Expelled from Cabinet and Banished to the back benches. Or even dropped from the NZ First list, and replaced with someone less compromised, would be preferable,
The Prime Minister must act.
And Winston Peters must accept it.
Breaching Cabinet Rules to defend his corporate backers, is just one step too far.
No-mates party gets the lion’s share – are donors getting value for their money? It appears not.
National Party president Peter Goodfellow admits that the man mentioned in the recording – Colin Zheng – is now in training at the candidates college to become an MP.
“I’ve known him for some time, I think he’s actually a good potential candidate for us. I encouraged him to enter the college,” he says.
But Mr Goodfellow denies that donations buy influence within the National Party.
Very reassuring; at least the no-mates party is ‘pure’. (/sarc)
“Mr Little told RadioLIVE that a clean-up of donation laws is not just about the National Party.” – clever, huh?
Wayne 1.1
2 February 2019 at 7:53 am
Why must he go now?
What has what his role in Labour and his former role in fisheries got to to do with being a current NZ First Minister.
You need to explain more about what he is doing wrong now.
Hi Wayne, it is pretty clear.
Breaching Cabinet rules to influence a New Zealand court hearing, and using his influence in government to get his long time corporate backers removed from an international blacklist.
This is Ministerial wrongdoing and corrupt influence peddling on a scale that can’t be ignored.
To do so would be to compromise any government attempt to regulate corporate polluters or other profit driven environmental despoilers.
The Amaltal Apollo, a vessel owned by a subsidiary of Talley’s, is facing 14 charges for fishing in protected waters in the Tasman Sea.
And Cabinet rules clearly state: “Ministers do not comment on or involve themselves in the investigation of offences or the decision as to whether a person should be prosecuted.”
“I think there’s no question that Jones has breached the Cabinet Manual, which is the rules that govern the behaviour of Ministers,” Mr Norman said.
Press Release: Greenpeace New Zealand
Greenpeace is calling on the New Zealand Government to stop supporting dubious fishing activities after it tried to get a Talley’s fishing boat taken off a global blacklist of illegal fishing vessels during an international fisheries meeting in the Hague.
Talley’s fishing vessel, Amaltal Apollo, was caught doing 14 bottom trawls for orange roughy in a protected area of the Tasman Sea, and will now be placed on a draft global blacklist of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO). Talley’s faces 14 charges that will be heard in court in Nelson next month.
Greenpeace New Zealand Executive Director, Dr Russel Norman, says evidence shows the Talley’s vessel conducted a series of bottom trawls in a well established protected area of the high seas.
“The New Zealand Government was pushing hard to get the Talley’s vessel off the international IUU blacklist of disreputable fishing vessels, in spite of SPRFMO Compliance and Technical Committee finding that the Talley’s vessel was involved in IUU activities,” he says.
“Other countries at the meeting objected, and the result is that the Talley’s boat will remain on the draft IUU list.
“Incidentally, Talley’s is the same company that donated heavily to the campaign of Shane Jones, who has emerged as the defacto Minister of Fisheries in the current Government.”
“Rather than trying to protect Talley’s from an international IUU listing, the Government should welcome the listing as a warning to other fishing companies that they must follow rules to protect the environment.
The Prime Minister must ask the Deputy Prime MInister, and leader of NZ First to remove his disgraced member from Cabinet, and replace him with a less compromised NZF MP.
If Peters, refuses then the Prime Minister must act unilaterally and expel Shane Jones from Cabinet.
The Prime Minister needs to fight for her leadership, to not do so would be to become a lame duck leader, subject to influencers like Jones and his corporate backers.
Make no mistake, this is a make or break moment for the Coalition Government
Will the Prime Minister act, as she clearly must, according to the Cabinet Manual?
Or will she bow to corporate pressure, to let their hireling continue to peddle his poisonous influence inside the government and cabinet?
Will Winston Peters back the Prime Minister’s decision to expel Shane Jones from the Cabinet?
This is a fight for the soul of this government.
Who will blink first?
If Winston Peters decides to make a stand on behalf of Jones, will the Prime Minister call his bluff?
Will Jacinda Adern fight for her leadership?
And if necessary, in the face of Peters possible refusal to back down, threaten to put it to the country?
An election that in my opinion the Prime Minister would handily win, returning to the treasury benches with a weakened NZ First and a strengthened Green Party
All the cards are in the Prime Minister’s hands.
Will she play them, or quietly fold and try to paper over the cracks in her Cabinet only to have them blow apart at some later date when she is in a weaker position?
Will the Prime Minister concede, or make a stand?
Allowing Jones to remain in Cabinet would be beyond pragmatism, It would be total surrender to the corporate lobby.
Jones has to go, and Peters needs to accept it.
Even if Peters threatens to pull the house down, the Prime Minister must stand her ground, or be forever lost. Instead of the great leader she is otherwise destined to be.
James 1.1.2.1.1
2 February 2019 at 10:05 am
Jacinda will and can do nothing.
Winston has all the power.
This is where you and I differ James.
Jacinda Ardern can accept her powerlessness, or call Winston’s bluff.
You advocate the former, while I advocate the latter.
I believe that if Ardern stood up to Peters and fought for her leadership Peters would back down.
If I am wrong, and Peters tries to force the issue. (Which he would be foolish to do.) Ardern if pushed into a corner by Peters could call a snap election.
Fighting an election over the corruption of one of his Ministers, is a no win situation for Peters. Not backing down and taking a stand on principle and at the height of her popularity, I believe that Labour and the Greens* would be returned with a greater majority, enabling them to rule even if NZ First vote is diminished.
Ardern has all the power.
*(This raises an interesting sidebar. Where are the Greens?
Why aren’t the Greens standing with Greenpeace and other environmentalists and demanding Shane Jones resignation?
Where is Shaw?
Where is Davidson?
Why are they so invisible?
The Greens need to return from AWOL and break out of their current invisibility and start fighting their corner if they are to raise their poll results.
Influencing a New Zealand prosecution would be an absolute “no, no”, but asking for a ship to be taken off the SPRFMO list would not be. The courts don’t put the ships on the list, an international organisation does, and the international organisation will have discretion. In my view Russell has completely confused the distinction between the two.
So Jones has not breached the Cabinet manual. In fact it can be argued he is doing his duty in supporting a New Zealand company (and the jobs that go with it). The company would have to undertake to be better behaved in the future.
Hi Wayne you claim that peddling his influence to to get a ship taken off the SPRFMO list is OK
But admit that, Influencing a New Zealand prosecution would be an absolute “no, no”,
What do you mean by the term, an absolute “no, no”?
Would it be an action resulting in the loss of Shane Jones’ Ministerial warrant?
Or some lesser sanction?
What did you have in mind?
New Zealand First MP Mr Jones described the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)’s case against agribusiness company Talley’s as a “technical issue” – when the Cabinet rules warn ministers against commenting on active cases. …..
The Amaltal Apollo, a vessel owned by a subsidiary of Talley’s, is facing 14 charges for fishing in protected waters in the Tasman Sea.
And Cabinet rules clearly state: “Ministers do not comment on or involve themselves in the investigation of offences or the decision as to whether a person should be prosecuted.”
“I think there’s no question that Jones has breached the Cabinet Manual, which is the rules that govern the behaviour of Ministers,” Mr Norman said.
lprent 6.1.1
3 October 2012 at 3:42 pm
Actually strike 3 in terms of unwanted distractions. Credit card usage in 2010, Yan earlier this year which got a reasonable amount of traction, and then this wee outburst.
But any politician worth anything should be aware that they need to watch their tongue around reporters. I’m afraid that the three john’s defense (key, banks, & tamihere) is simply a sign of political incontinence in my opinion.
David H 6.1.1.1
3 October 2012 at 6:19 pm
Yep it should be 3 strikes, and your out!
felix 6.1.1.1.1
3 October 2012 at 7:30 pm
Jones should’ve been out a long time ago.
Can anyone recall him doing anything in politics? Apart from wanking himself off in parliament, metaphorically speaking.
Fair point. A minister should never comment about an active case. So in that sense it is a “no, no”. I can’t think of one circumstance where it would be OK and proper to do so. In contrast it is OK to comment about a decision already made, though in a respectful way.
But the punishment will vary according to how bad the comment is. Ranging from a rebuke from the PM, to a severe rebuke from the PM, to a final warning, to the removal from a portfolio and ultimately to dismissal from the Cabinet.
Jones specifically referenced the court case in his statements, so it’s a bit late for him to claim he was only talking about the SPRFMO list.
In fact it can be argued he is doing his duty in supporting a New Zealand company…
Oh, it sure can be. A National Party cabinet minister would automatically support a NZ company that’s been caught illegally damaging the environment (as opposed to legally damaging the environment, which is a whole other unpleasant subject). Many of us would prefer ministers not to support damaging the environment, though.
Oh of course Wayne breaching the cabinet manual and being in the pockets of corporate interests you’re pimping for is not only acceptable it’s almost expected of national party ministers and bagman mp’s like JLR.
Jones is doing his job as if was a national party mp….which we all know is a natural fit for his self interests.
And it must be remembered that their blind hatred of Russell Norman colours the thinking of all National MPs past and present. Any enemy of Mr Norman is a friend to them whether in the current government or not.
You and your ilk support illegal behavior of every kind (as long as it’s corporate) – those with a few shreds of intact morality do not. It may make fundraising easier for you, but corruption destroys any pretense of governance. Which goes a long way to explain your colleagues’ wretched performance in that role. They enriched themselves, but they impoverished our country.
One of the early radio reports on this issue said that the government (not just one MP/Minister) was arguing that a domestic case should be allowed to proceed before the ship was added to a banned list. I have not heard whether charges have been laid. I also do not know why the listing could not be appealed against if a domestic case resulted in acquittal – what is “normal” regarding domestic international prosecutions? I see no reference to a New Zealand prosecution – am I confusing this case with something else, or is this another case of inadequate reporting, or has this been covered elsewhere?
Much like Donald Trump’s faux populism. Jones is a swamp creature threatening to drain the swamp, the other swamp creatures know it is just postering and are not rankled at all.
In a disgusting display, Shane Jones repeatedly uses bigotry, related to Russel Norman’s origins, to attack the Greenpeace Aotearoa Director.
“Greenpeace are a source of extraordinary misinformation”, Shane Jones
“Russel Norman is an Australian and he should stop trashing the good name of New Zealand fishing” Shane Jones
“The attitude that Greenpeace is taking to industry in New Zealand, in particular the fishing industry, is economically traitorous”. Shane Jones
“I’m not standing back at all, and allowing that Aussie to misrepresent New Zealand’s good name” Shane Jones
Shane Jones needs to take heed of the words of Malcolm X before he attacks someone for their origin or ethnicity
“I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it’s for or against” – Malcolm X
Russel Norman’s origins or ethnicity should have no place in political discourse..
To resort to such tactics exposes Shane Jones as the worst sort of demagogue, one who resorts to attacks on a person’s identity to divert from, rather than address, the issues they raise.
Time to have time limits and out clauses on resource consents if the commercial operation is not in the interests of society or the community, climate change changes the equation or the consents take natural resources away from that community…
Things were very different regarding population growth, drought and climate change when a lot of these resource consents were granted decades ago and our laws need to be updated so that old consents that are harmful or not in long term interests of the community and environment are not able to be used but a new consent needed to be applied for and it should be up to the APPLICANT to prove beyond a doubt that there are no harmful effects from their commercial operation… including the water and their ability to recycle the bottles (aka if they can not prove that the aquifer is unaffected long term or they can ensure that the plastic is dumped in the sea or landful) then no resource consent granted on environmental issues).
Bottling expansion could see 9 billion litres of pristine Christchurch water sold overseas
At present how our RMA law is interpreted and the process is a farce, highjacked by well paid environmental lawyers with an easily manipulated RMZ process that is based on paid experts so the most devious and powerful win.. while the less powerful and communities have to now pay big dollars to have their say (which is ignored anyway) because in real terms environmental impacts are meaningless in environmental court as practicality is absent and pieces of paper by paid experts (with no comeback if they prove to be incorrect ) are the norm to get harmful and negative consents through.
Yes it is one thing to allow people who gather the water off their own property the water for free aka roof collection which should never be charged for, but draining it from a communal aquifer is completely different and that source of water should be charged for in particular if the water is MOVED and on sold from that location. A percentage of money should also go to the local community, environmental safeguards and protection as well as general taxes.
Gabby, when “It’s” has an apostrophe it means either “It is” or “It has”. Far too many now incorrectly put in an apostrophe for the possessive – its – meaning ‘belonging to it’. No apostrophe. OK?
As far as I can tell, Psych nurse is correct, because ‘it is’ or ‘it has’ would make no sense.
Or did I miss one of your clever jokes?
Oh dear.. I now see you may have been addressing dv, not Psych Nurse. In which case you are correct.
Oh, the dangers of pedantry!
With your pseudonym, I am surprised that you have had no training re dyslexia and similar. There have been a number of ‘conversations’ on here in just the last few days with people pulled up for disparaging remarks such as yours.
No problems, bwaghorn. You are not alone on here in that, and there was a situation a few days ago where someone else was subjected to inappropriate comments etc. and some of us don’t want repeats of that type of behaviour. I did try to be careful in saying ‘dyslexia or similar’ to cover a wider range of reasons. But as you can see some here (including myself) can be spelling/grammar pedants. Far more important is the ability to convey what you want to say, and you are great at that.
Thanks for the good discussion. and your comment grey along with other peoples. It makes me feel better as my English is appaling and I am slightly dyslexic.
But what the hell out of the three R’s my riting is not good, my reading is not too bad can comprehend and understand the written word, and I find my Ereader a godsend, Can look up any word I do not know for the meaning, but my rithmatic is pretty good. Had to be for the engineering work I did.
Talking about reading I can recommend a good book called “Exactly How Precision Engineers Shaped the Modern World.” by Simon Winchester You don’t have to be an engineer to appreciate this book.
Explained a lot of things to me like I now know why some American’s refer to Slip Gauges as Jo Blocks and nice snippets of information like how Leitz of Leica camera fame had all his camera’s used by the Nazi’s but still managed to get his Jewish employees out of Germany. and how they managed to fix the Hubble Telescope. A very good read, a book I feel should be included in the first year curriculum of any engineering discipline as compulsory reading with exam questions about it. It will give any future engineers a good grounding how some of these things came about and the great people who discovered and invented lots of the procedures and tooling we use today.
I wouldn’t bother with the spellchecker. The Standard’s spell checker flags litre, but not liter. Like most American spellcheckers will.
It would take quite a sophisticated grammar checker to pick up wags’ use of levee where levy was the intended word.
I reckon wags probably already has the right approach: just laugh at the wankers that respond to mis-spellings and minor grammar errors rather than responding to the ideas.
Yep, as an ingrained pedant, I agree with you Andre, and I just have to keep restraining my natural tendency.. It is never wise to use a minor spelling error as a major argument.
A levy on exporting water I have said would achieve both : $ for nz
And doesn’t effect who “owns” the water
You are paying to export water.
Do what you want within nz so the likes of irrigation, power generation remain uneffected
+1 Herodotus but also it should be contingent on the water being plentiful enough to export because these who live locally and are dependant on a resource should have the priority over money. But if there are no environmental impacts then it is a no brainer to charge per litre of water exported as a tax and that tax should be similar to what city people are forced to pay per litre!
In Auckland, we pay for infrastructure to bring water and take away waste water/Stormwater. There is no “charge” for water in itself.
Watercare is a “not for profit” setup
“We do not operate to make a profit nor do we receive any funding from property rates paid to the Auckland Council. We also do not pay a dividend to the Auckland Council.” https://www.watercare.co.nz/About-us/News-media/Water-and-wastewater-price-changes-effective-1-Jul
Yes that is what they say but the reality is that you are charged for water and wastewater and the pretence it is for the pipes, but actually you are charged for the usage of the water it is not a fixed charge therefore their spin falls down.
The wastewater and councils squander the money and keep adding more people and then their plan is to just send the sewerage into the sea.
If a council or water company aka third way COO, can’t afford to manage existing water then they sure as hell should not be adding to the problem by consenting additional housing for additional people who apparently are needed to prop up the low wage economy here, and expecting the existing residents to subsidise the housing which is not affordable at all, while getting worse services aka many of the beaches are frequently closed off or not suitable for swimming at all due to pollution. Some of which is coming from boats as well, but again the rise of Marinas and cruise ships…
We need to think about this in the bigger picture: Climate, production, electricity generation, the commons, and profit.
Using water harvesting methods of small scale earthworks (across the landscape) we can restore groundwater flow for our rivers, aquifers and dams. Landholders partaking in water harvesting to replenish local aquifers (and re-hydrate their own land) can be ensured x amount of water returned for their crops/stock in times of drought.
Rentiers and renters can build rain gardens and small systems to replenish water in their own respective catchments thus also becoming stakeholders and beneficiaries of water supply.
Water sold offshore pays for it. NZ Govt business selling bottled water for top dollar they can get, profits to run NZ water infrastructure.
Not good news for environment and water where population growth of people (and cows) happens and then the councils are cheerleading it… but then oh shit (literally), rushing around trying to find fixes to the problems and the money for those fixes instead of stopping consenting of more houses and farm effluents and pollution from industry until they already have the issues sorted and paid for!
However our RMA system is easily bypassed to create pollution and pass of the effects to others based on a very selective vision of minor effects… instead of ensuring that detrimental effects are not allowed to others and the environmental in the first place…
SaveNZ 3
2 February 2019 at 8:00 am
Time to have time limits and out clauses on resource consents if the commercial operation is not in the interests of society or the community, climate change changes the equation or the consents take natural resources away from that community…
It is still illegal to raise climate change as an objection for resource consents.
