732a8543.jpeg" width="720" height="540"> Trees That Count, a programme ...
Source: Council on Hemispheric Affairs – Analysis-Reportage By Arturo López-LevyOakland, CaliforniaUnfortunately, the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, encouraged by the Inciter-in-Chief, will not be the last act of mischief. Trump is insisting on causing as much damage as possible to the interests and values ...
The threatened Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will keep operating through to the end of December 2024, in a new deal just announced to the New Zealand stock exchange. Mining conglomerate Rio Tinto announced last year it was closing Tiwai due to high energy and transmission costs. Meridian Energy said that ...
The lack of Māori language or symbolism on the SuperGold Card isn’t just a design issue – it’s emblematic of the overwhelming whiteness of Aotearoa’s superannuant population, writes former race relations commissioner Joris de Bres.I’ve enjoyed the SuperGold Card since I retired eight years ago. I appreciate the free public ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Brumm, Professor, Griffith University The dating of an exceptionally old cave painting of animals that was found recently on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is reported in our paper out today. The painting portrays images of the Sulawesi warty pig (Sus ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Garrick, University Fellow in Law, Charles Darwin University Just over a year has gone by since the novel coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan and the world still has many questions about where and how it originated. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Young, Lecturer, Deakin University Medievalist references littered the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th. Rudy Giuliani called for a “trial by combat”; the “Q Shaman”, Jacob Chansley (also known as Jake Angeli), was covered in Norse tattoos; rioters brandished ...
A Whakatāne therapist says the Whakaari eruption and Christchurch mosque shooting reveal a health system unable to deal with mass casualty events. Whakaari after its eruption in 2019. Photo: Supplied/Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust This comes amid calls for millions of dollars of promised mental health funding to be urgently re-routed to Canterbury ...
Summer reissue: Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Stacy Gregg, author of Pony Club Secrets and The Princess and ...
Summer reissue: The latest episode of Bad News follows Alice Snedden on a quest to expose the double standards around nudity, and break down the barriers by getting the first-ever topless scene on Shortland Street.First published August 25, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The ...
While the protests at Waikeria shine a light on prisoner conditions, abuses of power and inhumane treatment in prison are not new and will continue until prisoner numbers significantly reduce, writes Christine McCarthy The recent six-day Waikeria protest highlighted problems at that prison, but it is not unique. The December ...
NZ isn't among the 50 signatories to an international commitment to legally protect 30 percent of the world's land and oceans for biodiversity by 2030. ...
The new variants of the virus can spread like wildfire, and all of us have a role to play in keeping them out of the community.I have to admit, when I first heard UK prime minister Boris Johnson talking about a new, more transmissible strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible ...
I see the MMP bashers are surfacing. Damien Grant in Stuff lamenting the landslide victory National would have won under FPP.
So stupid it’s hilarious.
But on the side of the angels there’s a nice piece from David Slack:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/97388496/david-slack-think-of-the-children
“…So stupid it’s hilarious…”
+1000
It creates the ridiculous straw man of perfect government under FPP. The same FPP which saw the scrapping of the visionary Kirk Superannuation scheme and all that was Muldoonism.
MMP was introduced because of the abject failure of FPP. From 1987 to 1996 FPP elections returned governments that had lied to the electorate then proceeded to behave like elected dictatorships ramming through hard right economic reforms. The purpose of MMP was to ensure that never again Rogernomic/Ruthenania could be inflicted on the country against it’s will and so far it has done that.
For example, we would never have scrapped Kirk’s super scheme in 1975 if we had have MMP. Muldoons “landslide” was with 47.59% of the vote. He would have needed Social Credit to govern, or alternatively Labour, Social Credit and the Values party (5.19%!) could have formed a government.
neither stupid nor hilarious but rather a sad commentary on the past 9 years
There’s a double play going on from National here: there’s a short term ploy to weaken NZF’s hand in doing a deal with the Nats.
There’s a long term ploy in trying to weaken and split the Green Party – to split the centrists from the left wingers, both in GP membership and broader support. And also the ploy to de-legitimise any possible NZF-Lab-GP government.
