Can someone explain what is going on here? Having been denied access for the past 24 hrs I’m now receiving a not very commenter friendly version of TS. Is it just temporary or what? Thanks.
On my mobile pages are formatting correctly (both mobile and desktop view on Chrome connected through my house wifi), but using firefox, IE11 and Opera 18.0 on Windows 8 it looks like CSS are missing (I’ll have a look using browsers on my kubuntu box a bit later, but I dont expect any difference).
Have cleared cache and cookies on all browsers, no change.
I’m not a web guy, very much a generalist, but thought I might have a look anyway using using Firebug.
My first thought was maybe there was an issue with js resulting in no reference to any css, but I’m able to connect to all the js urls referenced in the in the page source; http://cdn.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/wptouch-pro-3/include/js/desktop-switch.js as well as the 3rd party ones like nz.imrworldwide, ajax.cloudflare etc.
Little climate clock is running quite happily as well. No js seems to be ok.
Hope you can isolate the CSS issue shortly Lprent.
Having a look at thestandard stripped of formatting as well as the viewing the source has prompted me to reflect on how far the web has come along in the last few years.
It seems like it was just the other day I was starting to explore the web using lynx. The primary driver for getting connected was to build my first OS, on the first machine I built, Slackware running on an early 386.
After buying all the components I needed, and assembling it, with some advice over the phone from my brother who actually worked with computers (for an actual job, that you could get actual money!). I then bought myself a Slackware book, which came with a single floppy disk.
The disk contained all the tools needed to format the hard drive and connect to one of the slackware ftp sites to download the latest build.
Once I’d done that, configured my settings (manually configuring settings for the video adapter and screen was the most finickity) I recompiled the kernel, and viola! A command prompt.
The next step was to get X-Windows up and running, this was to take longer than all the previous steps combined.
Running Lynx connected me to a fascinating new world, and I immediately found that I was not the only one having trouble with X-Windows.
After reading everything I could find on X-Windows, and finding a group of other folks from around the world who were also learning to hate X-Windows, together we helped solve each others issues, and in a matter of only a few weeks, I was able to get X-Windows running properly, in black and white.
I know it must be almost 20 years ago now, but it feels like it was just the other day.
Macro +100…the Standard seemed to be out of reach yesterday( my partner said it wasnt me and my computer ….the site was down!)…what happened I wonder ?…was it cyber sabotage?
…my only alternative distraction and local political education was my usual the Daily Blog ( David Cunliffe interview was great!)…I refuse to go to those other horrible sites ….Kiwi Blog and Slater”s what- char- ma- call-it ? ( the Devils own territory)
Shows how important ‘ the Standard’ is for a genuine grassroots Left voice!…. imo
smirk to you philip ure….btw my son has given up being a vegan ( thank God)….and is now a mere vegetarian.(and getting fatter)….waiting til he gives up being a vegetarian
I gave up veganism after 1 day, vegetarianism after 2 days… and am now back to eating lovely little lambies, rabbits , beef on the hoof, chicken, fish, eggs, venison…..yum!….I will have to have another incarnation
Thank goodness… I couldn’t get access yesterday or this morning. I felt like I was marooned and cut off from civilisation (apart from the Daily Blog of course).
Macro and Chooky – agree totally. I was wanting to put up some info about our blockade of State Highway One on Thursday (28 Nov) in a more timely fashion, but never mind …. The Standard is now back to normal ! Great.
People from the Hikurangi and Puhipuhi communities have been feeling very frustrated that all attempts to engage with senior Govt Ministers and the PM about their very real worries about mercury being exposed and leaking into our waterways through gold exploratory drilling in the Puhipuhi Hills (about 36 kms north of Whangarei) were not being listened to. We finally got fed up, and organised a peaceful two-hour blockade of SH1. There was a detour route – through a sealed, winding country road with the occasional one-lane bridge along it.
For buses and huge logging trucks, delivery trucks etc we acknowledged this could be a nuisance to them and slow down their delivery times between Whangarei and further north – Kawakawa, Bay of Islands etc. It probably added up to half-an-hour to their journey. This was a cost to business, AND a cost to Government whose various departments had to do the actual stoppage – put up road blocks, monitor the situation constantly, etc etc.
We’ve been told the exploratory gold drilling will be a “minimal” disruption and not cause a nuisance. This is a nonsense ! The drilling involves going down at least 500 metres on each site, starting with a big hole and gradually narrowing, taking out all that soil and rock for sample analysis, and replacing it with a slurry of water, concrete and goodness knows what else. The mining company representative told us these details in person.
What he couldn’t tell us : would any of that drilling hit any of the myriad of underground aquifers which currently feed the water bores people use for personal water use and farm stock ?
This is a really important question. Because the Puhipuhi hills are riddled with mercury throughout its soil and rocks, it has hundreds (if not thousands) of underground aquifers and springs, as well as the surface water in streams and rivers – all of which run directly down via about 50 kms – into the Kaipara Harbour which is the spawning ground for snapper and other fish.
There is documented evidence that disturbing the soil and rocks leads to mercury leaching out into the streams, the roadside ditches, spilling onto vegetation – killing fish species, grasses and vegetation and making farm animals sick.
We’ve come up with a number of feasible alternative economic development concepts – they just need a bit more research, more strategic planning and considerable government funding to make them all into real, environmentally sustainable employment opportunities for people in the north.
But we cannot get the Government to listen. Hence the SH1 blockade last Thursday. We’re now awaiting a response. I guess you could say – watch this space !
Hi Jenny,
Good on you I know exactly the area that you are talking about.
Can I ask, since Northland votes for Hone and anyone dressed in blue are the local farmers either going to actually join the Nacts and get an MP more responsive to their concerns, vote for the same old, or vote with labour and the Greens? To some extent I think the longer term remedy is in their own hands – how many would have to join the local Nacts to control the branch?
…yes Jenny…great summary of the environmentalist action!….I heard on the radio that farmers are also very concerned about mercury leaching into waterways…great they are also joining in and taking action for the environment
This isn’t quite “The Standard” web-site that I was used too. Somewhere in cyberspace is a comment I posted, unless ‘Karol’ didn’t like it. And it’s not the easiest link to get too now.
Conspiracy theories abounds. Who is spying on who ?
What’s the story on David Hay and Greens I read what Danyl had to say overt at Dimpost but like him I also have sources within Greens and get a quite different story from Danyl.
The information flowing through MSM now looks very like someone trying to muddy the waters on the whole imbroglio
Most disappointed in the process they adopted think it could have been handled better
It would seem that there have been a number of ‘issues’ with Mr Hay dating back quite some time, one strand of the rumors is that the ‘leadership challenge’ issued publicly by Hay was a late and ham-fisted attempt at embarrassing the Party in an attempt to stop any disciplinary action it was thinking of taking,
i do not see how the Party could have handled ‘issues’ it had with Hay any differently and it must be remembered that it was Mr Hay who dragged the issue into the public arena in that attempt at embarrassment,
The party seem to have quickly taken the required actions and my opinion is that there is no or minimal damage that will accrue from the actions the Party took,
i find spurious Hay’s claim that only having 3 of it’s current MP’s domiciled in Auckland is ‘hurting’ the Green Party in terms of voting, a quick look at the Party Vote in the Auckland electorates, including National held ones, will tell everyone that in most the Green Party did extremely well in 2011 at times doubling the Party Vote,
Whether David Hay has any large amount of support in the Auckland area that could potentially cause a split in the Party there has yet to be seen, i tho doubt that and it is my belief that most members are more then happy with the current leadership being provided by Metiria and Russell…
Has Labour a policy to bring Private schools down. Christ’s College in Christchurch an elite school for the children of wealthy Cantabrians operates as a registered charity and receives a per pupil grant from the Government. What about a change that would.
