Anti-nationalism has gone too far, selling out NZ just for the beating the chest moment. Oh, look how powerful we are, we can sell assets, hand profit streams to foreigners, stuff up and still make a living (please ignore the stats on growing poverty, skilled exodus, aging, jail pop., etc).
It must be so wonderful be a right winger knowing that they are stronger because NZ is weaker.
Just thinking logically here, if you buy this asset you expect a return so as to recoup your investment. Over time you end up owning it outright and taking a return. So if the asset was used for colllateral to a loan for Chch, and the profits used to pay off the loan by the people of Christchurch, they could have the money plus retain ownership. Why sell?
“When a child is afraid in her own home, have you ever wanted to help?
Now you can, by filling out the form and becoming a Guardian Angel.
Being a Guardian Angel means giving $30 or more each month to help families like Sophie’s through the services of Presbyterian Support Family Works. It is just a dollar a day.
For over 120 years Presbyterian Support has been caring for New Zealanders in need. We keep a low profile, so most people do not realise we are the largest provider of social services outside government.
Family Works is our way of helping families with children under 17, through services like counselling, social work, parenting support and family violence programmes.
We help children and families under enormous pressure. You can help them too by filling in the form right now and becoming a Guardian Angel today.
What’s more, all your Guardian Angel gifts will go to help children and families in your part of the country, through the Family Works staff in your region.
This appeal is urgent, because many families are forced to wait for the help they desperately need today.”
I’ve heard of leaving things to the private sector because they’re supposedly more efficient but this is beyond the pale Paula ‘hate the benes’ Bennett. Presbyterian Support has to come to the rescue of children in this country which should be CYFS’s job under your leadership – wow, sponsor to protect a child for just $1 per day – as per CV: hand me a Tui.
If CYFS and WINZ are in such bad shape before the Budget I can’t wait to view the results of NACT’s surgical ward rounds on the 19th.
Nice one Paula, make beneficiaries crawl by reducing access to much needed food grants and now leave children to the mercy of violence in the home because a non-state organisation feels it cannot ignore the yawning chasm in provision of services to counselling, social work, parenting support and family violence programmes.
Hang your head in shame you gutless, attention-seeking worm.
All the cutesy, apron-clad visits to food kitchens to do the crocodile teary Kodak moments cannot disguise that you’re completely useless at your job, couldn’t give a toss about anyone because people’s personal details can be splashed across the papers if the mood takes you and are a complete sell-out so that you get a nice pat on the head from your dear leader Key – fuck, what do you get if you roll over and let him scratch your stomach?
You hear of how a scientist, mathematician, musician, comes from a family of, even extended family of like minded individuals. That the family acts as a sponge for information that then discharges into the next generation. And what of that information, why are the facts, reasoning about those facts, the experiences of others who have learnt those facts so useful to society? Yet so hard to maintain, so hard to recreate from nothing. Why are Maori so left out of the way a Pakeha world works? Are the traditions in some successful Pakeha families hard to grow in Maori families and extended families? How is information maintained? By society rewarding their use, by society valuing the virtue of deep knowledge. Is there a linkage then between Maori poverty and skilled citizen flight to other world economies? That something in the kiwi shouting culture hates a smart arse? Is just jealous of learning, fearful even, of other families having wealth besides monetary considerations? That surface poverty, not keeping up with the neighbours outward display of conformity isn’t just loathing rich pricks, but also smart ones too? Do kiwis just love to knock? Is that why our economy sucks, and sucking more every month? Five cars torched, a scene more of LA, why? Were the cars targeted because they are too noisy? My street could do with a visit. Or is it 100% pure random nastiness. Maybe a gang moving in, dragging the neighbourhood down to buy up homes on the cheap. Gangs who put the homes in their girlfriends name and then hand them a noisy car to insure the street becomes a nightmare for any old people living there. Do we have laws against age discrimination? Why are our cars now so much a part of our kiwi culture? Sorry, woken again by the death cries of a car culture passing peak oil. Why are we kiwis so mindless? Is that what we are rewarded for because we don’t reward real intellect? Not that I would know anything about that, word bro.
“New ACT leader Don Brash has rejected claims by Hone Harawira that he is a racist, and has in turn attacked Mr Harawira for seeking preference for Maori based on race.
“I find that grossly offensive. I think being called racist is almost the worst kind of insult,” Dr Brash said. “To me a racist is someone who wants to discriminate against particular people. Well, my concern is that the Maori Party actually wants to create a privileged group of New Zealanders. ”
– um, Don, you just attacked Harawira’s former party and your current governing partner.
No Bored. He is not. He’s a sharp crafty dangerous man. We should not be conned into thinking he ‘s just an old buffoon . This revival of the far Right may and could mean disaster for the working people of Aotearoa . And the underpriviledged will disappear into the forgotten and don’t care poor.
In which he says that FPP isn’t the go because it doesn’t feel quite right in his view that a party could get 21 % of the vote and only get 2 seats. He doesn’t like mmp though, for reasons unexplained.
He likes the Supplementary system because it lets small parties have some token representation, and more importantly, lists allow the great and good like himself to enter parliament without having to bother with demeaning things like candidate selection panels. For reals. That’s what he reckons.
This is a man who seems to accept that we should look like a democracy, but that democracy itself is a bit of a hindrance.
Looking at that description of supplementary member, I think I prefer MMP.
But I also wouldn’t be wholly opposed to SM if it retained the current 70/50 split we have with MMP. 90/30 just puts way too much power in the FPP system for electorates. Unless that two was also changed to STV voting, to greatly increase the chances of minor parties winning electorate seats.
The electorate seats should be STV voting no matter what system you use. I still prefer MMP, SM looks like an attempt by the right to gerrymander the voting in their favour.
Maybe they need to make retirement compulsory at 70. And anyone in power is tested every year from 65 for senility or dementia.
Even the Americans with all their paranoia and insanity don’t let anyone hold the ultimate reins for more than 2 terms. And then their power is very limited.
