MPs of the intelligence and security committee, headed by Hipkins and including National Party leader Christopher Luxon, met on Tuesday evening to question a forecast of New Zealand’s future produced by nine of the Government's national security agencies.
The national security long-term insights briefing, published in May, warned the risk of New Zealand being harmed by spying, cyberattack, transnational crime, and terrorism is going to worsen in the coming decade.
Didn't know Aotearoa has nine Government national security agencies? Nor did I. It’s a suitable occasion for kiwi pride – the yanks will be worried out of their complacency. We could be a contender for top national security nation.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) secretary Chris Seed, who fronted the committee alongside Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) secretary Rebecca Kitteridge to discuss the report, said survey and other engagement showed the New Zealand public did not clearly understand national security issues or the Government’s work.
Well they'll just have to be forced to study them & it harder, right? Insitute a comprehension test in a state exam, with marks out of 10 for all citizens. Publish the results. Education ought to be serious. Make it work properly.
Brownlee got a laugh from the other committee members when questioning the “bleak” scenarios. “These are documents going out to the public, apparently, but not as a government document, but from a government agency, I think, what are we trying to tell people?”
Perhaps he's right to be confused that the govt is telling people stuff unofficially rather than officially. People could easily not take the govt seriously. However, I suspect they already don't – so no need to worry, everything's normal.
Well Andrew Little is releasing some NZ MoD & NZDF related stuff on Friday and its related to what was released today.
Unfortunately I'm out bush ie I'm out/ down at Daly Waters NT atm and heading home on Friday so I won't get to read what Andy is releasing until the Weekend before I head back out bush again on Wednesday.
"How can you tell when a politician is doing the work of the oil and gas companies? When they start promoting carbon capture and storage (CCS). CCS has been the magic fix for climate breakdown promised by successive UK governments for 20 years – and never delivered. Most of the very few projects brought to fruition around the world have been abject failures.
The sole purpose of CCS is to justify the granting of more oil and gas licences, on the grounds that one day someone might be able to capture and bury the CO2 they produce. It’s no coincidence that Sunak announced both policies – more licences and CCS – in the same statement. It would be wrong to say the technology doesn’t work. It works precisely as intended, even if it never materialises: it is a highly successful method of buying more time for the fossil fuel industry."
CCS is greenwashing…and not even light green. Just an enabler for BAU.
Some environmental activists and politicians have criticized CCS as a false solution to the climate crisis. They cite the role of the fossil fuel industry in origins of the technology and in lobbying for CCS focused legislation and argue that it would allow the industry to "greenwash" itself by funding and engaging in things such as tree planting campaigns without significantly cutting their carbon emissions
There's more interesting graphs lower down their page:
The Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor tracks what people think are the three most important issues facing the country today.
So they are using a triadic frame to prioritise issues. The graph for Top 5 issues for New Zealanders – Taken from Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor – rates #1 at 63%, inflation & cost of living, #2 crime @ 40%, #3 equal housing & healthcare 31%, #5 climate change 23%, #6 economy 22%, #7 fuel 11%. So they got a heptad of issues (7 graph lines) in the public mind.
Then we get this: [What topics the parties are spending money on this year.] Facebook ad spending by party on issues in the Ipsos top five as a percentage of the party's overall upper spend – the graph is selectable by the viewer pushing buttons on-screen. There's a button for each of five parties and one for them all combined – NZF is being discriminated against by the RNZ computer geek team for some reason…
Biggest combined spend is on the economy, 46%. #2 is transport, 21%. #3 is health, 8%. #4 is crime @ 6%, #5 is housing @ 1%, #6 is climate change, 0%.
So the good news is that the political parties have total consensus that Facebooks users are unworthy of spending money on to persuade them to vote for climate change policy.
If you believed the Facebook community, you would think the three most important issues were (in no particular order): potholes, road speed limits and the price of lattes.
I feel like it should be " the cost of living and housing" I feel like the media and politicians seperate housing from cost of living so it looks like housing costs aren't a great concern.
They are the same thing.
Rents mortgages and rates are living costs.
Power is a living cost
Groceries are a living cost.
I have great despair when I think about how unaffordable NZ is ATM and how unaffordable it will become if we don't start trying to do things differently.
I think a lot of people whose greatest concerns are housing and bill costs are so scared they've tuned right out of politics to distract themselves and protect their mental health from constant worrying
Good to hear Jan Tinetti doing fine with Mike Hosking on ZB this morning on tertiary education. Admitted the areas for improvement particularly in Maori high school credentialising levels, and promised to work hard on them.
@ Phillip ure… "I'm lazy…i find that rnz + the guardian pretty much keeps you/me up to speed"….that explaines a lot, thanks for the insight…but then I guess you did say that you were lazy.
The Guardian has proved that it is nothing more than a trojan horse in the Left…it has shown itself quite openly and plainly for all to see, a seething, rabid Guardian of the status quo on so many occasions that I am amazed to see how many 'lefties' can still can say with a straight face that they hold it in any regard…and the BBC…seriously Ad?
No wonder so many ‘lefties’ are so enthusiastic about every single war and intervention the West get involved with these days…if this is were they are sourcing their ‘news’ from…holy shit, no wonder the Left is dead in the water in the West.
Heard Luxon being supported in the "Coalition of Chaos" dig at Labour Greens Ti Parti Maori and…. wait for it… Gangs. Yes Christopher Luxon included Gangs in the coalition grouping. (in the last minute of their talk on RNZ.)am today.
