The Prime Minister told the Listener he sent his children to private schools for educational reasons, including smaller classes and better resources.
It was not a direct quote, but a picture of Mr Key with the comment alongside was posted on Facebook yesterday and by last night had appeared on numerous blogs and been shared by more than 6000 people.
Power to the people!
PS: Pity about the comic piece beside this article, with a photo of a comedian with a ludicrous speech bubble spewing out of his mouth.
In March 2007, APN NZ announced it was considering a plan to outsource the bulk of the Herald’s copy editing to an Australian-owned company, Pagemasters. APN confirmed the outsourcing decision to affected staff on 19 April 2007.
Although last week there was news about the possible outsourcing of copy editing for Fairfax Aussie papers, to NZ.
Well said Carol. Was furious when I saw this headline. Nearly choked over a cup of tea when I saw the 4.30pm TVNZ news yesterday and saw police lifting people by their necks using armholds and fingers around throats, crushing a person’s head by their neck into the concreted ground and then saw a policeman pull his arm back and really punch a student hard at least a couple of times. I was absolutely stunned and horrified .The students were passive and to their absolute credit did not retaliate.This video was sanitised by the time it reached the six o’ clock news, I could find it nowhere on the TVNZ site. Thus I went to TV3 and found much of what I previously witnessed, however there was only a slight glimpse of the policeman punching some one.I saved them in case they ‘disappeared’ too.
Why were some of the police so dangerous? Have they not had training into how to handle peaceful protests?
It seems, from the Herald story you have just linked to that someone is spinning. Even Bill English’ part in the provocation was watered down. This type of untruthful and ‘spin’ reporting infuriates me.
It could have been my son, who is a student in Auckland, that could have been manhandled like this by the police. My fury would have known no bounds, and misrepresentation of the facts would have poured further fuel on my anger.
Standard authors – do you want to support a campaign to get a debate on the future of our Super?
This is not about specific options for Super at this stage, it’s to build a campaign for dealing with and debating super. Super is one of the most important issues facing us over the next half century. We need to discuss it and deal with it.
David Shearer is pushing for a cross party discussion. And according to Duncan Garner:
– The Greens have said yes,
– ACT would join,
– the Maori Party want in,
– Hone Harawira won’t say no
– and Winston Peters could be tempted.
– Peter Dunne says everyone must join up for this to have credibility.
SO how about cross-blog support for this? Combine the power of the blogs. Post a blog, or comment here in support.
BADASS – Bloggers Advancing Debate About Super Solutions
The deal that accompanied the end of chattel slavery was that us ‘new found’ slaves for rent (forced into the position through violent dispossession and enclosure) would be allowed to work our way to freedom. Ie, we would rent our labour for a number of years and in return it was acknowledged we wouldn’t be forced to rent ourselves out in later years.
Okay, it wasn’t exactly a deal. It was an imposition. And that’s why many people died or had their lives ruined, first in resistence, and then, when that was quashed, attempting to improve various aspects of our end of ‘the deal’.
And now we are being told….well no, this is what we’re not being told…that our wages have been driven so low by those seeking to profit from our labour, that government cannot raise enough money from us in the way of taxes to provide for retirement. What we are being told is that we need to rent ourselves out for a larger proportion of our life span because….because, well shit… just because really. But not because profits, unlike people, have to remain inviolate.
The ‘no’ refers to the fact that any such debate should be off the table. Why should it be off the table? Read my comment. Any government daring to make even the slightest hint of extending the years of rented out labour would, in a society that knew its history, be ‘gone by lunch time’.
And anyway, what is the ‘it’ that something needs done about Pete? I guess in your world it simply couldn’t be the enormous and continuely rising rate of profit that has essentially diverted resources away from workers and by extension governments and so society at large.
You want a sustainable way forward Pete? Well how about you firts of all recognise what it is that is unsustainable? Here’s a hint, it’s capitalism and its demand for growth. So whatever sustainable way it is that we might develop going forwards; this isn’t it Pete.
And even within the parameters of Capitalism…since I doubt you’ll ever get beyond a quizzical DUH? when trying to get your head around why some people might not be enamored by the whole shebang…. selectively picking out little bits of so-called ‘economic unsustainability’ and not looking at how that transpired…refusing to look at the bigger picture,the context… is a sheer fucking dishonest nonsense that any politician, for having brought it into the arena of public debate, should fucking swing for.
I’ve acknowledged the capitalism ponzi problem for quite a while Bill.
I’m far less certain that a complete change in economic system is necessary to attain sustainability. One of the biggest impediments is the entrenched attitude of most of the population who are addicted to consumerism.
Not an error, Nationbal’s current position is to do nothing and change nothing, while Key is still PM. English says the same – see National’s toes dug in Super.
So we have four options:
1. Go the National way and kick the can down the road, until 2014, or 2017, or…
2. Build support and pressure to “encourage” National to change their minds and at least start the discussion necessary to address it.
3. Ignore National’s intransigence and do as much work as possible discussing and investigating and decidedin amongst everyone else so that when the next Non-National led government gets in any changes can be started as soon as possible.
4. Wait and hope for Bill’s revolution (and hope there are no adverse effects or unforeseen consequences and hope that there’s a miracle transformation to go with it).
pg hair should grow some and sort it out with national he could force national to stop wasting time and fobbing the issue.No plan National and by default the hair the MP for Ohairyu
he could force national to stop wasting time and fobbing the issue
I don’t know how you think he could do that. He can’t force National or any other party to do anything.
UF does have an agreement with National to have a discussion paper on super this term, and National have said they will honour that commitment (Bill Enlish reeaffirmed that on Thursday). So that’s a toe in the door opportunity. I’m doing what I can to help make the most of that toe in the door, and trying to involve any other party that is willing to be involved as much as possible.