So, folks, we are warned. This is the way the Nats will play it for the next few years, whether the Nats or Labour get to lead a new government.
The Nats will try to continue to weaken the GP and thereby any strong left wing platform. They will also try to continue to de-legitimise MMP.
They will lie, deceive and disrupt to try to undermine any possibility of a Left government.
Just business as usual then DTB !
Good points Carolyn_nth. Normally I would hope that Kiwis would see through such moves but I was discouraged to see how many NZers were willing to believe National’s election campaign lies.
I’ve been picking up the whole theme of “how dare one man hold a country to ransom, blah, blah ,blah..” I note he is described as “unelected” (meaning on the list) which I thought put him in the same category as the Double Dipper yet it doesn’t get said of him.
It does concern me that with so many NZers willing to believe or ignore National’s lying that the same thing may happen with MMP.
I seem to recall the present government doing exactly that – for three terms.
No it hasn’t.
The government signed the TPPA against our wishes.
They sold our power SOEs against our wishes.
They put in place 90 day fire at will legislation against our wishes.
The list goes on.
It’s entirely possible that a government would have. It’s just less likely that they would have been returned.
That would have been good if they’d got round to implementing a sovereign monetary system.
MMP was introduced because of the abject failure of FPP.
The FPP-nostalgics never mention that bit. Although, Damien Grant does kind of cover it off with this line:
“In the New Zealand mind sits, like a gnarled hobbit, the idea of fairness.”
Fairness! What a crock! Let’s all sneer together at this risible concept that your political system should involve fairness! What a bunch of saps! Aah, the admirable senses of empathy and self-awareness displayed by the libertarian, how sad there are so few of them in our country… /sarc
She used lots of words but said the same stuff as all those who refuse to analyse
Greens election promise to not go into coalition with National
Greens complete lack of trust of National in part due to Nationals election promises being what we call in Contract Law an “invitation to treat”. Not binding and only meant to lure you into the shop for the real bargaining to begin.
Scott, its called sore loser, foot stumping comes with that. Of cause you cannot see this when you just have the written article in front of you. But what it does show is, that the manipulators in the media are coming to the surface and now you can identify those who are all year round trying to “massage” public opinion towards a certain goal. It also pinpoints the publications bias, its educational. Stupid is what stupid does.
An interesting nerdy discussion on whether and when radical proposals attract the centre closer by making less extreme proposals look moderate and when they repel the centre away by tarnishing less extreme proposals so they also look nuts.
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/9/29/16377806/mckibben-effect
It’s like the adult version of introducing new foods to children really, isn’t it
Very good piece. And sums up John key nicely – can sound like he cares about the least powerful, suffering people…. but actually, is more interested in getting an interviewer talking about a fun run.
Then Slack describes his encounters with/knowledge of grandparents struggling to care their grandchildren, and with very little resources or power.
So does this in relation to how National used GFC and Earthquake…
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/28/labour-shock-doctrine-moral-strategy-naomi-klein?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Sunday morning larfs. Bill Maher turns TV detective with what we know about Donny Littlehands.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bill-maher-donald-trump-russia-joins-the-dots_us_59cf4640e4b05f005d346ae5
Whatever happened to the discussion just prior to the election about the National party funding sources and the source and number of jobs ex Nat politicians are receiving from overseas interests. Are the Nats too close to overseas governing parties?
It seems to have been shut down real quick in favour of the endless harassment of the Greens going with Nats. If the Nats were serious then they surely would have called the Greens by now but they apparently haven’t.
very good point.
Martyn Bradbury says he’s going to focus strongly in the future on the Nat MP as Chinese spy issue. This is a narrow focus that looks too much at only influence from China. Needs to be broader than that.
Indeed, Carolyn.
In fact, this has brought attention to certain issues the country (as a whole) need to reconsider.
For example, isn’t it time we take the money out of politics and put an end to political donations?
Should only those born here be able to stand and enter parliament?