And if you want to see what grumpy old men can do look at the OLD Russia!!
I have wondered too just how much longer the Maori can kow-tow to Brash and his mates Co/Viper . The adulation expressed by Turia towards Brash makes me cringe.She has completely forgot that Key was involved with Brash regarding Kiwi/Iwi . If the Maori party does not withdraw their support now that Brash is back it only shows their double standards, and that the baubles of office are much more important that justice for Maori.
We now have 3 supposedly rising politicians, that have publicly stated something about peak oil
John Banks – reading ‘The Oil Crash and You’ on his talk back show in 2002 (ish) http://oilcrash.com/articles/running.htm
Don Brash “But the real issue last week was about bio-diesel and the world running out of fossil fuels. That was the point of the photo op, and I went there to make that point, it is the world walking the plank frankly, not Don Brash…” http://oilcrash.com/articles/natnl_01.htm
And Hone calling for a cross party group to discuss peak oil and climate change. http://thestandard.org.nz/the-knife-edge/
Oh and all the above are thanks my fucking efforts … again I told you and them so )
And just to spice up our borring lives
Unit 3 Explosion May Have Been Prompt Criticality in Fuel Pool
With any luck Key will be flying through all this stuff, I just hope he stops off in Hawaii on his way home … breath deep John [I won’t delete it, but that last comment is perilously close to Kiwiblog territory. Please don’t go there. — r0b]
How many teachers does a $500,000 by-election cost months out from an election? A casual 13 or so, better let Hone know…
[lprent: Moved to OpenMike as only being tangentially related to the topic.
You’re also banned for 2 weeks for starting a diversion troll off the topic in a post. ]
Don’t excuse it as an act of democracy, its political posturing. He could easily ascertain the mandate of his electorate with polling and constituent meetings that neednt cost nearly as much.
Don’t excuse it as an act of democracy, its political posturing.
Who are you to say, Jared? He’s operating within the rules of Parliament and following clear precedent. The only ones trying to beat it up as an issue are those who are doing their own political posturing eh.
NZ needs more of a number of skilled professions.
No question there.
But in perspective, a career in teaching starts with the 3 year Bachelors, and the year in a classroom before you can be qualified. So in reality, we are only seeing the outcome of policies surrounding improving the rates of teachers getting qualified from 3-5 years ago.
If you want to get really picky, then wasteful and pandering to your supporters isn’t purely a concept of the right, interest free student loans have cost the nation dearly, and if Labour had actually followed through with their universal student allowance we would have really been in trouble.
And if you want to get really really really picky, at the moment there is a sincere glut of recent teaching graduates who are finding it difficult to land jobs. There is a lack of experienced teachers, not beginning teachers.
The lack of teachers has been the 9 year boggie man, at least for the last 18 years, I distinctly remember Labour bitching about the lack of teachers after 9 years of National, then …. 9 years later National was bitching about the lack of teachers after Labour had been in.
But the people are so fucking stupid, they eat this shit … then the idiots go out and vote? go figure ???
It is Tweedledum and Tweedledummer, every politician since maybe MJS (?) have been selfish self serving lairs. They haven’t got a decent bone in their collective bodies.
Lets see just one of the slack sos stand up and tell the truth about Kiwi Saver.
Come on Ben you’re lurking around this blog
And Jarad is right, lets see if 4 years after the last election there is a rush of new teachers, thanks to National’s teacher drive to fell last elections ‘bitches’
I mean, they have made the profession so appealing.
And now the TV is dribbling the Benlarden BS again.
Is their no end to humans stupidity or gullibility? ….. no, and that is what politicians live for.
May 2, 2011: Bad News for listeners to “The Panel”
Many people have been concerned about the increasing dominance of Jim Mora’s programme by ideologues from the hard right (Michelle Boag, John Barnett, John Bishop, David Farrar, Stephen Franks) or even worse, by the complacent, the dithery and the ill-informed (Peter Elliott, Gary McCormick, Neil Miller, Tim Watkin).
Today’s guests on The Panel are Dr. Michael Bassett and Law Society head Jonathan Krebs. Bassett, who is notorious for his indiscriminate hurling of invective, a couple of years ago on The Panel called Nicky Hager a holocaust-denier (Mora sat silently and did not even demur). Krebs became a laughing-stock when he went ballistic about the not guilty verdict for the Waihopai Three, nearly blowing a gasket on live radio.
So, all things considered, today’s Panel should be interesting and informed. Not.
Well, yes, but Hone has been somewhat upstaged by events in Pakistan. It’s carnival time in the Panel studio, with only Jonathan Krebs spoiling the mood a little by noting that this was an assassination, with no legal justification. Bassett’s response was a contemptuous guffaw.
Bassett then went on to ask why, if the U.S. is “intervening for humanitarian reasons” in Libya, it is not “doing something about Mugabe”. Mora, for his part, suggested they should “go into” Syria.
No one suggested the obvious: why don’t they “go into” the most brutal and flagrant human rights in the area: Israel?
It’s carnival time in the Panel studio, with only Jonathan Krebs spoiling the mood a little by noting that this was an assassination, with no legal justification. Bassett’s response was a contemptuous guffaw.
Bassett then went on to ask why, if the U.S. is “intervening for humanitarian reasons” in Libya, it is not “doing something about Mugabe”. Mora, for his part, suggested they should “go into” Syria.
No one suggested the obvious: why don’t they “go into” the most brutal and flagrant human rights in the area: Israel?
Quoto al 100% Morrissey! You are completely correct. On Campbell Live, the festival of rejoicing continues.. Is there no analysis to be had? Noooooooo… Let’s take it all at face value. Grr..
The programs panel and presenters then gushed platitudes about decrepit old Don Brash and generally put the boot into Phil in yet another attempt to discredit the Labour Party. The biased opinions and lack of firing neurons have ensured their ratings have fallen to an all time low of only 53,000 viewers. Clearly not enough to justify the continued funding of such a shit program.