That in itself makes a Mockery of Jacinda’s “climate change is our nuclear free moment’… like wise climate change is also not allowed to be mentioned in free trade deals…
clearly not only not a mention in the 100 day changes Labour made, but actually by supporting TPPA omitting climate change they are part of the problem and enabling climate change and are bigger hypocrites than Natz that openly say they are climate change deniers.
Labour must change the order of preference to become far more ‘protective’ in our legal references used by those faux lawyers, and be more guarding of our environmental policies and use of the RMA.
QUOTE; “At present how our RMA law is interpreted and the process is a farce, highjacked by well paid environmental lawyers with an easily manipulated RMZ process that is based on paid experts so the most devious and powerful win”
You need to work within achievable boundaries.
People are always going to farm so even if destocking happens it will be through changing to cropping which still needs water.
In Auckland they are farming housing estates, not affordable ones though.
In Long Bay and other areas is impacting the entire ecosystem and the beaches and water ways but not a word said.
Also impacting the existing houses for example the buses now go to the new (rich) estates by Long Bay with a new mall etc planned and the public transport is set to largely bypass the ordinary folks where the buses used to come and now you have to get to Albany or the new rich estates to find transport. So the exisiting households who paid their rates for years are bypassed to increase the value of the developments which are not exactly affordable for local wages.
the area described in the article was largely dryland farmed until 20 years ago, and its a question of degree, water take has grown at exponential rates in that time (along with considerable tree loss)…the achievable boundaries are environmental…we can choose to manage a transition away from that excess water take or have it forced on us by those environmental boundaries.
Are you okay with the government subsidizing farmers to lower out put . Their growth was funded by debt and allowed by government you can’t just change the law and send whole areas broke.
I commented the other day that someone is going to have to take a hit…and I didnt think it would be the banks.
There may well need to be some form of compensation to realise some reduction in intensity/land use change but whether I think thats appropriate would depend upon the details
@ bwaghorn, 25% of farmers are broke anyway… with the rise in food banks and 40% of people are at poverty level now, maybe the government should offer farmers a rate to produce food for our own people. Since accomodation is subsidised, oil and gas subsidised, wages are subsidised in NZ, travel is subsidised, even power now with the winter energy payments, why not have the government go direct to farmers for quality food and drive that movement.
@Pat, + 1 the water take has grown at exponential levels… and that is why consents and RMA laws needs to be changed to stop that drain before it is too late (and then the rich applicants will do doubt sue the council for bad management or what have you, either way it is the poorer folks who get left with the problems, the polluters just move on with their profits to do it to another community…
Yea bwaghorn, no use replacing one water guzzling activity with another. We need to be smarter and more aware of the takers, and what we get in exchange for this life giving fluid.
Retailers, importers and manufacturers need to become responsible for their plastic waste.
How can better quality more recycled offerings compete with $25 tents in a low wage economy… the problems is that it becomes the planet that has the plastic burden, and the community who have to pay to dispose of this plastic waste (not the manufacturer) and legislation is needed to ensure that the manufacturer or seller becomes liable for the disposal fees… if that happens then it will invent much more recyclable materials being used in throw away cheap items and stop the tons of plastic waste polluting the seas and landfill…
You can’t expect the user to make the change, it has be come from the manufacturers and importers bringing or creating this stuff to change to more recycled materials or longer lasting products…
Apart from the child labour not sure the fucking lazy spoilt little brats can be blamed when it is perfectly legal for a company to produce disposable and cheap plastic items and not have anything in place to dispose of them or be responsible for that disposal… at the same time it drives the other companies out of business because the retailers and consumers are going for the cheapest items.. If the manufacturer and retailers and importers of those plastic items had to pay for their disposal it would even up the playing field. At present it is putting sustainable businesses out of business because only wealthier people can afford to be sustainable and travel to seek out those items rather than the $2 shop brigade.
It’s become fashionable at music festivals to buy cheap tents etc and get up and leave them behind .
I did note one recently that a cardboard tent could be purchased which while isn’t perfect is a good idea.
Jesse Mulligan had a segment on this very subject on his Afternoons programme on RNZ National yesterday afternoon, primarily an interview with Cheryl Reynolds, Chief Entrepreneurial Officer of Xtreme Zero Waste.
The increase in the number of tents etc being left behind just in the last two years was amazing. There was discussion of some possible solutions, including mention of work underway to re-use these tents etc to provide shelter for the homeless.
It’s not just tents, it is all plastic that needs to be looked at from $2 shops to larger items to force the manufacturers to change their ways to recyclable materials… you will get nowhere expecting consumers to change when there is exponential growth of plastic everywhere on every shop corner a $2 shop springing up in our low wage, consumer economy…
My forefathers all came to ‘Canvastown” near Havelock in the top of the south Island in the 1860s 160 yrs ago and built a home, there later that is still there today.
This is where Free Trade agreements work against the environment. We need import restrictions on the cheap plastic crap that is flooding NZ. We need regulations that govern the quality, the durability of manufactured products. Products should be designed to last a significant number of years. Planned obsolescence must be regulated out of existence.The manufacturers and the importers will not willingly change.
Janet, This is the cause of so many failures in the useful life of a purchase.
Husband buying a small tool, commented about a small plastic clip. “If that broke can I get a replacement part?’ he asked. Reply, “Mate no, it only costs $19.99 to buy a new one” Hubby calls this a deliberate design flaw.
We truly have become the “Don’t fix it… throw it away society.’ Further, the bit that breaks always seems to be plastic.
As you say a “silly season” story still, but Ngaro’s video last year was funny. I wondered whether he was the other person using the weights for too long this time around, but really don’t care!
Reading about the human psychological practice of compartmentalism, I think this is an explanation of how we have, and still are, avoiding dealing with our behaviours that are destructive to ourselves and the planet. Why do we refuse to see, which is necessary to understand the need for change? We compartmentalise. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartmentalization_(psychology)
Humanities are being sliced from our universities’ menus; because the study of Sociology gives insight into how we think, and helps us to take charge of our own thinking and drive our destinies rather than be receptors of privatised PR campaigns set up to enrich individuals or corporates.
And every new approach once accepted by a significant number becomes used by profit-takers who use it seductively. Being able to think for oneself means that one doesn’t get led by the nose to absorb unthinkingly, someone else’s simple solution.
The new methodology tracks peoples’ actual movements across the border to determine their migrant status, rather than relying on intentions based on departure and arrival cards.
So those fkn waste-of-time pain-in-the-ass departure and arrival cards were worse than useless, they were actively screwing up the data.
What is new, like the Meth levels, our science and tech is a disgrace. Who in their right mind actually depends of the arrival cards information anyway – people lie, people’s plans change, it is obvious!
Also know a lot of people who are entering and exiting on different passports so knowing we livein the land of plod not sure our esteemed (sarcasm) officials are able to work out what is going on.
Aka to avoid paying student loans back and keep the benefits going, you can depart of that different passport. People I know have 3 identities, their NZ name, their migrant name, and their married name. When criminals are bought before the NZ courts it then comes out they have multiple identities…. obviously will be distorting the arrival and departure figures as well when NZ thinks many are still here when they left a while ago…
Land of plod can’t keep up. Too difficult when you can just charge the locals more and more taxes, depend on honesty for all your information, and ignore criminal behaviour and think it is a one off so don’t bother to clamp down.
Also the same people who gain residency often depart just like the Kiwis. Getting in more people to NZ doesn’t stop people leaving because if you have low wages and few real career opportunities for workers, it doesn’t matter if you are a Kiwi born or migrant you will still expect to have opportunities and decent wages.
So all the migrants they are bringing to replace the Kiwis are leaving too once they obtain residency (which inexplicably only takes a few years here) and then they can depart while also making use of the schools for their kids, hospitals for their illnesses, buy up houses with overseas wages, the only damper has been the aged parents are harder to get in to keep the satellite family going and take care of the kids while the workers are offshore… I’m sure some advocate group will be onto the government to relax that one too… as we hear every day another sob story about someone having to leave the country because they never qualified for residency in the first place while at the same time more stories of workers being made redundant or NZ companies going into liquidation… so there does not seem to be a shortage of workers but more a Ponzi to pay people less or keep food businesses (in particular) afloat in return for residency…
Why is Trump preparing to move the type of intermediate range missiles with nuclear tips banned under old cold war treaty agreements, to the Western Pacific and North Korean border and Chinese frontier?
What would deploying this hair trigger nuclear first strike weapon on the borders of China mean for world peace?
Will the UN countries unite to condemn the US’s provocative actions?
Or are they are law unto themselves?
U.S. Suspends Nuclear Arms Control Treaty With Russia
“We can no longer be restricted by the treaty while Russia shamelessly violates it,’’ he told reporters in Washington.
So far the Russian government has been unwilling to admit that a missile it has deployed near European borders violates the treaty’s terms. Moscow asserts that the missile does not fly far enough to breach the limits established in an accord that, until recent years, was considered a gold-standard of arms control treaties and procedures to verify compliance.
The United States has insisted Russia’s actions sank the treaty. But the Trump administration’s real aim is to broaden its prohibitions to include China and other countries.
Constrained by the treaty’s provisions, the United States has been prevented from deploying new weapons to counter China’s efforts to cement a dominant position in the Western Pacific and keep American aircraft carriers at bay.
Remember the US accusations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that were used as an excuse for war, but were later proven to be false?
Now the US is playing a bigger and even more dangerous game.
Russia does have weapons of mass destruction. But Russia is also being accused by the US, of having weapons of mass destruction with a first strike capability banned by treaty, an accusation the Russians deny.
Designed to destroy a country’s retaliatory counter measures, before they can be launched. These are the sort of first strike weapon that makes previously unthinkable nuclear exchange possible,
Putin blames US for breaching nuclear arms treaty
China has urged the US to resolve the differences with Russia without pulling out of the treaty.
….Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the White House had ignored Russia’s offer to inspect the cruise missile the US claimed violated the pact.
He also accused the US of violating the pact by deploying missile interceptors in Romania that use launchers that could hold land-based cruise missiles…..
….NATO has already said it “fully supports” the US, adding: “Allies regret that Russia, as part of its broader pattern of behaviour, continues to deny its INF Treaty violation, refuses to provide any credible response, and has taken no demonstrable steps toward returning to full and verifiable compliance.”
China’s government appealed to both nations to maintain the treaty.
The country’s foreign ministry warned there could be “adverse consequences” after the Trump administration withdrew.
A ministry statement said: “China is opposed to the US withdrawal and urges the US and Russia to properly resolve differences through constructive dialogue.”
The treaty was signed toward the end of the Cold War between then presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. It bans ground-launched missiles with a range between 500 and 5,500km.
40 years of expanding crops with hazelnuts etc. Very balanced natural environment. Hazelnuts have 60% oil in nut – Soya 20%? Hazelnut tried and could run a machine. Hazels in 1988 had drought and bore a crop, that year and next. Floods 3 feet deep in water later and hazels carried on.
Grazing animals under hazel bushes – horses don’t like the leaves – except they might eat them for part of the year.
Forests build soil. Crops, ploughing, end up ‘strip-mining’ it.
Hey, grey – I’m on the road from 6:00am tomorrow morning and won’t be able to take part in tomorrow’s “How to get there” – at least until I get to Alexandra, later in the day; I’m speaking to a couple of community groups there and advising on pruning an ancient orchard – all good fun but I’ll be unable to comment here for the most part – could you please drop a note into tomorrow’s thread to that effect? Thanks
Robert
… the numbers Mr Barclay reported to Mr Twyford fell well short of what had been confirmed.
“On 26 October 2018, Mr Barclay formally reported to the Minister 631 KiwiBuild dwellings with a high likelihood of delivery … however, only 264 homes were contracted from the private sector or committed by Housing New Zealand.
“Currently, there are 293 houses that are contracted and committed for delivery in year one. Of those, the number for HNZ is 177,” the note said.
I can tell from the wording that Barclay’s “management style” was a lot worse than he claimed. It is clear he was behaving like the typical serial bully. These types are often engaged from outside the Public Service and they believe they have the right to ride roughshod over everybody. They slash, burn and bully their way through the job convinced they know better than everyone else.
Twyford and co. may have learnt a valuable lesson. Be very careful who you appoint to these positions. Once they have the right CEO, Kiwibiuld will slowly grow and flourish as per the original expectation.
It takes years to build up any industry to it full potential, and there are always teething problems along the way. When it happens, you and your clueless and classless Nat mates who did bugger-all for nine long years… will fall silent and hopefully not be heard from again.
On second thoughts, I don’t think Twyford did appoint Barclay. I suspect that was the prerogative of the previous housing ministry chief. The current chief inherited the problem.
Lol Anne your so pathetic. You’ve got virtually zero intellectual consistency. If an underling of the last government was sacked for bad behaviour you’d blame it on Key et al.
Yet now your are blaming everything on a ceo who reports to Phil Twyford who has left after complaints against him. Complaints against Barclay can’t save Ill thought through policy from itself, it’s creator and main proponent Phil Twyford. What is he doing if not overseeing the largest, most grandiose policy that labour were elected on
Take your blinkers off, it’s your generation that created the housing mess. Don’t blame the next few if we don’t believe this government can’t do what it said it will.
Re our discussion the other day on my long comment re the rules etc here, WTB replied that it was a pity most people would not see it …
Tempted* to develop it a bit more to cover your and RedLogix comments and a few other bits – as a neutral OM comment outside of a particular instance and a heat of the moment situation, aimed at putting the About and Policy rules etc right in front of people as I am convinced a lot have never read them. Walking a tightrope or walking on dangerous ice? Uuummmm
* Some are ‘at it’ just a few down at 10.3, 12 and 13 …
What would you do to rectify the housing shortage? Any suggestions?
Like Key and co. you would ask “what housing shortage?” while kids lived and slept in vans. Now you call it a “housing mess.”
Then there are your attacks on other people’s intelligence.
Your arrogance shows through.
You don’t think anyone else should disagree with you, because if they do they are stupid or intellectually bereft or in la la land.
While you are a paragon of wit!! lol lol What a crock!!
You are an attack dog for the right. You seldom give a cogent case just a nasty attack line. No doubt you will now lay about my shared ideas and beliefs lol lol
Moderators, if I have broken rules please delete but these attacks are constant and unremitting.
I am slowly putting together a bit of a timeline to get a better handle on what has probably happened. As mentioned in a couple of comments earlier in the week, I have worked with Andrew Crisp and have respect for his integrity etc.
In brief, the skeleton of the timeline looks like this to date:
December 2017: Kiwibuild was first set up as stand-alone business unit within the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) until a new ministry, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD), was established.
May 2018: Barclay’s appointment as Head of Kiwibuild was announced by MBIE chief executive Carolyn Tremain on 10 May 2018, with Barclay starting on 28 May 2018. (This tends to indicate that the employment process was probably handled by MBIE, not as a SSC appointment. It certainly would/should not have been an appointment in which any Ministers were involved.)
???? (probably Dec 2017 or early 2018): Andrew Crisp appointed Chief Executive of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Establishment Team. Crisp was seconded to the position from his job as Chief Executive of Land Information NZ. He was appointed to that position in Oct 2016 for five years. (Crisp may, or may not, have been involved in Barclay’s selection and employment process. Still trying to find something on this point.)
1 Oct 2018: Ministry of Housing and Urban Development established with the Kiwibuild unit moving into the new Ministry. Andrew Crisp was appointed Acting Chief Executive still on secondment initially.
Early Nov 2018: Barclay goes on or is sent on garden leave while an investigation into complaints about his behaviour towards work colleagues etc is undertaken.
4 Dec 2018: SSC Commissioner Peter Hughes announced the appointment of Andrew Crisp to the position of Chief Executive of the new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is now made up of and brought together functions from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Ministry of Social Development, along with the monitoring of Housing New Zealand and Tāmaki Redevelopment Company function from Treasury.
In other words, the whole process of establishing the new new agencies such as Kiwibuild, MHUD, the changes within others such as Housing NZ etc to align with the new government’s very different approach to housing was done in a very short period of time after the government came into power and affected a wide range of existing government agencies. Major upheaval for many agencies and people; not to mention the need to change culture to adjust to the change in approach.
Those who have not worked in government departments, particularly in head office, probably don’t realise how big a change this was/is and the possible repercussions, unintended consequences etc. From personal experience, I am actually surprised that this Barclay situation is not accompanied by more of a similar nature.
I don’t know what we would do without you vv. Time-lines are vital to understanding a process and what might have gone wrong. You have the back-ground and skills to do it so well.
That was a massive undertaking for minister, Phil Twyford to oversee, and shows just how far sighted he is. That it has got to this point in just over a year is remarkable. But as always when setting up a new structure, there are teething problems.
While there are a few excellent exceptions to the rule, it infuriates me how shallow and ignorant the MSM journos and commentators are. They just jump onto political band-wagons without any investigation into the actual facts.
I’ve got to stick up for some MSM journos, Anne because they are also timeline addicts like myself – for example, David Fisher, Matt Nippert and “Young Henry Cooke” (as someone here called him just in the last few days. LOL but he is! Both a timeliner and young, that is.)
But agreed that when you step back and think about the timelines etc of the changes in structure, role, purpose etc etc of the agencies I discussed above, it really is massive. And the more I think about Andrew Crisp, the more I think he is an excellent choice for MHUB in terms of his background and his personality etc.