1. Eliminate the charitable status retrospectively- ie unless they can prove that they actually are a charity then their tax free status needs to be revoked as far back as possible.
2. Stop funding a separate education system for the elites out of the education funding for all New Zealanders.
Are there any other ways to break these institutions. The thing is what I am suggesting sounds a bit nasty doesn’t it. But the right broke the union movement in New Zealand so it only seems fair for the left to break the institutions that help to create and maintain an elite.
Yep I agree , if they want their elite status they can fund it themselves. And we could look at stripping off some of the other institutions – employer federations for example. They have too big a voice with no competing dialogue
Christ’s College in Christchurch an elite school for the children of wealthy Cantabrians operates as a registered charity
How does that work?
Stop funding a separate education system for the elites out of the education funding for all New Zealanders.
Government funding of private needs to be stopped ASAP. Government funding should only be going to state schools. If people want education outside of that then that’s their choice and their costs.
Are there any other ways to break these institutions.
Don’t need to break them, just stop government funding of them.
+1 …agree Plan B…if people want an elite education they should pay for it themselves…..ordinary NZers tax money should go to upgrading the State Education system and Continuing Education
( Continuing Education…. National dismantled and gave the money directly to private schools!…an absolute disgrace and very cruel !…because Continuing Education provided opportunities for learning from all sectors of society, town and country, young and old, successful people and those struggling, new immigrants, those newly moved from another city, those recovering from depression or mental illness, the newly bereaved, the unemployed, the retired …it provided social cohesion, the opportunity to make new friends from all strata of society)
Yes State taxpayers money should be for State Education!
In actual fact if children can get through/stick with the State Education system….. mix it with the hoi polloi (the smokers in the hedges, wild parties, uncouth language etc) and get their NCEA 3 …they statistically do better at university….probably because they haven’t been pampered ,’hot housed’ little plants ….and they are socially more sophisticated
…..also from what I have heard and observed, private schools have their own problems of under-achievment , bullying, drugs ….and in some cases these problems are all the more vicious because they are swept under the carpet.
Agree Plan B and Chooky. Private Schools are decimating our local high school by taking many of the farmers kids away, for some reason most dairy farmers now send their kids to private schools. But to be honest, when I was in high school in the early 80″s, it was the farmers kids who were the biggest bigots, so in some ways it is good to get rid of them…but on the flip side, these kids have no chance of reform if they attend private schools. In public schools they would mix with everyone in the school, sports teams, etc and it was good for them. These private schooled kids eventually come back to take over their family farms, they are not part of the local community, and they seem to struggle to mix socially so they end up being the biggest loser in my opinion.
But to be honest, when I was in high school in the early 80″s, it was the farmers kids who were the biggest bigots, so in some ways it is good to get rid of them…but on the flip side, these kids have no chance of reform if they attend private schools.
Makes you wonder why they’re being sent to private schools? Perhaps their parents don’t want them to know what real life is like.
@ Saarbo and DTB…their parents want the best for them…(and when they are newly very rich dairy farmers they think private schools are the best, even although they may not have had a private education themselves ….but sometimes a private school education is most definitely not the best)….i went to a big co-ed state school with farmers kids and other kids , some were from rich families and some from poorer families …it didnt matter ( whereas I think it matters in Private schools how much money you have)…I know some farmers’ kids and other kids who went to Private schools and absolutely loathed the experience( one came from a very wealthy city family)…so much so they left at the earliest opportunity or switched to a State school
….. It is a misconception that all farmers are wealthy and all students at Private schools come from wealthy families ( some families struggled to send their kids to private boarding schools)…Farmers and farmers kids are a mixed bag like everyone else…..Ernest Rutherford was a farmers kid, as have been many notable scientists and NZers …..In my experience many farmers kids who went to Private schools dont necessarily go on to university …and if they do , they dont necessarily do that well…but that is a personal generalisation
…making the most of education often depends on the education values of the parents…and of course whether the kid is inclined to put in the effort….so State Schools, where some get scholarships to university and some choose to create trouble behind the bike sheds or in the hedges …. are good enough for everyone ….and those who want an elite or special school should pay for it imo
The point I was getting at is that private schools would tend to cement in attitudes that reflect what the “elite” think about the world whereas public schools would change as society and knowledge changes.
@DTB…private schools can do this agreed …and this is what they are meant to do !
….on the other hand given popular music culture ….I think many from private schools want to rebel….. and get out of jail as fast as they can…… and meet the real world head on… fill up the reality gaps in their lives….. and prove to themselves and everyone else they can trash themselves better than the best of them!…in other words they go crazy once they get let out of jail much to the bemusement of their State educated mates, who have seen it all before long ago and are much more cautious….
Re Alwyn’s complaint… reply doesn’t seem to be working for me. Can’t search commenters comments either. What with all this spying caper that’s occurring, you have to wonder if someone out there doesn’t like us. 🙁
Remember that the while the parents get subsidized for their kids private school education those same parents are still paying the taxes to go towards everyone elses public school education
So in effect its cheaper for NZ and gives more resources to everyone else if more kids go private
Also remember Wanganui Collegiate are now receiving subsidies from Government under some form of the Integrated Schools System. I personally think it is time that Integrated Schools was scrapped. In the most it seems a large subsidy to the Catholic Church and a few other denominational schools. Put all the money into state schools and let private schools stand on their own feet
Even if government money is being spent on private schools, if they’re spending $$$$$ for each public school space, and $$ in subsidies for each private school space, that’s still a saving.
How does that work. If there were no private schools receiving subsidies then the money paid to those schools could go to the already existing state schools.
Why pay a subsidy to someone to duplicate the already existing state structure
Er, you can’t just magically fit more children into the existing state schools without increasing funding.
If it costs $$$$$ to educate a child in the state system, and the state pays $$ in the private system, if all of the private schools shut down the government would need to find $$$ extra for each of those children that will now need to go the state schools.
So you are then happy for private medical insurance to have some form of state subsidy? As from my perspective private medical, pension and schooling are the same, and I find it difficult for one to be state supported while the others are not, or am I missing something?
Love to ask Polly’s why this is so and for them to find reason to justify this.
The private medical industry already does have a state subsidy, in the form of them only taking on the easy/profitable surgeries and therapies. All emergency work is done by the public system.
Note that I’m not justifying or saying that the current system is good. Just that it *is* saving the taxpayer’s money compared to what we would be paying if the private schools didn’t exist at all.
I understand your points that have been made, yet if we integrated these private school students would the marginal cost be that great ? Would schools such as kings, st Kent’s etc just close down., if there was no govt assistance many of these and similar schools would still continue to exist.
There is from my observation plenty of new clients to these schools being sourced from the burbs, so the perception is that over the last 10+ years that private is far superior to state! which is supported by govt policy of making these schools more affordable.
You did note the existence of the I think didn’t you?
There’s a few thousand state schools with hundreds of thousands of pupils. There’s a few private schools with a few thousand pupils. Those private school pupils come from across the country. If we then distributed them across the public school system it probably wouldn’t raise pupil numbers beyond what each public school could handle as is. A little more funding would help of course and perhaps some more class rooms.
Now, I call again for you to back up your assertion.
Factor in many of the priviledged hide their family incomes behind trust accounts, etc, and so qualify for student allowances at uni. My lads ended up with $60,000 loans!
I’m using firefox mickysavage and according to naturesong it’s one of those affected. But I’m a pc dummy – don’t know what to do about it. Not even sure what a cookie is…
Btw Redlogix (might as well reply here since my TS settings are way to hell..), my father said exactly the same as your father did re-Muldoon – down to the same words. He also had a few dealings with him many,many years ago.