Do we need better policing of our MPs and the different ways they can potentially be influenced? Such as, being given prominent roles in companies, boards etc… or being paid a record breaking price for the sale of their home or business?
This twitter thread is also worth a look – about how Johnson and Johnson, and Wilberforce Foundation (with links to US big pharma) are investors in the Nat government’s social bonds scheme.
Thanks, Carolyn.
Speaking of Johnson & Johnson. Remember this?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11238832
So Peters’ Partner, Jan Trotman, was NZ manager of Johnson & Johnson from 1993-2006.
Now a director for Micromed healthcare.
There are some overseas companies with similar names, but I don’t see any links between them.
So, is there any info that shows Jan Trotman has had links with international Big Pharma in the time the Nat government has been promoting its social bonds policy?
Obviously she has links but I can’t confirm whether or not she had direct links at that certain time. Nor was it what I was implying.
Is collins one of them? Or are you implying something else.
I was implying potential conflict of interest isn’t limited to one particular party or nation for that matter. And it’s not the first time Johnson & Johnson has been implicated.
Thanks.
And also foreign land ownership we may be one of the only developed nations who allow it… of all the things to choose to go against the grain… Key used to say we were too small to lead
And so it continues. HDPAs turn this time to spin why Labour should walk away from NZ First. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11928211
Stacey Kirk on Sunday Star Times on why leaders of the GP should ignore their base and deal with Nats.
Plus, i see via twitter Jim Bolger is still running the Nat-GP coalition line on qu@a.
The Nats are acting like a pack of authoritarian bullies. Doesn’t matter how often GP supporters and members say “No” – they keep with the saturated media and social media spin of why the GP-Nat idea is in the Greens best interests – won’t take NO for an answer.
This IS bullying behaviour!
Yes it is, but who’s going to call them out on it? The MSM are essentially doing the same to Winston. Just as well for him he’s made of stern stuff.
It’s just business as usual for National. Bastards.
It is ignorant and patronising. There is not only one view of all this but many in the media are buying that there is only one view and it is the one that sees National being permitted to continue.
I’d suggest that the not taking no, is not bullying behaviour, but much much worse behaviour.
Seems all media are frantically interviewing their computers in their frustration at no electoral outcome and in desperation for something to write about.
Patience is a concept they are unfamiliar with.
And all these know-alls being wheeled out to give their opinions – had hoped to see the last of the hair-do and others of his ilk.
My God, Jim Mora is mind numbingly boring on Sunday Morning. Such a conservative mealy mouthed reactionary with an obvious agenda, busily taking Sunday Morning back to the 1970s. I turned off. Couldn’t cope with his trite religious blather.
Radio Sport it is.
I thought it was the 1870s. I turned him off as well.
Me too, he is so bloody boring and soporific.
Yep, can’t wait for Wallace to get back….why the f$%^ is NZ on Air not funding Back Benches any more, so that it has had to be cancelled*….PM Jacinda should have a look at this….it is one of the only programmes I watch on TV and a programme that humanises politics; plenty of humour too.
*of course Prime TV could have funded Back Benches itself-it can’t be very expensive to produce. Says everything about Prime and Sky.
But what about the Block and Survivor… 🤤
On the upside, he e nun ci ates clear ly ( yes, Wallashe Chmpmmm, I’m looking at you).
I turned off Q & A this morning because I could no longer stand all the tripe about the Nats and Greens going into coalition. With the exception of John Tamihere, who valiantly tried to keep the debate on a rational footing, it was appalling to hear the other two guests (Wayne Mapp, Josie Pagani) belting out the same lines prepared by Steven Joyce and co.
Here’s a summary of the timelines and facts:
In 1993 a referendum was held which saw MMP introduced. In 1994, merely months after that referedndum, a new political party was established called ACT. It was a direct response to the advent of MMP and was financed into being by some of our wealthiest business tycoons (Alan Gibbs, Craig Heatley, Douglas Myers to name just three of them). It was set up in cahoots with National to provide them with a coalition party.
The Labour Party already had a coalition party (albeit set up for different reasons) the Alliance Party which was born prior to the referendum in 1991.