This BADASS initiative could help in this respect, the wider and larger the public support for doing soemthing the more more that can be done, sooner. Maybe not as soon as some of us would prefer, but it’s far better than doing nothing.
Pete stop trying to gain the cudos for this. Labour and the Greens are the only parties brave enough to raise this as an issue and discuss it. UF just confused the issue by proposing something that actually achieved nothing.
If you want to do something of use persuade the follicled one to withdraw support for the Government. This is the one and only thing UF could do if it is interested in achieving a solution.
That’s one of the sillier things you’ve said. It would make a mockery of a coalition agreement and our MMP if UF withdrew support from the Government.
And it would remove the one guaranteed chance of official Super discussions.That opportunity can be used to the max, or ignored, which would probably result in no progress on Super this term.
I don’t expect you to understand non-partisan practical politics, but I know some in Labour do.
Pete, seeing National has said they are not at all interested in substantive talks, then what can be done?
UFs coalition agreement is a farce that will achieve nothing on this. It’s designed to achieve nothing on this. Signing up to it was an agreement by Dunne that nothing will be actually done.
So he either honours it, and toes national’s ‘do nothing’ line, or he tries to get a majority in parliament to do something without national. But the coalition agreement thing cannot be a part of getting anything done, because it is with National, who are adament that they are not going to do anything.
But now there is a guaranteed opportunity to begin a discussion which can be used to prepare for when we have a government willing to act on it.
There is always an opportunity to talk about it Pete, and it’s always gauranteed. But the coalition agreement ‘talk’ is guaranteed to fail. It’s predetermined to fail. It’s between National and UF, and National have said they are not for changing.
Suggest a better way to do it.
how about the various parties work out what they want to do in terms of policy, advocate for those policies, and then we put it up to a vote from the entire electorate in the form of an election, After that election the parties elected to parliament will negotiate untill some combination can form a government and implement policy.
that sounds a lot better to me than a bunch of undemocratic back room dealiing
Well two predictions Petey. Absolutely nothing will be done this term to address the issue of future retirement pressures. And the coiffured one will continue to receive his grossly excessive salary and get driven around by limos paid with our coin.
When does he “get driven around by limos”? I think that’s an uninformed criticism based on no facts. As far as I know he drives himself around Wellington in an ordinary sort of car.
And stop diverting. If you are keen to do something about retirement then persuade UF to jump up and down and insist on National at least talking about the subject. Labour and the Greens will happily take part in the discussion.
Absolutely nothing will be done this term to address the issue of future retirement pressures.
If everyone buys into that then you will be right. If enough people are prepared to stand up and push, then it will at least perpare the way.
Maybe you should talk to David Shearer, it seems to be a major priority of his, he is talking to other parties about it quietly and proposing co-operative action publicly.
Once again it seems I’m more supportive of what your leader is doing than you are. Why don’t you get in behind him on that, help drive it. I think it needs an inside/outside parliament multi party approach. I’m happy to work with you on it.
Yes, I think we can only do what is manageable, given the Key intransigence. Hopefully such cross-party consultation as might be possible will at least be persuasive with the public.Points 2 and 3 look positive possibilities. I agree with your comment on National’s current position.
We only need to look at places like the USA, whese we see retirees having to live on the street or work in low wage jobs because their retirement savings were wiped out in various crashes, or their employer was able to get out of making good on their pension obligations, ie United Airlines, various city and local governments, etc, to be thankful of the existence of NZ Super, which is only becoming expensive because of 20 years of tax cuts, especially in terms of wealth taxes.
I have noticed that those who scream the loudest about this are those who:
1) Work in the financial sector and would make a lot money from managing pension accounts, or advising people where to invest for their retirements.
2) Those who have a secure retirement to look forward to
3) Those looking for cheap labour
4) People who just resent people on low incomes/state assistance.
Don’t forget those in sedentary jobs, who can easily work until 80.
Are happy to make those work on whose more demanding jobs destroy their physical or mental health.
Unfortunately enough to make work difficult, but not enough to get an invalids benefit.
You hit the nail on the head. The only group whose funding is affording the lifestyle of the abysmal greedy with some sort of “guaranty” is the taxpayer. The longer they can milk this group the better for them. Naturally.
Four years ago Comedian and Guardian journalist Charlie Skelton went to Greece to rapport and possibly ridicule the “conspiracy” theorists who tried to attend the Global population to the fact that on average 200 of the richest and most powerful people met in secret to “talk freely”about global affairs. That was four years ago.
But when Charlie was followed and bullied and scared shitless by some of the Bilderberg goons he decided to have a closer look.
Today Charlie after following BIlderberg and visiting each consecutive Bilderberg meeting (Outside with all the other Bilderberg watchers) Charlie talks a very different tune.
So here is Charlie in the Guardian for those of you still firmly entrenched in the artificial Left/Right political paradigm.
Sorry, couldn’t finish it. It was funny, but my eyes started glazing over at the lists of people who I was supposed to know the significance of but didn’t. Does it actually get to explain anything?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think that is one of the factors. I also agree with the OECD when, in 2010, we were rated as having the second-to-best water quality, by Yale and Columbia.
Dr Russel Norman: Is the Prime Minister aware that the Yale report that he just quoted from has now been updated and our ranking has moved from second to 43rd, and does his Government take credit for the movement in our ranking in the Yale report from second to 43rd?
On Red Alert May 30, David Cunliffe spoke about a similar thing happening to him under a post entitled “Spin, damned spin, and Steven Joyce http://blog.labour.org.nz/
“In response to parliamentary oral question 7 today, economic development Minister Steven Joyce tried to deflect today’s announced cut to New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) 2012 growth forecast to a “stagnant” 1.5%, by saying this was all due to the supposed increase in the domestic savings rate.
