Ouch. That was a bad upgrade. It looks like it started failing after it switched back from the backup server to the usual web servers. Just after I went to bed (grr)
She rang because she has a problem with the video driver on her new desktop box and (grr) woke me up. I’d better head over to her new house and suffer the torments of no seats, boxes everywhere, and fixing windows driver problems. She’d already tried everything so it will be one of those nasty extract and reinstall.
Just run the vendors driver removal tool and reinstall the latest. Intel laptops, specifically HD4000 ones come with a buggy driver. So it’s probably just that. Download the newest version.
Ditto (even tho’ I am but an occasional/regular interloper).
As I register my compliments however, (and with the pleasure of having Natrad in holiday mode – with a superior Colin Peacock and a Matinee Idol team replacing the regulars) – has anybody else noticed todays msm preocc with their idol?
John Key says this
Jonkey says that
Simon says pick a bale of cotton!
So far I’ve heard is expertise on everything from bloody road accidents caused by international terrorists on the roads, to the All Bleks in Sam Owen to itchim smetchim fawn polsy fekting ear fewcha.
Thank Christ for alternative media (such as the Standard, and elsewhere)
Many dictators would be jealous of the uniformity of the western corporate media.
All hail the dear Leader.
He makes all sorts of important pronouncements for us.
Coup d’état and Assassination Plan Unveiled in Venezuela
The United States has backed murderous insurrections against democratic governments in what its politicians contemptuously call its “backyard” for more than a century. It’s still at it…
Watched the Pilger South American program showing over and over again the USA dirty tricks overthrowing Democratic governments. If it is in the USA’s national interests then they will do what it takes. Sadly it is so huge it is beyond my ability to comprehend and what can the world do about it. Better to rail about the local carpark I suppose.
The Shock Doctrine was shown on Maori TV last week. It was chilling. Why is NZ associating itself with an ethically bankrupt regime? How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?
Great film. By the way, Shock Doctrine can be applied to the events in Christchurch and 1980s New Zealand. There are so many similarities between New Orleans post Katrina and Christchurch for the 2011 earthquake.
I recommend you watch ‘Dirty Wars’, which is a much more recent film.
As part of 5 Eyes, NZ now contributes to these secret wars and assassinations.
Have been meaning to watch this as I missed it last week on Maori TV.
Vaguely related. I’ve been watching the drama, Treme, about post hurricane Katrina New Orleans (see Paul’s comment) and have been disturbingly surprised by the themes of disaster capitalism and ordinary people’s experiences with their government and authorities.
Christchurch mirrors New Orleans in some ways in some of the story lines.
Scared me enough to decide to comfort cook toad in the hole for dinner, which coincidentally, is what JK will be when he gets booted from office and settles permanently in his u.s holiday home
@Tautoko How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?
Does the road wind up-hill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.
Up-Hill
Christina Rossetti, 1830 – 1894
I don’t buy this argument for the demise of left-right politics. I’m sure there’s an uprising in anti-establishment sentiment (that’s what drives the tea party). But that’s all a symptom of how the power elites have undermined left wing parties and politics over the last few decades, masking the entities that have the most power and influence.
…uprising in anti-establishment sentiment (that’s what drives the tea party).
Not to mention the occupy movement and a whole pile of non-party movements.
Incidentally I watched V for Vendetta last night. Finally cottoned on to the Guy Fawkes masks 🙂 This is what happens when you drop out of popular culture for a few years back in the mid-00s
The establishment isn’t doing the majority of people any good and everyone knows it but the established parties will keep doing the same things because it’s what they’ve always done before. We see it in Labour here in the fact that they are unwilling to make any real changes such as 80% tax rates on the rich, the banning of foreign ownership and stopping the private banks from creating money.
Well, maybe the mistake (of those who see left-right distinctions as in decline) is in assuming that political parties, like Labour, are totally left wing – rather than seeing them as embracing a mix of left and right wing values and policies.
Political parties do have a mixture of Left and Right in them but the real problem, IMO, is the embracing of the status quo. It is the status quo that needs changing but none of our major parties are willing to change it.
But currently the status quo favours right wing values more than left wing ones. Changing the status quo, without a clear idea of a society that works for all and in balance with the environment and resources – could just mean a new status quo, with different players, and not a lot different from the old status quo.
if its substituting the status quo with a disguised status quo…
Humans hate change. Most resist it. Which is why too many politicians disguise it.
The basic status quo has benefitted the ruling elite for hundreds of years, they tinker only when they begin to be found out and then they pretend to change… After a few years the lack of change is obvious
From time to time the elite can support a change in the status quo OPERATIONS when circumstances dictate its necessity. They are forced to move to a new paradigm to maintain their place on top of the HIERARCHY which is the one status quo that they will not change.