Sean Plunket is another National Party champion who is showing his true colours on TV3. On Saturday, he grilled Phil Goff not about current policies, but about internal Labour Party machinations in 1996.
And I note that Plunket has failed to respond to the British activist George Galloway, who publicly called out Plunket on some ignorant things he said last year….
It’s still a big worry Morrissey . Even Labour Party followers are begining to believe it.
However this morning I attended meeting where the speaker was Rev Linsay Cumberpatch a well known human rights advocate . The Rev Cumberpatch was full of praise for Phil Goff .In fact he was at a loss to understand the negative comments regarding Phil Goff.
I must say I agree with this statement . I have observed Phil for sometime and have always been very impressed at his handling of policy .
Renting? Is your landlord gang connected? Provide gushing references, financial information, and let a landlord representative visit the property to check its in good order? So why aren’t you provided with the same curtsey? Who is your landlord, do they have gang connections, are rental properties more likely to be burgled? Which landlords have a track record for poorly secured premises? Why don’t landlords have to cover contents insurance and so give tenants some confidence that landlords are on the up and up? Where did you think gangs put their laundered drug profits?
I wouldn’t worry about it too much – ZeeBop has a bee in his bonnet at the moment about gangs for some reason…
I imagine that land-gang-lords would have the same desire as a normal landlord ie for tenants that were reliable in paying, not likely to cause damage and not likely to move out because they have been burgled.
Re-letting is expensive and finding good tenants hard – why rob your own place when you can rob the place next door and you don’t have to go though the hassle? Plus you will have to fix doors/ windows etc unless you want it looking like an obvious inside job…
A discreet diplomatic lunch, a free trip to Washington and assurance of “assistance” from the US Embassy in Wellington have been used to blunt the Green Party’s “radical positions on many issues”, a leaked American diplomatic cable reveals.
The Americans seduced Green co-leaders Metiria Turei and Russel Norman, the latter with a free trip to Washington, and managed, over a lunch, to get a commitment from list MP Kennedy Graham “to turn (to the embassy) for any assistance he may need in the future.”
The cables show the views & interpretations of the US diplomats who wrote the cables.
The 2006 murders of infant twins Chris and Cru Kahui drew a cable for McCormick, saying it “highlighted the growing problem of welfare dependency, drug and alcohol addiction and child neglect within the Maori community”.
He said the Kahui family had hid “behind a traditional Maori grieving custom” to stonewall police investigations.
McCormick noted Maori Party leader Pita Sharples expressed “open indignation at the actions of the Kahui family and his efforts to address social problems within Maori have broadened his political appeal.”
They seem pretty wide of the mark on some NZ issues, and who knows, The Greens, Graham etc, may just have taken the free lunch & visit, smiled politely and made fiendly noises, without really shifting their political views, or subsequently turning to the US Embassy for help..
Yeah I noticed Stuff’s “Green party” headline. While interesting, to my minf the real oil (about Pharmac & copyright treaties) was buried way down the article. MSM spin – blatant as ever.
In 2004, US Ambassador Charles Swindells said the embassy was “attempting to make inroads against a government mindset that is hostile to the drug industry” and tried to “educate New Zealanders on the benefits of gaining access to a wider range of effective pharmaceuticals.”
The embassy noted an unexpected side effect from Pharmac, which it said denied cutting-edge drugs to New Zealanders: “Ironically, New Zealand presents a small but optimal environment for clinical trials of pharmaceuticals because of its population’s lack of exposure to newer medicines”.
Because Pharmac so doesn’t review teh literature on the efficiency of new drugs in order to see if the price tag is actually worth it compared to older, already known to work + extent of side effect drugs. And neither does the drug industry engage in unethical marketing, nor fail to disclose fully the side effects of new drugs.
Because Pharmac so doesn’t review teh literature on the efficiency of new drugs in order to see if the price tag is actually worth it compared to older, already known to work + extent of side effect drugs
As much as I appreciate Pharmac’s ability to source drugs at good prices, I’m not so keen on their evaluation methods for the new drugs. The appear to do a cost-benefit analysis in terms of cost to the health system vs benefits to the health system, rather than including benefits to the patient’s quality of life e.g. in terms of the ability to hold down a job or perform other societal functions normally.
“Useful idiot” Kathryn Ryan is easy meat for Matthew Hooton
A few minutes ago I heard Matthew “Machiavelli” Hooton try it on with Nine to Noon host Kathryn Ryan—and he got away with it. He said that lawyer Annette Sykes, a Mana Party candidate, “celebrated the 9/11 attacks.” That’s a lie, and Hooton was obviously trying to see just how far he could push Ryan. Her befuddled silence must have heartened him enormously.
Clearly Hooton’s key strategy is the tried and true National Party one of just telling lies, and seeing how long they can get away with it.
Trying to implant the notion that the new Mana party is “extremist”, Hooton is evidently going to stop at nothing. As long as he can get away with bamboozling useful idiots like Kathryn Ryan, it is quite effective.
Depressed and disappointed, I sent Ms. Ryan the following e-mail…
Why did you not challenge Matthew Hooton’s wild allegation?
Dear Kathryn,
You sat silently as Matthew Hooton, a notorious liar, smeared Annette Sykes by saying that she “celebrated the 9/11 attacks.”
Did you not think of asking him to back up his outlandish allegation?
“Are you comfortable with someone like Annette Sykes being so involved, I mean remember what she said around the time of 9/11 where she laughed and effectively applauded and clapped when those planes went into the towers on 9/11? I mean are you comfortable being a party in parliament having someone like that there?”
“When I first saw the planes fly into the towers I jumped for joy, I was so happy that at long last capitalism was under attack. Until, it suddenly dawned on me, what about all those poor pizza delivery boys, those poor firemen, those poor policemen, those poor lift-operators, all those poor cleaners, all those other poor workers who are forced to work for and were trying to save those greedy and horrible capitalists!? My heart and head was so confused – happy that some capitalists had been killed and very, very sad for all those who had died while working for them.”