Generally the schools ‘operating budget’ , ie salaries and annual overheads is paid for from the state. In some senses that’s actually quite fair, every parent pays taxes and every parent regardless of whether their children are in the public or private sector get a benefit from this. The idea that private schooling parents somehow ‘pay twice’ for their children’s education is quite wrong.
The main fiscal difference between public and state sector schooling is where the capital budget comes from, ie land, buildings and facilities.
In the public sector the capital budget is a small fraction of the operating budget, probably around 10% if the following numbers are a guide:
The Minister of Education is responsible for appropriations in Vote Education for the 2012/13 financial
year covering the following:
….
• a total of nearly $6,687 million for educational services from schools (including teacher salaries), early
childhood education providers and other education providers
• a total of just over $21 million for capital expenditure for Crown entities and schools, and
• a total of nearly $631 million for capital expenditure by the Ministry of Education, mainly related to school sector property.
How the private sector spends it’s income is of course far more opaque. What we can assume is that they exercise more choice around using its substantial fee income …on more staff, fancier buildings and facilities, advertising and the like. And that by itself is not a bad thing. Unlike some here on the left I’ve no real problem with various non-state actors in the education system. The Catholic, Steiner and various other alternatives have a legitimate place alongside a healthy public system.
What I do object to is seeing a private sector, targeting the very wealthy, and growing at the expense of the public system, as trend that has been long established in say England, and has rapidly evolved in Australia over the last few decades.
That is nothing more than pure snobbery and elitism. It entrenches social privilege and economic inequality. It is the antithesis of sound education and over generations it enforces the haves and the have-nots. The left soundly rejects it.
I was wondering that too. I met David Hay campaigning in Epsom last election, and he seemed reasonable enough, and had useful things to say in the election debates (which were extremely divisive).
About No. 5 – mining. Just some info on the mining coy De Grey that has right to look at Puhipuhi
minerals. De Grey Mining Limited is a West Australian based public company exploring for high-grade epithermal gold-silver on 4,675 square kilometres in Santa Cruz and Rio Negro Provinces, Argentina.
In Santa Cruz, the Sierra Morena and Pachi Projects are drill ready and the company will test defined targets early in the 2012-2013 field season.
In November 2012, De Grey Mining signed an agreement with Waihi Gold Company Ltd to acquire 100% of the Puhipuhi Project located on the North Island of New Zealand.
– and while I reckon most of you are cheering about whats happening to Cameron Slater at the moment I think the implications are worth considering for everyone, left or right
Oh this is UGLY no matter what browser Ii use FF, Opera, or even Ugg Internet Exploder. The whole site is indented left, with what looks like screwed up carriage returns.
MickyS – I couldn’t do a reply this time either. Managed it earlier in the day though.
To Grey Warbler @ 19 – thanks for the De Grey Mining info. We’ve picked up most of that, but didn’t realise they were drill ready on their Argentina sites. Our govt has allowed them to delay their actual drilling here (Puhipuhi) until April 2014. So far this is the third extension of time they’ve been granted. We’re not sure if they’ve run out of cash for the job, or if the Argentina work is holding them up.
I am very happy I can still put a post up despite what the site looks like. And I wonder about lprent trying to work his way through the various paradigms and puzzles of what to do for the best. Its a dynamic world out there. So we’re thinking about you Lynn. Have fun. (Ironic!)
NZ (Key) has been invited to the G20 in Brisbane, 15-16 November 2014.
That’s the ‘top table’ summit, with Obama and co. Pictures of the PM in the Queensland sunshine, chatting with world leaders, handshakes and smiles for the telly.
gobsmacked
I think you could be right. Key could advance himself in this foreign forum, and leave his lieutenants to keep the ball in the air here. One has to look at the bigger picture, the most advantageous use of opportunity cost time etc for the key to understanding his NZ campaign.
If by “TS” you mean The Standard? I, along with many others (but apparently not everyone) had massive Cloudflare problems yesterday. For me it got resolved around 9:00 or so, in that I could (sporadically) access the site, but the display was all broken; lots of plain text, blue links on a white background. Had a little bit of that this morning, but it’s cleared up now.
So if you’re seeing that, I suspect it may resolve itself for you in due course.
Be nice if we got some response from Lynn as to what went wrong.
Had that a few times over the last day or so. That, the comment errors and the fact that the site was going really slow finally had me stop looking/posting yesterday. Been good for me today though.
Mike Williams just repeated a very cute quote on Col Craig (sounds more manly than Colin). It is the one mentioned below in bold in Bryce Edwards 27/11 extensive piece on him and the possibility of a deal over Poorer Benefit’s electorate seat. The Standard Coat-tail comment is also referred to –
Bryce Edwards: Political roundup: Winning at the 2014 general election. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11163647
The latest must-read feature about Colin Craig and his policies is Andrea Vance’s Conservative Party: Crazy or credible?. This comprehensive piece also includes a list of 10 of the Conservatives’ ‘more interesting policy platforms’ compiled by Steve Kilgallon. Complimenting this is Vance’s own opinion piece, Craig politics – nice and nutty, which features the memorable line: ‘So far, all the signals point to him being nuttier than squirrel poo’.
Transmission Gully is underway and yet this is what the NZ Herlad has to say about PPPs It is very damming and a bit amazing for a mainstream media outlet to come right out and say it.
Cargo-cult mystique of funding through private sector deals blurs burden of risk for public. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11…
PPPs are like renting the same car every day for 25 years , you get to pay a lot of money (many times the actual cost of a car) and at then end of it you get to keep the 25 year old bomb of a car, which is of course clapped out. Brilliant.
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This weekend saw a showdown between two tribes of contemporary gender politics: those in favour of progressing transgender rights versus women wishing to defend their spaces. It’s a debate with huge passion, outrage and consequences. The figure at the centre of the clash was the British “trans-exclusionary radical feminist” Posie ...
Tomorrow the Auckland Transport board meet again. Here are some of the highlights from their board papers. The open session starts at 9am and can be watched on this Teams link. Closed Session The closed session is typically where the most interesting items are discussed. Items for Approval ...
Mutual Support: Democracy in New Zealand will not be saved by pitting Pakeha against Māori, but by joining together with every other citizen who still understands the meaning of working together to build something good that will last. Call that co-governance if you like, or call it something else – ...
Imagine being a great big business success enjoying your lavish Waiheke island property with infinity pool and ballroom and riparian rights and heli-pad. Sweeeet. But imagine, also, having to take orders from some little bureaucratic oik about how often you can land a chopper on it.I can’t, really, but it ...
Hi,New Zealand’s Life megachurch has confirmed to Webworm it was paid $10,000 by Hillsong for investigating Brian Houston’s sexual misconduct allegations.Following Webworm publishing this piece about the $10,000 payment, Life’s Corporate Communications Manager Phil Irons has confirmed what it was for:Paul [de Jong] was engaged by Hillsong to assist in ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 19, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 25, 2023. Story of the Week Q&A: IPCC wraps up its most in-depth assessment of climate change The final part of the world’s most comprehensive assessment of ...
by Daphna Whitmore I thought the #LetWomenSpeak meeting would be a good time to talk about free speech and why it is important for the left. Then the mob stampeded the open-air gathering and no one got to speak. Here’s what I was had prepared. Today I want to talk ...
By Don Franks Today my friend Ani O’Briien went to a meeting in Auckland and wrote: “No sooner had Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull arrived at the Rotunda, a protestor (who had managed to get past the barrier) ran at her and threw a red substance all over her and a security ...
Jonathan Milne, managing editor for Newsroom Pro, has expressed his indignation about the outcome of a court decision yesterday in an article headed Posie Parker wins the beautiful freedom to make an ugly argument.Newsroom Pro laments: High Court Justice David Gendall has regretfully allowed an outspoken anti-trans activist to enter New ...
imagine my surprise this week when the National Party, in their infinite wisdom, decided to release an education policy. As you can imagine, this got us so riled up here in the office that we dusted off our Windows XP laptop, waiting 17 hours for all the updates to be ...