Perhaps he was hoping that, as the NZIER publication is subscription-only, it was not going to be available to the Opposition, or to the public, and we would be unaware of his spin.
The problem for him, though, is I had the report in my hand and then I sought to table it.
National withheld leave for me to do so, to prevent you from judging for yourself.”
So David C posted the overview of the report to undermine Joyce’s spin and counteract this national MO of preventing tabling of information that national wants to ignore or deny. In other words, “what Mr Joyce thinks he can get away with in Question Time if no one is checking.”
It’s the intent of Standing Orders 368 and 374 to allow members of the House to be informed on matters not readily available to it by the tabling of documents. It’s meant to be a way for an assertion to be backed up with evidence.
You need to seek leave to table documents that are outside the scope of parliament or normal avenues of information gathering. There are meant to be good grounds to object to somebody seeking leave, however National MP’s have taken to abusing the process because there is so much information available that they would prefer was not officially registered.
While the Hansard is not required to log who is objecting to the tabling of documents and the Speaker continues to allow objections without good reason, such abuses of the system will continue.
I’ve just upgraded firefox, and now find ‘The Standard’ format slighly different, and irritatingly, lots of boxes popping up offering different kinds of ‘help’. Anyone else experiencing this?
A month or so ago something changed in Firefox so that whenever I click on the reply link it opens the box but then jumps me to the bottom of the page so I have to scroll back up.
Re the help popups, have you looked in the Preference settings?
Thanks Weka.
Yes it is mainly in the reply box. I can’t get in because it wants to spell check or offers me other tools before I’ve even got my cursor into the box, let alone written anything, and often blocks me getting into the box with the “help”.
I’ll try the preference settings.
btw I should have said that I don’t bother much with spelling and grammar rather than that I don’t often need it 😀
Weka, this has been a bug in Firefox for ages. It’s mildly annoying, particularly on posts with lots of comments, but I’ve learned to live with it! The other oddity is the comments RSS feed seems to be very short (ie. only a few comments) compared to other browsers.
Check you have the latest version of Firefox (v12)
Disable add-ons (for example, NoScript) that could interfere with the comment box
Or try Google Chrome…
Thanks Jackal and everyone else who offered advice.
I’ve done everything suggested (except change to chrome) and the problem appears to be gone (touch wood).
Result!
A month or so ago something changed in Firefox so that whenever I click on the reply link it opens the box but then jumps me to the bottom of the page so I have to scroll back up.
I have the same experience, and have to faff about finding it, as well, which is a pain on dial up, I tell you!
A month or so ago something changed in Firefox so that whenever I click on the reply link it opens the box but then jumps me to the bottom of the page so I have to scroll back up.
I have the same experience, and have to faff about finding it, as well, which is a pain on dial up, I tell you!
I tried to post this and got ‘internal server error’… whatever that means!
When trying to post this comment I got an ‘internal server error’, and the advice that I ought to contact you, and detail what I might have done to cause the problem – to which the answer is “blowed if I know’!
” month or so ago something changed in Firefox so that whenever I click on the reply link it opens the box but then jumps me to the bottom of the page so I have to scroll back up.
I have the same experience, and have to faff about finding it, as well, which is a pain on dial up, I tell you!”
Last I heard POAL were waiting for the POAL industrial relations ACT to be enacted so they did not have to negotiate. Good faith or otherwise.
POAL’s lawyer died and the court cases were adjourned, so at present they are talking, but MUNZ has no illusions that POAL will not have another go at casualisation when the law is changed.
–Hey who are the Arab League anyway (not using the name Arab League anymore I notice…Oh thats right, Bahrain, Qatar and other assorted murderers, liers and dictators…But they are monarchist states, so part of the imperial love fest!
–Good old NZH still playing its part in the global narrative relay system for the imperialists!
Still no mention of the death squads, or the sects all now killing eachother…Nah its as simple as the Syrian Govt Forces against the “rebel” civillians! Nice and simply packaged for very stupid people!
At a Labour regional conference. Biggest turnout in years! Great speech from David Shearer, very confident and looking more and more like the next PM. DC up now, talking about our future clean tech economy. Grant Robertson next.
Its been an interesting approach from the leadership, asking questions of the participants, rather than lecturing from on high. The discussion paper on the ongoing organisational review has been received really well and has stimulated a lot of talk among the delegates. Presumably that will flow on into the remits session tomorrow, where there is going to be some robust debate on how we re-engage the voters, particularly the lower paid enrolled non voters.
Sounds like a repeat performance of last week-end’s Auck./Northland conference TRP. I liked the way Shearer brought in his senior colleagues to answer questions specific to their portfolios. It wasn’t that he couldn’t answer them himself, but he presumably wants them to share the platform with him. I found it very refreshing and suggests Labour is going to do the opposite to National and promote themselves as a well-oiled team rather than a one man band.
Was that the reason certain sections of the media – mainstream and elsewhere – were recently trying to create a perception of Labour caucus division with talk of warring factions and caucus rows?
No sign of division at all, there are 8 MP’s, all singing from the same song sheet. The day has just finished with an excellent presentation from Young Labour. We are so lucky having these young activists coming through, they are just so positive, so ready to be part of the political future of NZ!
Interested to hear thoughts on what you believe, yet another change in government is really going to achieve for NZ, seriously its an honest question..Dont come back with we wont sell assets etc!
Until you hear them talking about RBNZ audits, or printing project funds, as is our sovereign right to do, then you can forget about it…
Young activists coming through, so lucky…Voice come on bro, these peoople have got nothing, nothing to offer NZ long term survivial, and as long as people such as yourself continue to believe that, then all I can do is say, thanks very much for being part of the problem, would you have a think about some self evaluation!