It sounds bogus to me, no matter what you think of her politics I don’t think she’s thick enough to say something like that on the public record.
Your “information” comes from the looniest reaches of the far right blogosphere. The words you quote were “transcribed by a member of that audience”—i.e. they were made up.
A report of the comments was tabled in Parliament by New Zealand First MP Ron Mark in 2002, and they have been referred to since in parliamentary debate and in the media. I can’t find any evidence of her ever having denied making the statements – which you think you would if you had been accused in parliament of jumping for joy over the murder of several thousand people.
No update yet from various right wing lunatics who claimed he was dead years ago.
When the Hollow men came out, Hooten was fairly clear that he didn’t approve of the deliberate race baiting approach chosen by National; even though he went along with it and kept quiet.
It is a very rare thing in life to get a second chance to do the right thing.
OBL is just a scapegoat, we all know 911 was an inside job. It’s been proven by sciencey. And if he’d been wearing a tin foil burqa like me, the CIA would never have found him.
You may think you’re being funny, VoR, but it’s true.. the official 9/11 story stinks on ice. Further, OBL has probably been dead since at least 2002, like it or not!
And deep in the darkest recesses of the Beehive National Party Staffers are busily making lists of bad news to be released publicly under the extraordinary cover that will be provided by news that Osama Bin Laden has been killed.
Any thoughts for the approximately 1500 US troops and the countless civilian dead in Afghanistan to avenge the 3000 or so westerners killed on 11/9/2001.
So you believe in a state of “Hell” then joe.
Suggests you are a god fearing individual.
May come as a surprise to you but there are three groups of followers of this god.
Your type of language doesn’t bode well for the hopes of peace and reconciliation amongst the three.
Oh the wonderful, measured words of that very learned man that is Michael Bassett.
Former Labour MP for Te Atatu, and cabinet minister and now expert on things NZ.
Sadly now occupying time on Mora’s Afternoon on RNZ. He tries so hard to sound reasonable but then drops his guard and we get the bigot and the nasty little ACT apologist coming through.
Apparently Campbell Live has a ‘special’ report from Paul Henry at Times Square in New York. I have thought TV3 news was going down the tubes in spectacular fashion for awhile, particularly with that nasty toad Duncan Garner spinning for the Nat-Act twats, but Paul fricking Henry? This is the last goddamn straw. I am never watching TV3 news again.
Hmmm, wikileaks cables show just how much the US government, with scant regard for NZ sovereignty, was pushing the NZ government to adopt the internet/digital copyright laws, 3 strikes etc:
The cables are from 2005 & through to the NAct term in government.
And in 2005, there was a detailed break down of the costs of implementing the law, with the US offering a financial bribe for it to the NZ government Drew Wilson, in the above linked article pon the cables, says:
A diplomatic cable that was sent clear back in 2005 shows that the US was offering up money to put in new copyright laws. The cable was very detailed about the budget cost at the time…
Wilson ends the article by saying:
Overall, I think it is infuriating the way the US has conducted themselves on copyright on the international stage. In New Zealand, they are even pushing the country to implement laws even the US wouldn’t dare pass themselves because of it’s over-restrictiveness.
…
I’ll be blunt on this matter. If the US waltzes in to your country and demands the country implement a three strikes law, do yourselves a favour, grow a spine and tell the US to “[insert adjective here] off”.
On Capitol Hill they call them lobbyists, unelected pressure groups.
Not a lot different, it would seem, is about to be manifested in the Beehive.
Did the Prime Minister tell the gathered press today that he was expecting
a visit from Dr Brash to discuss how the ACT party is to be considered in
government? WTF? How far away is this from the Knights of the Round Table
having a regular formal audience?
In the Herald: “Kurariki was convicted of manslaughter in 2002 for his role as a lookout in the killing of pizza delivery man Michael Choy. Kurariki, who was 12 at the time, was released from jail in 2008.”
Well. Convicted of manslaughter as the lookout? But the Herald and other MSM have repeatedly named him as “NZ’s youngest killer.” And how well do we know the others who actually did the killing?
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Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
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The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
A new poem by Holly Fletcher. bejeweled log i was dreaming about wasps / wee darlings that followed me / ducking under objects / that i was fated to pickup / my fingers seeking / and meeting with tiny proboscis’s / but instead / i wake up / roll sideways ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Terry, Professor of Business Regulation, University of Sydney Michael von Aichberger/Shutterstock Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is essentially a strategy for cloning ...
Anti-nationalism has gone too far, selling out NZ just for the beating the chest moment. Oh, look how powerful we are, we can sell assets, hand profit streams to foreigners, stuff up and still make a living (please ignore the stats on growing poverty, skilled exodus, aging, jail pop., etc).
It must be so wonderful be a right winger knowing that they are stronger because NZ is weaker.
The bastards are at it again, any opportunity….asset sales.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/4948667/Chch-door-open-for-asset-sales
Just thinking logically here, if you buy this asset you expect a return so as to recoup your investment. Over time you end up owning it outright and taking a return. So if the asset was used for colllateral to a loan for Chch, and the profits used to pay off the loan by the people of Christchurch, they could have the money plus retain ownership. Why sell?
“When a child is afraid in her own home, have you ever wanted to help?
Now you can, by filling out the form and becoming a Guardian Angel.
Being a Guardian Angel means giving $30 or more each month to help families like Sophie’s through the services of Presbyterian Support Family Works. It is just a dollar a day.
For over 120 years Presbyterian Support has been caring for New Zealanders in need. We keep a low profile, so most people do not realise we are the largest provider of social services outside government.
Family Works is our way of helping families with children under 17, through services like counselling, social work, parenting support and family violence programmes.
We help children and families under enormous pressure. You can help them too by filling in the form right now and becoming a Guardian Angel today.