Interesting that the name ‘Tremain’ comes up here!!!- as she is shown in your timely ‘review’ as being mixed up with housing, as who as running it now.
Since she appointed the new Chief of Kiwi build, and it may interest you to know that the Tremain family is deep into the real estate market in HB and other areas, perhaps a review of her being attached to the real estate market is due here to?
Chris Tremain was Napier National MP for several years and was met by our group opposing the truck gridlocked road called the HB Expressway and he knew all the owners of adversely affected properties and heresay several were approached by ‘Tremains Real Estate’ in Napier and some were then sold by Tremain Real Estate after we had introduced them to theses home owners through Chris Tremain.
We make no accusations about him but the fact that he knew those properties were “undesirable” due to the truck noise, vibration, and air pollution adversely affecting these property owners was cause for us to wonder why Tremains afterwards were the main company that were selling those properties.
Have you any reason at all to connect Carolyn Tremain to the family of the late Kel Tremain in Hawkes Bay?
I was not aware of any such link and the coincidence of surnames is hardly sufficient to make such a claim.
Evidence of a link, if you have one.
Really? I think not. I just read it – they aren’t laughing at kiwibuild or anything – you just bullshitted as usual with your fanciful and incorrect comment. Fail.
that is more then National achieved to build in 9 years.
Oh yeah, thats right, the NO mates Party does not build, they sell state assets for a discount in order to afford the tax cuts for the very rich.
Are you really so fucking g stupid like wtf is going through your head? The state houses sold were fucked. Rotting floors etc. National were trying to build and told labour how hard it was. And labour aren’t building they are just buying private properties that were already being built.
Don’t forget the state houses sold because of laughable traces of P.
Either way, the current government has increased the number of state houses in stock by 500 since the election. National kept cutting the number of state houses in stock.
Like the rest of government, the job was too hard for National, but not for the current government.
@ James, If they bothered to ditch Kiwibuild and maybe just get HNZ to do the building without the hype they might be more successful aka more like previous governments who actually built state houses…
1000 state houses and 33? Kiwibuild houses, gives you a hint of what happens when private practise and more and more new agencies are involved against just getting HNZ to do it… Then there is all the litigation like Barclay and fat cat salaries for no results…
from the article…
“We have built 1,000 new state houses since we came to office,” Mr. Twyford said, referring to public housing separate from the KiwiBuild initiative, adding that the government had put 1,800 families into those homes. There are more than 11,600 people and families on public housing waiting lists, according to government figures.”
As for the promotion of relaxing planning to lower land prices, guess what Natz did that for 9 years and built even less houses and now the land is more expensive because guess what, when you are able to build more houses on land, the price of the land goes up! Then less people can afford to buy the land and so instead of small builders being able to build, only big players can, who spend a lot of time, trying to lobby government to lower standards and council to give them freebies and also wanting big companies only to do their builds when the NZ labour has always been more around smaller projects that they are now locked out of. Then the big projects like apartments start leaking as it’s all based around big business making the most profits… Not exactly rocket science why our land prices have increased and our buildings are shit.
Everyone expects National to scaremonger on the topic of a CGT – because it is their supporters who have been undeservedly enriched by the absence of one.
No surprises here.
And this sums up the shallow, hollow thinking of Tracy Watkins… “But Ardern will have to back herself to sell that message on a CGT and be heard above the cacophony of opposition. Former National leader John Key showed the way, when he was able to sell a rise in GST at the height of his popularity, and without even burning up too much of his political capital……”
John Key would sell square golf balls, if there was an opportunity. Tracy Watkins like all the other National poodles would buy them.
It’s not ‘would’ but ‘could’. Key had his faults, but he was plausible and competent. He had life experience. He was successful. Our current PM has none of those attributes.
Bile has compromised your judgement – our current PM may not be a squillionaire, but she certainly is successful.
Your other putdowns are equally nonsensical – can only imagine they are motivated by no-mates party politics.
Laughing so hard at the thought of you saying any of this to Jacinda’s face.
Try this: Key had his faults, but he was plausible and competent. He had life experience. He was successful. Our current leader of the opposition has none of those attributes.
The definition of success (IMHO), but Patricia (@11.2.1.2) said it best.
Many admire her, so why don’t you? Be honest (if you can.) Is it really about all that ‘awful’ international ‘schmoozing’? OK for John Key and other no-mates party leaders, but Ardern(?!) – yeah, nah…
In other words she’s been successful at nothing in particular. Why don’t I admire her? Because she’s a lightweight, an accidental PM, who had the opportunity to achieve much but is too superficial to achieve anything of value.
Sure, I truly believe you really can’t think of a single thing. Try doing a self awareness course – it may help you come to terms with your envy of our Prime Minister.
No there haven’t been tests that she has failed at all. I think she is the opposite of you in many ways and you can’t stand that. Fair enough to be frightened but making up stuff is weak.
No, she has genuine warmth, a wish to improve New Zealander’s lives, a grasp of International diplomacy and is a product of living in the Islands and New Zealand.
She is truthful and hardworking. After 15 months in office she led her Coalition brilliantly.
Two personnel hiccups and a disagreement over leadership style by the PSA and a Business Manager (who has litigated before) does not reflect on the Kiwi build programme.
Twyford has called for a rethink in view of changing circumstances. House prices have stabilized, deposits have been adjusted, banks are squeezing credit, many builders and developers were already over committed, so a few wobbles appeared all of this compounded by an investigation into an employment issue.
Wisely Twyford shared those difficulties with the Cabinet P.M. and the Public, pointing out it was a steady but slow build up needing recalibration.
A number of commentators who did not like a Government programme in the market screamed “Failure!!” “It’s a dog!!”, “Sack Twyford!!” etc.
This is a huge programme which will now involve HNZ and the not for profit group. Size will mean savings, and the new entities powers will allow fast tracking at times. To call a ten month old developing programme a failure is incredibly harsh.
No many called for Simon Bridges head when he failed to produce any of the bridges he promised for Northland, or oversaw TNZA which was riddled with failures, or allowed explosive devices via Anadarko to be fired 24 hrs a day under the sea off the coast of NZ.
It seems if any scheme that is social in intent it is “bad”. A strange twisted attitude in the face of political and market failure under Key.
Good comments Patricia. First of all it was derision and outrage when Jacinda Ardern became PM now it’s pure envy and bile from the Nat brigade. National have no one to match our PM and they know it. That is why National party mouth piece aunty herald is publishing daily commentary aimed at chipping away at the govt’s credibility.
Where to start. Truthful? Are you serious? Did you watch her interview about the kiwibuild targets? Hardworking? That’s one of the more humorous descriptions.
You clearly have no idea what John Key did with his life. As for JA being ‘experienced in matters of state’, what the hell are you talking about? She worked in a chippy. She has had no life experience outside the echo chamber of politics, none. She’s totally unqualified for her role, and it’s showing.
The only profession where you can spend your entire life working in the field and rise to the highest level, and people still think you’re less qualified for the job than a fucking corporate mercenary who likes tugging on ponytails.
I consider someone in their late 30s who has achieved nothing outside of ‘their field’, and not much in it, to be particularly well qualified to run anything, let alone a country. Her performance thus far is confirming that.
Her field is politics. She’s a fuckload better at it than her competition. That’s why she’s PM.
If she were a financial trader who now runs the company and snatches deals from the clutches of her competitors, you’d be calling her a “job creator” and begging that she gets tax cuts.
No, she’s PM because of Mr 7% knowing she could be be manipulated. JA has done bugger all of anything in the real world. She’s superficial and weak. And it is showing.
This delusion held by right-wingers that they occupy something called the “real world” and people they disdain occupy something called… what? The “unreal world?”… is way more deserving of psychological research than it actually gets.
Bomber isn’t happy! Seriously though, the incompetence of the government around kiwibuild is a good example of what happens with lightweight leadership.
It’s not a right or left thing. There are people from across the political spectrum who have never achieved anything in the real world. I wouldn’t consider any of them qualified to run a country.
So, it’s not a right or left thing, but purely coincidentally we only ever hear right-wingers referring to themselves as existing in something called “the real world” with the implication that people they disdain don’t exist in physical reality? Yep, plenty of scope there for psychological research.
If you read my comment I wasn’t referring to who ‘refers’ to the real world, but who lives in it. There are deluded people across the political spectrum.
Er, yes – it was my comment that pointed out who refers to their tribe as exclusive occupants of “the real world.” Your comments take your tribe being exclusive occupants of “the real world” as a given, which is exactly the interesting subject for psychological study I was referring to.
My comment never mentioned ‘exclusive’, nor did it mention left or right. You seem to be having some reading comprehension challenges this morning. The study you refer to might want to begin with your own delusions?
JA became leader of the LP because they were desperate to stem the bleeding of support, and there was no one else either willing or able. She then became PM because of the bitterness of an aging xenophobia towards his old party. Not much of an achievement.
She made a deal because she’s better at making deals than the nats.
She’s better at making deals than the nats because she knows not to alienate the people you will try to make deals with. She’s better at making deals than the nats because under her leadership Labour went from being a fading 25-ish% into actually being a position to negotiate a coalition deal. She stemmed the loss of support because she’s a good, experienced politician.
You can talk about the real world all you want – in the real world, if you try, repeatedly, to fuck someone over and belittle them, you don’t get to make deals with them. That’s why Labour have two genuine coalition partners, and National has Rimmer.
She stemmed the loss of support because she was a fresh face who had achieved nothing and never been tested. That iron is now being put to the fire and there is a growing list of her ineptness.
She made a deal by being fooled into thinking WP was contemplating ever going with the Nats. She made a deal by giving away billions of dollars on vanity projects
I talk about the real world because that is where people learn about success and failure, that actions have consequences, and that nice words and good intentions count for little when things get tough. Being a researcher and wrapping fish and chips does not qualify.
No Shadrach, I can’t for a moment imagine Jacinda Ardern would “play” with our currency to make money on futures at our expense as John Key did.
I can’t imagine her going to a cafe in full public view to scheme with another leader to game our electoral system, and using the police to harrass a reporter.
I can’t imagine Jacinda pulling a waiter’s hair even after being asked to stop.
I can’t envisage her yelling “Show me the money!!”
He made money, but was offered no important world role in banking or in commerce, apart from a role with NZ’s ANZ Bank.
Perhaps because by nature he is a taker not a giver, and is loose with the truth.
Jacinda Ardern has been in Parliament 11 years, has lived in the Pacific and New Zealand, and traveled in her youth. She is 38 years old and is 7 years younger than John Key was when he became the Prime Minister.
Attributes? Trait Characteristic Sign Ability.
John Key had a clear majority in his first election. A sign of his ideas was
One. Cancelling the deposits to the “Cullen Fund”
Two. Halving the Government’s contribution to a new Kiwi Saver Account Three. Raising GST, (after he said he wouldn’t)
Four. Borrowing to give Tax cuts.
Five. His actions lowered NZ’s credit rating from AAA positive to AA negative.
If by “He was successful””, you mean he had a a fortune (a reported 50 million)
Yes true. But he was not a successful P.M. for NZ. Wewere as a country worse off The ordinary person 26% poorer and the top 10% were almost equally 25% better off.
Grant Robertson is managing well, and like Cullen, he is aware of the rainy day.
Jacinda Ardern is managing a 3 party Coalition with grace and strength.
She faced Mico plasma Bovis with practical alacrity.
She has represented us on several occasions very well indeed. Very credible,
and this is after 15 months. So she is to be admired.
Can you imagine JA being evasive when asked about the kiwibuild targets? Failing to hold incompetent ministers to account? It is seriously difficult to take your comments even remotely seriously. But you’re right about one thing…Robertson’s sharp. An excellent performer, who is covering the PM’s incompetence.
Where were you while Nick’s Myth was making such a bollocks of Housing even Bill English had to change his job title then? Seems you don’t really care about results, only a perception of weakness that lets you give rein to your negativity.
“She then became PM because of the bitterness of an aging xenophobia” sic
No, she became PM because not even Winston could tolerate the level of dishonesty and dysfunction that characterized the previous government.
Look where that left us, John Key sold the power and NZ government now earns less money in dividends and the sale price already lower than unpaid dividends and the sale price money frittered away too… oh and people can’t afford to heat their houses so now we have the winter payments to the elderly not means tested, meanwhile toddlers die as parents can’t afford to run the heat pump in their state house.
SaveNZ, The winter payment was to all beneficiaries, not just pensioners. It was not means tested so all on any benefit could get it without affecting their current benefit.
Thanks Patricia bremner, I though it was just pensioners. But as many other groups are now in poverty too, (aka you actually earn less on minimum wages than a beneficiary with 3 children) maybe it would have been better to keep the power in government hands so that everyone could afford power…
One step at a time, but the well being budget is the direction of saying culture is a asset and we need to start valuing it better.
Because if you have a good culture to sell, then the other side of the deal has a opportunity to mutually grow & sustain it’s own in solidarity with yours and with that, the numbers and volumes adjust to those market conditions accordingly – not the other way around.
And that is what people, which market economics looks to serve, are looking for.
The richness of culture, can break down barriers between relatively richer and poorer trading partners in mutual win win.
Well being budgets = trade being a mutally learning experience of relationships and regional identities.
Consider the Sydney Opera House
It was expected to take 4 years to build. It actually took 14.
It was expected to cost $7 million. It finally cost $102 million.
The acoustics, particularly in the Concert Hall were poor. The sound reflectors hung above the stage did some good but were not a complete solution. They had another go recently but I don’t know how successful it was.
In other words it looks wonderful from outside but was a lousy building for its planned purpose.
Kiwibuild doesn’t even look good and has been a total flop as far as providing affordable housing.
Edit ^ obv there is no evidence to indicate that in the slightest. It was written with a smile – thinking of all the claims on here saying that key was drunk or the like.
You weren’t asked’ How did you”, you were asked, how do you.
You don’t, because your culture doesn’t allow you to consider the possibility of deviance in your heroes.
I obviously don’t know if you have kids or grand kids.
I’m sure you’d be thrilled to have them from their year dot, as soon as they could think and talk, casting aspersions on people as a base attitude to life. It would be lovely if everyone had the same outlook, being nasty making stuff up, having people be suspicious and malevolent. The pernicious effects would be great if we created that sort of rancorous world.
Wise move James;
You said “I’m not making any accusations.”
See my comment at 10.2.1.1.1.2 about another mate of yours James, as another ex national cling on seems to be inside the tent as being heavily involved in ‘Kiwi Build’.
Looking for NZ inflation measured against others in OECD. The table does not include Australia and New Zealand in its monthly readings.
Go to the annual ones and it is a rocky ride for many countries. Russia up to 15% at one time. Switzerland at -0.01 I think at one stage. Apparently getting near stasis is getting near entropy or something. I think we need a different band for ours.
between 1.5 and 5 would mean a halfway of about 3 which I think would allow some leeway and more spending and business activity.
I’m sure that if the CoL bring in a CGT they will be winding up the target for inflation in New Zealand. Then, if they do what mad Mike Cullen wants they will be able to slap a huge wad of Capital Gains tax on everyone, not because people are actually making gains but because inflation will be taxed as if the returns were real.
Governments, in general, love inflation. It winds up the revenue from taxes by far more than the inflation rate.
For a long time I’ve kinda wondered why the idea that vaccines are just a training tool to help your body learn to fight disease hasn’t been a bigger part of vaccine messaging. Promoting the idea that they educate and strengthen the defenses you naturally have. That kind of presentation may help get through to those put off by the idea that vaccines are some kind of artificial technological shield against the ‘natural environment’.
cleangreen 16
2 February 2019 at 12:06 pm
The end is in sight for our civilisation as we are witnessing the meltdown of our environment by Climate change due to the expansion of old transport methology and massive inceasing CO2 emissions that are now causing unstable global financial turmoil everywhere we look now.
The INF treaty is now dead after in 1980s anti-nuclear pact when Reagan and Gorbachev first came to like and respect each other, and formed the basis of a working relationship, now the US has just broken the 1980s anti-nuclear expansion pact that Regan brokered with Gorbachev.
We saw the GFC occur after years of corporate greed destroyed our finaincial security built up since the second world war and in 2008 we bailed the banks and insurance companies out and now our government is investigating both of these crimal global corporations for their rorting and greed that has permiated these instituations.
Now we were told this week that the 25% loss of antartic ice is imminent and a one metre sea rise will occur as a result of uncontrolled CO2 levels are rising still today.
The Head of Local Government NZ has warned government that locval councils are not financially able to cope with incereasing sea levels so we are now nearing the end.
I’m forever gobsmacked by what America did to black citizens.
There were 130,334 African-Americans registered to vote in Louisiana in 1896; in 1904, there were 1,342. In Virginia that year, the estimated black turnout in the Presidential election was zero.
Since we allowed prisoners not to vote which have a higher percentage of Maori while giving citizenship to individuals within 11 days, maybe we should take a look in the mirror about our own electoral and social engineering disgraces in NZ.
“terminally ill subjects who were exposed to a dose of psilocybin showed a significant and enduring reduction in anxiety, depression, and existential distress.
In a follow-up assessment some six months after the treatment, 70 percent of the patients from the NYU trial later reflected on the psilocybin experience as one of the top five most spiritually significant experiences of their entire lives, while 87 percent reported increased life satisfaction overall.”
Guidance and information is needed when taking shrooms.
No. I’ve never been in a situation or head-space where that kind of experience had any appeal to me.