Come on Jess thought Mr Evans come on. He watched the large clock on the wall tick closer to 8:40am. Come on girl.In two minutes he had to submit the class attendance report and with Jess having already been late once that term it’d mean an automatic visit from the ...
This week’s UN IPCC report warned climate emissions will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C. Bronwyn Hayward points out in The Hoon podcast how far behind NZ’s government and councils are now on climate action compared to the rest ...
Chris Hipkins, after he became prime minister, committed to defeating the cost-of- living crisis. He proceeded to make a bonfire of policies that were at the heart of Jacinda Ardern’s administration. But, as Richard Prebble pointed out this week, “the government has not just U-turned, it has repudiated the ...
There are some wellness, crystal-gazing, holistic spiritual guidance types in my disaster-hit coastal community who insist that the power of positive thinking will overcome the physical and material damages incurred by the community. They object to restrictions on road travel … Continue reading → ...
Evaluating the recent crashes of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and Credit Suisse in Switzerland plus two other banks (perhaps more by the time you read this) needs to begin with a review of the inevitable instability in the financial sector. The financial sector is inherently unstable, like military ...
1. We see here new police minister Ginny Andersen. Which larger than life NZ political figure was her great-uncle?a. Rob Muldoonb. Bill Andersenc. Richard John Seddond. Norman Kirk2. We see here archival footage of Ginny Andersen coming out of her electorate office to ask ex-tobacco lobbyist Chris Bishop if he ...
Buzz from the Beehive Stuart Nash, speaking as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, one of his remaining portfolios after he was dropped down the Hipkins Government batting order, has drawn attention to the blue economy and its potential. Nash says the government is investing in the blue economy, or – ...
Photo by Josh Mills on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:The runs on Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank on the west coast of the United States that forced the ...
Roundup is back! We skipped last week’s Friday post due to a shortage of person-power – did you notice? Lots going on out there… Our header image this week shows a green street that just happens to be Queen St, by @chamfy from Twitter. This week (and last) in ...
After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
* Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR:Auckland MayorWayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
Open access notables The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products has put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
* Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here. A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
National Party leader Christopher Luxon may be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but he could be tapping into a rich political vein in describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining, with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
The Government’s decision to introduce ‘mass arrivals’ legislation goes against the values we all share of Aotearoa as a place where all people are treated fairly, the Green Party says. ...
MINISTER DAVIDSON MUST RESIGN AFTER 'VIOLENCE' COMMENTS Marama Davidson should stand down as ‘Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence’ for the clear and outrageous statement she made at the Posie Parker protest that ‘white straight men’ are the cause of violence. Her offensive, racist, and sexist remarks ...
In response to Newshub and Amelia Wade’s obvious and ham-fisted attempt at a typical and predicted political hit job. As any politically aware reporter would know, any Cabinet subcommittee has a duty and obligation as a part of any government to respond to any UN declaration, in this case ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today and in your busy lives turning up to this meeting. Forty five years ago, in Howick, often described as racist, and where few Maori lived because it had been a ‘Fencible’ settlement at the time of the Anglo-Maori ...
The Green Party has marked the National Party’s new education policy and given it a fail, especially for its failure to address the underlying drivers of school performance. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised in their State of the Planet speech today. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party after the election must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised today. ...
You will never truly understand, from the pictures you’ve seen in the newspapers or on the six o-clock news, the sheer scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. ...
We’re boosting incomes and helping ease cost of living pressures on Kiwis through a range of bread and butter support measures that will see pensioners, students, families, and those on main benefits better off from the start of next month. ...
The error Labour Ministers made by stopping work on a beverage container return scheme will be reversed by the Greens at the earliest opportunity as part of the next Government. ...
“Cabinet needs to do better - and today has shown exactly why we need Green Ministers in cabinet, so we can prioritise action to cut climate pollution and support people to make ends meet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. ...
Biggest increase in food prices for over three decades shows the need for an excess profit tax on corporations to help people put food on the table. ...
The Government today announced far-reaching changes to the way we make, use, recycle and dispose of waste, ushering in a new era for New Zealand’s waste system. The changes will ensure that where waste is recycled, for instance by households at the kerbside, it is less likely to be contaminated ...
New legislation passed by the Government today will make it harder for gangs and their leaders to benefit financially from crime that causes considerable harm in our communities, Minister of Justice Kiri Allan says. Since the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 came into effect police have been highly successful in ...
This evening I have advised the Governor-General to dismiss Stuart Nash from all his ministerial portfolios. Late this afternoon I was made aware by a news outlet of an email Stuart Nash sent in March 2020 to two contacts regarding a commercial rent relief package that Cabinet had considered. In ...
Legislation to enable more build-to-rent developments has passed its third reading in Parliament, so this type of rental will be able to claim interest deductibility in perpetuity where it meets the requirements. Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods, says the changes will help unlock the potential of the build-to-rent sector and ...
A law passed by Parliament today exempts employers from paying fringe benefit tax on certain low emission commuting options they provide or subsidise for their staff. “Many employers already subsidise the commuting costs of their staff, for instance by providing car parks,” Environment Minister David Parker said. “This move supports ...
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Closer Economic Relations (CER), our gold standard free trade agreement between New Zealand and Australia. “CER was a world-leading agreement in 1983, is still world-renowned today and is emblematic of both our countries’ commitment to free trade. The WTO has called it the world’s ...
The Government is making procedural changes to the Immigration Act to ensure that 2013 amendments operate as Parliament intended. The Government is also introducing a new community management approach for asylum seekers. “While it’s unlikely we’ll experience a mass arrival due to our remote positioning, there is no doubt New ...
The Government welcomes progress on public sector pay adjustment (PSPA) agreements, and the release of the updated public service pay guidance by the Public Service Commission today, Minister for the Public Service Andrew Little says. “More than a dozen collective agreements are now settled in the public service, Crown Agents, ...
The Government has introduced the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Bill to further support the recovery and rebuild from the recent severe weather events in the North Island. “We know from our experiences following the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes that it will take some time before we completely understand the ...
Further assistance is now available to businesses impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle, with Customs able to offer payment plans and to remit late-payments, Customs Minister Meka Whaitiri has announced. “This is part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to assist economic recovery in the regions,” Meka Whaitiri said. “Cabinet has approved the ...
More than 41,000 sole parent families will be better off with a median gain of $20 a week Law change estimated to help lift up to 14,000 children out of poverty Child support payments will be passed on directly to people receiving a sole parent rate of main benefit, making ...
A major investment by Government-owned New Zealand Green Investment Finance towards electrifying the public bus fleet is being welcomed by Climate Change Minister James Shaw. “Today’s announcement that NZGIF has signed a $50 million financing deal with Kinetic, the biggest bus operator in Australasia, to further decarbonise public transport is ...
A world-leading payments system is expected to provide a significant cash flow boost for Kiwi innovators, Minister of Research, Science, and Innovation Ayesha Verrall says. Announcing that applications for ‘in-year’ payments of the Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) were open, Ayesha Verrall said it represented a win for businesses ...
Minister of Transport Michael Wood joined crowds of keen cyclists and walkers this morning to celebrate the completion of the Te Awa shared path in Hamilton. “The Government is upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, greener, and more efficient for now and future generations to come,” Michael ...
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little has delivered the Crown apology to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua for its historic breaches of Te Tiriti of Waitangi today. The ceremony was held at Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton, hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua, with several hundred ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has concluded her visit to China, the first by a New Zealand Foreign Minister since 2018. The Minister met her counterpart, newly appointed State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, who also hosted a working dinner. This was the first engagement between the two ...