What’s more, all your Guardian Angel gifts will go to help children and families in your part of the country, through the Family Works staff in your region.
This appeal is urgent, because many families are forced to wait for the help they desperately need today.”
I’ve heard of leaving things to the private sector because they’re supposedly more efficient but this is beyond the pale Paula ‘hate the benes’ Bennett. Presbyterian Support has to come to the rescue of children in this country which should be CYFS’s job under your leadership – wow, sponsor to protect a child for just $1 per day – as per CV: hand me a Tui.
If CYFS and WINZ are in such bad shape before the Budget I can’t wait to view the results of NACT’s surgical ward rounds on the 19th.
Nice one Paula, make beneficiaries crawl by reducing access to much needed food grants and now leave children to the mercy of violence in the home because a non-state organisation feels it cannot ignore the yawning chasm in provision of services to counselling, social work, parenting support and family violence programmes.
Hang your head in shame you gutless, attention-seeking worm.
All the cutesy, apron-clad visits to food kitchens to do the crocodile teary Kodak moments cannot disguise that you’re completely useless at your job, couldn’t give a toss about anyone because people’s personal details can be splashed across the papers if the mood takes you and are a complete sell-out so that you get a nice pat on the head from your dear leader Key – fuck, what do you get if you roll over and let him scratch your stomach?
http://www.angel.org.nz/
fuck, what do you get if you roll over and let him scratch your stomach?
Ask Jeanette Fitzsimons, she was Helen’s tickle me Elmo doll
Mission Australia
Arkansas Faith and Families Foundation
Big Society
And now with our very own Angel I can see where this is going…….
You hear of how a scientist, mathematician, musician, comes from a family of, even extended family of like minded individuals. That the family acts as a sponge for information that then discharges into the next generation. And what of that information, why are the facts, reasoning about those facts, the experiences of others who have learnt those facts so useful to society? Yet so hard to maintain, so hard to recreate from nothing. Why are Maori so left out of the way a Pakeha world works? Are the traditions in some successful Pakeha families hard to grow in Maori families and extended families? How is information maintained? By society rewarding their use, by society valuing the virtue of deep knowledge. Is there a linkage then between Maori poverty and skilled citizen flight to other world economies? That something in the kiwi shouting culture hates a smart arse? Is just jealous of learning, fearful even, of other families having wealth besides monetary considerations? That surface poverty, not keeping up with the neighbours outward display of conformity isn’t just loathing rich pricks, but also smart ones too? Do kiwis just love to knock? Is that why our economy sucks, and sucking more every month? Five cars torched, a scene more of LA, why? Were the cars targeted because they are too noisy? My street could do with a visit. Or is it 100% pure random nastiness. Maybe a gang moving in, dragging the neighbourhood down to buy up homes on the cheap. Gangs who put the homes in their girlfriends name and then hand them a noisy car to insure the street becomes a nightmare for any old people living there. Do we have laws against age discrimination? Why are our cars now so much a part of our kiwi culture? Sorry, woken again by the death cries of a car culture passing peak oil. Why are we kiwis so mindless? Is that what we are rewarded for because we don’t reward real intellect? Not that I would know anything about that, word bro.
Don Brash: confused old man
“New ACT leader Don Brash has rejected claims by Hone Harawira that he is a racist, and has in turn attacked Mr Harawira for seeking preference for Maori based on race.
“I find that grossly offensive. I think being called racist is almost the worst kind of insult,” Dr Brash said. “To me a racist is someone who wants to discriminate against particular people. Well, my concern is that the Maori Party actually wants to create a privileged group of New Zealanders. ”
– um, Don, you just attacked Harawira’s former party and your current governing partner.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4948683/Brash-labels-racist-claim-offensive
Not confused, just a fuckwit.
A rich, devious,fuckwit
No Bored. He is not. He’s a sharp crafty dangerous man. We should not be conned into thinking he ‘s just an old buffoon . This revival of the far Right may and could mean disaster for the working people of Aotearoa . And the underpriviledged will disappear into the forgotten and don’t care poor.
How is Don to know? They all look the same to him.
It’s true about the fuckwit thing.
Here it is again:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10722785
In which he says that FPP isn’t the go because it doesn’t feel quite right in his view that a party could get 21 % of the vote and only get 2 seats. He doesn’t like mmp though, for reasons unexplained.
He likes the Supplementary system because it lets small parties have some token representation, and more importantly, lists allow the great and good like himself to enter parliament without having to bother with demeaning things like candidate selection panels. For reals. That’s what he reckons.
This is a man who seems to accept that we should look like a democracy, but that democracy itself is a bit of a hindrance.
Fuckwit.
Looking at that description of supplementary member, I think I prefer MMP.
But I also wouldn’t be wholly opposed to SM if it retained the current 70/50 split we have with MMP. 90/30 just puts way too much power in the FPP system for electorates. Unless that two was also changed to STV voting, to greatly increase the chances of minor parties winning electorate seats.
The electorate seats should be STV voting no matter what system you use. I still prefer MMP, SM looks like an attempt by the right to gerrymander the voting in their favour.
Maybe they need to make retirement compulsory at 70. And anyone in power is tested every year from 65 for senility or dementia.
Even the Americans with all their paranoia and insanity don’t let anyone hold the ultimate reins for more than 2 terms. And then their power is very limited.
And if you want to see what grumpy old men can do look at the OLD Russia!!
Grumpy Fuckwit.
Bet the Maori Party is looking forwards to the next 3 years cosying up in bed with Brash.
What fucking sell outs.
I have wondered too just how much longer the Maori can kow-tow to Brash and his mates Co/Viper . The adulation expressed by Turia towards Brash makes me cringe.She has completely forgot that Key was involved with Brash regarding Kiwi/Iwi . If the Maori party does not withdraw their support now that Brash is back it only shows their double standards, and that the baubles of office are much more important that justice for Maori.