So the scene was set for MMP well in advance of the first MMP election in 1996.
The Left block – Labour and the Alliance Party.
The Right block – National and ACT.
Sitting in the centre was NZ First.
Nothing has changed since except the fortunes /misfortunes of the coalition parties:
1) the Alliance party imploded and what was left of it morphed into the Green Party. It has since succeeded in maintaining a significant role and potential coalition partner for Labour in parliament.
2) the ACT Party started out as a significant presence but over time lost its support and ended up with one seat courtesy of the Nats. National has been able to cobble together coalition governments by including the tiddler parties of ACT, UF and the Maori Party.
It does not alter the Left/Right blocks arrangement we inherited under MMP.
Now we are seeing a mischievous attempt by National and the highly suspect MSM re-writing history (see John Roughan’s latest appallingly inaccurate opinion piece in the Herald) and trying to snaffle Labour’s natural support party away from them using the usual dirty political tactics.
It is yet another of the myriad of examples that already exist where National is so devoid of principles and values, they will do anything to retain power and wealth for themselves and to hell with the rest of us. The Greens will be the ultimate loser if they succumb.
I hope the Greens and NZ First don’t fall for it!
Edit: if someone has the time to play around with this and turn it into a post I don’t mind. It is such an important message to get out there.
Ah. Wayne was using us for practice.
Great analysis Anne, thanks.
🙂
Danyl McLauchlan has an interesting piece on Spinoff, reporting on his experiecne as part of the Green Party team during the election.
There are some interesting insights but, he claims the MSM are not really that biased.
That is partially true, in that the MSM do tend to foreground drama, clickbait, etc.
But, it doesn’t explain how so many MSM journos are running the Nat line on Nat-GP coalition.
I suspect that people in the centre ground of politics, like McLauchlan, are blind to the narrow range of views that are allowed to dominate around the (shifting) centre of politics in the MSM.
The MSM probably connects with their view of the world. I also think MSM journos tend to respond positively to politicians who speak and behave somewhat like themselves and their social set.
Ardern does that somewhat, so they feel connected to her – but then she also sometimes steps outside that cultural frame, and then Ardern gets hammered.
Did Pagani support Greens talking to Nats?
Yes she did by way of agreeing with everything Wayne Mapp said. It stupifies me they keep her on these Q&A panels when her Labour/Left credentials have been so torn asunder.
Couldn’t agree more……but that is precisely why they roll her out.
My wife says for example, that an anaestitist is paid a huge amount more in a Private hospital than in a Public Hospital?
Does she win this time?
And if she does win, where is the extra money coming from? And if she does win does that mean the company that owns the hospital isn’t making much profit?
Out of curiosity ianmac, if your wife does win do you have to cook dinner?
I would be very surprised if they were not.
So much for the constant refrain that the younger suffer from a need for instant gratification. Their parents and grandparents are barely stopping short of tantrums to satisfy their instant gratification.
There are plenty of other stories out there. Start writing them?
In the meantime this is an interesting piece which could be applied to Nats from the GFC and Earthquakes and how they “used” those to implement their own Shock Doctrine.
When you read this kind of stuff you realise how shallow our media writing is.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/28/labour-shock-doctrine-moral-strategy-naomi-klein?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Reading a great book about solutions to neoliberalism.
‘Out of the Wreckage ‘ by George Monbiot.
Superb.
I like reading Monibots articles so I will take a peak. Thanks Ed.
Liars, damned liars and politicians.
Anyone who wonders why Labour didn’t do as well as expected in the election should read this brilliant exposition of just how it is that political rhetoric meshes with economics:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-kelton-pony-for-all-20170929-story.html
(For “Clinton” read “National”, for “Sanders” read “Labour”.)
Please read the article, then ask yourself “What does the phrase ‘show me the money’ really mean?
Great. Thanks. Funny how articles of depth are foubd outside NZ media but in mainstream on other countries. So it is possible
The pony analogy only works for the Pentagon budget.