World-class satellite positioning services that will support much safer search and rescue, boost precision farming, and help safety on construction sites through greater accuracy are a significant step closer today, says Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor. Damien O’Connor marked the start of construction on New Zealand’s first uplink centre for ...
Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges. Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
Tēnā koutou katoa. Can I begin by thanking Gary Taylor, Raewyn Peart and others in the EDS team for their herculean work in support of the environment. I’d also like to acknowledge Hon Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, my parliamentary colleagues, and the many activists here who strive ...
A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment. “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
$2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
[CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY] E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā tangata katoa, o moana-nui-a-kiwa, E ngā mate, haere, haere, haere atū ra, manuia lau Malaga. Thank you for the kind introduction and opportunity to join you this morning. It is always good to be here in Aukilani, where I ...
E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi, tēnā koutou katoa. Talofa lava and thank you Catherine, for the warm welcome. I’m sorry that I can’t be there in person today but it’s great for the opportunity to contribute virtually. I’d like to start by acknowledging: Alzheimers New Zealand, ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today. “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
A strong coalition of organisations, unions and employers across the country are calling on the Government to take immediate action to close ethnic, gender and disability pay gaps in the workplace. In support of this call, an open letter ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Old, Associate Professor, Biology, Zoology, Animal Science, Western Sydney University Shutterstock If you look at where wombats deposit their poo, you realise they must be able to perform some surprising acrobatics. It has always amazed me to see wombat ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor, UNSW Law School, UNSW Sydney This is the first article in our three-part series explaining Voice, Treaty and Truth. This week, the government will introduce a constitutional amendment into parliament to establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock Work isn’t just about getting paid. Employment can provide a number of benefits for people in terms of health, wellbeing, social, economic and financial inclusion. It can also reduce reliance on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Herb Marsh, Distinguished Professor of educational psychology, Australian Catholic University Shutterstock Your child comes home from school and tells you three classmates are teasing her constantly. One even put chewed gum in her hair as she was listening to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate lecturer, Flinders University NetflixReview: Wellmania, Netflix. What does it mean to be well? Wellmania, inspired by Brigid Delaney’s book of the same name, attempts to answer this question. Liv (Celeste Barber) is stranded in ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson was “horrified” and in shock after being hit by a motorcycle before attending a rally against an anti-trans speaker over the weekend. For the first time, Davidson, who was this week asked to clarify comments she made at the rally about “white cis men”, has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Petousis-Harris, Associate Professor Primary Health, University of Auckland Bastiaan Beentjes/Getty Images Following the deaths of two infants, doctors and scientists worry New Zealand’s whooping cough epidemic could be the worst in years. Known as pertussis or the 100-day ...
Nash’s career is over after being sacked by the prime minister but questions about outsider access to cabinet decisions and perceptions of influence remain, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The last ...
The National Party has been quick to call for a by-election in the Napier electorate after Stuart Nash was sacked as a minister over a breach of Cabinet rules. ...
Daily traffic chaos is the norm on one of the city’s major arterial routes. This week, it got even worse. About a week ago, almost all the overhead signs heading into Auckland on the northwestern motorway disappeared. Covered by what appeared to be thick green tape, anyone using State Highway ...
Pacific child poverty rates haven’t budged since 2019, despite government attention. A new report suggests some key areas to focus on.The Pacific population in Aotearoa New Zealand is young. A third of Pacific people are under the age of 15, compared to 20% of the total population of New ...
Who are the middle classes and what do they want? The book launch for Megan Nicol Reed's novel One of Those Mothers was not the kind of quiet, low-key, scantily catered book launch that takes place in quiet, low-key, scantily catered ways every week in New Zealand publishing. ...
Mandating domestic violence training for family court judges to ensure they have the evidence-based expertise to do their jobs appropriately does not threaten judicial independence - it enhances it, argues Carrie Leonetti Opinion: Since their inception about 50 years ago, family courts around the world have been subject to the nearly universal ...
Emma Godwin aims to be just the second Kiwi female from the provinces to swim at a senior long course world champs, and become an Aquablack. And she's determined to get to the Paris Olympics, but not to move to a big city to do so. It’s not often a swimmer from ...
Australia has drawn closer to traditional allies the US and UK by inking its nuclear submarine deal. Meanwhile our foreign minister's just returned from China where some delicate diplomacy has been deployed. The geopolitical chess game in the Indo-Pacific has become increasingly complicated in recent weeks. In the latest ...
Only 10 percent of the Red Cross relief fund for post-Gabrielle recovery in Hawkes Bay has been given out - so what’s the hold-up? Matthew Scott finds out. Volunteer organisers in the post-cyclone Hawkes Bay recovery are asking where the millions of dollars donated to the recovery effort is going as people are ...
Chris Hipkins spent a huge amount of political capital when he gave Stuart Nash a fourth chance in his Cabinet. Now the Prime Minister faces big questions as to how much confidential Cabinet information has been leaked and the influence it’s had. Political editor Jo Moir explains. It has barely ...
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By Gorothy Kenneth in Port Moresby Private security companies are currently holding Papua New Guinea together with the largest workforce of 29,445 and supporting the police in managing law and order issues. There are only 6832 policemen and women serving the country currently, according to reports. Internal Security Minister Peter ...
By Gorothy Kenneth in Port Moresby Private security companies are currently holding Papua New Guinea together with the largest workforce of 29,445 and supporting the police in managing law and order issues. There are only 6832 policemen and women serving the country currently, according to reports. Internal Security Minister Peter ...
US President Joe Biden (right) meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) during the AUKUS summit at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego California on 13 March 2023. Image: RNZ Pacific/Jim Watson/AFP “But it is what it is,” he said of the tripartite arrangement. ‘Escalation of ...
US President Joe Biden (right) meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) during the AUKUS summit at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego California on 13 March 2023. Image: RNZ Pacific/Jim Watson/AFP “But it is what it is,” he said of the tripartite arrangement. ‘Escalation of ...
Procurement professional Ankit Bansal has been selected by local party members as National’s candidate in Palmerston North for the 2023 General Election. “I’d like to thank our local party members for endorsing me to campaign in Palmerston ...
Executive Manager of Te Mahia Community Village Rima Nakhle has been selected by local party members as National’s candidate in Takanini for the 2023 General Election. “The Takanini electorate is my home and I’m really excited to have the opportunity ...
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Welcome Back!
Can someone explain what is going on here? Having been denied access for the past 24 hrs I’m now receiving a not very commenter friendly version of TS. Is it just temporary or what? Thanks.
Is still not well, looks to be having a formatting problem now, corrupt CSS somewhere?
On my mobile pages are formatting correctly (both mobile and desktop view on Chrome connected through my house wifi), but using firefox, IE11 and Opera 18.0 on Windows 8 it looks like CSS are missing (I’ll have a look using browsers on my kubuntu box a bit later, but I dont expect any difference).
Have cleared cache and cookies on all browsers, no change.
Same.
Issue is no CSS.
I’m not a web guy, very much a generalist, but thought I might have a look anyway using using Firebug.
My first thought was maybe there was an issue with js resulting in no reference to any css, but I’m able to connect to all the js urls referenced in the in the page source; http://cdn.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/wptouch-pro-3/include/js/desktop-switch.js as well as the 3rd party ones like nz.imrworldwide, ajax.cloudflare etc.
Little climate clock is running quite happily as well. No js seems to be ok.
Hope you can isolate the CSS issue shortly Lprent.
Having a look at thestandard stripped of formatting as well as the viewing the source has prompted me to reflect on how far the web has come along in the last few years.