Whenever Brash opens his mouth it reminds me of that saying that when you find yourself in a hole you should stop digging.
Just keep him talking.
Don Brash… the Donad Trump of NZpolitics. ha ha ha ha a ha ha ha ha ha ha so funny both of them
We now have 3 supposedly rising politicians, that have publicly stated something about peak oil
John Banks – reading ‘The Oil Crash and You’ on his talk back show in 2002 (ish)
http://oilcrash.com/articles/running.htm
Don Brash “But the real issue last week was about bio-diesel and the world running out of fossil fuels. That was the point of the photo op, and I went there to make that point, it is the world walking the plank frankly, not Don Brash…”
http://oilcrash.com/articles/natnl_01.htm
And Hone calling for a cross party group to discuss peak oil and climate change.
http://thestandard.org.nz/the-knife-edge/
Oh and all the above are thanks my fucking efforts … again I told you and them so )
And just to spice up our borring lives
Unit 3 Explosion May Have Been Prompt Criticality in Fuel Pool
With any luck Key will be flying through all this stuff, I just hope he stops off in Hawaii on his way home … breath deep John
[I won’t delete it, but that last comment is perilously close to Kiwiblog territory. Please don’t go there. — r0b]
How many teachers does a $500,000 by-election cost months out from an election? A casual 13 or so, better let Hone know…
[lprent: Moved to OpenMike as only being tangentially related to the topic.
You’re also banned for 2 weeks for starting a diversion troll off the topic in a post. ]
That’s a one off charge, and worth more to democracy than, say, a bunch of BMW limos. Tax cuts for these 47 is 4.5 million every year…
Don’t excuse it as an act of democracy, its political posturing. He could easily ascertain the mandate of his electorate with polling and constituent meetings that neednt cost nearly as much.
Don’t excuse it as an act of democracy, its political posturing.
Who are you to say, Jared? He’s operating within the rules of Parliament and following clear precedent. The only ones trying to beat it up as an issue are those who are doing their own political posturing eh.
Considering how quick the left is to criticise subjectively “wasteful” political expenditure the irony is certainly not lost here.
So Jared do you agree that NZ needs more teachers?
Do you also agree that recent tax cuts for the wealthy has prevented expenditure on such worthwhile areas to occur?
NZ needs more of a number of skilled professions.
No question there.
But in perspective, a career in teaching starts with the 3 year Bachelors, and the year in a classroom before you can be qualified. So in reality, we are only seeing the outcome of policies surrounding improving the rates of teachers getting qualified from 3-5 years ago.
If you want to get really picky, then wasteful and pandering to your supporters isn’t purely a concept of the right, interest free student loans have cost the nation dearly, and if Labour had actually followed through with their universal student allowance we would have really been in trouble.
And if you want to get really really really picky, at the moment there is a sincere glut of recent teaching graduates who are finding it difficult to land jobs. There is a lack of experienced teachers, not beginning teachers.
The lack of teachers has been the 9 year boggie man, at least for the last 18 years, I distinctly remember Labour bitching about the lack of teachers after 9 years of National, then …. 9 years later National was bitching about the lack of teachers after Labour had been in.
But the people are so fucking stupid, they eat this shit … then the idiots go out and vote? go figure ???
It is Tweedledum and Tweedledummer, every politician since maybe MJS (?) have been selfish self serving lairs. They haven’t got a decent bone in their collective bodies.
Lets see just one of the slack sos stand up and tell the truth about Kiwi Saver.
Come on Ben you’re lurking around this blog
And Jarad is right, lets see if 4 years after the last election there is a rush of new teachers, thanks to National’s teacher drive to fell last elections ‘bitches’
I mean, they have made the profession so appealing.
And now the TV is dribbling the Benlarden BS again.
Is their no end to humans stupidity or gullibility? ….. no, and that is what politicians live for.
May 2, 2011: Bad News for listeners to “The Panel”
Many people have been concerned about the increasing dominance of Jim Mora’s programme by ideologues from the hard right (Michelle Boag, John Barnett, John Bishop, David Farrar, Stephen Franks) or even worse, by the complacent, the dithery and the ill-informed (Peter Elliott, Gary McCormick, Neil Miller, Tim Watkin).
Today’s guests on The Panel are Dr. Michael Bassett and Law Society head Jonathan Krebs. Bassett, who is notorious for his indiscriminate hurling of invective, a couple of years ago on The Panel called Nicky Hager a holocaust-denier (Mora sat silently and did not even demur). Krebs became a laughing-stock when he went ballistic about the not guilty verdict for the Waihopai Three, nearly blowing a gasket on live radio.
So, all things considered, today’s Panel should be interesting and informed. Not.
I haven’t been listening, but let me guess, ‘Hone is uppity’.
Amirite?
Well, yes, but Hone has been somewhat upstaged by events in Pakistan. It’s carnival time in the Panel studio, with only Jonathan Krebs spoiling the mood a little by noting that this was an assassination, with no legal justification. Bassett’s response was a contemptuous guffaw.
Bassett then went on to ask why, if the U.S. is “intervening for humanitarian reasons” in Libya, it is not “doing something about Mugabe”. Mora, for his part, suggested they should “go into” Syria.
No one suggested the obvious: why don’t they “go into” the most brutal and flagrant human rights in the area: Israel?
Quoto al 100% Morrissey! You are completely correct. On Campbell Live, the festival of rejoicing continues.. Is there no analysis to be had? Noooooooo… Let’s take it all at face value. Grr..
Asshole of the Week Award – Duncan Garner
http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/05/asshole-of-week-award.html
The programs panel and presenters then gushed platitudes about decrepit old Don Brash and generally put the boot into Phil in yet another attempt to discredit the Labour Party. The biased opinions and lack of firing neurons have ensured their ratings have fallen to an all time low of only 53,000 viewers. Clearly not enough to justify the continued funding of such a shit program.
Sean Plunket is another National Party champion who is showing his true colours on TV3. On Saturday, he grilled Phil Goff not about current policies, but about internal Labour Party machinations in 1996.