Perhaps someone could link for me?
This is outright fishing by Guyon, and egging on the Head Egg to respond with this laughing nastiness, indicates their thinking. If tackled he will probably say the classic response "I was just joking"
"And the bit that I can control, and the bit that I’m focussed on, and the bit that I’m leading for, is to make the case for New Zealand people that the choice is going to be clear: a coalition of chaos with Labour, Te Pāti Māori, the Greens and maybe the gangs, ah or a strong National-led government."
Luxon was responding to a question about whether the Nats could/would work with NZ First. No mention of the ACT gang though; Luxon is incredibly focussed, whether it be 'the' gangs, or on how to "fund tax".
The song has been around since the pre-post-apartheid days and it's use in current times discouraged. Presenting this without context is disingenuous and just part of the NZ is turning into an apartheid country nonsense being pushed currently. Most posts about this song I have seen are pushing that suggestion e.g. coming soon to a country near you.
The video isn't shocking in any way. It is well known he does this as as you can see he has been previously censured by the courts.
Cop Killer by Body Count and ICE T in the US would be another example of similar anger against power.
Your lack of even simple research and your willingness to fall into the conspiracy / wokeness rabbit hole is astounding – seeing something particularly South African as linked to CRT in the US even more so.
Facts are this song existed way before any of what you refer to as did Cop Killer which was written in 1990 (influenced heavily by Talking Heads – Pyscho Killer written in 1977).
"You have been warned" presumably refers to being sucked in by stupid bullshit.
Dubul' ibhunu, translated as shoot the Boer or kill the Boer, is a controversial South African song. It is sung in Xhosa and Zulu.
Boers are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Depending on the interpretation, the song might alternatively refer to institutional structures such as the National Party (NP); or to specific groups of people such as members of the South African Police (colloquially known as "Boers") and armed forces during apartheid.
Supporters of the song, particularly Black South Africans, see it as a liberation song that articulates an important part of South Africa's history
The court ruled that Julius Malema, who was brought before the court for previously singing the song at rallies, was forbidden from singing it in the future
mod note: Karl, you know where you are commenting. If you want to have a conversation about racism, then have one. Explain your thinking, make your argument. But please don't troll.
Hi Weka, didn’t really think my response was trolling but anyways you wanted my thoughts
1. Original post only had reference to the post about the song, nothing was mentioned about what position I was taking. The response to the post and defensive nature of DoS and PU I found very informative and shines a light on their “souls”… they assume to quickly (must have struck a raw nerve… we here there is smoke there fire!)
2. Due to point 1 above, my thoughts are that people are being trained as attack dogs for the MSM, CNNs of this world (woke). They will happily defend a song that talks about killing “white” people because of cultural context and would suffer an existential crisis if they didn’t go along with approving the song being sung because of cultural woke agenda being foisted upon their cerebellum.
3. It’s never “ok” to sing songs about killing people…. I mean WTF DoS/PU/Weka
Aside Glenn Greenwalds recent post highlighting the dangers of how even wiki pedia is being subjugated to parroting woke talking points is a warning to us all. Maybe some of our “The Standard” commentators are failing into this intellectual trap… (woke = existential mind trap = propaganda parrots)
You got schooled in the historical (time of rebellion against an apartheid government) and current context (court sanction) of a topic you raised.
And thus now resort to the shocking revelation of your world view, as if where you go on X was not exposition enough (and also indicative of what X is becoming) to explain why you made the post.
Explaining is not exculpatory. It's called digging a hole.
John Howard did the same when asking native peoples to be grateful and silent.
Here National allow whana ora and sign New Zealand up to UNDRIP, then say Labour establishing Maori Health is racist, any co-governance under either the Tiriti, or in compliance with UNDRIP, would also be racist.
So much of this is just right wing messaging to cater to a certain white race identity groups nationalism .
All in an era where a GOP controlled SCOTUS is enabling a return to white gerrymandering in the South.
And as in the Cold War a demonising those of humanity better than that, as woke (as they once said "fellow travellers" of a foreign left to suppress domestic social democracy/equity/egalitarianism).
The real one thought singularity is a social conservative white race nation identity tribalism – fear of loss of dominance in government, media, and education they imagine/see threats everywhere to the "heritage, religion and cultural civilisation" built in places they settled.
Some of it is manufactured by those of privilege to manage the working class by such identity politics – all those high school graduates with red MAGA caps, proudly voting their race (as the MW in their state falls to half that in other states).
PS What do you think of the flags of the Southern Confederacy? Something to ban, or remember as part of their history?
You gave a long explanation to justify a song that contains racism and incitement to carry out murder.
No, you could read it again, next time while thinking and work out why.
I wonder what the new proposed hate speech laws would do you with you.Who exactly is digging the whole here?
And hate speech would only apply to those disseminating the video – as you did, not discussion about it. Your range is a little limited, look at this and say it is bad, or otherwise …
It will likely just confirm to his base that there's a conspiracy against him, not by him. There are enough of them to still give him the Republican nomination, but maybe not to become President. Unless the voter suppression by Republican state officials can still win it for him. Expect that effort to go into overdrive. And if that's not enough and he still loses, it's ghoulish horror time as his supporters react.