I just think it’s stupid and harmful that we treat it as an experience to be prohibited on pain of criminal punishment. I’d much rather we treated it as something that does hold acknowledged risks to be managed and regulated in order to be made relatively safely available to those interested in that kind of thing. Just like the risky outdoorsy speed/adrenaline experiences that are much more my thing aren’t banned (because people do get injured or killed participating in those activities), but are made available in ways that manage the risks.
There were many vastly more famous Speakers than Pelosi.
The position used to be a much more powerful one when the House members owed their position to their party rather than running as quasi-independents in the way they do now.
Clay was very powerful in the early 19th century. He even decided who the President would be in 1824 when he promoted Adams over Jackson..
The Speaker’s power faded from then until about 1880. There were a string of very powerful ones after that including Reed, Cannon, Longworth and Rayburn. More recent powerhouses were Albert, O’Neill and Gingrich. They were all much better known than Pelosi.
The most powerful, at least for a while, was Cannon.
He had the power to totally control the House.
“He determined the agenda of the House, appointed the members of all committees, chose committee chairmen, headed the Rules Committee, and determined which committee heard each bill. He vigorously used his powers to ensure that Republican proposals were passed by the House”.
They finally rebelled in 1911 but he had 8 years of total dominance.
Pelosi would love to have a fraction of his power.
Yes Alwyn……all very interesting, (certainly more so than your hint of pejorative sniffiness, but let’s live in the day. Live in the day and assess her in the day. Pelosi is the Speaker in weird times. She is rightly acknowledged for having demonstrated to the weird president that he cannot be king.
Which is pretty handy really. And pretty poetic actually. Republicans have been demonising her for years. Amusing too given that Pelosi is doing what Republican politicians would love to do but don’t have the balls to even give it a go.
Well I did give you 8 of the very powerful ones.
Of them 5 were within the last century.
When you ask for “Something say within the last century” perhaps you could tell me just when you think the last century started?
Historical pedantry (and revisionism – Clay was a failed candidatep ledging support to the one of the remaining contenders) aside, Pelosi shows a darn sight more guts than most speakers in my memory. The ones in the 1990s against Clinton were rabid, but fearful. Pelosi’s nudge about the state of the union address was a reminder that the oval office isn’t the only one with power, but it also showed an understanding of her enemy and what he values.
Pelosi certainly has the procedural wood on the dolt.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could move to block President Trump from invoking a national emergency to build a border wall, forcing Senate Republicans to choose between preserving congressional power and crossing the White House.
The California Democrat, under a seldom-used statute, could put a binding “resolution of disapproval” on the House floor to counter Trump should he claim constitutional powers to unilaterally build a border wall. The president is threatening action if Congress refuses his demand for $5.7 billion in border wall funding. Friday, Trump expressed skepticism that a bipartisan commission seeking a deal on the wall to avoid another government shutdown would succeed, saying there was a “good chance” he would declare an emergency.
Here’s a thought. Trump will invoke ’emergency’ regardless of anything. Steps taken under its banner will be challenged in the courts. Trump’s “big, beautiful” Wall will remain ‘unfinished business’ for considerably longer than it might in the run up to 2020. And the knuckle draggers, whipped up by the Swamp-Creature-in-Chief, will elevate to even higher levels of cultist hatefulness. Wherein it is perceived that everyone else is being “unfair” to the Swamp-Creature. Exactly what the Swamp-Creature wants.
In a Fox News interview Friday, President Donald Trump took his fawning over authoritarian monsters to new levels, saying of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, “He is the head of a country and I mean he is the strong head … He speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.”
Trump not only admires dictators, he envies them. Surely stinging over Kim’s state-run media coverage, Trump tweeted after his Singapore visit: “Our Country’s biggest enemy is the Fake News so easily promulgated by fools.” Yes, Trump views the media as a far bigger enemy than North Korea. Achieving his larger goal of destroying any sense of truth — which all authoritarians aspire to do — requires he destroy the institution that keeps pointing out that he is an inveterate liar. As he told CBS’s Lesley Stahl, his attacks are meant to “discredit” reporters so that people won’t believe negative stories about him.
Or as Yale historian Timothy Snyder writes in his 2017 book, On Tyranny, “post-truth is pre-fascism.”…..
One of our more useless Trolls forgot to tell you that the Charlotte Graham-McLay 31 Jan 2019 report, drawn from the New York Times, had to correct the information it Published.
With great delight The Troll on here was rocketing on about how good it was to have insufficient housing in New Zealand.
The “Kiwi Build” Housing is expected to produce 300 homes this year.
So far, 1100 State houses have been built.
The Troll, alongside Mrs Paula Bennett and Sir Billy English deny any housing shortage or excessive cost in purchasing a house or renting a house in low wage New Zealand.
Charlotte Graham-McLay, apparently along with the New York Times claims NZ Housing is equal to or exceeds Hong Kong. Which is said to have the Highest Cost.
The Trolls of Greed have been given the task of faking and falsifying information, and thereby destroying persons who are trying to put New Zealand back together again.
This is 1939. Apart from a 100 times. Total Mobilisation. The democratic egalitarianism of the WW 2 mobilisation set society up for decades. Yes, this time is pleasurable and leisurely. If we can’t put that aside we’ll all personally die of hunger.
All but climate change is far secondary. But we have an inner softness unlike our elders.
Remember the US accusations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that were used as an excuse for war, but were later proven to be false?
Now the US is playing a bigger and even more dangerous game.
Russia does have weapons of mass destruction. But Russia is also being accused by the US, of having weapons of mass destruction with a first strike capability banned by treaty, an accusation the Russians deny.
Designed to destroy a country’s retaliatory counter measures, before they can be launched. These are the sort of first strike weapon that makes previously unthinkable nuclear exchange possible,
Putin blames US for breaching nuclear arms treaty
China has urged the US to resolve the differences with Russia without pulling out of the treaty.
….Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the White House had ignored Russia’s offer to inspect the cruise missile the US claimed violated the pact.
He also accused the US of violating the pact by deploying missile interceptors in Romania that use launchers that could hold land-based cruise missiles…..
….NATO has already said it “fully supports” the US, adding: “Allies regret that Russia, as part of its broader pattern of behaviour, continues to deny its INF Treaty violation, refuses to provide any credible response, and has taken no demonstrable steps toward returning to full and verifiable compliance.”
China’s government appealed to both nations to maintain the treaty.
The country’s foreign ministry warned there could be “adverse consequences” after the Trump administration withdrew.
A ministry statement said: “China is opposed to the US withdrawal and urges the US and Russia to properly resolve differences through constructive dialogue.”
The treaty was signed toward the end of the Cold War between then presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. It bans ground-launched missiles with a range between 500 and 5,500km.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting the U.S.-backed effort to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is just the first step in the Trump administration’s plan to reshape Latin America—with Cuba next on its radar. According to the report, the U.S. is planning to announce new measures against Cuba in the coming weeks, including new sanctions and restoring Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. The moves could severely hamper foreign investment into the country. According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. then plans to target Nicaragua. In November, national security adviser John Bolton dubbed the three nations the “troika of tyranny.” Last week, Vice President Mike Pence said that President Trump is “not a fan” of U.S. interventions abroad, except for in “this hemisphere.”
Further complicating the talks is a back-and-forth between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Trump, who is doubling down on his threat of declaring a national emergency to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
In the search for parallels to today’s world, scholars and practitioners have looked as far afield as ancient Greece, where the rise of a new power resulted in war between Athens and Sparta, and the period after World War I, when an isolationist United States and much of Europe sat on their hands as Germany and Japan ignored agreements and invaded their neighbors. But the more illuminating parallel to the present is the Concert of Europe in the nineteenth century, the most important and successful effort to build and sustain world order until our own time. From 1815 until the outbreak of World War I a century later, the order established at the Congress of Vienna defined many international relationships and set (even if it often failed to enforce) basic rules for international conduct. It provides a model of how to collectively manage security in a multipolar world.
That order’s demise and what followed offer instructive lessons for today—and an urgent warning. Just because an order is in irreversible decline does not mean that chaos or calamity is inevitable. But if the deterioration is managed poorly, catastrophe could well follow.
Just in case you haven’t been Googling in recent days, Google Doodles has been celebrating Sojourner Truth. https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-sojourner-truth
I didn’t know anything about this remarkable woman until I stumbled across a article about her on Vox.
She was according to Google
a powerful advocate for justice and equality in the United States of America during the 19th century who paved the way for future generations.
Born an enslaved person in Ulster County, New York around 1797, Isabella Baumfree endured the horrors of the American slave trade—as well as seeing her children sold into servitude. Despite the hardships she faced, she went on to win her freedom, changing her name to Sojourner Truth, and starting a new life as a traveling and prominent preacher, abolitionist, and suffragist.
During her advocacy journeys throughout the country, Truth met activists William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, who encouraged her to speak out against the evils of slavery. She published a memoir in 1850, which earned her widespread acclaim as an author and speaker. She was even invited to meet with Abraham Lincoln in the White House. In her autobiography, Sojourner Truth recounted the day she escaped with her infant daughter, forced to leave her other children behind. With her daughter, she was taken in by Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen, who helped Sojourner Truth sue for the freedom of her five-year-old son Peter, who had been sold illegally by her former slavemaster. This historic lawsuit made her one of the first black women to successfully sue a white man in the U.S. The courthouse where the case was heard is referenced in today’s Doodle.
Here is a reenactment of her most famous speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” regarded as one of the most power pieces of oratory in American history.
Kia ora The AM Show The data on our health system cancer treatment shows that the system is failing minority cultures Maori sit on top of the list of patients dieing early than non Maori by 20 years the patriarchal system is failing Maori. If one goes around rual communitys Eastern and Northern Maori Maori Communitys you will see that over crowding and poverty. So I say these communities that were the back bone of Aotearoa economy in the 1940s deserve to be helped as the banks have discriminated against Maori even if the land was in one title. The land as duncan put is over grown waste land /But when one looks at the land from a different perspective it has a positive effect as the wildlife is thriving carbon is sequence and the environment is much better and in the near future we will reward people for looking after the environment. simons government let the retailers the banks insurance company’s the power companies rip the people of billions and gave the wealthy family support and taxs cuts funneling all the money to the top and you know what happen in the end that patriarchal system falls flat on its face failing big time. Chris you look like you been going to the jym working out. There you go duncan kicking the poor people the reason why they they can’t afford to pay the rates is rich pricks like you discriminat LIKE YOU are doing now and don’t pay them fairly. Don the system is corrupt the only people who get served by the system are the the wealthy like you and of course a Maori cop will go with you and wave a little flag for the. don how can you say that when the facts show Maoris under the bridge in jails you think your rich mates are going to all of a sudden stop discriminating against Maori YEA RIGHT. Maori are capable but not when the systems are stacked against US look at my case I cannot even get a fair deal from the justice system I have filed Official documents requesting documents from the system and just get ignored because I have no money to pay a big lawyers.
That’s the way Shane you tell duncan how it is the system is setup against MAORI.
That land is not useless your mates got white glasses on I have been incrouging Maori back home to work the whenua as we owe our Mokopunas a positive prosperous future another bonus about that so called waste land is it would not take much to get the land certified ORGANIC and then we get the premium export price for our produce. ducan they are your words when you read them out live on TV neanderthal don’t try and deflect your racist views onto other people corresponding to you. Imagine all the billions the system has ripped off Maori. Your m8 shonky has been running Pharmac for the last 9 years don’t you think him and simon have some skin in this blamed game you play.
The fast rate of cancer rising in the Western Papatuanukue is because the companies are selling us products with cancer causing agents in them the companies know this and cover it up they will make more profits selling us cancer drugs to dubble jeopard win win for the 00.1 %.
Ka pai Ella Henry New Zealand is unrecognisable without Maori culture but some just want to capitalise on Maori culture but don’t like to share the capital with Maori namely that person across the desk. I have said Maori have fared better than other colonized people but there is a long way to go to be EQUAL and don’t try and give all the settlers the credit for this phenomenon it was OUR Tipuna MANA that caused that and some humane settlor whom admire Maori cultures. I don’t see what’s wrong with a teacher setting up her class to make the class easier for her to teach. When one is on the tools one has to spend thousands on tools to make the jobs easier I have spent thousands on tools for jobs and never been compensated.
The positive capital that NZ gets because of Maori Mana and culture will run into the billions why our sports teams wear black our airlines paint their planes exporters use our art and culture to sell their products but racist people like duncan don’t want to share how greedy and neolithic and DUMB
The reasons the people don’t go back to the whenua is because the powers that be have been suppressing Maori communities The government OWES Maori hundreds of billion of assets that has been used to make this country so wealthy. Ka kite ano your cheaks turned bright red last week duncan did the truth hurt you selfish self centre EGO got me a idiot troll trying to capitalise on ECO Maori mana
You know that old saying it’s better to teach a person to fish than to give them a fish IE investing $100 million in Maori farmers is better than paying the next generation the dole the fourth industry revelotion is
The Ion age quantum computers green energy a new cash less system that rewards people for being honest humble and humane the positive hits will reward the good people the negative hits will hurt the bad people hence a happy society a healthy Papatuanukue clean environment Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub it looks like everything is going Ka pai at Waitangi.
It looks to me that some one is stir up the environment at the lower Marae at Waitangi.????.
Some people are idiots the person lost it and made a bomb hoax in that Australia Air port.
Good on the person who ran a give a little page for the man’s Mr Ho, s family after he was in a accident and died kiwis are cool.
That’s a good add the Ram one for the Americans Super Bowl team the Rams. Their Toyota opposum add is a classic I say that they will go a long way with their Kiwi wit in the advertising Papatuanukue.
Well I don’t know the articles of the Treaty of Waitangi one more thing of our history that ECO has to study.
Peter Posa was a good man and a awesome guitarist condolences to his whanau.
Ka kite ano
The lawsuit against New Zealand will be a complete “no, no”, but the ship expelled from the SPRFML list will not be requested. The boats are not kept on the court list, there are international organizations and the discretion of the international organization. In my opinion, Russell has completely misinterpreted the difference between the two.
So Jones did not violate the cabinet manual. Actually, it may be advisable to support your New Zealand company (and your activities with which you are working). The company will be treated well in the future.
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Shane Jones must go.
Expelled from Cabinet and Banished to the back benches. Or even dropped from the NZ First list, and replaced with someone less compromised, would be preferable,
The Prime Minister must act.
And Winston Peters must accept it.
Breaching Cabinet Rules to defend his corporate backers, is just one step too far.
https://thestandard.org.nz/shane-jones-now-pimping-for-sealords/
Why must he go now?
What has what his role in Labour and his former role in fisheries got to to do with being a current NZ First Minister.
You need to explain more about what he is doing wrong now.
This might be it Wayne :
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/02/shane-jones-in-hot-water-over-support-for-talley-s-accused-of-illegal-fishing.html
Nice having government ministers have your back and only for 10k.
Of course he won’t go and there is nothing Jacinda can do about it.
It is not Shane Jones doing the illegal fishing you 1/2 wit ?
I know. He’s just their friend in government.
Donations to Nz first go a long way.
No chance of a future National-NZ1st coalition then?
https://www.elections.org.nz/parties-candidates/registered-political-parties/party-donations-and-loans/party-donations-year/2017
No-mates party gets the lion’s share – are donors getting value for their money? It appears not.
Very reassuring; at least the no-mates party is ‘pure’. (/sarc)
“Mr Little told RadioLIVE that a clean-up of donation laws is not just about the National Party.” – clever, huh?
https://www.magic.co.nz/home/archivedtalk/on-demand/morning-talk/2018/10/public–disquiet–over-political-donations—little.html
No chance of a future National-NZ1st coalition then?
I hope not.
Hi Wayne, it is pretty clear.
Breaching Cabinet rules to influence a New Zealand court hearing, and using his influence in government to get his long time corporate backers removed from an international blacklist.
This is Ministerial wrongdoing and corrupt influence peddling on a scale that can’t be ignored.
To do so would be to compromise any government attempt to regulate corporate polluters or other profit driven environmental despoilers.
The Prime Minister must ask the Deputy Prime MInister, and leader of NZ First to remove his disgraced member from Cabinet, and replace him with a less compromised NZF MP.
If Peters, refuses then the Prime Minister must act unilaterally and expel Shane Jones from Cabinet.
The Prime Minister needs to fight for her leadership, to not do so would be to become a lame duck leader, subject to influencers like Jones and his corporate backers.
Make no mistake, this is a make or break moment for the Coalition Government
Will the Prime Minister act, as she clearly must, according to the Cabinet Manual?
Or will she bow to corporate pressure, to let their hireling continue to peddle his poisonous influence inside the government and cabinet?
Will Winston Peters back the Prime Minister’s decision to expel Shane Jones from the Cabinet?
This is a fight for the soul of this government.
Who will blink first?
If Winston Peters decides to make a stand on behalf of Jones, will the Prime Minister call his bluff?
Will Jacinda Adern fight for her leadership?
And if necessary, in the face of Peters possible refusal to back down, threaten to put it to the country?
An election that in my opinion the Prime Minister would handily win, returning to the treasury benches with a weakened NZ First and a strengthened Green Party
All the cards are in the Prime Minister’s hands.
Will she play them, or quietly fold and try to paper over the cracks in her Cabinet only to have them blow apart at some later date when she is in a weaker position?
Will the Prime Minister concede, or make a stand?
Allowing Jones to remain in Cabinet would be beyond pragmatism, It would be total surrender to the corporate lobby.
Jones has to go, and Peters needs to accept it.
Even if Peters threatens to pull the house down, the Prime Minister must stand her ground, or be forever lost. Instead of the great leader she is otherwise destined to be.