And here is another interesting article on the subject…What Happened? A Class Analysis of the NZ Election, Part 1 of 2…
http://watermelonmedia.co.nz/index.php/2017/09/30/what-happened-a-class-analysis-of-the-nz-election/
Clayton’s privatisation of public services, employed in various forms by neo-liberal governments the world over. (or how to privatise essential services without telling anybody).
NHS privatisation exposed in the UK.
From The Independent article:
Blinded by the Media National argument that Winston is a rogue and how dare he hold the country to ransom, it dimly occurred to me it is not Winston’s fault. He is just dealing with the MMP hand that he was dealt. How else would it have worked out? Huh?
it is the ‘its not me’ syndrome, it must be the fault of the other. so blame winston, the system, the greens, humpty dumpty but lets not blame the ones that have been running the country for 9 years.
A bit like for the first 5 years of N everything was the fault of Helen Clark, then it was look how awesome John Key is and don’t you want your pony tail pulled too?, and now its the fault of Winston. IT must be the others fault cause if it ain’t it must be National that has done the fucking up.
Question??
if nzf offer the nats c and s and stay on the cross benches , would it not allow the greens and or labour to work with the nats on policy they want that nzf is against.
I truly doubt that there is much intersection between Nats and Labour/Greens in policy.
Private members bills for areas with significant policy overlap between Labour , Greens and NZ First would be hell to deal with for both the Nats and NZ First in such a situation
Good to see voters gave Morgan the message.
It was Gareth’s lumping together of all property owners and pensioners as an elite group screwing over the young that was largely his downfall.
Coupled with wanting to reduce the rate of our current UBI (Super) and his willingness to add to the cost of home ownership while taxing home owning low income earners out of their homes.
to ‘The Chairman’ at 14 : yes, I agree these aspects of TOP policy were scary, and not to my mind emphasised/criticised in press . We pensioners are certainly NOT all well-heeled. I have always felt he thinks from wealthy viewpoint albeit given to philanthropy.
“I have always felt he thinks from wealthy viewpoint…”
Indeed. What he was pushing indicated he was out of touch with the reality on the ground.
Diddums.
The Greens won’t speak to us.
How many articles have there been in the past few days from right wing commentators whinging about this?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11928369
Yep they are so desperate even the eyes on their potatoes are bulging.
I know, pretty bad. Sorry jum.
Making friends and influencing people….
A vigorous campaign by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to break Catalonia off from Spain, further splintering Europe, is landing him in hot water with the government of Ecuador that has provided him with diplomatic refuge in its embassy in London.
Assange and Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno have traded barbs this week over whether his behavior comports with that of someone granted political asylum.
Assange challenged Moreno Thursday to try to silence him.
“If President Moreno wants to gag my reporting of human rights abuses in Spain he should say so explicitly—together with the legal basis,” Assange tweeted.
Friction between Assange and his Ecuadorean hosts has grown since May, when Moreno took office and surprised his nation’s voters by departing sharply from the path set by his predecessor, the fiery populist Rafael Correa. Moreno was considered Correa’s protégé.
Moreno has told two international television networks in the past week that Assange should watch his tongue and not harm Ecuador’s relations with its allies.
http://amp.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/national-security/article176070931.html
national are despite and making fools of them selves trying to hold a hand out to the Greens and we no that that would be like crossing the positive and negative 12 volt terminals together a lot of sparks and boom . One of the main goals of the coalition should be to ensure there long term rule in a fair and just way as the changes needed to fix our country will not happen over nite compulsory voting would be one and another would be to keep the media honest and un biased ban social media video ads and poll’s 2 month’s before a election
To Gareth Morgan you mite not have achieved directly what you wanted to achieve but you have help the debate on topics everyone else was to scared to talk about and TOPs policy will have some influence on our new laws that will make our country more equal for everyone
It was awesome to see the General Silveria setting a excellent example on how racism should not be tolerated anywhere in OUR WORLD .
BIG UPPS to see 2 of my favorite people on the news they make excellent role models for all people
That would be Brack Obama and Elon Musk I admire the crown family to