A tsunami of insanity will hit as Trump indictments happen. From his supporters. One paradox is that the more indictments are laid, the more suits come up, the less shock, horror and opprobrium there is.
Events are seen as normal, there’s nothing unusual going on. The astounding, the once extraordinary events are part of the wallpaper. That likely means the ordinary punters won’t be moved to express disgust and condemn and reject the individual.
Can I point out again that 'tho trump leads the republican race..it is the independent voters who decide american elections…and it was awhile ago but the polling I saw showed Independents not buying the trump message any more…
So those fretting about a possible trump re-run as president…should maybe relax about that…and just watch the movie..
He has more chance of doing jail-time..than to again move into the white house…
Summoning this legal discourse into existence : Does the 18 USC Section 241 (conspiracy against rights) charge mean Donald Trump could be facing the death penalty??
A reminder to the labour party people – even when the other team is truly bloody awful – if you have offer nothing people need, want, or desire you are going to lose.
The best policy in 2022 was a two year rent freeze. Rent is now $50 a week extra.
Other options include raising $2.5B and taking GST off all food (it's the most regressive part of GST and why countries with an estate tax/CGT system did not place it on food in the first place).
I’ve been lucky enough to be nice andwarm in Europe for the last 6 weeks but back to the cold now and we don’t know how lucky we are, the UK is fucked, it s despondent, discouraged and hugely expensive. CHain stores like W H Smiths, ( books etc) have had huge stuff cuts to “ save money” according to the staff I talked to. A big WHS, bigger than a Whitcoulls in Auckland or Chch, in Bath which is wealthy, had only 2 staff, the others having been laid off. A family I know, who had a tough Covid with a vulnerable son are going to have to sell their house because all assistance dried up early on and is now non existent and yet the father has a good IT job but cumulative inflation ver the last 3 years or so is almost 40% according to them, and wages and benefits are years behind.A 73 year old mate has barely 10 quid left over after rent is paid for a single room in a flat. he survives on waiting tables on a call up basis, pretty precarious. Note.. don’t get divorced, it’s generally unsurvivable for either sex.
Like I said we don’t know how lucky we are, so stop bloody complaining and take a look around the world, sure things could be better here but we are still right at the top for ease of living. So long a we can keep the right out of power.
Been to Auckland two days ago. NZ is fucked. More for lease signs then open businesses. No transport woes as no one was driving to anywhere. It was eerie.
People can't afford to rent even with accommodation benefits thus end up in Motels – granted in the UK they actually throw homeless natives out of motels to fill them up with the deserving migrants who cross the channel from France. At great cost to the country and tax payers. But who cares. Right the working stiff will pay for the excesses of government one way or another.
Shops on Ponsonby road had their doors locked and only opened when people actually looked like buyers. Aggressive pan handlers demanding money. Open toileting on the street. Rubbish everywhere. In fact the words that comes to mind is 'disshevelled' 'neglected' 'filthy' 'unsanitary'.
Despite many raises of the min wage working people needs lots of benefits to make ends meet, in fact one of the biggest Pay day lenders in NZ – unregulated too btw – is Winz.
And Winz will use the same debt collectors then any other business should people not be able to refund the money they got for the dentist or the wash machine or any of the other stuff that gets financed by a refundable emergency grant err loan.
And did you know that our homeless people are taxed 25% of their benefit to pay for substandard hovels, run by gang bangers who bring their own gang security and hey who cares……if the right does it its bad if the left does it its ok. Whoopdeedoo.
Fact is – having followed the politics in Europe for a while now, the only difference between the UK and NZ is that the ones are run by people who pretend to be conservative and here we pretend that the current lot is liberal.
In both cases the working stiff is shit outta luck, on its way to losing their home to mortgages that they can no longer finance, obese and malnourished at the same time because healthy food is something that the worker can no longer afford, ditto for heating, communications etc. IF you have money you are fine, if not fuck off and be silent.
Both countries have a cost of living that no one who works for a standard wage can afford. Both countries have an issue with the kids not learning. Both countries have an issue with theft, crime through the roof, homelessness and hunger. Both countries have a healthservice that is no longer providing much of a service, but is held together with the heroic and valiant efforts of its workforce. I guess the suits in parliament will get healthcare, even if some working stiff has to be pushed of their surgery date to make space for some highly paid suit that forgot to go for regular checks cause…its unpleasant.
So really if the right is so bad in England, how come that all that shit here came via a Labour government?
Maybe because there is actually no longer any difference between the right and the left?
If you really believe that last sentence then only a National/ACT government will show how wrong you are. The assumption that we can simply "bank" the hard-won gains forever is a delusion too many voters fall for.
Elections are always a contest between those who can see what will happen, and those who refuse to. The Right are hiding in plain sight, and so we have no excuse not to know.
I don't say that Adrian is incorrect about the UK. I say that we have the same problems here in NZ and that our government is left. Currently left with a full majority.
Please tell me where the difference is in the UK with the NHS failing – for the same reasons as here and NZ where this happens.
Hospitals across the South Island are under immense pressure as they grapple with winter illnesses and staff shortages, with one hospital forced to shut its emergency department because of a lack of doctors.
Many have wards that are at almost 100% capacity – which health bosses claim is normal for this time of year – as they struggle to balance emergency and urgent care with waiting lists and carrying out surgery.
In some instances staff shortages are so bad that desperate employers are texting already exhausted and overwhelmed workers to ask them to come in on their days off.