Jacinda will and can do nothing.
Winston has all the power.
This is where you and I differ James.
Jacinda Ardern can accept her powerlessness, or call Winston’s bluff.
You advocate the former, while I advocate the latter.
I believe that if Ardern stood up to Peters and fought for her leadership Peters would back down.
If I am wrong, and Peters tries to force the issue. (Which he would be foolish to do.) Ardern if pushed into a corner by Peters could call a snap election.
Fighting an election over the corruption of one of his Ministers, is a no win situation for Peters. Not backing down and taking a stand on principle and at the height of her popularity, I believe that Labour and the Greens* would be returned with a greater majority, enabling them to rule even if NZ First vote is diminished.
Ardern has all the power.
*(This raises an interesting sidebar. Where are the Greens?
Why aren’t the Greens standing with Greenpeace and other environmentalists and demanding Shane Jones resignation?
Where is Shaw?
Where is Davidson?
Why are they so invisible?
The Greens need to return from AWOL and break out of their current invisibility and start fighting their corner if they are to raise their poll results.
Jenny,
Influencing a New Zealand prosecution would be an absolute “no, no”, but asking for a ship to be taken off the SPRFMO list would not be. The courts don’t put the ships on the list, an international organisation does, and the international organisation will have discretion. In my view Russell has completely confused the distinction between the two.
So Jones has not breached the Cabinet manual. In fact it can be argued he is doing his duty in supporting a New Zealand company (and the jobs that go with it). The company would have to undertake to be better behaved in the future.
Hi Wayne you claim that peddling his influence to to get a ship taken off the SPRFMO list is OK
But admit that, Influencing a New Zealand prosecution would be an absolute “no, no”,
What do you mean by the term, an absolute “no, no”?
Would it be an action resulting in the loss of Shane Jones’ Ministerial warrant?
Or some lesser sanction?
What did you have in mind?
Shane Jones is almost the only business-friendly or even business-knowledgeable Minister in the whole of Cabinet.
Parker had some a few decades ago but its stale.
Business has no confidence in this government at all. Jones comes with billions of dollars to deliver.
The government should cut him a lot of slack before getting all miffy about process issues.
https://thestandard.org.nz/shane-jones-now-pimping-for-sealords/#comment-529660
Jones must go.
Or in the face of Ministerial malfeasance and improper corporate influence, as James has said, the Prime Minister must accept being powerless.
Jenny
If he has said that about the prosecution, either the PM or the DPM should say something about it.
But the statement by Jones that you have referenced is not a warrant removing level of offence. On the scale of these things, it is at the lower end.
I t won’t affect the Judge at all. Comments about jury cases are viewed as being much more serious, since the jury could be affected.
Hi Wayne,
Previously you said that this was an absolute “no, no”
Now you say, it’s at the lower end of these things?
Care to explain your workings?
Jenny,
Fair point. A minister should never comment about an active case. So in that sense it is a “no, no”. I can’t think of one circumstance where it would be OK and proper to do so. In contrast it is OK to comment about a decision already made, though in a respectful way.
But the punishment will vary according to how bad the comment is. Ranging from a rebuke from the PM, to a severe rebuke from the PM, to a final warning, to the removal from a portfolio and ultimately to dismissal from the Cabinet.
Jones specifically referenced the court case in his statements, so it’s a bit late for him to claim he was only talking about the SPRFMO list.
In fact it can be argued he is doing his duty in supporting a New Zealand company…
Oh, it sure can be. A National Party cabinet minister would automatically support a NZ company that’s been caught illegally damaging the environment (as opposed to legally damaging the environment, which is a whole other unpleasant subject). Many of us would prefer ministers not to support damaging the environment, though.
Oh of course Wayne breaching the cabinet manual and being in the pockets of corporate interests you’re pimping for is not only acceptable it’s almost expected of national party ministers and bagman mp’s like JLR.
Jones is doing his job as if was a national party mp….which we all know is a natural fit for his self interests.
And it must be remembered that their blind hatred of Russell Norman colours the thinking of all National MPs past and present. Any enemy of Mr Norman is a friend to them whether in the current government or not.
Shouldn’t that be “Russel” not “Russell”?
Sorry, could not resist! Not intended seriously but made me laugh vis a vis our earlier conversation. LOL. We are all human!
Quite! I was referencing Wayne’s comment at 1.1.2.2 where he also used Russell.
It’s a question of different standards Wayne.
You and your ilk support illegal behavior of every kind (as long as it’s corporate) – those with a few shreds of intact morality do not. It may make fundraising easier for you, but corruption destroys any pretense of governance. Which goes a long way to explain your colleagues’ wretched performance in that role. They enriched themselves, but they impoverished our country.
One of the early radio reports on this issue said that the government (not just one MP/Minister) was arguing that a domestic case should be allowed to proceed before the ship was added to a banned list. I have not heard whether charges have been laid. I also do not know why the listing could not be appealed against if a domestic case resulted in acquittal – what is “normal” regarding domestic international prosecutions? I see no reference to a New Zealand prosecution – am I confusing this case with something else, or is this another case of inadequate reporting, or has this been covered elsewhere?
Getting to like Jones.He rankles the opposition,business and others,without a trace of irony.
‘they don’t like it ..up em’..as Jones..said.
Really? I find him to be a self aggrandising muppet who’s only redeeming feature is being able to string a sentence together.
Stunned Mullet, You know him personally?
So a public figure must be known personally to form an opinion of their behaviour in public?
Has this tactic worked for you before in la la land?
TS It was the use of ”I find him to be…..’ which made me wonder.
He talks on tv and radio doesn’t he? I guess you could not draw a conclusion from his frequent public utterances?
I know Jesse mulligan personally. Nice guy. But if I only knew him from tv and radio id find him to be almost insufferably wet.
I agree on this Tuppence Shrewsbury
On Jessie Mulligan.
“find him to be almost insufferably wet.”
He always waves the flag for National endlessly as a trumpet.
Much like Donald Trump’s faux populism. Jones is a swamp creature threatening to drain the swamp, the other swamp creatures know it is just postering and are not rankled at all.
Shane Jones employs bigotry, attacks Russel Norman for his Australian origins.
Brands Greenpeace traitors.
Attack the man not the argument is the disgracefulsort of low tactics employed by Jones. Showing his unfitness to be a Minister,
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/government-brands-greenpeace-economic-traitors
In a disgusting display, Shane Jones repeatedly uses bigotry, related to Russel Norman’s origins, to attack the Greenpeace Aotearoa Director.
Shane Jones needs to take heed of the words of Malcolm X before he attacks someone for their origin or ethnicity
Russel Norman’s origins or ethnicity should have no place in political discourse..
To resort to such tactics exposes Shane Jones as the worst sort of demagogue, one who resorts to attacks on a person’s identity to divert from, rather than address, the issues they raise.
I agree.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/government-brands-greenpeace-economic-traitors
Time to have time limits and out clauses on resource consents if the commercial operation is not in the interests of society or the community, climate change changes the equation or the consents take natural resources away from that community…
Things were very different regarding population growth, drought and climate change when a lot of these resource consents were granted decades ago and our laws need to be updated so that old consents that are harmful or not in long term interests of the community and environment are not able to be used but a new consent needed to be applied for and it should be up to the APPLICANT to prove beyond a doubt that there are no harmful effects from their commercial operation… including the water and their ability to recycle the bottles (aka if they can not prove that the aquifer is unaffected long term or they can ensure that the plastic is dumped in the sea or landful) then no resource consent granted on environmental issues).
Bottling expansion could see 9 billion litres of pristine Christchurch water sold overseas
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/110325548/bottling-expansion-could-see-9-billion-litres-of-pristine-christchurch-water-sold-overseas
At present how our RMA law is interpreted and the process is a farce, highjacked by well paid environmental lawyers with an easily manipulated RMZ process that is based on paid experts so the most devious and powerful win.. while the less powerful and communities have to now pay big dollars to have their say (which is ignored anyway) because in real terms environmental impacts are meaningless in environmental court as practicality is absent and pieces of paper by paid experts (with no comeback if they prove to be incorrect ) are the norm to get harmful and negative consents through.
THE water is NOT SOLD!!
It is given away!!!
A 1cent a liter levee would earn a bit for the country.
I think its bizarre that there is no charge,
Yes it is one thing to allow people who gather the water off their own property the water for free aka roof collection which should never be charged for, but draining it from a communal aquifer is completely different and that source of water should be charged for in particular if the water is MOVED and on sold from that location. A percentage of money should also go to the local community, environmental safeguards and protection as well as general taxes.
Bottom line – using essential resources available as a commons for personal profit is obscene and should be stopped asap imo.
It sure is bizarre that giving away a precious resource needed for life is being provided in the Rort Bazaar that is NZ export commerce.
Its Litre and a levee is a stop bank.
It’s has an apostrophe.
Gabby, when “It’s” has an apostrophe it means either “It is” or “It has”. Far too many now incorrectly put in an apostrophe for the possessive – its – meaning ‘belonging to it’. No apostrophe. OK?
As far as I can tell, Psych nurse is correct, because ‘it is’ or ‘it has’ would make no sense.
Or did I miss one of your clever jokes?
Oh dear.. I now see you may have been addressing dv, not Psych Nurse. In which case you are correct.
Oh, the dangers of pedantry!
With your pseudonym, I am surprised that you have had no training re dyslexia and similar. There have been a number of ‘conversations’ on here in just the last few days with people pulled up for disparaging remarks such as yours.
Liter is a legitimate alternative spelling, probably not dyslexia. And levee is a malapropism, also probably not dyslexia.
Non of the above I just have never had an eye for detail . And am a crap speller .
No problems, bwaghorn. You are not alone on here in that, and there was a situation a few days ago where someone else was subjected to inappropriate comments etc. and some of us don’t want repeats of that type of behaviour. I did try to be careful in saying ‘dyslexia or similar’ to cover a wider range of reasons. But as you can see some here (including myself) can be spelling/grammar pedants. Far more important is the ability to convey what you want to say, and you are great at that.
That’s fine, but levee is still a malapropism weather intended or not.
Ha ha weather or whether …..
Muttonbird was thinking about the hot weather. 😉
Don’t let the pedants halt you from airing your valuable bit bwaghorn.
Thanks for the good discussion. and your comment grey along with other peoples. It makes me feel better as my English is appaling and I am slightly dyslexic.
But what the hell out of the three R’s my riting is not good, my reading is not too bad can comprehend and understand the written word, and I find my Ereader a godsend, Can look up any word I do not know for the meaning, but my rithmatic is pretty good. Had to be for the engineering work I did.
Talking about reading I can recommend a good book called “Exactly How Precision Engineers Shaped the Modern World.” by Simon Winchester You don’t have to be an engineer to appreciate this book.
Explained a lot of things to me like I now know why some American’s refer to Slip Gauges as Jo Blocks and nice snippets of information like how Leitz of Leica camera fame had all his camera’s used by the Nazi’s but still managed to get his Jewish employees out of Germany. and how they managed to fix the Hubble Telescope. A very good read, a book I feel should be included in the first year curriculum of any engineering discipline as compulsory reading with exam questions about it. It will give any future engineers a good grounding how some of these things came about and the great people who discovered and invented lots of the procedures and tooling we use today.
Buy a good spellchecker Cheers Worked wonders for me. LOL When did spelling indicate intelligence?
I wouldn’t bother with the spellchecker. The Standard’s spell checker flags litre, but not liter. Like most American spellcheckers will.
It would take quite a sophisticated grammar checker to pick up wags’ use of levee where levy was the intended word.
I reckon wags probably already has the right approach: just laugh at the wankers that respond to mis-spellings and minor grammar errors rather than responding to the ideas.
Yep, as an ingrained pedant, I agree with you Andre, and I just have to keep restraining my natural tendency.. It is never wise to use a minor spelling error as a major argument.
I think they have raised it to a sort of superior intelligence level in the USA with spelling competitions!
A levy on exporting water I have said would achieve both : $ for nz
And doesn’t effect who “owns” the water
You are paying to export water.
Do what you want within nz so the likes of irrigation, power generation remain uneffected
+1 Herodotus but also it should be contingent on the water being plentiful enough to export because these who live locally and are dependant on a resource should have the priority over money. But if there are no environmental impacts then it is a no brainer to charge per litre of water exported as a tax and that tax should be similar to what city people are forced to pay per litre!
In Auckland, we pay for infrastructure to bring water and take away waste water/Stormwater. There is no “charge” for water in itself.
Watercare is a “not for profit” setup
“We do not operate to make a profit nor do we receive any funding from property rates paid to the Auckland Council. We also do not pay a dividend to the Auckland Council.”
https://www.watercare.co.nz/About-us/News-media/Water-and-wastewater-price-changes-effective-1-Jul
Yes that is what they say but the reality is that you are charged for water and wastewater and the pretence it is for the pipes, but actually you are charged for the usage of the water it is not a fixed charge therefore their spin falls down.
The wastewater and councils squander the money and keep adding more people and then their plan is to just send the sewerage into the sea.
If a council or water company aka third way COO, can’t afford to manage existing water then they sure as hell should not be adding to the problem by consenting additional housing for additional people who apparently are needed to prop up the low wage economy here, and expecting the existing residents to subsidise the housing which is not affordable at all, while getting worse services aka many of the beaches are frequently closed off or not suitable for swimming at all due to pollution. Some of which is coming from boats as well, but again the rise of Marinas and cruise ships…
Absolutely.
We need to think about this in the bigger picture: Climate, production, electricity generation, the commons, and profit.
Using water harvesting methods of small scale earthworks (across the landscape) we can restore groundwater flow for our rivers, aquifers and dams. Landholders partaking in water harvesting to replenish local aquifers (and re-hydrate their own land) can be ensured x amount of water returned for their crops/stock in times of drought.
Rentiers and renters can build rain gardens and small systems to replenish water in their own respective catchments thus also becoming stakeholders and beneficiaries of water supply.
Water sold offshore pays for it. NZ Govt business selling bottled water for top dollar they can get, profits to run NZ water infrastructure.
I personally do not like the idea of Asian Corporates draining our aquifiers while our people drink muddy chlorinated water ?
1000% Tamati Tautuhi.
Not good news for environment and water where population growth of people (and cows) happens and then the councils are cheerleading it… but then oh shit (literally), rushing around trying to find fixes to the problems and the money for those fixes instead of stopping consenting of more houses and farm effluents and pollution from industry until they already have the issues sorted and paid for!
However our RMA system is easily bypassed to create pollution and pass of the effects to others based on a very selective vision of minor effects… instead of ensuring that detrimental effects are not allowed to others and the environmental in the first place…
E. coli detected in Wairarapa town’s water supply
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/381532/e-coli-detected-in-wairarapa-town-s-water-supply
High levels of E coli found in popular Queenstown lake
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/381418/high-levels-of-e-coli-found-in-popular-queenstown-lake
Information witheld on Chch water contamination risk – report
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/368808/information-witheld-on-chch-water-contamination-risk-report
Poo tracker’: New Zealand website reveals sewage on beaches
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/04/poo-tracker-new-zealand-website-reveals-sewage-on-beaches
Auckland’s water shock: Bacteria levels ‘dangerously high’
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11787749
It is still illegal to raise climate change as an objection for resource consents.
That in itself makes a Mockery of Jacinda’s “climate change is our nuclear free moment’… like wise climate change is also not allowed to be mentioned in free trade deals…
clearly not only not a mention in the 100 day changes Labour made, but actually by supporting TPPA omitting climate change they are part of the problem and enabling climate change and are bigger hypocrites than Natz that openly say they are climate change deniers.
SaveNZ is 100% correct here.
Labour must change the order of preference to become far more ‘protective’ in our legal references used by those faux lawyers, and be more guarding of our environmental policies and use of the RMA.
QUOTE; “At present how our RMA law is interpreted and the process is a farce, highjacked by well paid environmental lawyers with an easily manipulated RMZ process that is based on paid experts so the most devious and powerful win”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/109444209/could-turning-aquifers-into-managed-reservoirs-prevent-water-shortages-and-seawater-contamination
Is aquifer recharge a better option than dams.?
a better question may be …is aquifer recharge a better option than destocking/land use change?
You need to work within achievable boundaries.
People are always going to farm so even if destocking happens it will be through changing to cropping which still needs water.
In Auckland they are farming housing estates, not affordable ones though.
In Long Bay and other areas is impacting the entire ecosystem and the beaches and water ways but not a word said.
Also impacting the existing houses for example the buses now go to the new (rich) estates by Long Bay with a new mall etc planned and the public transport is set to largely bypass the ordinary folks where the buses used to come and now you have to get to Albany or the new rich estates to find transport. So the exisiting households who paid their rates for years are bypassed to increase the value of the developments which are not exactly affordable for local wages.
the area described in the article was largely dryland farmed until 20 years ago, and its a question of degree, water take has grown at exponential rates in that time (along with considerable tree loss)…the achievable boundaries are environmental…we can choose to manage a transition away from that excess water take or have it forced on us by those environmental boundaries.
Are you okay with the government subsidizing farmers to lower out put . Their growth was funded by debt and allowed by government you can’t just change the law and send whole areas broke.
Why not? It’s been done before.
I m not opposed but I can’t see your average standard commenter being happy about it
We need to because “sustainable”.
National threw that ‘sustainable’ notion into the dustbin; – and now we are wrestling with the disastrous outcomes.
When will we ever learn.
I commented the other day that someone is going to have to take a hit…and I didnt think it would be the banks.