And I note that Plunket has failed to respond to the British activist George Galloway, who publicly called out Plunket on some ignorant things he said last year….
http://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/george-galloway-invites-interview-by-sean-plunket-of-tv3s-the-nation-2/
It’s still a big worry Morrissey . Even Labour Party followers are begining to believe it.
However this morning I attended meeting where the speaker was Rev Linsay Cumberpatch a well known human rights advocate . The Rev Cumberpatch was full of praise for Phil Goff .In fact he was at a loss to understand the negative comments regarding Phil Goff.
I must say I agree with this statement . I have observed Phil for sometime and have always been very impressed at his handling of policy .
So Welcome to TV3, NZ’s Fox News/propaganda. Yay!
Note that in the photo of John Key meets Brent Impey, it is Impey who has the power handshake over Key’s. “You are in my control John.”
And don’t forget the $45 million this present government gave them Todd.
Renting? Is your landlord gang connected? Provide gushing references, financial information, and let a landlord representative visit the property to check its in good order? So why aren’t you provided with the same curtsey? Who is your landlord, do they have gang connections, are rental properties more likely to be burgled? Which landlords have a track record for poorly secured premises? Why don’t landlords have to cover contents insurance and so give tenants some confidence that landlords are on the up and up? Where did you think gangs put their laundered drug profits?
I never even considered that a landlord would specifically allow their tenants to be burgled.
I guess going through a rental agency would help to protect against this.
I wouldn’t worry about it too much – ZeeBop has a bee in his bonnet at the moment about gangs for some reason…
I imagine that land-gang-lords would have the same desire as a normal landlord ie for tenants that were reliable in paying, not likely to cause damage and not likely to move out because they have been burgled.
Re-letting is expensive and finding good tenants hard – why rob your own place when you can rob the place next door and you don’t have to go though the hassle? Plus you will have to fix doors/ windows etc unless you want it looking like an obvious inside job…
Likely? – no.
This says more about US attempts to interfer in NZZ democratic proceses than it does about the Greens, maori, Aucklanders & so-called “welfare dependency”.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/4949637/Green-Party-lunch-revealed-in-Wikileaks-cable
The cables show the views & interpretations of the US diplomats who wrote the cables.
They seem pretty wide of the mark on some NZ issues, and who knows, The Greens, Graham etc, may just have taken the free lunch & visit, smiled politely and made fiendly noises, without really shifting their political views, or subsequently turning to the US Embassy for help..
Yeah I noticed Stuff’s “Green party” headline. While interesting, to my minf the real oil (about Pharmac & copyright treaties) was buried way down the article. MSM spin – blatant as ever.
Because Pharmac so doesn’t review teh literature on the efficiency of new drugs in order to see if the price tag is actually worth it compared to older, already known to work + extent of side effect drugs. And neither does the drug industry engage in unethical marketing, nor fail to disclose fully the side effects of new drugs.
As much as I appreciate Pharmac’s ability to source drugs at good prices, I’m not so keen on their evaluation methods for the new drugs. The appear to do a cost-benefit analysis in terms of cost to the health system vs benefits to the health system, rather than including benefits to the patient’s quality of life e.g. in terms of the ability to hold down a job or perform other societal functions normally.
“Useful idiot” Kathryn Ryan is easy meat for Matthew Hooton
A few minutes ago I heard Matthew “Machiavelli” Hooton try it on with Nine to Noon host Kathryn Ryan—and he got away with it. He said that lawyer Annette Sykes, a Mana Party candidate, “celebrated the 9/11 attacks.” That’s a lie, and Hooton was obviously trying to see just how far he could push Ryan. Her befuddled silence must have heartened him enormously.
Clearly Hooton’s key strategy is the tried and true National Party one of just telling lies, and seeing how long they can get away with it.
Trying to implant the notion that the new Mana party is “extremist”, Hooton is evidently going to stop at nothing. As long as he can get away with bamboozling useful idiots like Kathryn Ryan, it is quite effective.
Depressed and disappointed, I sent Ms. Ryan the following e-mail…
Why did you not challenge Matthew Hooton’s wild allegation?
Dear Kathryn,
You sat silently as Matthew Hooton, a notorious liar, smeared Annette Sykes by saying that she “celebrated the 9/11 attacks.”
Did you not think of asking him to back up his outlandish allegation?
Yours in wonderment,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
Morrisey
Yu better take up this issue with Duncan Garner as well,
http://business.scoop.co.nz/2011/04/30/hone-harawira-on-the-nation/
“Are you comfortable with someone like Annette Sykes being so involved, I mean remember what she said around the time of 9/11 where she laughed and effectively applauded and clapped when those planes went into the towers on 9/11? I mean are you comfortable being a party in parliament having someone like that there?”
I don’t believe Annette Sykes either said or did any of those things. Garner was probably rehashing what he’d heard Hooton say.
What you believe is neither here nor there. surely, if she did either (or both) Hooten and Garner would have a record.
So where is it then?
The quote I’ve seen republished on blogs is…
“When I first saw the planes fly into the towers I jumped for joy, I was so happy that at long last capitalism was under attack. Until, it suddenly dawned on me, what about all those poor pizza delivery boys, those poor firemen, those poor policemen, those poor lift-operators, all those poor cleaners, all those other poor workers who are forced to work for and were trying to save those greedy and horrible capitalists!? My heart and head was so confused – happy that some capitalists had been killed and very, very sad for all those who had died while working for them.”
It sounds bogus to me, no matter what you think of her politics I don’t think she’s thick enough to say something like that on the public record.
Your “information” comes from the looniest reaches of the far right blogosphere. The words you quote were “transcribed by a member of that audience”—i.e. they were made up.
http://pc.blogspot.com/2005/12/keith-locke-exposed-again.html
I found it here
http://blog.greens.org.nz/index.php/2005/05/31/united-in-terrorism/#comment-709
and here.
http://www.vdig.net/hansard/archive.jsp?y=2002&m=10&d=08&o=229&p=230
I’m sure we’ll get some clarification from Annette regarding what she actually said.