Blah blah blah, waste of time because the serious issues are out of our parliaments hands!
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1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leader’s time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shaw’s trademark wit ...
Two months ago, MPs unanimously voted to give themselves a week off in Efeso Collins’ honour. On Tuesday, most were too busy to give even an hour of their time. The day Fa’anānā Efeso Collins died, parliament felt different. In a building that operates at a breakneck pace, everyone stopped ...
India’s election involves hundreds of millions of people and is a months-long affair. Here’s how voting works and what’s at stake.The biggest-ever election in world history started on April 19, with more than 10% of the world’s population eligible to vote. Elections in India, the world’s most populous country ...
Opinion: The impression from the carpark is very inviting. The area is well fenced but barred so there is easy visibility of loved ones. Inside, the spaces are welcoming and clean and staff are friendly and clearly comfortable. I am greeted by ‘Kim’. She has worked here for three years, ...
After the Christchurch earthquake, the then-national civil defence boss compared his experience to “putting a team on the rugby field who have never ever played together before”. Now, eight years later – and following a damning inquiry into the emergency response of cyclones Gabrielle, Hale and the Auckland anniversary weekend floods – ...
“I had just come off the end of a major robbery case which I had been working on for six months when I got a call on the afternoon of September 1, 1992, that some remains had been found at a building site in Devonport, so I drove over with ...
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Comment: Journalists are very good at telling other people’s stories, but they fall well short when writing about their own profession. Perhaps that is why it is so undervalued. Every successive poll on the public’s attitude toward journalism is more alarming than the last. In the last month we have ...
Opinion: A young Māori woman and her Pacific partner arrive at their local hospital by ambulance. She has gone into labour at just under 24 weeks, but the couple haven’t recognised the symptoms – and don’t know the risks of premature birth for their baby. By the time they arrive, ...
Behind closed doors, NZ First will be arguing fiercely against any watering down of the ministerial decision-making powers in the Bill The post Bishop backtracks after fast-track backlash appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Emotional scenes played out in the Invercargill courthouse on the first two days of the coronial inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones, in which the boy’s mother was accused of disposing of her son’s body. The second season of Newsroom’s award-nominated podcast The Boy in the Water ...
Asia Pacific Report A Pacific civil society alliance has condemned French neocolonial policies in Kanaky New Caledonia, saying Paris is set on “maintaining the status quo” and denying the indigenous Kanak people their inalienable right to self-determination. The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOs) Alliance, representing some 15 groups, said in ...
Koi Tū New Zealand cannot sit back and see the collapse of its Fourth Estate, the director of Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, Sir Peter Gluckman, says in the foreword of a paper published today. The paper, “If not journalists, then who?” paints a picture of an industry ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Foreign investment proposals with implications for Australia’s strategic or economic security will face tougher scrutiny, under a policy overhaul to be announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday. At the same time, the government ...
A Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report has warned government that a repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act could cause harm to children in care. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering government consumption multipliers, automatic stabilisers and the impacts of global shocks on New Zealand’s economy. ...
Asia Pacific Report The Pacific state of Hawai’i’s House of Representatives has joined the state’s Senate in calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, becoming the first state to pass such a resolution, reports Hawaii News Now. In March, the Senate passed a ceasefire resolution with a 24–1 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum The Australian government has announced a pledge of approximately A$940 million (US$617 million) to PsiQuantum, a quantum computing start-up company based in Silicon Valley. Half ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Bennett, Lecturer in Exercise Science, University of South Australia Cameron Prins/Shutterstock If you spend a lot of time exploring fitness content online, you might have come across the concept of heart rate zones. Heart rate zone training has become more ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Eugene Doyle He is the most popular Palestinian leader alive today — and yet few people in the West even know his name. Absolutely no one in Gaza or the West Bank does not know him. That difference speaks volumes about who dominates the media narrative that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will McCallum, PhD Candidate – School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of not supporting Operation Sovereign Borders – the military-led border security operation that has “closed Australia’s borders ...
By Melyne Baroi in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea MP, Peter Isoaimo, who had been ousted by the National Court in an alleged bribery case, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal. A three-member Supreme Court bench found that the National Court had erred in finding that ...
Publisher Chris Holdaway reflects on the unique project of collecting the work of the late, terrific poet Schaeffer Lemalu. One of the nice things you can do as a truly independent publisher is to make the books that writers want to make, whatever they happen to be. That’s how I’ve ...
Those profiled in the stamp series served on overseas deployments from 1995 onwards, and all have been awarded theNew Zealand Operational Service Medal. ...
Last night’s dismal poll result for the coalition government shows the limits of trying to govern as an opposition, argues Joel MacManus. There’s a quote from the American political activist Barbara Deming: “Vengeance is not the point; change is. But the trouble is that in most people’s minds, the thought ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shireen Morris, Associate Professor and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School, Macquarie University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock Foreign interference in Australian democracy poses a growing risk to our national sovereignty. It refers to coercive, corrupt or ...
A defendant charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining by deception in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing has been scheduled for 14 August 2024. ...
What to say when pesky journalists ask gotcha questions like ‘can you name a single book you’ve ever read?’ and ‘did you read it, or did you just see the movie?’This week, Act Party arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson foolishly agreed to an interview with Newsroom’s Steve Braunias regarding his ...
Explainer - What will a ban on cellphones in schools achieve? Can students use them during lunch breaks? And what happens if you need to contact your child? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Jodi Rowley, CC BY-NC-ND In winter 2021, Australia’s frogs started dropping dead. People began posting images of dead frogs on social media. Unable to travel to investigate the deaths ...