Nursing bosses warned the situation was “horrific” and a risk to health, the pressure posing a “major risk” to doctors and nurses who have been pushed to the brink.
and i would like to point out that Labour together with National, ACT, TPM and the Greens sold the hard won rights of women – human females down the drain.
Again, tell me where the difference is. Not of the past, but NOW.
The reason for the similar outcomes is because the labour and tory parties in both countries have been in thrall to neoliberal-incrementalism…for far too long..
Seriously, there has been a worldwide pandemic, and around 20 a week are still dying,
We now have a war causing food shortages, and fallout from floods and cyclones which indicate climate change tipping points are here, with Earth boiling, impacting our food costs.
But tell yourself those social costs are caused by this Government by using one experience to back up your bleak view.
By the way Mayor Brown is as right wing as you can get, and is currently looking at Council retirement units, as he mentioned a Real estate Agent instead of a Consultant. He wants free advice rather than paying for advice.
The hyperbole of stream of conscious writing you do is like one long scream.
If you think the Right would be better… how could we convince you otherwise.?
Many late comers will fall for the blue gang and find to their detriment "trickle down" is a cruel joke. I hope you don't Sabine. We remember 2008 to 2017.
Believe it or not, last time they were in, there was a 13 week stand down before you would get an interview at Winz where you would be asked do you have anything to sell? Could you work 15 hours a week? (there was no work)…. let alone "get a Winz loan" at no interest.
It could get worse. Most unemployed were steered in Key's time to Govt courses run by private contractors who gave out useless diplomas for student debt.
I just hope people remember how after the GFC we were promised the Moon "A Rock Star Economy" (rock not star) and did not even get the man, we got a sleezy money bod instead, who ran the place down while playing housing monopoly.
Look up the history of each of Nationals MPs It is sad.
Most can't even think about what we have been through in the last few years.
For one some other political party had the rains for 9 years ago
And what was the result of their rain.
They starved the public sectors that didn't serve there political agenda.???.
And koha a million dollars each to 400 farmers mates down the South Island. HUGE IRRITATING SCEEM
Hence all the hassle that a lot government agencies are going through because there basic matainance was not maintained.
Next if these people did have the rains in the last 8 years well there would have been thousands hakari going down.
This short term memory is what gets us in the shit all the time. Ie carbon and other gas warming our environment ie belleaving the lies that the alt right push.
Ps I would ban polls for six months before a election.
I can see all the work these righty people served up in my neck of the woods in their 8 years a new hinaki new roads heaps of whano on the streets no house plenty of extremely expensive house for their wealth mates. Ps wake up the rightys only serve the wealthiest people the rest of us are here just to be milked on a regular basis.
Eco Maori Backs labour green this combination is what will have most of people's best interests at heart and not just the Wealthiest.
Ps I know you sandflys have been baiting me to do this so don't go blowing your horn.
Guess what just had those angels the nz police over O same excuse we didn't have his ph number.
You see whanau it's so easy for these SPIES to cast there shit om to unsespecting people send cops over just like spiking a DRINK or convincing someone to jump waka because. They live in that hinaki together
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Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
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The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
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Spook state Aotearoa:
Didn't know Aotearoa has nine Government national security agencies? Nor did I. It’s a suitable occasion for kiwi pride – the yanks will be worried out of their complacency. We could be a contender for top national security nation.
Well they'll just have to be forced to study them & it harder, right? Insitute a comprehension test in a state exam, with marks out of 10 for all citizens. Publish the results. Education ought to be serious. Make it work properly.
Perhaps he's right to be confused that the govt is telling people stuff unofficially rather than officially. People could easily not take the govt seriously. However, I suspect they already don't – so no need to worry, everything's normal.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/132658217/its-a-bit-bleak-government-officials-warn-of-the-future-new-zealand-faces
Well Andrew Little is releasing some NZ MoD & NZDF related stuff on Friday and its related to what was released today.
Unfortunately I'm out bush ie I'm out/ down at Daly Waters NT atm and heading home on Friday so I won't get to read what Andy is releasing until the Weekend before I head back out bush again on Wednesday.
George Monbiot nails it:
"How can you tell when a politician is doing the work of the oil and gas companies? When they start promoting carbon capture and storage (CCS). CCS has been the magic fix for climate breakdown promised by successive UK governments for 20 years – and never delivered. Most of the very few projects brought to fruition around the world have been abject failures.
The sole purpose of CCS is to justify the granting of more oil and gas licences, on the grounds that one day someone might be able to capture and bury the CO2 they produce. It’s no coincidence that Sunak announced both policies – more licences and CCS – in the same statement. It would be wrong to say the technology doesn’t work. It works precisely as intended, even if it never materialises: it is a highly successful method of buying more time for the fossil fuel industry."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/01/rishi-sunak-north-sea-planet-climate-crisis-plutocrats
CCS is greenwashing…and not even light green. Just an enabler for BAU.
Further on the greenwash subject…I am also not a supporter of carbon offset pine plantations in NZ
Not as bad as CCS..but still an enabler…
During the election campaign RNZ is tracking polls, Facebook ads, campaign financing, data from the debates and advance voting numbers. The latest figures are published right here on this page: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/494809/latest-political-polling-campaign-finances-social-media-targeting-and-more
There's more interesting graphs lower down their page:
So they are using a triadic frame to prioritise issues. The graph for Top 5 issues for New Zealanders – Taken from Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor – rates #1 at 63%, inflation & cost of living, #2 crime @ 40%, #3 equal housing & healthcare 31%, #5 climate change 23%, #6 economy 22%, #7 fuel 11%. So they got a heptad of issues (7 graph lines) in the public mind.