It seems like it was just the other day I was starting to explore the web using lynx. The primary driver for getting connected was to build my first OS, on the first machine I built, Slackware running on an early 386.
After buying all the components I needed, and assembling it, with some advice over the phone from my brother who actually worked with computers (for an actual job, that you could get actual money!). I then bought myself a Slackware book, which came with a single floppy disk.
The disk contained all the tools needed to format the hard drive and connect to one of the slackware ftp sites to download the latest build.
Once I’d done that, configured my settings (manually configuring settings for the video adapter and screen was the most finickity) I recompiled the kernel, and viola! A command prompt.
The next step was to get X-Windows up and running, this was to take longer than all the previous steps combined.
Running Lynx connected me to a fascinating new world, and I immediately found that I was not the only one having trouble with X-Windows.
After reading everything I could find on X-Windows, and finding a group of other folks from around the world who were also learning to hate X-Windows, together we helped solve each others issues, and in a matter of only a few weeks, I was able to get X-Windows running properly, in black and white.
I know it must be almost 20 years ago now, but it feels like it was just the other day.
Macro +100…the Standard seemed to be out of reach yesterday( my partner said it wasnt me and my computer ….the site was down!)…what happened I wonder ?…was it cyber sabotage?
…my only alternative distraction and local political education was my usual the Daily Blog ( David Cunliffe interview was great!)…I refuse to go to those other horrible sites ….Kiwi Blog and Slater”s what- char- ma- call-it ? ( the Devils own territory)
Shows how important ‘ the Standard’ is for a genuine grassroots Left voice!…. imo
It seems, from a couple of conversations I had on Twitter, that Cloudflare was having issues.
“..my only alternative distraction and local political education ..
ahem..!
phillip ure..
smirk to you philip ure….btw my son has given up being a vegan ( thank God)….and is now a mere vegetarian.(and getting fatter)….waiting til he gives up being a vegetarian
I gave up veganism after 1 day, vegetarianism after 2 days… and am now back to eating lovely little lambies, rabbits , beef on the hoof, chicken, fish, eggs, venison…..yum!….I will have to have another incarnation
….and the little piggies taste best of all!…yum yum
Thank goodness… I couldn’t get access yesterday or this morning. I felt like I was marooned and cut off from civilisation (apart from the Daily Blog of course).
Macro and Chooky – agree totally. I was wanting to put up some info about our blockade of State Highway One on Thursday (28 Nov) in a more timely fashion, but never mind …. The Standard is now back to normal ! Great.
People from the Hikurangi and Puhipuhi communities have been feeling very frustrated that all attempts to engage with senior Govt Ministers and the PM about their very real worries about mercury being exposed and leaking into our waterways through gold exploratory drilling in the Puhipuhi Hills (about 36 kms north of Whangarei) were not being listened to. We finally got fed up, and organised a peaceful two-hour blockade of SH1. There was a detour route – through a sealed, winding country road with the occasional one-lane bridge along it.
For buses and huge logging trucks, delivery trucks etc we acknowledged this could be a nuisance to them and slow down their delivery times between Whangarei and further north – Kawakawa, Bay of Islands etc. It probably added up to half-an-hour to their journey. This was a cost to business, AND a cost to Government whose various departments had to do the actual stoppage – put up road blocks, monitor the situation constantly, etc etc.
We’ve been told the exploratory gold drilling will be a “minimal” disruption and not cause a nuisance. This is a nonsense ! The drilling involves going down at least 500 metres on each site, starting with a big hole and gradually narrowing, taking out all that soil and rock for sample analysis, and replacing it with a slurry of water, concrete and goodness knows what else. The mining company representative told us these details in person.
What he couldn’t tell us : would any of that drilling hit any of the myriad of underground aquifers which currently feed the water bores people use for personal water use and farm stock ?
This is a really important question. Because the Puhipuhi hills are riddled with mercury throughout its soil and rocks, it has hundreds (if not thousands) of underground aquifers and springs, as well as the surface water in streams and rivers – all of which run directly down via about 50 kms – into the Kaipara Harbour which is the spawning ground for snapper and other fish.
There is documented evidence that disturbing the soil and rocks leads to mercury leaching out into the streams, the roadside ditches, spilling onto vegetation – killing fish species, grasses and vegetation and making farm animals sick.
We’ve come up with a number of feasible alternative economic development concepts – they just need a bit more research, more strategic planning and considerable government funding to make them all into real, environmentally sustainable employment opportunities for people in the north.
But we cannot get the Government to listen. Hence the SH1 blockade last Thursday. We’re now awaiting a response. I guess you could say – watch this space !
Yes, saw you on TV3 news Jenny, well done.
With TS down I managed to read a few more pages of The Luminaries than I otherwise would have…
Hi Jenny,
Good on you I know exactly the area that you are talking about.
Can I ask, since Northland votes for Hone and anyone dressed in blue are the local farmers either going to actually join the Nacts and get an MP more responsive to their concerns, vote for the same old, or vote with labour and the Greens? To some extent I think the longer term remedy is in their own hands – how many would have to join the local Nacts to control the branch?
Well, I’m not Nact, RedBaronCV so I don’t know about that, but I would hope by now some of the Nat voters in the area are waking up.
…yes Jenny…great summary of the environmentalist action!….I heard on the radio that farmers are also very concerned about mercury leaching into waterways…great they are also joining in and taking action for the environment
I don’t seem to be able to reply to any comments.
When I click on the “Reply” the message “Error on page” comes up.
Can anyone reply to a comment?
It is working for me alwyn.
This isn’t quite “The Standard” web-site that I was used too. Somewhere in cyberspace is a comment I posted, unless ‘Karol’ didn’t like it. And it’s not the easiest link to get too now.
Conspiracy theories abounds. Who is spying on who ?
No sign of it in spam will. Maybe the internet ate it?
What’s the story on David Hay and Greens I read what Danyl had to say overt at Dimpost but like him I also have sources within Greens and get a quite different story from Danyl.
The information flowing through MSM now looks very like someone trying to muddy the waters on the whole imbroglio
Most disappointed in the process they adopted think it could have been handled better
It would seem that there have been a number of ‘issues’ with Mr Hay dating back quite some time, one strand of the rumors is that the ‘leadership challenge’ issued publicly by Hay was a late and ham-fisted attempt at embarrassing the Party in an attempt to stop any disciplinary action it was thinking of taking,
i do not see how the Party could have handled ‘issues’ it had with Hay any differently and it must be remembered that it was Mr Hay who dragged the issue into the public arena in that attempt at embarrassment,
The party seem to have quickly taken the required actions and my opinion is that there is no or minimal damage that will accrue from the actions the Party took,
i find spurious Hay’s claim that only having 3 of it’s current MP’s domiciled in Auckland is ‘hurting’ the Green Party in terms of voting, a quick look at the Party Vote in the Auckland electorates, including National held ones, will tell everyone that in most the Green Party did extremely well in 2011 at times doubling the Party Vote,
Whether David Hay has any large amount of support in the Auckland area that could potentially cause a split in the Party there has yet to be seen, i tho doubt that and it is my belief that most members are more then happy with the current leadership being provided by Metiria and Russell…
Has Labour a policy to bring Private schools down. Christ’s College in Christchurch an elite school for the children of wealthy Cantabrians operates as a registered charity and receives a per pupil grant from the Government. What about a change that would.
1. Eliminate the charitable status retrospectively- ie unless they can prove that they actually are a charity then their tax free status needs to be revoked as far back as possible.
2. Stop funding a separate education system for the elites out of the education funding for all New Zealanders.
Are there any other ways to break these institutions. The thing is what I am suggesting sounds a bit nasty doesn’t it. But the right broke the union movement in New Zealand so it only seems fair for the left to break the institutions that help to create and maintain an elite.