In the year ended March 2024, 0.4 percent of home transfers were to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wasay Majid, Research Assistant , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New Zealand’s accommodation supplement scheme is facing scrutiny, with Social Development Minister Louise Upston recently saying “there is merit in considering whether the current settings are fair and sustainable long-term”. The ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The first prime ministerial candidate has been announced in Solomon Islands and it is not Manasseh Sogavare. The man of the hour is Jeremiah Manele, the MP for Hograno/Kia/Havulei constituency in Isabel Province, who served as minister of foreign affairs in the last government. ...
Protesting the removal of bins by leaving piles of your dog’s shit for others to deal with doesn’t make you a hero – it’s precious and entitled behaviour. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve stood on the shoreline of Auckland’s Cheltenham beach, desperately trying to scoop increasingly liquid dog shit ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon will be alert to the factors driving the dire polling, but won't be waving the white flag just yet, RNZ political editor Jo Moir writes. ...
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The reported statement in 2005 about the reasons for the Shonkey one sending his children to private schools has gone viral:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10810207
Power to the people!
PS: Pity about the comic piece beside this article, with a photo of a comedian with a ludicrous speech bubble spewing out of his mouth.
Out-sourcing copy editors off-shore leads to some real stuff-ups in the headlines – like this one for the NZ Herald.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10810205
Surely the headline should read:
Marauding police surround students
and not vice versa as seen this morning on the NZH online?
Carol .. do they really out-source copy editng offshore ? Where to ??
Indeed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Zealand_Herald#Outsourcing
Although last week there was news about the possible outsourcing of copy editing for Fairfax Aussie papers, to NZ.
thx carol …
Well said Carol. Was furious when I saw this headline. Nearly choked over a cup of tea when I saw the 4.30pm TVNZ news yesterday and saw police lifting people by their necks using armholds and fingers around throats, crushing a person’s head by their neck into the concreted ground and then saw a policeman pull his arm back and really punch a student hard at least a couple of times. I was absolutely stunned and horrified .The students were passive and to their absolute credit did not retaliate.This video was sanitised by the time it reached the six o’ clock news, I could find it nowhere on the TVNZ site. Thus I went to TV3 and found much of what I previously witnessed, however there was only a slight glimpse of the policeman punching some one.I saved them in case they ‘disappeared’ too.
Student protests Auckland Queen Street, Friday, June1st 2012 TV3:
Violent strangling punching from police 10.36pm
http://www.3news.co.nz/More-protests-to-come—students/tabid/309/articleID/256436/Default.aspx
“Three police to one woman” 3.07pm
http://www.3news.co.nz/Arrests-at-student-anti-Budget-protest/tabid/423/articleID/256395/Default.aspx
6.01 news Jane Liscome,, some violence from police shown
http://www.3news.co.nz/Dozens-of-arrests-as-students-protest/tabid/309/articleID/256414/Default.aspx
Why were some of the police so dangerous? Have they not had training into how to handle peaceful protests?
It seems, from the Herald story you have just linked to that someone is spinning. Even Bill English’ part in the provocation was watered down. This type of untruthful and ‘spin’ reporting infuriates me.
It could have been my son, who is a student in Auckland, that could have been manhandled like this by the police. My fury would have known no bounds, and misrepresentation of the facts would have poured further fuel on my anger.
Peaceful protest has become no longer a democratic right in this country. Violent police learned their stuff elsewhere – you can guess where.
The headline is a disgrace alright…
I’m just windering how long it takes til people start to understand, what “outsourcing” is really all about.
Much more to it than face value!
This country is heading into very dark places, which people seem to think won’t happen here.
If it happens abroad, it WILL come to NZ!
I posted this in the other thread. Marauding is the wrong word. It means pillaging, looting, pirating etc. Someone should complain.
Well bugger me!
Rail commuters to gain from $900m boost
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7033183/Rail-commuters-to-gain-from-900m-boost
Standard authors – do you want to support a campaign to get a debate on the future of our Super?
This is not about specific options for Super at this stage, it’s to build a campaign for dealing with and debating super. Super is one of the most important issues facing us over the next half century. We need to discuss it and deal with it.
David Shearer is pushing for a cross party discussion. And according to Duncan Garner:
– The Greens have said yes,
– ACT would join,
– the Maori Party want in,
– Hone Harawira won’t say no
– and Winston Peters could be tempted.
– Peter Dunne says everyone must join up for this to have credibility.
SO how about cross-blog support for this? Combine the power of the blogs. Post a blog, or comment here in support.
BADASS – Bloggers Advancing Debate About Super Solutions
No.
The deal that accompanied the end of chattel slavery was that us ‘new found’ slaves for rent (forced into the position through violent dispossession and enclosure) would be allowed to work our way to freedom. Ie, we would rent our labour for a number of years and in return it was acknowledged we wouldn’t be forced to rent ourselves out in later years.
Okay, it wasn’t exactly a deal. It was an imposition. And that’s why many people died or had their lives ruined, first in resistence, and then, when that was quashed, attempting to improve various aspects of our end of ‘the deal’.
And now we are being told….well no, this is what we’re not being told…that our wages have been driven so low by those seeking to profit from our labour, that government cannot raise enough money from us in the way of taxes to provide for retirement. What we are being told is that we need to rent ourselves out for a larger proportion of our life span because….because, well shit… just because really. But not because profits, unlike people, have to remain inviolate.
No what? No to doing anything about it?
Or do you have another viable solution to talking about all the options are working out a sustainable way forward?
The ‘no’ refers to the fact that any such debate should be off the table. Why should it be off the table? Read my comment. Any government daring to make even the slightest hint of extending the years of rented out labour would, in a society that knew its history, be ‘gone by lunch time’.