Then we get this: [What topics the parties are spending money on this year.] Facebook ad spending by party on issues in the Ipsos top five as a percentage of the party's overall upper spend – the graph is selectable by the viewer pushing buttons on-screen. There's a button for each of five parties and one for them all combined – NZF is being discriminated against by the RNZ computer geek team for some reason…
Biggest combined spend is on the economy, 46%. #2 is transport, 21%. #3 is health, 8%. #4 is crime @ 6%, #5 is housing @ 1%, #6 is climate change, 0%.
So the good news is that the political parties have total consensus that Facebooks users are unworthy of spending money on to persuade them to vote for climate change policy.
If you believed the Facebook community, you would think the three most important issues were (in no particular order): potholes, road speed limits and the price of lattes.
I feel like it should be " the cost of living and housing" I feel like the media and politicians seperate housing from cost of living so it looks like housing costs aren't a great concern.
They are the same thing.
Rents mortgages and rates are living costs.
Power is a living cost
Groceries are a living cost.
I have great despair when I think about how unaffordable NZ is ATM and how unaffordable it will become if we don't start trying to do things differently.
I think a lot of people whose greatest concerns are housing and bill costs are so scared they've tuned right out of politics to distract themselves and protect their mental health from constant worrying
Good to hear Jan Tinetti doing fine with Mike Hosking on ZB this morning on tertiary education. Admitted the areas for improvement particularly in Maori high school credentialising levels, and promised to work hard on them.
Do more of that Jan.
Do you listen to hosking for pleasure..or is it a chore/research you must endure..?
If the latter…goodonya for taking one for the team..
If the former..?..(I'll just leave that there.. hanging…)
On the commute into Queenstown I start with a podcast, then cover BBC World, ZB, RNZ, Wanaka Radio, and More FM Queenstown.
(whew..!..)
I'm lazy…i find that rnz + the guardian pretty much keeps you/me up to speed…
@ Phillip ure… "I'm lazy…i find that rnz + the guardian pretty much keeps you/me up to speed"….that explaines a lot, thanks for the insight…but then I guess you did say that you were lazy.
The Guardian has proved that it is nothing more than a trojan horse in the Left…it has shown itself quite openly and plainly for all to see, a seething, rabid Guardian of the status quo on so many occasions that I am amazed to see how many 'lefties' can still can say with a straight face that they hold it in any regard…and the BBC…seriously Ad?
"How The Guardian Betrayed Not Only Corbyn But The Last Vestiges Of British Democracy"
The BBC admits it spent decades conspiring with MI5 to stop a left-wing UK government
No wonder so many ‘lefties’ are so enthusiastic about every single war and intervention the West get involved with these days…if this is were they are sourcing their ‘news’ from…holy shit, no wonder the Left is dead in the water in the West.
I would also note the wmd debacle…and their eager pimping for the atrocities done to libya..
So I read the politics in it with those filters firmly in place..
I go there mainly for the cultural/environmental stuff…they are good on both of them..
So adrian…where should 'lefties' go for their general news/information..?
Or should they just live frozen in a news vacuum..?
This is the second time I have asked you this question..
Will you answer it this time..?
Left wing approved media? Which left wing approved it? Is there a left wing? Whose left wing?
" BBC World, ZB, RNZ,"…that explaines a lot, thanks for the insight.
Heard Luxon being supported in the "Coalition of Chaos" dig at Labour Greens Ti Parti Maori and…. wait for it… Gangs. Yes Christopher Luxon included Gangs in the coalition grouping. (in the last minute of their talk on RNZ.)am today.
Perhaps someone could link for me?
This is outright fishing by Guyon, and egging on the Head Egg to respond with this laughing nastiness, indicates their thinking. If tackled he will probably say the classic response "I was just joking"
A disgusting comment, but not surprised.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018900891/national-party-defends-24-billion-roading-plan
Thanks aj
For anyone who cannot stomach listening to 9 mins of Luxon the quote referred to begins @ 8 mins.
What a skunk of a man. And he calls himself a Christian.
Thanks Patricia, Nat 'leaders' have form – "When my eyebrow goes up, it's a joke."
Bit hard to tell on radio though.
Luxon was responding to a question about whether the Nats could/would work with NZ First. No mention of the ACT gang though; Luxon is incredibly focussed, whether it be 'the' gangs, or on how to "fund tax".
100% DMK.
National being led around by the nose by act..
.. acting out their scorched earth policies/beliefs… would be chaotic for the rest of us..and for nz…
(Kinda funny how national had their party of tax cuts branding/framing wrenched from them by tmp..
..and now have to own the chaotic label..
..'cos nact is just a re-spelling of chaos…)
Interesting developments, if true, I wonder if we’ll see this on RNZ or TVNZ?
“Shocking video shows South Africa’s black party singing “kill the Boer (Whites), kill the White farmer”
This is all downstream from the rotten secular religion of wokeness and CRT plaguing America today.
You have been warned.”