There may well need to be some form of compensation to realise some reduction in intensity/land use change but whether I think thats appropriate would depend upon the details
A previous Government paid growers to pull kiwifruit as there was too much and change their crop, so citrus and avacado growing increased.
@ bwaghorn, 25% of farmers are broke anyway… with the rise in food banks and 40% of people are at poverty level now, maybe the government should offer farmers a rate to produce food for our own people. Since accomodation is subsidised, oil and gas subsidised, wages are subsidised in NZ, travel is subsidised, even power now with the winter energy payments, why not have the government go direct to farmers for quality food and drive that movement.
@Pat, + 1 the water take has grown at exponential levels… and that is why consents and RMA laws needs to be changed to stop that drain before it is too late (and then the rich applicants will do doubt sue the council for bad management or what have you, either way it is the poorer folks who get left with the problems, the polluters just move on with their profits to do it to another community…
Yea bwaghorn, no use replacing one water guzzling activity with another. We need to be smarter and more aware of the takers, and what we get in exchange for this life giving fluid.
Retailers, importers and manufacturers need to become responsible for their plastic waste.
How can better quality more recycled offerings compete with $25 tents in a low wage economy… the problems is that it becomes the planet that has the plastic burden, and the community who have to pay to dispose of this plastic waste (not the manufacturer) and legislation is needed to ensure that the manufacturer or seller becomes liable for the disposal fees… if that happens then it will invent much more recyclable materials being used in throw away cheap items and stop the tons of plastic waste polluting the seas and landfill…
You can’t expect the user to make the change, it has be come from the manufacturers and importers bringing or creating this stuff to change to more recycled materials or longer lasting products…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/110301747/campageddon-warehouse-under-pressure-over-throwaway-tents
How about teaching our kids not to be fucking lazy spoilt little brats. ??
Whose going to teach the parents?
Apart from the child labour not sure the fucking lazy spoilt little brats can be blamed when it is perfectly legal for a company to produce disposable and cheap plastic items and not have anything in place to dispose of them or be responsible for that disposal… at the same time it drives the other companies out of business because the retailers and consumers are going for the cheapest items.. If the manufacturer and retailers and importers of those plastic items had to pay for their disposal it would even up the playing field. At present it is putting sustainable businesses out of business because only wealthier people can afford to be sustainable and travel to seek out those items rather than the $2 shop brigade.
can we start with the Grandparents and parents? After all the children don’t raise themselves they are raised by their elders.
but yeah, its easier to blame the offspring rather then oneself, right?
Wow, all kids are brats? context needed.
What example is in your mind bwaghorn?
It’s become fashionable at music festivals to buy cheap tents etc and get up and leave them behind .
I did note one recently that a cardboard tent could be purchased which while isn’t perfect is a good idea.
Jesse Mulligan had a segment on this very subject on his Afternoons programme on RNZ National yesterday afternoon, primarily an interview with Cheryl Reynolds, Chief Entrepreneurial Officer of Xtreme Zero Waste.
The increase in the number of tents etc being left behind just in the last two years was amazing. There was discussion of some possible solutions, including mention of work underway to re-use these tents etc to provide shelter for the homeless.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018680720/the-waste-left-behind-at-festivals (10+ minutes)
It’s not just tents, it is all plastic that needs to be looked at from $2 shops to larger items to force the manufacturers to change their ways to recyclable materials… you will get nowhere expecting consumers to change when there is exponential growth of plastic everywhere on every shop corner a $2 shop springing up in our low wage, consumer economy…
My forefathers all came to ‘Canvastown” near Havelock in the top of the south Island in the 1860s 160 yrs ago and built a home, there later that is still there today.
Can we call Auckland Canvastown?
This is where Free Trade agreements work against the environment. We need import restrictions on the cheap plastic crap that is flooding NZ. We need regulations that govern the quality, the durability of manufactured products. Products should be designed to last a significant number of years. Planned obsolescence must be regulated out of existence.The manufacturers and the importers will not willingly change.
Janet, This is the cause of so many failures in the useful life of a purchase.
Husband buying a small tool, commented about a small plastic clip. “If that broke can I get a replacement part?’ he asked. Reply, “Mate no, it only costs $19.99 to buy a new one” Hubby calls this a deliberate design flaw.
We truly have become the “Don’t fix it… throw it away society.’ Further, the bit that breaks always seems to be plastic.
Aunty Herald firing more beat up slagging, wedging commentary at the coalition this morning. Can’t help laughing at the ridiculous nature of it.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12199975
Agree it’s a non story Granny Herald is giving unnecessary prominence to but hey… the
Alfred Ngaro video is funny. 😀
As you say a “silly season” story still, but Ngaro’s video last year was funny. I wondered whether he was the other person using the weights for too long this time around, but really don’t care!
Reading about the human psychological practice of compartmentalism, I think this is an explanation of how we have, and still are, avoiding dealing with our behaviours that are destructive to ourselves and the planet. Why do we refuse to see, which is necessary to understand the need for change? We compartmentalise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartmentalization_(psychology)
Humanities are being sliced from our universities’ menus; because the study of Sociology gives insight into how we think, and helps us to take charge of our own thinking and drive our destinies rather than be receptors of privatised PR campaigns set up to enrich individuals or corporates.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sociology#The_Enlightenment_and_positivism
And every new approach once accepted by a significant number becomes used by profit-takers who use it seductively. Being able to think for oneself means that one doesn’t get led by the nose to absorb unthinkingly, someone else’s simple solution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Age
Turns out the immigration numbers under the Nats was wrong.
Would be slightly embarrassing.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-30/new-zealand-just-discovered-it-has-less-people-than-it-thought
So those fkn waste-of-time pain-in-the-ass departure and arrival cards were worse than useless, they were actively screwing up the data.
Lol
I know what you mean.
You fill them out while thinking the whole time.
No one will even look at this ffs.
What is new, like the Meth levels, our science and tech is a disgrace. Who in their right mind actually depends of the arrival cards information anyway – people lie, people’s plans change, it is obvious!
Also know a lot of people who are entering and exiting on different passports so knowing we livein the land of plod not sure our esteemed (sarcasm) officials are able to work out what is going on.
Aka to avoid paying student loans back and keep the benefits going, you can depart of that different passport. People I know have 3 identities, their NZ name, their migrant name, and their married name. When criminals are bought before the NZ courts it then comes out they have multiple identities…. obviously will be distorting the arrival and departure figures as well when NZ thinks many are still here when they left a while ago…
Land of plod can’t keep up. Too difficult when you can just charge the locals more and more taxes, depend on honesty for all your information, and ignore criminal behaviour and think it is a one off so don’t bother to clamp down.
Also the same people who gain residency often depart just like the Kiwis. Getting in more people to NZ doesn’t stop people leaving because if you have low wages and few real career opportunities for workers, it doesn’t matter if you are a Kiwi born or migrant you will still expect to have opportunities and decent wages.
So all the migrants they are bringing to replace the Kiwis are leaving too once they obtain residency (which inexplicably only takes a few years here) and then they can depart while also making use of the schools for their kids, hospitals for their illnesses, buy up houses with overseas wages, the only damper has been the aged parents are harder to get in to keep the satellite family going and take care of the kids while the workers are offshore… I’m sure some advocate group will be onto the government to relax that one too… as we hear every day another sob story about someone having to leave the country because they never qualified for residency in the first place while at the same time more stories of workers being made redundant or NZ companies going into liquidation… so there does not seem to be a shortage of workers but more a Ponzi to pay people less or keep food businesses (in particular) afloat in return for residency…
The end of MAD-ness?
Upsetting the balance of terror
Why is the US preparing to deploy a First Strike Weapon against China?
Why is Trump preparing to move the type of intermediate range missiles with nuclear tips banned under old cold war treaty agreements, to the Western Pacific and North Korean border and Chinese frontier?
What would deploying this hair trigger nuclear first strike weapon on the borders of China mean for world peace?
Will the UN countries unite to condemn the US’s provocative actions?
Or are they are law unto themselves?
U.S. Suspends Nuclear Arms Control Treaty With Russia
An excuse for war writ big
Remember the US accusations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that were used as an excuse for war, but were later proven to be false?
Now the US is playing a bigger and even more dangerous game.
Russia does have weapons of mass destruction. But Russia is also being accused by the US, of having weapons of mass destruction with a first strike capability banned by treaty, an accusation the Russians deny.
Designed to destroy a country’s retaliatory counter measures, before they can be launched. These are the sort of first strike weapon that makes previously unthinkable nuclear exchange possible,
Putin blames US for breaching nuclear arms treaty
China has urged the US to resolve the differences with Russia without pulling out of the treaty.
https://news.sky.com/story/putin-blames-us-for-breaching-nuclear-arms-treaty-11625569
KiwiBuild being laughed at by the New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/world/asia/new-zealand-housing-prices.html
This is amazing stuff.
Robert Thanks for that link.
40 years of expanding crops with hazelnuts etc. Very balanced natural environment. Hazelnuts have 60% oil in nut – Soya 20%? Hazelnut tried and could run a machine. Hazels in 1988 had drought and bore a crop, that year and next. Floods 3 feet deep in water later and hazels carried on.
Grazing animals under hazel bushes – horses don’t like the leaves – except they might eat them for part of the year.
Forests build soil. Crops, ploughing, end up ‘strip-mining’ it.
Hey, grey – I’m on the road from 6:00am tomorrow morning and won’t be able to take part in tomorrow’s “How to get there” – at least until I get to Alexandra, later in the day; I’m speaking to a couple of community groups there and advising on pruning an ancient orchard – all good fun but I’ll be unable to comment here for the most part – could you please drop a note into tomorrow’s thread to that effect? Thanks
Robert
Well, it doesn’t look like there is going to be any more “laughing at” back in NZ James.
The truth is starting to emerge by the looks of it. It seems Barclay was misinforming Twyford:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/381547/government-scale-of-complaints-against-barclay
Sorry Anne – there are plenty laughing at it.
As will be obvious when the dismal failure keeps getting raised at election time.
You haven’t even read the RNZ item have you.
I can tell from the wording that Barclay’s “management style” was a lot worse than he claimed. It is clear he was behaving like the typical serial bully. These types are often engaged from outside the Public Service and they believe they have the right to ride roughshod over everybody. They slash, burn and bully their way through the job convinced they know better than everyone else.
Twyford and co. may have learnt a valuable lesson. Be very careful who you appoint to these positions. Once they have the right CEO, Kiwibiuld will slowly grow and flourish as per the original expectation.
It takes years to build up any industry to it full potential, and there are always teething problems along the way. When it happens, you and your clueless and classless Nat mates who did bugger-all for nine long years… will fall silent and hopefully not be heard from again.
On second thoughts, I don’t think Twyford did appoint Barclay. I suspect that was the prerogative of the previous housing ministry chief. The current chief inherited the problem.
Poor bosses blame their staff. The buck has to stop somewhere and that’s with Twyford.
Did Twyford, and by extension Jacinda, honestly think they could just make some money available and demand a target be made without any over sight?
On the basis of your idiot comment it means that no-one anywhere should be held accountable for their behaviour no matter how serious:
‘hey fellas, lets go smash someone in the head. We won’t be held accountable. The boss will because he hired us.’
So, all the prisons are filled with bosses while the perpetrators go free.
Lol Anne your so pathetic. You’ve got virtually zero intellectual consistency. If an underling of the last government was sacked for bad behaviour you’d blame it on Key et al.
Yet now your are blaming everything on a ceo who reports to Phil Twyford who has left after complaints against him. Complaints against Barclay can’t save Ill thought through policy from itself, it’s creator and main proponent Phil Twyford. What is he doing if not overseeing the largest, most grandiose policy that labour were elected on
Take your blinkers off, it’s your generation that created the housing mess. Don’t blame the next few if we don’t believe this government can’t do what it said it will.
Pretends to have a soh. 🙂
Projection much Tuppenny bit.
Re our discussion the other day on my long comment re the rules etc here, WTB replied that it was a pity most people would not see it …
Tempted* to develop it a bit more to cover your and RedLogix comments and a few other bits – as a neutral OM comment outside of a particular instance and a heat of the moment situation, aimed at putting the About and Policy rules etc right in front of people as I am convinced a lot have never read them. Walking a tightrope or walking on dangerous ice? Uuummmm
* Some are ‘at it’ just a few down at 10.3, 12 and 13 …
Don’t pay a ‘penny’s’ worth attention to Tuppenny’ S rubbish Anne,
What would you do to rectify the housing shortage? Any suggestions?
Like Key and co. you would ask “what housing shortage?” while kids lived and slept in vans. Now you call it a “housing mess.”
Then there are your attacks on other people’s intelligence.
Your arrogance shows through.
You don’t think anyone else should disagree with you, because if they do they are stupid or intellectually bereft or in la la land.
While you are a paragon of wit!! lol lol What a crock!!
You are an attack dog for the right. You seldom give a cogent case just a nasty attack line. No doubt you will now lay about my shared ideas and beliefs lol lol
Moderators, if I have broken rules please delete but these attacks are constant and unremitting.
What’s with the ad hominem and generation bashing?
I am slowly putting together a bit of a timeline to get a better handle on what has probably happened. As mentioned in a couple of comments earlier in the week, I have worked with Andrew Crisp and have respect for his integrity etc.
In brief, the skeleton of the timeline looks like this to date:
December 2017: Kiwibuild was first set up as stand-alone business unit within the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) until a new ministry, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD), was established.
May 2018: Barclay’s appointment as Head of Kiwibuild was announced by MBIE chief executive Carolyn Tremain on 10 May 2018, with Barclay starting on 28 May 2018. (This tends to indicate that the employment process was probably handled by MBIE, not as a SSC appointment. It certainly would/should not have been an appointment in which any Ministers were involved.)
???? (probably Dec 2017 or early 2018): Andrew Crisp appointed Chief Executive of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Establishment Team. Crisp was seconded to the position from his job as Chief Executive of Land Information NZ. He was appointed to that position in Oct 2016 for five years. (Crisp may, or may not, have been involved in Barclay’s selection and employment process. Still trying to find something on this point.)
http://www.ssc.govt.nz/media-statement-andrew-crisp-appointed-linz-chief-executive
1 Oct 2018: Ministry of Housing and Urban Development established with the Kiwibuild unit moving into the new Ministry. Andrew Crisp was appointed Acting Chief Executive still on secondment initially.
Early Nov 2018: Barclay goes on or is sent on garden leave while an investigation into complaints about his behaviour towards work colleagues etc is undertaken.
4 Dec 2018: SSC Commissioner Peter Hughes announced the appointment of Andrew Crisp to the position of Chief Executive of the new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
http://www.ssc.govt.nz/chief-executive-ministry-housing-and-urban-development-appointed
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is now made up of and brought together functions from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Ministry of Social Development, along with the monitoring of Housing New Zealand and Tāmaki Redevelopment Company function from Treasury.
In other words, the whole process of establishing the new new agencies such as Kiwibuild, MHUD, the changes within others such as Housing NZ etc to align with the new government’s very different approach to housing was done in a very short period of time after the government came into power and affected a wide range of existing government agencies. Major upheaval for many agencies and people; not to mention the need to change culture to adjust to the change in approach.
Those who have not worked in government departments, particularly in head office, probably don’t realise how big a change this was/is and the possible repercussions, unintended consequences etc. From personal experience, I am actually surprised that this Barclay situation is not accompanied by more of a similar nature.
I don’t know what we would do without you vv. Time-lines are vital to understanding a process and what might have gone wrong. You have the back-ground and skills to do it so well.
That was a massive undertaking for minister, Phil Twyford to oversee, and shows just how far sighted he is. That it has got to this point in just over a year is remarkable. But as always when setting up a new structure, there are teething problems.
While there are a few excellent exceptions to the rule, it infuriates me how shallow and ignorant the MSM journos and commentators are. They just jump onto political band-wagons without any investigation into the actual facts.
They are beyond pathetic.
I’ve got to stick up for some MSM journos, Anne because they are also timeline addicts like myself – for example, David Fisher, Matt Nippert and “Young Henry Cooke” (as someone here called him just in the last few days. LOL but he is! Both a timeliner and young, that is.)
But agreed that when you step back and think about the timelines etc of the changes in structure, role, purpose etc etc of the agencies I discussed above, it really is massive. And the more I think about Andrew Crisp, the more I think he is an excellent choice for MHUB in terms of his background and his personality etc.
Yes, I had Nippert and Fisher in mind but couldn’t remember how to spell Nippert so avoided saying any names. 😕
veutoviper;
Interesting that the name ‘Tremain’ comes up here!!!- as she is shown in your timely ‘review’ as being mixed up with housing, as who as running it now.
Since she appointed the new Chief of Kiwi build, and it may interest you to know that the Tremain family is deep into the real estate market in HB and other areas, perhaps a review of her being attached to the real estate market is due here to?
Chris Tremain was Napier National MP for several years and was met by our group opposing the truck gridlocked road called the HB Expressway and he knew all the owners of adversely affected properties and heresay several were approached by ‘Tremains Real Estate’ in Napier and some were then sold by Tremain Real Estate after we had introduced them to theses home owners through Chris Tremain.
We make no accusations about him but the fact that he knew those properties were “undesirable” due to the truck noise, vibration, and air pollution adversely affecting these property owners was cause for us to wonder why Tremains afterwards were the main company that were selling those properties.
Inside trading perhaps?
Have you any reason at all to connect Carolyn Tremain to the family of the late Kel Tremain in Hawkes Bay?
I was not aware of any such link and the coincidence of surnames is hardly sufficient to make such a claim.