And anyway, what is the ‘it’ that something needs done about Pete? I guess in your world it simply couldn’t be the enormous and continuely rising rate of profit that has essentially diverted resources away from workers and by extension governments and so society at large.
You want a sustainable way forward Pete? Well how about you firts of all recognise what it is that is unsustainable? Here’s a hint, it’s capitalism and its demand for growth. So whatever sustainable way it is that we might develop going forwards; this isn’t it Pete.
And even within the parameters of Capitalism…since I doubt you’ll ever get beyond a quizzical DUH? when trying to get your head around why some people might not be enamored by the whole shebang…. selectively picking out little bits of so-called ‘economic unsustainability’ and not looking at how that transpired…refusing to look at the bigger picture,the context… is a sheer fucking dishonest nonsense that any politician, for having brought it into the arena of public debate, should fucking swing for.
I’ve acknowledged the capitalism ponzi problem for quite a while Bill.
I’m far less certain that a complete change in economic system is necessary to attain sustainability. One of the biggest impediments is the entrenched attitude of most of the population who are addicted to consumerism.
I fail to see National mentioned in your cross-party list, is this an error? I think my sight is alright. Are all the others truly likely to get far?
Not an error, Nationbal’s current position is to do nothing and change nothing, while Key is still PM. English says the same – see National’s toes dug in Super.
So we have four options:
1. Go the National way and kick the can down the road, until 2014, or 2017, or…
2. Build support and pressure to “encourage” National to change their minds and at least start the discussion necessary to address it.
3. Ignore National’s intransigence and do as much work as possible discussing and investigating and decidedin amongst everyone else so that when the next Non-National led government gets in any changes can be started as soon as possible.
4. Wait and hope for Bill’s revolution (and hope there are no adverse effects or unforeseen consequences and hope that there’s a miracle transformation to go with it).
pg hair should grow some and sort it out with national he could force national to stop wasting time and fobbing the issue.No plan National and by default the hair the MP for Ohairyu
he could force national to stop wasting time and fobbing the issue
I don’t know how you think he could do that. He can’t force National or any other party to do anything.
UF does have an agreement with National to have a discussion paper on super this term, and National have said they will honour that commitment (Bill Enlish reeaffirmed that on Thursday). So that’s a toe in the door opportunity. I’m doing what I can to help make the most of that toe in the door, and trying to involve any other party that is willing to be involved as much as possible.
This BADASS initiative could help in this respect, the wider and larger the public support for doing soemthing the more more that can be done, sooner. Maybe not as soon as some of us would prefer, but it’s far better than doing nothing.
Pete stop trying to gain the cudos for this. Labour and the Greens are the only parties brave enough to raise this as an issue and discuss it. UF just confused the issue by proposing something that actually achieved nothing.
If you want to do something of use persuade the follicled one to withdraw support for the Government. This is the one and only thing UF could do if it is interested in achieving a solution.
That’s one of the sillier things you’ve said. It would make a mockery of a coalition agreement and our MMP if UF withdrew support from the Government.
And it would remove the one guaranteed chance of official Super discussions.That opportunity can be used to the max, or ignored, which would probably result in no progress on Super this term.
I don’t expect you to understand non-partisan practical politics, but I know some in Labour do.
Pete, seeing National has said they are not at all interested in substantive talks, then what can be done?
UFs coalition agreement is a farce that will achieve nothing on this. It’s designed to achieve nothing on this. Signing up to it was an agreement by Dunne that nothing will be actually done.
So he either honours it, and toes national’s ‘do nothing’ line, or he tries to get a majority in parliament to do something without national. But the coalition agreement thing cannot be a part of getting anything done, because it is with National, who are adament that they are not going to do anything.
seeing National has said they are not at all interested in substantive talks, then what can be done?
Simple. All other parties can work together to ensure there are substantive talks.
Even if Labour was leading government now nothing would actually be changing this term, they were only proposing signalling change starting in 2020.
But now there is a guaranteed opportunity to begin a discussion which can be used to prepare for when we have a government willing to act on it.
Suggest a better way to do it.
But now there is a guaranteed opportunity to begin a discussion which can be used to prepare for when we have a government willing to act on it.
There is always an opportunity to talk about it Pete, and it’s always gauranteed. But the coalition agreement ‘talk’ is guaranteed to fail. It’s predetermined to fail. It’s between National and UF, and National have said they are not for changing.
Suggest a better way to do it.
how about the various parties work out what they want to do in terms of policy, advocate for those policies, and then we put it up to a vote from the entire electorate in the form of an election, After that election the parties elected to parliament will negotiate untill some combination can form a government and implement policy.
that sounds a lot better to me than a bunch of undemocratic back room dealiing
Well two predictions Petey. Absolutely nothing will be done this term to address the issue of future retirement pressures. And the coiffured one will continue to receive his grossly excessive salary and get driven around by limos paid with our coin.
When does he “get driven around by limos”? I think that’s an uninformed criticism based on no facts. As far as I know he drives himself around Wellington in an ordinary sort of car.
Baubles of office, Pete, baubles of office.
And stop diverting. If you are keen to do something about retirement then persuade UF to jump up and down and insist on National at least talking about the subject. Labour and the Greens will happily take part in the discussion.
You’re the one who baubled on with diversions, remember?
persuade UF to jump up and down and insist on National at least talking about the subject
Keep up. UF have already got a (C&S) commitment from National to talk about it. No other party has managed that yet.
Well talk about it all you want Petey but I repeat prediction one:
Absolutely nothing will be done this term to address the issue of future retirement pressures.
“Well talk about it all you want Petey”
AaaaRRRGGGGGGG.