WATCH.
https://twitter.com/thelaurenchen/status/1686370915494375424?s=46&t=Mb3vWtlQ9iVITzFN3xvWAQ
The song has been around since the pre-post-apartheid days and it's use in current times discouraged. Presenting this without context is disingenuous and just part of the NZ is turning into an apartheid country nonsense being pushed currently. Most posts about this song I have seen are pushing that suggestion e.g. coming soon to a country near you.
The video isn't shocking in any way. It is well known he does this as as you can see he has been previously censured by the courts.
Cop Killer by Body Count and ICE T in the US would be another example of similar anger against power.
Your lack of even simple research and your willingness to fall into the conspiracy / wokeness rabbit hole is astounding – seeing something particularly South African as linked to CRT in the US even more so.
Facts are this song existed way before any of what you refer to as did Cop Killer which was written in 1990 (influenced heavily by Talking Heads – Pyscho Killer written in 1977).
"You have been warned" presumably refers to being sucked in by stupid bullshit.
Dubul' ibhunu, translated as shoot the Boer or kill the Boer, is a controversial South African song. It is sung in Xhosa and Zulu.
Boers are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Depending on the interpretation, the song might alternatively refer to institutional structures such as the National Party (NP); or to specific groups of people such as members of the South African Police (colloquially known as "Boers") and armed forces during apartheid.
Supporters of the song, particularly Black South Africans, see it as a liberation song that articulates an important part of South Africa's history
The court ruled that Julius Malema, who was brought before the court for previously singing the song at rallies, was forbidden from singing it in the future
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubul%27_ibhunu
that's a great comment. Can I quote that on twitter?
Feel free to do so.
I think you provided a good example of convincing yourself racism is ok
Top marks A+++
“The video isn't shocking in any way. It is well known he does this as as you can see he has been previously censured by the courts”
Unsure why you have "think" in your sentence.
No…racism isn't ok…
But songs of rebellion written by an enlslaved people.. against those doing that enslaving are..
And this is what this is…
mod note: Karl, you know where you are commenting. If you want to have a conversation about racism, then have one. Explain your thinking, make your argument. But please don't troll.
DoS +1
Importing far-right garbage from the USA … no thanks.
Well..k sinclair…
D.o.s has well and truly'owned' you…eh..?
heh…!
telling someone they've been owned tends to start flame wars, please don't.
Hi Weka, didn’t really think my response was trolling but anyways you wanted my thoughts
1. Original post only had reference to the post about the song, nothing was mentioned about what position I was taking. The response to the post and defensive nature of DoS and PU I found very informative and shines a light on their “souls”… they assume to quickly (must have struck a raw nerve… we here there is smoke there fire!)
2. Due to point 1 above, my thoughts are that people are being trained as attack dogs for the MSM, CNNs of this world (woke). They will happily defend a song that talks about killing “white” people because of cultural context and would suffer an existential crisis if they didn’t go along with approving the song being sung because of cultural woke agenda being foisted upon their cerebellum.
3. It’s never “ok” to sing songs about killing people…. I mean WTF DoS/PU/Weka
Aside Glenn Greenwalds recent post highlighting the dangers of how even wiki pedia is being subjugated to parroting woke talking points is a warning to us all. Maybe some of our “The Standard” commentators are failing into this intellectual trap… (woke = existential mind trap = propaganda parrots)
https://rumble.com/v33wemb-wikipedia-co-founder-condemns-it-most-biased-encyclopedia-in-history-system.html
We get it.
You got schooled in the historical (time of rebellion against an apartheid government) and current context (court sanction) of a topic you raised.
And thus now resort to the shocking revelation of your world view, as if where you go on X was not exposition enough (and also indicative of what X is becoming) to explain why you made the post.
Explaining is not exculpatory. It's called digging a hole.
John Howard did the same when asking native peoples to be grateful and silent.
Here National allow whana ora and sign New Zealand up to UNDRIP, then say Labour establishing Maori Health is racist, any co-governance under either the Tiriti, or in compliance with UNDRIP, would also be racist.
So much of this is just right wing messaging to cater to a certain white race identity groups nationalism .
All in an era where a GOP controlled SCOTUS is enabling a return to white gerrymandering in the South.
And as in the Cold War a demonising those of humanity better than that, as woke (as they once said "fellow travellers" of a foreign left to suppress domestic social democracy/equity/egalitarianism).
The real one thought singularity is a social conservative white race nation identity tribalism – fear of loss of dominance in government, media, and education they imagine/see threats everywhere to the "heritage, religion and cultural civilisation" built in places they settled.
Some of it is manufactured by those of privilege to manage the working class by such identity politics – all those high school graduates with red MAGA caps, proudly voting their race (as the MW in their state falls to half that in other states).
PS What do you think of the flags of the Southern Confederacy? Something to ban, or remember as part of their history?
Hi SPC,
You gave a long explanation to justify a song that contains racism and incitement to carry out murder.
I wonder what the new proposed hate speech laws would do you with you.
Who exactly is digging the whole here?
Enjoy your day
No, you could read it again, next time while thinking and work out why.
And hate speech would only apply to those disseminating the video – as you did, not discussion about it. Your range is a little limited, look at this and say it is bad, or otherwise …
I’ve looked up Harry in the Urban Dictionary …
And finally Trump has his next charge: a four-count indictment, charging:
– conspiracy to defraud the United States
– conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
– obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and
– conspiracy against rights.