Evidence of a link, if you have one.
Really? I think not. I just read it – they aren’t laughing at kiwibuild or anything – you just bullshitted as usual with your fanciful and incorrect comment. Fail.
Oh yeah. Sorry. They were saying that building 47 houses was an amazing achievement worthy of legendary status.
that is more then National achieved to build in 9 years.
Oh yeah, thats right, the NO mates Party does not build, they sell state assets for a discount in order to afford the tax cuts for the very rich.
Are you really so fucking g stupid like wtf is going through your head? The state houses sold were fucked. Rotting floors etc. National were trying to build and told labour how hard it was. And labour aren’t building they are just buying private properties that were already being built.
Don’t forget the state houses sold because of laughable traces of P.
Either way, the current government has increased the number of state houses in stock by 500 since the election. National kept cutting the number of state houses in stock.
Like the rest of government, the job was too hard for National, but not for the current government.
Yes typical childish response when caught lying. You’re more like your hero trump every day.
@ James, If they bothered to ditch Kiwibuild and maybe just get HNZ to do the building without the hype they might be more successful aka more like previous governments who actually built state houses…
1000 state houses and 33? Kiwibuild houses, gives you a hint of what happens when private practise and more and more new agencies are involved against just getting HNZ to do it… Then there is all the litigation like Barclay and fat cat salaries for no results…
from the article…
“We have built 1,000 new state houses since we came to office,” Mr. Twyford said, referring to public housing separate from the KiwiBuild initiative, adding that the government had put 1,800 families into those homes. There are more than 11,600 people and families on public housing waiting lists, according to government figures.”
As for the promotion of relaxing planning to lower land prices, guess what Natz did that for 9 years and built even less houses and now the land is more expensive because guess what, when you are able to build more houses on land, the price of the land goes up! Then less people can afford to buy the land and so instead of small builders being able to build, only big players can, who spend a lot of time, trying to lobby government to lower standards and council to give them freebies and also wanting big companies only to do their builds when the NZ labour has always been more around smaller projects that they are now locked out of. Then the big projects like apartments start leaking as it’s all based around big business making the most profits… Not exactly rocket science why our land prices have increased and our buildings are shit.
Watkins on Jacinda’s reality check.
Sums it up nicely.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/110316253/after-davos-a-reality-check-for-jacinda-ardern
This year if “delivery” is going to be interesting. Still I guess it will be easier if we remove any goals.
Everyone expects National to scaremonger on the topic of a CGT – because it is their supporters who have been undeservedly enriched by the absence of one.
No surprises here.
And this sums up the shallow, hollow thinking of Tracy Watkins… “But Ardern will have to back herself to sell that message on a CGT and be heard above the cacophony of opposition. Former National leader John Key showed the way, when he was able to sell a rise in GST at the height of his popularity, and without even burning up too much of his political capital……”
John Key would sell square golf balls, if there was an opportunity. Tracy Watkins like all the other National poodles would buy them.
It’s not ‘would’ but ‘could’. Key had his faults, but he was plausible and competent. He had life experience. He was successful. Our current PM has none of those attributes.
Bile has compromised your judgement – our current PM may not be a squillionaire, but she certainly is successful.
Your other putdowns are equally nonsensical – can only imagine they are motivated by no-mates party politics.
Laughing so hard at the thought of you saying any of this to Jacinda’s face.
Try this:
Key had his faults, but he was plausible and competent. He had life experience. He was successful. Our current leader of the opposition has none of those attributes.
“Who wants uranium to spare”???
…” but she certainly is successful”
At what exactly?? Setting up working groups? International schmoozing? Tolerating incompetence?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacinda_Ardern
The definition of success (IMHO), but Patricia (@11.2.1.2) said it best.
Many admire her, so why don’t you? Be honest (if you can.) Is it really about all that ‘awful’ international ‘schmoozing’? OK for John Key and other no-mates party leaders, but Ardern(?!) – yeah, nah…
In other words she’s been successful at nothing in particular. Why don’t I admire her? Because she’s a lightweight, an accidental PM, who had the opportunity to achieve much but is too superficial to achieve anything of value.
lol you’re not very bright and very envious – a funny combo.
Envious? That would mean JA has something I want and don’t have. Can’t think of a single thing.
Sure, I truly believe you really can’t think of a single thing. Try doing a self awareness course – it may help you come to terms with your envy of our Prime Minister.
Or you could contemplate the possibility that our PM actually has not a single trait I admire and don’t alteady have.
Hard to believe that you can’t find a single trait – that seems deliberate to me.
Just noticed the “that I don’t already have.” – bit. That sorta backs up the envy angle sorry to say.
We’ve all seen JA tested and fail. Nothing I can see to admire in that.
No there haven’t been tests that she has failed at all. I think she is the opposite of you in many ways and you can’t stand that. Fair enough to be frightened but making up stuff is weak.
No, she has genuine warmth, a wish to improve New Zealander’s lives, a grasp of International diplomacy and is a product of living in the Islands and New Zealand.
She is truthful and hardworking. After 15 months in office she led her Coalition brilliantly.
Two personnel hiccups and a disagreement over leadership style by the PSA and a Business Manager (who has litigated before) does not reflect on the Kiwi build programme.
Twyford has called for a rethink in view of changing circumstances. House prices have stabilized, deposits have been adjusted, banks are squeezing credit, many builders and developers were already over committed, so a few wobbles appeared all of this compounded by an investigation into an employment issue.
Wisely Twyford shared those difficulties with the Cabinet P.M. and the Public, pointing out it was a steady but slow build up needing recalibration.
A number of commentators who did not like a Government programme in the market screamed “Failure!!” “It’s a dog!!”, “Sack Twyford!!” etc.
This is a huge programme which will now involve HNZ and the not for profit group. Size will mean savings, and the new entities powers will allow fast tracking at times. To call a ten month old developing programme a failure is incredibly harsh.
No many called for Simon Bridges head when he failed to produce any of the bridges he promised for Northland, or oversaw TNZA which was riddled with failures, or allowed explosive devices via Anadarko to be fired 24 hrs a day under the sea off the coast of NZ.
It seems if any scheme that is social in intent it is “bad”. A strange twisted attitude in the face of political and market failure under Key.
Good comments Patricia. First of all it was derision and outrage when Jacinda Ardern became PM now it’s pure envy and bile from the Nat brigade. National have no one to match our PM and they know it. That is why National party mouth piece aunty herald is publishing daily commentary aimed at chipping away at the govt’s credibility.
JA is remarkably popular, as was John Key and Helen Clark. The difference is the latter were highly capable leaders.
It must be true – anonymous Internet guy says so.
Where to start. Truthful? Are you serious? Did you watch her interview about the kiwibuild targets? Hardworking? That’s one of the more humorous descriptions.
Check your grammar Shadrach. “He would……if he had the opportunity” is correct. It’s an unlikely situation, but he “would” if he “could”.
Key had narrow life experience mostly spent on the phone as a dealer. Agree, he was a successful gambler, which for a PM is no success at all.
Our current PM is both very experienced in matters of state and a successful human being. Which for a PM is success.
You clearly have no idea what John Key did with his life. As for JA being ‘experienced in matters of state’, what the hell are you talking about? She worked in a chippy. She has had no life experience outside the echo chamber of politics, none. She’s totally unqualified for her role, and it’s showing.
Ah, politics.
The only profession where you can spend your entire life working in the field and rise to the highest level, and people still think you’re less qualified for the job than a fucking corporate mercenary who likes tugging on ponytails.
I consider someone in their late 30s who has achieved nothing outside of ‘their field’, and not much in it, to be particularly well qualified to run anything, let alone a country. Her performance thus far is confirming that.
Her field is politics. She’s a fuckload better at it than her competition. That’s why she’s PM.
If she were a financial trader who now runs the company and snatches deals from the clutches of her competitors, you’d be calling her a “job creator” and begging that she gets tax cuts.
No, she’s PM because of Mr 7% knowing she could be be manipulated. JA has done bugger all of anything in the real world. She’s superficial and weak. And it is showing.
This delusion held by right-wingers that they occupy something called the “real world” and people they disdain occupy something called… what? The “unreal world?”… is way more deserving of psychological research than it actually gets.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/01/30/changing-kiwibuild-targets-unacceptable-sophistry-privatisation-of-state-housing-a-slap-in-the-face/
Bomber isn’t happy! Seriously though, the incompetence of the government around kiwibuild is a good example of what happens with lightweight leadership.
It’s not a right or left thing. There are people from across the political spectrum who have never achieved anything in the real world. I wouldn’t consider any of them qualified to run a country.
So, it’s not a right or left thing, but purely coincidentally we only ever hear right-wingers referring to themselves as existing in something called “the real world” with the implication that people they disdain don’t exist in physical reality? Yep, plenty of scope there for psychological research.
If you read my comment I wasn’t referring to who ‘refers’ to the real world, but who lives in it. There are deluded people across the political spectrum.
Er, yes – it was my comment that pointed out who refers to their tribe as exclusive occupants of “the real world.” Your comments take your tribe being exclusive occupants of “the real world” as a given, which is exactly the interesting subject for psychological study I was referring to.
My comment never mentioned ‘exclusive’, nor did it mention left or right. You seem to be having some reading comprehension challenges this morning. The study you refer to might want to begin with your own delusions?
That’s why she’s PM.
This, to Shadrach, constitutes “not achieving much” in the field of politics…
JA became leader of the LP because they were desperate to stem the bleeding of support, and there was no one else either willing or able. She then became PM because of the bitterness of an aging xenophobia towards his old party. Not much of an achievement.
Both interpretations can be true.
She made a deal because she’s better at making deals than the nats.
She’s better at making deals than the nats because she knows not to alienate the people you will try to make deals with. She’s better at making deals than the nats because under her leadership Labour went from being a fading 25-ish% into actually being a position to negotiate a coalition deal. She stemmed the loss of support because she’s a good, experienced politician.
You can talk about the real world all you want – in the real world, if you try, repeatedly, to fuck someone over and belittle them, you don’t get to make deals with them. That’s why Labour have two genuine coalition partners, and National has Rimmer.
She stemmed the loss of support because she was a fresh face who had achieved nothing and never been tested. That iron is now being put to the fire and there is a growing list of her ineptness.
She made a deal by being fooled into thinking WP was contemplating ever going with the Nats. She made a deal by giving away billions of dollars on vanity projects
I talk about the real world because that is where people learn about success and failure, that actions have consequences, and that nice words and good intentions count for little when things get tough. Being a researcher and wrapping fish and chips does not qualify.
If there were some reason we might value your personal opinion of her performance, the above might count for something.
I will give credit to JA when she has led her party to 3 consecutive election victories, and been the highest polling party in each.
No, you won’t. As the old joke goes, JA could walk on water and you’d criticize her for not being able to swim.
Well the chances of it being put to the test are slim. I don’t rate her having what it takes to last that long, based on what we’ve seen so far.
We know. You think that JA is a superficial, weak, inexperienced individual who has achieved nothing except become Prime Minister.
Lols
Shadrach……..now there’s a cunt.
Shadders might be one or two things, but he definitely ain’t one of the nicest organs in the human body.
👍😸
No Shadrach, I can’t for a moment imagine Jacinda Ardern would “play” with our currency to make money on futures at our expense as John Key did.
I can’t imagine her going to a cafe in full public view to scheme with another leader to game our electoral system, and using the police to harrass a reporter.
I can’t imagine Jacinda pulling a waiter’s hair even after being asked to stop.
I can’t envisage her yelling “Show me the money!!”
He made money, but was offered no important world role in banking or in commerce, apart from a role with NZ’s ANZ Bank.
Perhaps because by nature he is a taker not a giver, and is loose with the truth.
Jacinda Ardern has been in Parliament 11 years, has lived in the Pacific and New Zealand, and traveled in her youth. She is 38 years old and is 7 years younger than John Key was when he became the Prime Minister.
Attributes? Trait Characteristic Sign Ability.
John Key had a clear majority in his first election. A sign of his ideas was
One. Cancelling the deposits to the “Cullen Fund”
Two. Halving the Government’s contribution to a new Kiwi Saver Account Three. Raising GST, (after he said he wouldn’t)
Four. Borrowing to give Tax cuts.
Five. His actions lowered NZ’s credit rating from AAA positive to AA negative.
If by “He was successful””, you mean he had a a fortune (a reported 50 million)
Yes true. But he was not a successful P.M. for NZ. Wewere as a country worse off The ordinary person 26% poorer and the top 10% were almost equally 25% better off.
Grant Robertson is managing well, and like Cullen, he is aware of the rainy day.
Jacinda Ardern is managing a 3 party Coalition with grace and strength.
She faced Mico plasma Bovis with practical alacrity.
She has represented us on several occasions very well indeed. Very credible,
and this is after 15 months. So she is to be admired.
There was also the ref. (which no one asked for) to try and change proportional representation, the one to try and change the flag.
The ref on selling the assets was ignored.
Post modern banana republicanism & functional market destruction for nz.
To be fair, it was in some respects a continuation or progression of prior aspects ot policy making that laid the bed for it.
But Patricia Bremner, you missed the most important negative. She’s a woman!
I think you would find underneath the layers of hypocrisy , that is what Shadrach really cannot accept. She’s a woman.
Being a woman is neither a qualification nor an impediment. In fact it is irrelevant.
Can you imagine JA being evasive when asked about the kiwibuild targets? Failing to hold incompetent ministers to account? It is seriously difficult to take your comments even remotely seriously. But you’re right about one thing…Robertson’s sharp. An excellent performer, who is covering the PM’s incompetence.
Where were you while Nick’s Myth was making such a bollocks of Housing even Bill English had to change his job title then? Seems you don’t really care about results, only a perception of weakness that lets you give rein to your negativity.
“She then became PM because of the bitterness of an aging xenophobia” sic
No, she became PM because not even Winston could tolerate the level of dishonesty and dysfunction that characterized the previous government.
Ah when did Nick Smith enter the discussion? I assume that’s the best defence you have of a PN who is so abjectly out of her depth.
Look where that left us, John Key sold the power and NZ government now earns less money in dividends and the sale price already lower than unpaid dividends and the sale price money frittered away too… oh and people can’t afford to heat their houses so now we have the winter payments to the elderly not means tested, meanwhile toddlers die as parents can’t afford to run the heat pump in their state house.
SaveNZ, The winter payment was to all beneficiaries, not just pensioners. It was not means tested so all on any benefit could get it without affecting their current benefit.
Thanks Patricia bremner, I though it was just pensioners. But as many other groups are now in poverty too, (aka you actually earn less on minimum wages than a beneficiary with 3 children) maybe it would have been better to keep the power in government hands so that everyone could afford power…
Yes, our assets should never have been sold
One step at a time, but the well being budget is the direction of saying culture is a asset and we need to start valuing it better.
Because if you have a good culture to sell, then the other side of the deal has a opportunity to mutually grow & sustain it’s own in solidarity with yours and with that, the numbers and volumes adjust to those market conditions accordingly – not the other way around.
And that is what people, which market economics looks to serve, are looking for.
The richness of culture, can break down barriers between relatively richer and poorer trading partners in mutual win win.
Well being budgets = trade being a mutally learning experience of relationships and regional identities.
Now when kiwi build is mentioned and derided I will say three words. Sydney opera house. Go figure James
I am sure you are joking.
Consider the Sydney Opera House
It was expected to take 4 years to build. It actually took 14.
It was expected to cost $7 million. It finally cost $102 million.
The acoustics, particularly in the Concert Hall were poor. The sound reflectors hung above the stage did some good but were not a complete solution. They had another go recently but I don’t know how successful it was.
In other words it looks wonderful from outside but was a lousy building for its planned purpose.
Kiwibuild doesn’t even look good and has been a total flop as far as providing affordable housing.
Now what was your point in this comment again?
Nashie seems to get a little mouthy when working out at the gym.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/02/security-called-to-gym-incident-involving-minister-stuart-nash.html
I’m sure it’s not a roid rage tho. 🙂
Edit ^ obv there is no evidence to indicate that in the slightest. It was written with a smile – thinking of all the claims on here saying that key was drunk or the like.
To be clear – I’m not making any accusations.
How do you explain Key’s penchant for pulling ponytails?
I never did.
You weren’t asked’ How did you”, you were asked, how do you.
You don’t, because your culture doesn’t allow you to consider the possibility of deviance in your heroes.
I obviously don’t know if you have kids or grand kids.
I’m sure you’d be thrilled to have them from their year dot, as soon as they could think and talk, casting aspersions on people as a base attitude to life. It would be lovely if everyone had the same outlook, being nasty making stuff up, having people be suspicious and malevolent. The pernicious effects would be great if we created that sort of rancorous world.
Have a nice day.
Of course you can see that I haven’t done that – was simply using it as a point to others on here that do. Educating the slow thinkers.
“Educating the slow thinkers.” – from personal experience?
“I haven’t done that” is rich, even for you.
A million little lies (by James Pinocchio)
https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061171468/a-million-little-lies/
Old news, James. We already discussed it up thread at 6.
Silly season stuff – just like some peoples’* behaviour is on here today.
There has been enough overheating outside recently- we don’t need it here.
Note where the apostrophe is. Not aimed at you alone.
Umm. Shouldn’t that be people’s?
Peoples’ is the possessive for a group of peoples, not a group of individual people.
Probably!!! Oooppps – too late now; hung by my own petard. LOL.
[Slaps own hand.]
PS – see my reply at 3.1.1,2,2 …
Wise move James;
You said “I’m not making any accusations.”