Absolutely nothing will be done this term to address the issue of future retirement pressures.
If everyone buys into that then you will be right. If enough people are prepared to stand up and push, then it will at least perpare the way.
Maybe you should talk to David Shearer, it seems to be a major priority of his, he is talking to other parties about it quietly and proposing co-operative action publicly.
Once again it seems I’m more supportive of what your leader is doing than you are. Why don’t you get in behind him on that, help drive it. I think it needs an inside/outside parliament multi party approach. I’m happy to work with you on it.
Just print the money to cover the super needs. Whats the problem again?
Sorry Weka, my bad …
Yes, I think we can only do what is manageable, given the Key intransigence. Hopefully such cross-party consultation as might be possible will at least be persuasive with the public.Points 2 and 3 look positive possibilities. I agree with your comment on National’s current position.
We only need to look at places like the USA, whese we see retirees having to live on the street or work in low wage jobs because their retirement savings were wiped out in various crashes, or their employer was able to get out of making good on their pension obligations, ie United Airlines, various city and local governments, etc, to be thankful of the existence of NZ Super, which is only becoming expensive because of 20 years of tax cuts, especially in terms of wealth taxes.
I have noticed that those who scream the loudest about this are those who:
1) Work in the financial sector and would make a lot money from managing pension accounts, or advising people where to invest for their retirements.
2) Those who have a secure retirement to look forward to
3) Those looking for cheap labour
4) People who just resent people on low incomes/state assistance.
Don’t forget those in sedentary jobs, who can easily work until 80.
Are happy to make those work on whose more demanding jobs destroy their physical or mental health.
Unfortunately enough to make work difficult, but not enough to get an invalids benefit.
You hit the nail on the head. The only group whose funding is affording the lifestyle of the abysmal greedy with some sort of “guaranty” is the taxpayer. The longer they can milk this group the better for them. Naturally.
Four years ago Comedian and Guardian journalist Charlie Skelton went to Greece to rapport and possibly ridicule the “conspiracy” theorists who tried to attend the Global population to the fact that on average 200 of the richest and most powerful people met in secret to “talk freely”about global affairs. That was four years ago.
But when Charlie was followed and bullied and scared shitless by some of the Bilderberg goons he decided to have a closer look.
Today Charlie after following BIlderberg and visiting each consecutive Bilderberg meeting (Outside with all the other Bilderberg watchers) Charlie talks a very different tune.
So here is Charlie in the Guardian for those of you still firmly entrenched in the artificial Left/Right political paradigm.
If the meetings are in secret, how could anyone follow them? I will go read the article though.
Sorry, couldn’t finish it. It was funny, but my eyes started glazing over at the lists of people who I was supposed to know the significance of but didn’t. Does it actually get to explain anything?
Here is a vid called Endgame which explains the agenda of the Bilderberg group and in it is Jim Tucker who has been on the Bilderberg since ’75.
I had to laugh at Hansard the other day. (http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Debates/Debates/d/c/9/50HansD_20120530_00000012-Questions-for-Oral-Answer-Questions-to-Ministers.htm)
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think that is one of the factors. I also agree with the OECD when, in 2010, we were rated as having the second-to-best water quality, by Yale and Columbia.
Dr Russel Norman: Is the Prime Minister aware that the Yale report that he just quoted from has now been updated and our ranking has moved from second to 43rd, and does his Government take credit for the movement in our ranking in the Yale report from second to 43rd?
Lol. What a bunch of clowns we have running the place.
So true weka.
They are not clowns, they are actors filling their role in a script!
Believing they are simply inept is to be missing a much more serious problem!
What was very interesting is Norman was NOT allowed to table the latest Yale report.
If we ignore it it does not exist!,
On Red Alert May 30, David Cunliffe spoke about a similar thing happening to him under a post entitled “Spin, damned spin, and Steven Joyce
http://blog.labour.org.nz/
“In response to parliamentary oral question 7 today, economic development Minister Steven Joyce tried to deflect today’s announced cut to New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) 2012 growth forecast to a “stagnant” 1.5%, by saying this was all due to the supposed increase in the domestic savings rate.
Perhaps he was hoping that, as the NZIER publication is subscription-only, it was not going to be available to the Opposition, or to the public, and we would be unaware of his spin.
The problem for him, though, is I had the report in my hand and then I sought to table it.
National withheld leave for me to do so, to prevent you from judging for yourself.”
So David C posted the overview of the report to undermine Joyce’s spin and counteract this national MO of preventing tabling of information that national wants to ignore or deny. In other words, “what Mr Joyce thinks he can get away with in Question Time if no one is checking.”
Yeah, I’ve noticed recently that NACT are objecting to tabling any material that shows just how bad they are.
What are the rules and the purpose for objecting to things being tabled?
It’s the intent of Standing Orders 368 and 374 to allow members of the House to be informed on matters not readily available to it by the tabling of documents. It’s meant to be a way for an assertion to be backed up with evidence.
You need to seek leave to table documents that are outside the scope of parliament or normal avenues of information gathering. There are meant to be good grounds to object to somebody seeking leave, however National MP’s have taken to abusing the process because there is so much information available that they would prefer was not officially registered.
While the Hansard is not required to log who is objecting to the tabling of documents and the Speaker continues to allow objections without good reason, such abuses of the system will continue.
Delightful! Thanks for spotting this. Good too for Russell Norman. How we need him now and, I hope, well into the future.
I’ve just upgraded firefox, and now find ‘The Standard’ format slighly different, and irritatingly, lots of boxes popping up offering different kinds of ‘help’. Anyone else experiencing this?
Using Firefox 12, which is apparently all up to date. And no problems.
Nope.