May he roast in hell.
is he going to jail?
Trump'll be doing appeals right through the nomination and then through the Presidential contest itself. It's still his best fundraising trick.
The Georgia State election interference one will be next I expect.
Yes he's well funded on that aspect as I read somewhere his backers have spent $50m in the last year on lawyers via those PACs.
It will likely just confirm to his base that there's a conspiracy against him, not by him. There are enough of them to still give him the Republican nomination, but maybe not to become President. Unless the voter suppression by Republican state officials can still win it for him. Expect that effort to go into overdrive. And if that's not enough and he still loses, it's ghoulish horror time as his supporters react.
A tsunami of insanity will hit as Trump indictments happen. From his supporters. One paradox is that the more indictments are laid, the more suits come up, the less shock, horror and opprobrium there is.
Events are seen as normal, there’s nothing unusual going on. The astounding, the once extraordinary events are part of the wallpaper. That likely means the ordinary punters won’t be moved to express disgust and condemn and reject the individual.
Can I point out again that 'tho trump leads the republican race..it is the independent voters who decide american elections…and it was awhile ago but the polling I saw showed Independents not buying the trump message any more…
So those fretting about a possible trump re-run as president…should maybe relax about that…and just watch the movie..
He has more chance of doing jail-time..than to again move into the white house…
They've wheeled one of the big guns out.
Greg
@waltisfrozen
Summoning this legal discourse into existence : Does the 18 USC Section 241 (conspiracy against rights) charge mean Donald Trump could be facing the death penalty??
https://twitter.com/waltisfrozen/status/1686599480089686016
A reminder to the labour party people – even when the other team is truly bloody awful – if you have offer nothing people need, want, or desire you are going to lose.
The orange one is the perfect example of that…
Money in the hand (due to the cost of living) is what I'd say people want most right now.
And due to the fears of further stoking up inflation, The best way to do that is to cut GST across the board. Neutralizing the effect.
The best policy in 2022 was a two year rent freeze. Rent is now $50 a week extra.
Other options include raising $2.5B and taking GST off all food (it's the most regressive part of GST and why countries with an estate tax/CGT system did not place it on food in the first place).
I am dreading the possibility that gst off fruit/veg is their big-bang policy..
'cos it ain't..
I’ve been lucky enough to be nice andwarm in Europe for the last 6 weeks but back to the cold now and we don’t know how lucky we are, the UK is fucked, it s despondent, discouraged and hugely expensive. CHain stores like W H Smiths, ( books etc) have had huge stuff cuts to “ save money” according to the staff I talked to. A big WHS, bigger than a Whitcoulls in Auckland or Chch, in Bath which is wealthy, had only 2 staff, the others having been laid off. A family I know, who had a tough Covid with a vulnerable son are going to have to sell their house because all assistance dried up early on and is now non existent and yet the father has a good IT job but cumulative inflation ver the last 3 years or so is almost 40% according to them, and wages and benefits are years behind.A 73 year old mate has barely 10 quid left over after rent is paid for a single room in a flat. he survives on waiting tables on a call up basis, pretty precarious. Note.. don’t get divorced, it’s generally unsurvivable for either sex.
Like I said we don’t know how lucky we are, so stop bloody complaining and take a look around the world, sure things could be better here but we are still right at the top for ease of living. So long a we can keep the right out of power.
Been to Auckland two days ago. NZ is fucked. More for lease signs then open businesses. No transport woes as no one was driving to anywhere. It was eerie.
People can't afford to rent even with accommodation benefits thus end up in Motels – granted in the UK they actually throw homeless natives out of motels to fill them up with the deserving migrants who cross the channel from France. At great cost to the country and tax payers. But who cares. Right the working stiff will pay for the excesses of government one way or another.
Shops on Ponsonby road had their doors locked and only opened when people actually looked like buyers. Aggressive pan handlers demanding money. Open toileting on the street. Rubbish everywhere. In fact the words that comes to mind is 'disshevelled' 'neglected' 'filthy' 'unsanitary'.
Despite many raises of the min wage working people needs lots of benefits to make ends meet, in fact one of the biggest Pay day lenders in NZ – unregulated too btw – is Winz.
And Winz will use the same debt collectors then any other business should people not be able to refund the money they got for the dentist or the wash machine or any of the other stuff that gets financed by a refundable emergency grant err loan.
And did you know that our homeless people are taxed 25% of their benefit to pay for substandard hovels, run by gang bangers who bring their own gang security and hey who cares……if the right does it its bad if the left does it its ok. Whoopdeedoo.
Fact is – having followed the politics in Europe for a while now, the only difference between the UK and NZ is that the ones are run by people who pretend to be conservative and here we pretend that the current lot is liberal.
In both cases the working stiff is shit outta luck, on its way to losing their home to mortgages that they can no longer finance, obese and malnourished at the same time because healthy food is something that the worker can no longer afford, ditto for heating, communications etc. IF you have money you are fine, if not fuck off and be silent.
Both countries have a cost of living that no one who works for a standard wage can afford. Both countries have an issue with the kids not learning. Both countries have an issue with theft, crime through the roof, homelessness and hunger. Both countries have a healthservice that is no longer providing much of a service, but is held together with the heroic and valiant efforts of its workforce. I guess the suits in parliament will get healthcare, even if some working stiff has to be pushed of their surgery date to make space for some highly paid suit that forgot to go for regular checks cause…its unpleasant.