See my comment at 10.2.1.1.1.2 about another mate of yours James, as another ex national cling on seems to be inside the tent as being heavily involved in ‘Kiwi Build’.
” I’m not making any accusations.”
Gnashy might’ve just sat on one of his nuts jimbo, that’d get him going.
Looking for NZ inflation measured against others in OECD. The table does not include Australia and New Zealand in its monthly readings.
Go to the annual ones and it is a rocky ride for many countries. Russia up to 15% at one time. Switzerland at -0.01 I think at one stage. Apparently getting near stasis is getting near entropy or something. I think we need a different band for ours.
between 1.5 and 5 would mean a halfway of about 3 which I think would allow some leeway and more spending and business activity.
https://data.oecd.org/price/inflation-cpi.htm
I’m sure that if the CoL bring in a CGT they will be winding up the target for inflation in New Zealand. Then, if they do what mad Mike Cullen wants they will be able to slap a huge wad of Capital Gains tax on everyone, not because people are actually making gains but because inflation will be taxed as if the returns were real.
Governments, in general, love inflation. It winds up the revenue from taxes by far more than the inflation rate.
Possible reasons why vaccine messaging is failing with anti-vaxxers.
https://www.vox.com/2017/12/5/16733744/vaccines-parents-anti-vax
For a long time I’ve kinda wondered why the idea that vaccines are just a training tool to help your body learn to fight disease hasn’t been a bigger part of vaccine messaging. Promoting the idea that they educate and strengthen the defenses you naturally have. That kind of presentation may help get through to those put off by the idea that vaccines are some kind of artificial technological shield against the ‘natural environment’.
cleangreen 16
2 February 2019 at 12:06 pm
The end is in sight for our civilisation as we are witnessing the meltdown of our environment by Climate change due to the expansion of old transport methology and massive inceasing CO2 emissions that are now causing unstable global financial turmoil everywhere we look now.
The INF treaty is now dead after in 1980s anti-nuclear pact when Reagan and Gorbachev first came to like and respect each other, and formed the basis of a working relationship, now the US has just broken the 1980s anti-nuclear expansion pact that Regan brokered with Gorbachev.
We saw the GFC occur after years of corporate greed destroyed our finaincial security built up since the second world war and in 2008 we bailed the banks and insurance companies out and now our government is investigating both of these crimal global corporations for their rorting and greed that has permiated these instituations.
Now we were told this week that the 25% loss of antartic ice is imminent and a one metre sea rise will occur as a result of uncontrolled CO2 levels are rising still today.
The Head of Local Government NZ has warned government that locval councils are not financially able to cope with incereasing sea levels so we are now nearing the end.
Brexit & The Spayed Parliament
I’m forever gobsmacked by what America did to black citizens.
There were 130,334 African-Americans registered to vote in Louisiana in 1896; in 1904, there were 1,342. In Virginia that year, the estimated black turnout in the Presidential election was zero.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/02/04/the-supreme-court-case-that-enshrined-white-supremacy-in-law
Since we allowed prisoners not to vote which have a higher percentage of Maori while giving citizenship to individuals within 11 days, maybe we should take a look in the mirror about our own electoral and social engineering disgraces in NZ.
Waitangi Day 2019 – With Brash going, could it explode?
Jacinda will just offer John Brash to a meeting with ‘a cup of tea’, – you can bet.
She will copy John Key to a ‘T’ in times of ‘high noon’ in the air as it will attract the media and does she like the media? yes yes yes.!!!
Keep it clean – green!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12200219
Venezuela explained??
Not socialism at all gossie Just good old fashioned greed.
Y’all reckon maybe when the cannabis referendum comes around we should ask about ‘shrooms at the same time? Denver’s doin it.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/denver-psychedelic-mushrooms_us_5c54c01fe4b09293b2041e3d
Shrooms are now being used/trialed to help give a bit some quality of life to those in end of life care.
https://www.vice.com/en_nz/article/439kqn/a-melbourne-hospital-will-trial-magic-mushroom-therapy-for-dying-patients
“terminally ill subjects who were exposed to a dose of psilocybin showed a significant and enduring reduction in anxiety, depression, and existential distress.
In a follow-up assessment some six months after the treatment, 70 percent of the patients from the NYU trial later reflected on the psilocybin experience as one of the top five most spiritually significant experiences of their entire lives, while 87 percent reported increased life satisfaction overall.”
Guidance and information is needed when taking shrooms.
A staple of a shamans medicine cabinet.
Ever tried shrooms Andre?
“Ever tried shrooms Andre?”
No. I’ve never been in a situation or head-space where that kind of experience had any appeal to me.
I just think it’s stupid and harmful that we treat it as an experience to be prohibited on pain of criminal punishment. I’d much rather we treated it as something that does hold acknowledged risks to be managed and regulated in order to be made relatively safely available to those interested in that kind of thing. Just like the risky outdoorsy speed/adrenaline experiences that are much more my thing aren’t banned (because people do get injured or killed participating in those activities), but are made available in ways that manage the risks.
Strongly agree with you via managing risk.
President Pelosi doing a great job of diffusing the worst excesses of the orange shit-gibbon.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12200292
“President Pelosi”?
My, my. Your imagination is really running away with you today.
She’s behaving more presidential than Trump. Whoever heard of the leader of the house so regularly before these current times.
Trumps reckless and unpredictable behaviour is thrusting Democratic leadership into the spotlight and it’s looking pretty good in comparison.
There were many vastly more famous Speakers than Pelosi.
The position used to be a much more powerful one when the House members owed their position to their party rather than running as quasi-independents in the way they do now.
Clay was very powerful in the early 19th century. He even decided who the President would be in 1824 when he promoted Adams over Jackson..
The Speaker’s power faded from then until about 1880. There were a string of very powerful ones after that including Reed, Cannon, Longworth and Rayburn. More recent powerhouses were Albert, O’Neill and Gingrich. They were all much better known than Pelosi.
The most powerful, at least for a while, was Cannon.
He had the power to totally control the House.
“He determined the agenda of the House, appointed the members of all committees, chose committee chairmen, headed the Rules Committee, and determined which committee heard each bill. He vigorously used his powers to ensure that Republican proposals were passed by the House”.
They finally rebelled in 1911 but he had 8 years of total dominance.
Pelosi would love to have a fraction of his power.
Yes Alwyn……all very interesting, (certainly more so than your hint of pejorative sniffiness, but let’s live in the day. Live in the day and assess her in the day. Pelosi is the Speaker in weird times. She is rightly acknowledged for having demonstrated to the weird president that he cannot be king.
Which is pretty handy really. And pretty poetic actually. Republicans have been demonising her for years. Amusing too given that Pelosi is doing what Republican politicians would love to do but don’t have the balls to even give it a go.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/07/can-the-gop-demonize-pelosi-one-more-time/565466/
I mentioned ‘weird’.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/kim-jong-un-more-popular-than-pelosi-among-republicans-exclusive-poll-results
Indeed. A recent example would be good. Something say within the last century.
Well I did give you 8 of the very powerful ones.
Of them 5 were within the last century.
When you ask for “Something say within the last century” perhaps you could tell me just when you think the last century started?
Ha……Alwyn’s Google-assisted pedantry ‘Pelosi’d’ by Muttonbird.
Historical pedantry (and revisionism – Clay was a failed candidatep ledging support to the one of the remaining contenders) aside, Pelosi shows a darn sight more guts than most speakers in my memory. The ones in the 1990s against Clinton were rabid, but fearful. Pelosi’s nudge about the state of the union address was a reminder that the oval office isn’t the only one with power, but it also showed an understanding of her enemy and what he values.
FYI Alwyn…..
Pelosi certainly has the procedural wood on the dolt.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could move to block President Trump from invoking a national emergency to build a border wall, forcing Senate Republicans to choose between preserving congressional power and crossing the White House.
The California Democrat, under a seldom-used statute, could put a binding “resolution of disapproval” on the House floor to counter Trump should he claim constitutional powers to unilaterally build a border wall. The president is threatening action if Congress refuses his demand for $5.7 billion in border wall funding. Friday, Trump expressed skepticism that a bipartisan commission seeking a deal on the wall to avoid another government shutdown would succeed, saying there was a “good chance” he would declare an emergency.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/pelosi-could-force-senate-republicans-into-awkward-vote-on-trump-emergency-powers
Here’s a thought. Trump will invoke ’emergency’ regardless of anything. Steps taken under its banner will be challenged in the courts. Trump’s “big, beautiful” Wall will remain ‘unfinished business’ for considerably longer than it might in the run up to 2020. And the knuckle draggers, whipped up by the Swamp-Creature-in-Chief, will elevate to even higher levels of cultist hatefulness. Wherein it is perceived that everyone else is being “unfair” to the Swamp-Creature. Exactly what the Swamp-Creature wants.
US President Trump becomes GOP obstacle in border talks as shutdown looms
Erik Wasson, Laura Litvan
19:34, Feb 02 2019
But he wants to be
Davos 2019: Historian Rutger Bregman berates billionaires at World Economic Forum over tax avoidance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5LtFnmPruU
(must be why we have down graded our arts degrees like history as useless degrees).
Thankfully there are a few people left who are not afraid to speak Truth to Power. Rutger Bregman Historian to the billionaires at Davos.
The Housing Crisis
One of our more useless Trolls forgot to tell you that the Charlotte Graham-McLay 31 Jan 2019 report, drawn from the New York Times, had to correct the information it Published.
With great delight The Troll on here was rocketing on about how good it was to have insufficient housing in New Zealand.
The “Kiwi Build” Housing is expected to produce 300 homes this year.
So far, 1100 State houses have been built.
The Troll, alongside Mrs Paula Bennett and Sir Billy English deny any housing shortage or excessive cost in purchasing a house or renting a house in low wage New Zealand.
Charlotte Graham-McLay, apparently along with the New York Times claims NZ Housing is equal to or exceeds Hong Kong. Which is said to have the Highest Cost.
The Trolls of Greed have been given the task of faking and falsifying information, and thereby destroying persons who are trying to put New Zealand back together again.
NZ ingenuity.https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/countrylife/audio/2018680734/up-and-go-on-an-ubco-the-kiwi-designed-utility-bike
This is 1939. Apart from a 100 times. Total Mobilisation. The democratic egalitarianism of the WW 2 mobilisation set society up for decades. Yes, this time is pleasurable and leisurely. If we can’t put that aside we’ll all personally die of hunger.
All but climate change is far secondary. But we have an inner softness unlike our elders.
An excuse for war writ big
Remember the US accusations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that were used as an excuse for war, but were later proven to be false?
Now the US is playing a bigger and even more dangerous game.
Russia does have weapons of mass destruction. But Russia is also being accused by the US, of having weapons of mass destruction with a first strike capability banned by treaty, an accusation the Russians deny.
Designed to destroy a country’s retaliatory counter measures, before they can be launched. These are the sort of first strike weapon that makes previously unthinkable nuclear exchange possible,
Putin blames US for breaching nuclear arms treaty
China has urged the US to resolve the differences with Russia without pulling out of the treaty.
https://news.sky.com/story/putin-blames-us-for-breaching-nuclear-arms-treaty-11625569
Donald Trump, The War President.
If Pootie really wants to give el Chumpo the droop, a naval base just around the corner from Guantanamo might be an idea. With missiles.
“I will rule you like a King” Sideshow Bob
Donald Trump comes ever closer to the type of autocratic rule he admires.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/428138-congress-in-painful-start-to-avoid-second-shutdown
Sobering Sunday read about a decaying world order.
https://twitter.com/ForeignAffairs/status/1091721838919671808
In the search for parallels to today’s world, scholars and practitioners have looked as far afield as ancient Greece, where the rise of a new power resulted in war between Athens and Sparta, and the period after World War I, when an isolationist United States and much of Europe sat on their hands as Germany and Japan ignored agreements and invaded their neighbors. But the more illuminating parallel to the present is the Concert of Europe in the nineteenth century, the most important and successful effort to build and sustain world order until our own time. From 1815 until the outbreak of World War I a century later, the order established at the Congress of Vienna defined many international relationships and set (even if it often failed to enforce) basic rules for international conduct. It provides a model of how to collectively manage security in a multipolar world.
That order’s demise and what followed offer instructive lessons for today—and an urgent warning. Just because an order is in irreversible decline does not mean that chaos or calamity is inevitable. But if the deterioration is managed poorly, catastrophe could well follow.
(alt link work around the site rego policy)
http://archive.li/3kI17#selection-2335.0-2357.158
Just in case you haven’t been Googling in recent days, Google Doodles has been celebrating Sojourner Truth.
https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-sojourner-truth
I didn’t know anything about this remarkable woman until I stumbled across a article about her on Vox.
She was according to Google
Here is a reenactment of her most famous speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” regarded as one of the most power pieces of oratory in American history.
Kia ora The AM Show The data on our health system cancer treatment shows that the system is failing minority cultures Maori sit on top of the list of patients dieing early than non Maori by 20 years the patriarchal system is failing Maori. If one goes around rual communitys Eastern and Northern Maori Maori Communitys you will see that over crowding and poverty. So I say these communities that were the back bone of Aotearoa economy in the 1940s deserve to be helped as the banks have discriminated against Maori even if the land was in one title. The land as duncan put is over grown waste land /But when one looks at the land from a different perspective it has a positive effect as the wildlife is thriving carbon is sequence and the environment is much better and in the near future we will reward people for looking after the environment. simons government let the retailers the banks insurance company’s the power companies rip the people of billions and gave the wealthy family support and taxs cuts funneling all the money to the top and you know what happen in the end that patriarchal system falls flat on its face failing big time. Chris you look like you been going to the jym working out. There you go duncan kicking the poor people the reason why they they can’t afford to pay the rates is rich pricks like you discriminat LIKE YOU are doing now and don’t pay them fairly. Don the system is corrupt the only people who get served by the system are the the wealthy like you and of course a Maori cop will go with you and wave a little flag for the. don how can you say that when the facts show Maoris under the bridge in jails you think your rich mates are going to all of a sudden stop discriminating against Maori YEA RIGHT. Maori are capable but not when the systems are stacked against US look at my case I cannot even get a fair deal from the justice system I have filed Official documents requesting documents from the system and just get ignored because I have no money to pay a big lawyers.
That’s the way Shane you tell duncan how it is the system is setup against MAORI.
That land is not useless your mates got white glasses on I have been incrouging Maori back home to work the whenua as we owe our Mokopunas a positive prosperous future another bonus about that so called waste land is it would not take much to get the land certified ORGANIC and then we get the premium export price for our produce. ducan they are your words when you read them out live on TV neanderthal don’t try and deflect your racist views onto other people corresponding to you. Imagine all the billions the system has ripped off Maori. Your m8 shonky has been running Pharmac for the last 9 years don’t you think him and simon have some skin in this blamed game you play.
The fast rate of cancer rising in the Western Papatuanukue is because the companies are selling us products with cancer causing agents in them the companies know this and cover it up they will make more profits selling us cancer drugs to dubble jeopard win win for the 00.1 %.
Ka pai Ella Henry New Zealand is unrecognisable without Maori culture but some just want to capitalise on Maori culture but don’t like to share the capital with Maori namely that person across the desk. I have said Maori have fared better than other colonized people but there is a long way to go to be EQUAL and don’t try and give all the settlers the credit for this phenomenon it was OUR Tipuna MANA that caused that and some humane settlor whom admire Maori cultures. I don’t see what’s wrong with a teacher setting up her class to make the class easier for her to teach. When one is on the tools one has to spend thousands on tools to make the jobs easier I have spent thousands on tools for jobs and never been compensated.
The positive capital that NZ gets because of Maori Mana and culture will run into the billions why our sports teams wear black our airlines paint their planes exporters use our art and culture to sell their products but racist people like duncan don’t want to share how greedy and neolithic and DUMB
The reasons the people don’t go back to the whenua is because the powers that be have been suppressing Maori communities The government OWES Maori hundreds of billion of assets that has been used to make this country so wealthy. Ka kite ano your cheaks turned bright red last week duncan did the truth hurt you selfish self centre EGO got me a idiot troll trying to capitalise on ECO Maori mana
You know that old saying it’s better to teach a person to fish than to give them a fish IE investing $100 million in Maori farmers is better than paying the next generation the dole the fourth industry revelotion is
The Ion age quantum computers green energy a new cash less system that rewards people for being honest humble and humane the positive hits will reward the good people the negative hits will hurt the bad people hence a happy society a healthy Papatuanukue clean environment Ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub it looks like everything is going Ka pai at Waitangi.
It looks to me that some one is stir up the environment at the lower Marae at Waitangi.????.
Some people are idiots the person lost it and made a bomb hoax in that Australia Air port.
Good on the person who ran a give a little page for the man’s Mr Ho, s family after he was in a accident and died kiwis are cool.
That’s a good add the Ram one for the Americans Super Bowl team the Rams. Their Toyota opposum add is a classic I say that they will go a long way with their Kiwi wit in the advertising Papatuanukue.
Well I don’t know the articles of the Treaty of Waitangi one more thing of our history that ECO has to study.
Peter Posa was a good man and a awesome guitarist condolences to his whanau.
Ka kite ano
The lawsuit against New Zealand will be a complete “no, no”, but the ship expelled from the SPRFML list will not be requested. The boats are not kept on the court list, there are international organizations and the discretion of the international organization. In my opinion, Russell has completely misinterpreted the difference between the two.
So Jones did not violate the cabinet manual. Actually, it may be advisable to support your New Zealand company (and your activities with which you are working). The company will be treated well in the future.