Yep I agree , if they want their elite status they can fund it themselves. And we could look at stripping off some of the other institutions – employer federations for example. They have too big a voice with no competing dialogue
How does that work?
Government funding of private needs to be stopped ASAP. Government funding should only be going to state schools. If people want education outside of that then that’s their choice and their costs.
Don’t need to break them, just stop government funding of them.
+1 …agree Plan B…if people want an elite education they should pay for it themselves…..ordinary NZers tax money should go to upgrading the State Education system and Continuing Education
( Continuing Education…. National dismantled and gave the money directly to private schools!…an absolute disgrace and very cruel !…because Continuing Education provided opportunities for learning from all sectors of society, town and country, young and old, successful people and those struggling, new immigrants, those newly moved from another city, those recovering from depression or mental illness, the newly bereaved, the unemployed, the retired …it provided social cohesion, the opportunity to make new friends from all strata of society)
Yes State taxpayers money should be for State Education!
In actual fact if children can get through/stick with the State Education system….. mix it with the hoi polloi (the smokers in the hedges, wild parties, uncouth language etc) and get their NCEA 3 …they statistically do better at university….probably because they haven’t been pampered ,’hot housed’ little plants ….and they are socially more sophisticated
…..also from what I have heard and observed, private schools have their own problems of under-achievment , bullying, drugs ….and in some cases these problems are all the more vicious because they are swept under the carpet.
Agree Plan B and Chooky. Private Schools are decimating our local high school by taking many of the farmers kids away, for some reason most dairy farmers now send their kids to private schools. But to be honest, when I was in high school in the early 80″s, it was the farmers kids who were the biggest bigots, so in some ways it is good to get rid of them…but on the flip side, these kids have no chance of reform if they attend private schools. In public schools they would mix with everyone in the school, sports teams, etc and it was good for them. These private schooled kids eventually come back to take over their family farms, they are not part of the local community, and they seem to struggle to mix socially so they end up being the biggest loser in my opinion.
Makes you wonder why they’re being sent to private schools? Perhaps their parents don’t want them to know what real life is like.
@ Saarbo and DTB…their parents want the best for them…(and when they are newly very rich dairy farmers they think private schools are the best, even although they may not have had a private education themselves ….but sometimes a private school education is most definitely not the best)….i went to a big co-ed state school with farmers kids and other kids , some were from rich families and some from poorer families …it didnt matter ( whereas I think it matters in Private schools how much money you have)…I know some farmers’ kids and other kids who went to Private schools and absolutely loathed the experience( one came from a very wealthy city family)…so much so they left at the earliest opportunity or switched to a State school
….. It is a misconception that all farmers are wealthy and all students at Private schools come from wealthy families ( some families struggled to send their kids to private boarding schools)…Farmers and farmers kids are a mixed bag like everyone else…..Ernest Rutherford was a farmers kid, as have been many notable scientists and NZers …..In my experience many farmers kids who went to Private schools dont necessarily go on to university …and if they do , they dont necessarily do that well…but that is a personal generalisation
…making the most of education often depends on the education values of the parents…and of course whether the kid is inclined to put in the effort….so State Schools, where some get scholarships to university and some choose to create trouble behind the bike sheds or in the hedges …. are good enough for everyone ….and those who want an elite or special school should pay for it imo
The point I was getting at is that private schools would tend to cement in attitudes that reflect what the “elite” think about the world whereas public schools would change as society and knowledge changes.
@DTB…private schools can do this agreed …and this is what they are meant to do !
….on the other hand given popular music culture ….I think many from private schools want to rebel….. and get out of jail as fast as they can…… and meet the real world head on… fill up the reality gaps in their lives….. and prove to themselves and everyone else they can trash themselves better than the best of them!…in other words they go crazy once they get let out of jail much to the bemusement of their State educated mates, who have seen it all before long ago and are much more cautious….
Hi mickeysavage.
Re Alwyn’s complaint… reply doesn’t seem to be working for me. Can’t search commenters comments either. What with all this spying caper that’s occurring, you have to wonder if someone out there doesn’t like us. 🙁
Hi Anne
It is working fine for me but there are a few issues obviously …
What browser are you using?
Remember that the while the parents get subsidized for their kids private school education those same parents are still paying the taxes to go towards everyone elses public school education
So in effect its cheaper for NZ and gives more resources to everyone else if more kids go private
But when private schools ALSO receive substantial funding from the state, your argument disappears up it’s own fundament.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/3309627/Private-schools-fail-to-keep-lid-on-fees
Most parents are paying more for private schools this year despite a $35 million government funding boost to make them more affordable.- why are we spending public money to make private schools more affordable ?
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/private-schools-could-receive-taxpayer-funding-increase-5411270
Using this logic perhaps private Heath care should be treated in a similar manner ???
Also remember Wanganui Collegiate are now receiving subsidies from Government under some form of the Integrated Schools System. I personally think it is time that Integrated Schools was scrapped. In the most it seems a large subsidy to the Catholic Church and a few other denominational schools. Put all the money into state schools and let private schools stand on their own feet
+1
The state isn’t there to prop up private businesses.
This government is!
Well, true but it’s still up to us to disabuse them of the notion.
Even if government money is being spent on private schools, if they’re spending $$$$$ for each public school space, and $$ in subsidies for each private school space, that’s still a saving.
How does that work. If there were no private schools receiving subsidies then the money paid to those schools could go to the already existing state schools.
Why pay a subsidy to someone to duplicate the already existing state structure
Er, you can’t just magically fit more children into the existing state schools without increasing funding.
If it costs $$$$$ to educate a child in the state system, and the state pays $$ in the private system, if all of the private schools shut down the government would need to find $$$ extra for each of those children that will now need to go the state schools.
So you are then happy for private medical insurance to have some form of state subsidy? As from my perspective private medical, pension and schooling are the same, and I find it difficult for one to be state supported while the others are not, or am I missing something?
Love to ask Polly’s why this is so and for them to find reason to justify this.
The private medical industry already does have a state subsidy, in the form of them only taking on the easy/profitable surgeries and therapies. All emergency work is done by the public system.
Note that I’m not justifying or saying that the current system is good. Just that it *is* saving the taxpayer’s money compared to what we would be paying if the private schools didn’t exist at all.
Also mess ups caused from within the private system always end up back in the public system to be patched up.
Same with any cosmetic surgery from Thailand. Cheap price for the punter, but when it gets infected back here, the NZ tax payer takes the hit.
I understand your points that have been made, yet if we integrated these private school students would the marginal cost be that great ? Would schools such as kings, st Kent’s etc just close down., if there was no govt assistance many of these and similar schools would still continue to exist.
There is from my observation plenty of new clients to these schools being sourced from the burbs, so the perception is that over the last 10+ years that private is far superior to state! which is supported by govt policy of making these schools more affordable.
I think you’ll find that the state schools could easily take in the all the pupils in private schools and require very little extra funding to do so.
[citation needed]
You did note the existence of the I think didn’t you?
There’s a few thousand state schools with hundreds of thousands of pupils. There’s a few private schools with a few thousand pupils. Those private school pupils come from across the country. If we then distributed them across the public school system it probably wouldn’t raise pupil numbers beyond what each public school could handle as is. A little more funding would help of course and perhaps some more class rooms.
Now, I call again for you to back up your assertion.
[citation needed]
Factor in many of the priviledged hide their family incomes behind trust accounts, etc, and so qualify for student allowances at uni. My lads ended up with $60,000 loans!
Please explain to me how this works?
I’m using firefox mickysavage and according to naturesong it’s one of those affected. But I’m a pc dummy – don’t know what to do about it. Not even sure what a cookie is…
Btw Redlogix (might as well reply here since my TS settings are way to hell..), my father said exactly the same as your father did re-Muldoon – down to the same words. He also had a few dealings with him many,many years ago.