A report of the comments was tabled in Parliament by New Zealand First MP Ron Mark in 2002, and they have been referred to since in parliamentary debate and in the media. I can’t find any evidence of her ever having denied making the statements – which you think you would if you had been accused in parliament of jumping for joy over the murder of several thousand people.
I’ve heard all sorts of nasty things about you Matthew and I’ve never heard you deny them. Thus they must be true right?
Which reminds me. The rumour is you’re doing PR for Brash which surprised me because I didn’t think you were a race-baiter. Is that true?
No update yet from various right wing lunatics who claimed he was dead years ago.
When the Hollow men came out, Hooten was fairly clear that he didn’t approve of the deliberate race baiting approach chosen by National; even though he went along with it and kept quiet.
It is a very rare thing in life to get a second chance to do the right thing.
What? It’s “neither here nor there” whether or not I believe the word of a notorious liar?
I would have thought that establishing one recognizes the unreliability of the likes of Hooton and Garner was essential.
Would be hilarious if it is true. A party over before it starts.
The funniest thing will be to have Hooten hauled up on charges for this.
Wow. What charges would they be?
Seen this folks?
Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
NO SELLOFF OF CHRISTCHURCH’S PUBLICLY-OWNED ASSETS!
[deleted]
[lprent: You’re cutting and pasting far too much – use quote and link. Next time I see it you’re going to get a months holiday. ]
Talking heads say OBL is dead, perhaps.
Be sure to pass on my condolensces to Annette Sykes
condolensces… condolences ya dopey fuck, … condolences….just be sure to pass them on
Kind of like Elvis?
On the 1st of May 1945 it was announced that H**ler was dead, theatre much.
OBL is just a scapegoat, we all know 911 was an inside job. It’s been proven by sciencey. And if he’d been wearing a tin foil burqa like me, the CIA would never have found him.
Careful you are inviting Eve to start frothing all over the interwebs.
Too late, HS, too late:
http://thestandard.org.nz/osama-bin-laden-dead/#comment-325957
Can I be the first to start the rumour that Osama surrendered, but was executed anyway to stop the truth coming out? Thanx.
You may think you’re being funny, VoR, but it’s true.. the official 9/11 story stinks on ice. Further, OBL has probably been dead since at least 2002, like it or not!
And deep in the darkest recesses of the Beehive National Party Staffers are busily making lists of bad news to be released publicly under the extraordinary cover that will be provided by news that Osama Bin Laden has been killed.
Great day for the world, thoughts with his victims at this point.
Any thoughts for the approximately 1500 US troops and the countless civilian dead in Afghanistan to avenge the 3000 or so westerners killed on 11/9/2001.
yeh… ain’t it grand to see one of the world’s worst mass muderers brought down at last.
And a great day that Pakistan sides with the USA to bring bin Laden down. No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.
I hope he rots in Hell.
George Bush left office a long time ago.
No, Hone has it on good advice that Don Brash is the ultimate bogeyman.
So you believe in a state of “Hell” then joe.
Suggests you are a god fearing individual.
May come as a surprise to you but there are three groups of followers of this god.
Your type of language doesn’t bode well for the hopes of peace and reconciliation amongst the three.
whatever…
I’m still delighted that this mass murdering scumbag now exists only in the past tense.
OBL is nothing but a bedtime story used to scare children into behaving like good little serfs.
Disgraceful the sight of people in the US celebrating a death…bloodthirsty ghouls.
Bet they wont be celebrating so much when more blood is spilled in the name of his scary-ness.
Stupid witch hunt, Stupid war, Evil Government.
Oh the wonderful, measured words of that very learned man that is Michael Bassett.
Former Labour MP for Te Atatu, and cabinet minister and now expert on things NZ.
Sadly now occupying time on Mora’s Afternoon on RNZ. He tries so hard to sound reasonable but then drops his guard and we get the bigot and the nasty little ACT apologist coming through.
Apparently Campbell Live has a ‘special’ report from Paul Henry at Times Square in New York. I have thought TV3 news was going down the tubes in spectacular fashion for awhile, particularly with that nasty toad Duncan Garner spinning for the Nat-Act twats, but Paul fricking Henry? This is the last goddamn straw. I am never watching TV3 news again.
diddums
Hmmm, wikileaks cables show just how much the US government, with scant regard for NZ sovereignty, was pushing the NZ government to adopt the internet/digital copyright laws, 3 strikes etc:
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/93326/new-zealands-three-strikes-law-was-pushed-bought-and-paid-for-by-the-us-wikileaks/
The cables are from 2005 & through to the NAct term in government.
And in 2005, there was a detailed break down of the costs of implementing the law, with the US offering a financial bribe for it to the NZ government Drew Wilson, in the above linked article pon the cables, says:
Wilson ends the article by saying:
On Capitol Hill they call them lobbyists, unelected pressure groups.
Not a lot different, it would seem, is about to be manifested in the Beehive.
Did the Prime Minister tell the gathered press today that he was expecting
a visit from Dr Brash to discuss how the ACT party is to be considered in
government? WTF? How far away is this from the Knights of the Round Table
having a regular formal audience?
In the Herald: “Kurariki was convicted of manslaughter in 2002 for his role as a lookout in the killing of pizza delivery man Michael Choy. Kurariki, who was 12 at the time, was released from jail in 2008.”
Well. Convicted of manslaughter as the lookout? But the Herald and other MSM have repeatedly named him as “NZ’s youngest killer.” And how well do we know the others who actually did the killing?
Having insomnia and playing with an anagram generator – this is too precious not to share:
Paula Bennett’s anagram name is PETULANT BEAN!
And one more, I just can’t help myself:
Rodney Hide’s anagram name is OY! HINDERED