Maybe a dictionary, or a spell check, or a quick, find will come in handy. Eventually.
A month or so ago something changed in Firefox so that whenever I click on the reply link it opens the box but then jumps me to the bottom of the page so I have to scroll back up.
Re the help popups, have you looked in the Preference settings?
Thanks Weka.
Yes it is mainly in the reply box. I can’t get in because it wants to spell check or offers me other tools before I’ve even got my cursor into the box, let alone written anything, and often blocks me getting into the box with the “help”.
I’ll try the preference settings.
btw I should have said that I don’t bother much with spelling and grammar rather than that I don’t often need it 😀
To be honest, it sounds more like some sort of malware.
Wouldn’t Norton stop that kind of thing? (Here’s hoping).
It’ll catch most of it but a new virus could get through.
Weka, this has been a bug in Firefox for ages. It’s mildly annoying, particularly on posts with lots of comments, but I’ve learned to live with it! The other oddity is the comments RSS feed seems to be very short (ie. only a few comments) compared to other browsers.
Check you have the latest version of Firefox (v12)
Disable add-ons (for example, NoScript) that could interfere with the comment box
Or try Google Chrome…
Doesn’t do that for me.
I believe that Lynn shortened the RSS feeds to save on bandwidth.
Not comments. Just the posts which got clipped to the excerpt from the front page.Worked a treat – our expensive overseas traffic dropped quite a lot.
You might want to remove super cookies as well weka, as they can cause all sorts of problems. Here’s a helpful post outlining the process.
Have you guys heard of the Flame virus? Now that’s some scary stuff.
Thanks Jackal and everyone else who offered advice.
I’ve done everything suggested (except change to chrome) and the problem appears to be gone (touch wood).
Result!
Obama ordered “Code Stux
They blamed Israel for this weaponisation of cyberspace for a while, but it looks like the US might have been behind it all along.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/obama-ordered-code-stux
I have the same experience, and have to faff about finding it, as well, which is a pain on dial up, I tell you!
I thought I was the only one this incredibly irritating bug happened too.
I have the same experience, and have to faff about finding it, as well, which is a pain on dial up, I tell you!
I tried to post this and got ‘internal server error’… whatever that means!
When trying to post this comment I got an ‘internal server error’, and the advice that I ought to contact you, and detail what I might have done to cause the problem – to which the answer is “blowed if I know’!
” month or so ago something changed in Firefox so that whenever I click on the reply link it opens the box but then jumps me to the bottom of the page so I have to scroll back up.
I have the same experience, and have to faff about finding it, as well, which is a pain on dial up, I tell you!”
No problem with Firefox on my Mac, except for the way Apple manufacture them.
Has anyone heard any more news about the PoA dispute?
PoA and MUNZ went back to negotiations but after that, everything went quiet..
Is there going to be a new CEA? What about the contracting out plans?
Last I heard POAL were waiting for the POAL industrial relations ACT to be enacted so they did not have to negotiate. Good faith or otherwise.
POAL’s lawyer died and the court cases were adjourned, so at present they are talking, but MUNZ has no illusions that POAL will not have another go at casualisation when the law is changed.
A majority of countries in the 47-nation rights council supported a US and Arab-led resolution condemning the “outrageous use of force against the civilian population” in Houla.
–Hey who are the Arab League anyway (not using the name Arab League anymore I notice…Oh thats right, Bahrain, Qatar and other assorted murderers, liers and dictators…But they are monarchist states, so part of the imperial love fest!
–Good old NZH still playing its part in the global narrative relay system for the imperialists!
Still no mention of the death squads, or the sects all now killing eachother…Nah its as simple as the Syrian Govt Forces against the “rebel” civillians! Nice and simply packaged for very stupid people!
Joseph Stiglitz follows up last years Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% with The 1 Percent’s Problem.
Thanks for that link. Stiglitz is spot on.
Great article, I especially liked the bit about rent seeking being destructive.
At a Labour regional conference. Biggest turnout in years! Great speech from David Shearer, very confident and looking more and more like the next PM. DC up now, talking about our future clean tech economy. Grant Robertson next.
Its been an interesting approach from the leadership, asking questions of the participants, rather than lecturing from on high. The discussion paper on the ongoing organisational review has been received really well and has stimulated a lot of talk among the delegates. Presumably that will flow on into the remits session tomorrow, where there is going to be some robust debate on how we re-engage the voters, particularly the lower paid enrolled non voters.
Sounds like a repeat performance of last week-end’s Auck./Northland conference TRP. I liked the way Shearer brought in his senior colleagues to answer questions specific to their portfolios. It wasn’t that he couldn’t answer them himself, but he presumably wants them to share the platform with him. I found it very refreshing and suggests Labour is going to do the opposite to National and promote themselves as a well-oiled team rather than a one man band.
Was that the reason certain sections of the media – mainstream and elsewhere – were recently trying to create a perception of Labour caucus division with talk of warring factions and caucus rows?
No sign of division at all, there are 8 MP’s, all singing from the same song sheet. The day has just finished with an excellent presentation from Young Labour. We are so lucky having these young activists coming through, they are just so positive, so ready to be part of the political future of NZ!
Interested to hear thoughts on what you believe, yet another change in government is really going to achieve for NZ, seriously its an honest question..Dont come back with we wont sell assets etc!
Until you hear them talking about RBNZ audits, or printing project funds, as is our sovereign right to do, then you can forget about it…
Young activists coming through, so lucky…Voice come on bro, these peoople have got nothing, nothing to offer NZ long term survivial, and as long as people such as yourself continue to believe that, then all I can do is say, thanks very much for being part of the problem, would you have a think about some self evaluation!
Blah blah blah, waste of time because the serious issues are out of our parliaments hands!