I think its more cost effective but if you have some figures that show otherwise I’d be interested in seeing them
Generally the schools ‘operating budget’ , ie salaries and annual overheads is paid for from the state. In some senses that’s actually quite fair, every parent pays taxes and every parent regardless of whether their children are in the public or private sector get a benefit from this. The idea that private schooling parents somehow ‘pay twice’ for their children’s education is quite wrong.
The main fiscal difference between public and state sector schooling is where the capital budget comes from, ie land, buildings and facilities.
In the public sector the capital budget is a small fraction of the operating budget, probably around 10% if the following numbers are a guide:
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/budget/2012/estimates/est12educ.pdf
How the private sector spends it’s income is of course far more opaque. What we can assume is that they exercise more choice around using its substantial fee income …on more staff, fancier buildings and facilities, advertising and the like. And that by itself is not a bad thing. Unlike some here on the left I’ve no real problem with various non-state actors in the education system. The Catholic, Steiner and various other alternatives have a legitimate place alongside a healthy public system.
What I do object to is seeing a private sector, targeting the very wealthy, and growing at the expense of the public system, as trend that has been long established in say England, and has rapidly evolved in Australia over the last few decades.
That is nothing more than pure snobbery and elitism. It entrenches social privilege and economic inequality. It is the antithesis of sound education and over generations it enforces the haves and the have-nots. The left soundly rejects it.
Is david hay related to sir keith hay and his son david hay.
I was wondering that too. I met David Hay campaigning in Epsom last election, and he seemed reasonable enough, and had useful things to say in the election debates (which were extremely divisive).
LPrent,
Was it a javascript issue?
About No. 5 – mining. Just some info on the mining coy De Grey that has right to look at Puhipuhi
minerals.
De Grey Mining Limited is a West Australian based public company exploring for high-grade epithermal gold-silver on 4,675 square kilometres in Santa Cruz and Rio Negro Provinces, Argentina.
In Santa Cruz, the Sierra Morena and Pachi Projects are drill ready and the company will test defined targets early in the 2012-2013 field season.
In November 2012, De Grey Mining signed an agreement with Waihi Gold Company Ltd to acquire 100% of the Puhipuhi Project located on the North Island of New Zealand.
Saw him on tv last night jayman. I wonder because the older david hay was a bit of an idiot…
great piece by steve braunias today.
This is sir keiths son
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=383859
Judging by his latest media release (see Scoop feed at right of screen) he has now lost the plot. Sad.
http://openparachute.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/september-13-nz-blogs-sitemeter-ranking/
– and while I reckon most of you are cheering about whats happening to Cameron Slater at the moment I think the implications are worth considering for everyone, left or right
I have no idea what’s happening to that oik, nor do I care.
Left wing bloggers in general already know they shouldn’t get down in the sewer and make stuff up. Blubber Boy needs to learn.
Oh this is UGLY no matter what browser Ii use FF, Opera, or even Ugg Internet Exploder. The whole site is indented left, with what looks like screwed up carriage returns.
It is fine for me David. Do you want to clear your cache and cookies and try again?
MickyS – I couldn’t do a reply this time either. Managed it earlier in the day though.
To Grey Warbler @ 19 – thanks for the De Grey Mining info. We’ve picked up most of that, but didn’t realise they were drill ready on their Argentina sites. Our govt has allowed them to delay their actual drilling here (Puhipuhi) until April 2014. So far this is the third extension of time they’ve been granted. We’re not sure if they’ve run out of cash for the job, or if the Argentina work is holding them up.
I am very happy I can still put a post up despite what the site looks like. And I wonder about lprent trying to work his way through the various paradigms and puzzles of what to do for the best. Its a dynamic world out there. So we’re thinking about you Lynn. Have fun. (Ironic!)
Great article in the Sydney Morning Herald.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/inequality-at-the-heart-of-rejection-of-gonski-program-20131130-2yi54.html
Pencil in the election date:
NZ (Key) has been invited to the G20 in Brisbane, 15-16 November 2014.
That’s the ‘top table’ summit, with Obama and co. Pictures of the PM in the Queensland sunshine, chatting with world leaders, handshakes and smiles for the telly.
So the election will be held 1-2 weeks after.
Would he really want to be out of the country during the election campaign?
No he would not, he would not take a couple of days out of the campaign at that stage, let alone a week
It’s not a week, it’s a couple of days and it’s from the campaigning playbook. Image is all, see Reagan (D-day 1984)), Thatcher (Moscow 1987), etc.
You think Key wants to stay home and discuss issues?
Clark or Cunliffe wouldn’t go, but Key would (will).
Those events had considerably more import than a fucking G20 meeting that we don’t have any real business attending.
Key couldn’t get any concessions from Australia to help NZ citizens. But he did get ball tickets for the G20 from Abbott. Swell.
gobsmacked
I think you could be right. Key could advance himself in this foreign forum, and leave his lieutenants to keep the ball in the air here. One has to look at the bigger picture, the most advantageous use of opportunity cost time etc for the key to understanding his NZ campaign.
I pray this TS format improves…
If by “TS” you mean The Standard? I, along with many others (but apparently not everyone) had massive Cloudflare problems yesterday. For me it got resolved around 9:00 or so, in that I could (sporadically) access the site, but the display was all broken; lots of plain text, blue links on a white background. Had a little bit of that this morning, but it’s cleared up now.
So if you’re seeing that, I suspect it may resolve itself for you in due course.
Be nice if we got some response from Lynn as to what went wrong.
reply not working..
phillip ure..
even difficult to ‘reply’ appropriately Lanth.
THANK YOU LANTH. (been talking to others through fb; yes, that is how TS is for moi at present)
LA-Innnnnnnn, Lynn, Are you there? 🙂
and, yes, cleared cache and cookies etc on both browsers; Woe is me…
This browser (IE) pops out the ‘debugging’ box all the time, identifying errors.
Everything seems to be working fine in Chrome
At the moment the problem is with Kiwiblog.
Well the site’s loading properly again, thank god, but now I can’t reply to comments, boo.
The Standard currently looks like this for me in Chrome, anyone else experiencing this or is it just me… http://i.imgur.com/kvatW0Y.png
Had that a few times over the last day or so. That, the comment errors and the fact that the site was going really slow finally had me stop looking/posting yesterday. Been good for me today though.
All good for me today too.
Yes the site looks like that for me with Firefox on Ubuntu. So I guess the site is at fault.
Also this reply went in the wrong place.
Mike Williams just repeated a very cute quote on Col Craig (sounds more manly than Colin). It is the one mentioned below in bold in Bryce Edwards 27/11 extensive piece on him and the possibility of a deal over Poorer Benefit’s electorate seat. The Standard Coat-tail comment is also referred to –
Bryce Edwards: Political roundup: Winning at the 2014 general election.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11163647
The latest must-read feature about Colin Craig and his policies is Andrea Vance’s Conservative Party: Crazy or credible?. This comprehensive piece also includes a list of 10 of the Conservatives’ ‘more interesting policy platforms’ compiled by Steve Kilgallon. Complimenting this is Vance’s own opinion piece, Craig politics – nice and nutty, which features the memorable line: ‘So far, all the signals point to him being nuttier than squirrel poo’.
Transmission Gully is underway and yet this is what the NZ Herlad has to say about PPPs It is very damming and a bit amazing for a mainstream media outlet to come right out and say it.
Cargo-cult mystique of funding through private sector deals blurs burden of risk for public.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11…
PPPs are like renting the same car every day for 25 years , you get to pay a lot of money (many times the actual cost of a car) and at then end of it you get to keep the 25 year old bomb of a car, which is of course clapped out. Brilliant.