So really if the right is so bad in England, how come that all that shit here came via a Labour government?
Maybe because there is actually no longer any difference between the right and the left?
If you really believe that last sentence then only a National/ACT government will show how wrong you are. The assumption that we can simply "bank" the hard-won gains forever is a delusion too many voters fall for.
Elections are always a contest between those who can see what will happen, and those who refuse to. The Right are hiding in plain sight, and so we have no excuse not to know.
And yes, Adrian is correct about the UK.
I don't say that Adrian is incorrect about the UK. I say that we have the same problems here in NZ and that our government is left. Currently left with a full majority.
Please tell me where the difference is in the UK with the NHS failing – for the same reasons as here and NZ where this happens.
https://www.thepress.co.nz/a/nz-news/350045927/hospital-ed-shuts-doors-illness-and-staff-shortages-push-doctors-and-nurses
and i would like to point out that Labour together with National, ACT, TPM and the Greens sold the hard won rights of women – human females down the drain.
Again, tell me where the difference is. Not of the past, but NOW.
Now? Sure.
Why is abortion no longer a crime in NZ?
Because it is a medical procedure. Between a woman and her medical practitioner.
Because that is a the progressive position and Labour and the Greens made it happen. Would it have happened under Nact?
The reason for the similar outcomes is because the labour and tory parties in both countries have been in thrall to neoliberal-incrementalism…for far too long..
It's way past time to tear up that playbook..
We won't get change until we do…
Thanks Adrian.
Sabine is there anything you like about here?
Seriously, there has been a worldwide pandemic, and around 20 a week are still dying,
We now have a war causing food shortages, and fallout from floods and cyclones which indicate climate change tipping points are here, with Earth boiling, impacting our food costs.
But tell yourself those social costs are caused by this Government by using one experience to back up your bleak view.
By the way Mayor Brown is as right wing as you can get, and is currently looking at Council retirement units, as he mentioned a Real estate Agent instead of a Consultant. He wants free advice rather than paying for advice.
The hyperbole of stream of conscious writing you do is like one long scream.
If you think the Right would be better… how could we convince you otherwise.?
Many late comers will fall for the blue gang and find to their detriment "trickle down" is a cruel joke. I hope you don't Sabine. We remember 2008 to 2017.
Believe it or not, last time they were in, there was a 13 week stand down before you would get an interview at Winz where you would be asked do you have anything to sell? Could you work 15 hours a week? (there was no work)…. let alone "get a Winz loan" at no interest.
It could get worse. Most unemployed were steered in Key's time to Govt courses run by private contractors who gave out useless diplomas for student debt.
I just hope people remember how after the GFC we were promised the Moon "A Rock Star Economy" (rock not star) and did not even get the man, we got a sleezy money bod instead, who ran the place down while playing housing monopoly.
Look up the history of each of Nationals MPs It is sad.
Timely perspective thankyou Adrian.
Anybody else planning on checking out Heavyweight with Dave Letele on TVNZ2 tomorrow night (8.30pm)?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/dave-letele-opens-up-on-his-battle-with-booze-gang-life-and-the-choices-faced-by-brown-parents/33M27ALAYJCITJOHD6AYORMTW4/
Yes He is a remarkable human.
Kia Ora
Whanau.
Just a few wise words.
Most People have short memory's.
Most can't even think about what we have been through in the last few years.
For one some other political party had the rains for 9 years ago
And what was the result of their rain.
They starved the public sectors that didn't serve there political agenda.???.
And koha a million dollars each to 400 farmers mates down the South Island. HUGE IRRITATING SCEEM
Hence all the hassle that a lot government agencies are going through because there basic matainance was not maintained.
Next if these people did have the rains in the last 8 years well there would have been thousands hakari going down.
This short term memory is what gets us in the shit all the time. Ie carbon and other gas warming our environment ie belleaving the lies that the alt right push.
Ps I would ban polls for six months before a election.
I can see all the work these righty people served up in my neck of the woods in their 8 years a new hinaki new roads heaps of whano on the streets no house plenty of extremely expensive house for their wealth mates. Ps wake up the rightys only serve the wealthiest people the rest of us are here just to be milked on a regular basis.
Eco Maori Backs labour green this combination is what will have most of people's best interests at heart and not just the Wealthiest.
Ps I know you sandflys have been baiting me to do this so don't go blowing your horn.
Kia kite Ano
Eco Maori .. There are more than a few anti-Lab/Green doomers and white-anters, even on here.
We can, and must prevent the NAct jackboot on our NZ future.
Kia Kaha.
Kia Ora whano
Im aloud to have a political opinion ON MY OWN WHENUA the spies are framing this as a crime. Ps my World political opinion
Ka kite Ano
Old Nagti Porou Rangtira served the people first and took care of the whenua environment and in turn they will look after Te Rangtira zealously.
Ka kite Ano whanau
https://youtu.be/zRvXKwA5iMw
Kia Ora whano.
Guess what just had those angels the nz police over O same excuse we didn't have his ph number.
You see whanau it's so easy for these SPIES to cast there shit om to unsespecting people send cops over just like spiking a DRINK or convincing someone to jump waka because. They live in that hinaki together
Ka kite Ano whanau
https://youtu.be/QAB6aXOfUmU
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fKopy74weus&feature=share