Example – Roosevelt’s new deal. Massive government employment programmes were created and tax rates dramatically increased which was a change to the status quo OPERATIONS but it was only done with the aim of ensuring the 1%’s position as the status quo atop the HIERARCHY.
In the same vein, CV, my concern with the likes of Kim Dotcom, is that he (and maybe some of his colleagues) aim to change the way businesses operate in the Internet age: a way that makes the best use of digital technologies. The result could actually be to re-vitalise capitalism in a way that responds to its current challenges. But it also may only be a temporary boost to capitalism, given the challenges.
if some kind of renewed emphasis on high tech business can help give us an extra 10 years economic breathing room with which to adapt the rest of the nation to harsh future realities it may not be a wholly bad thing? Just pondering.
One other thing with KDC – he may be rich himself but he has also set himself in direct opposition to the corporate power elite. They don’t like bolshy SMEs that they can’t buy up and they definitely don’t like class traitors.
Hmmm. But, but in the past, at moments of upheaval, younger people break through in unorthodox ways to become the new elite – think Bill Gates,… or further back, the likes of Andrew Carnegie.
That’s also true – changing the old oligarchs at the top for younger ones, and updating the company names on the Dow Jones to newer ones is hardly progress.
Lets see what would happen
1)Dot Com woudnt declare any income in NZ
2) ACT would say all the monied types will invest overseas and the economy will collapse
3) The Nats will say the Banks will squeeze us and the economy will collapse
4)Winston First will release Dot Coms tax return to show the rich foerigners arent paying their fair share
5) Peter Dunne will also leak the Dot Com tax return and then blame Winston
6) Mana will make an exception for Germans
7) Labour will be strangely quiet and have no policy
8) The Greens will put in huge tax rebates for those who invest in wind farms and stuff they themselves invest in.
1.) Doubt it
2.) Just so long as the monied types follow their money I’m all for it – along with the ban on foreign ownership
3.) The banks are already squeezing us dry
4.) Winston would be right about the rich foreigners – KDC isn’t one
5.) Peter Dunne will say something meaningless, then contradict himself and then build an altar to Sensible Centrism.
6.) Doubt it
7.) So, no change then?
8.) Good, need more renewable energy
Bomber waxing lyrical in the Herald today,”Some on the left call this a sell out. principled opposition is admirable, but, who will tell 285,000 children in poverty we wouldn’t replace the Government because we couldn’t agree on which version of Marx to follow”,
If Harawira, Harre, Sykes, and, minto are the sell out, sign me up”.unquote.
Couldn’t agree more, Principles can neither put food on the table or a roof over your head…
Talking of non party movements, our little efforts in Ohariu get some attention from bored commuters. PPO’s latest placard, on the Govts reneging on the GCSB and SIS review, promised to Dunne as part of the “willing buyer, willing seller” deal, situated at the J’ville train station (with more sites to come as more placards are produced)
We try to keep it a bit light by adding the emoticons Dunne face. (Although his angry face is rather a deep shade of red in the above placard 😀 ) and usually do a few placards on the Dunne topic du jour and place them in strategic sites around the electorate.
Just read the piece on the Herald website about the Samoan PM criticizing (or rather misconstruing) the Labour Party’s proposed immigration policy and of course John Key picking it up and running with it. Presumably the Samoan PM is well aware of the housing situation in Auckland and that PI families are living in cars and other inadequate housing, particularly in South and West Auckland. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11266018
Am I unfairly suggesting that he simply wants unfettered access for his people so they can come over and work for less than fair wages so more money can be sent back home to Samoa.
Really or maybe he would like his people to have the same labour mobility that the English and Australians have so that they can come here and work in higher paid jobs than fruit picking.
Explain to me any rational reason why our close ties to the Pacific nations shouldn’t ensure their workers have the same rights to work here as Australians.
Presumably you’re aware that housing problems is not just an issue for Pacific Island families.
I have some questions that just occurred to me that some may be able to answer (save me looking it up if one of you already know 🙂 )
Under what legal conditions is the Rt Honourable (& they are all Honourable men) John Key able to own land in Hawaii / United States? (Oh the irony of him being an absentee foreign owner of land!)
Under what legal conditions is he able to enter the United States for periods of time? Does he have a limited stay type of visa or does he have dual citizenship?
If he has dual citizenship (US & NZ) then what conflict of interest issues does that raise if he is the head of NZ’s security services? Does this explain why he & his govt have brought the KY to the James Clapper/Ian Fletcher/Eric Halder lovefests & the Dotcom raid?
as as side….
Why has Grant Wormald from OFCANZ (Organised and Financial Crime Agency) not been charged with perjury for his testimony in court?
And many of the trade agreements have provisions for executives and CEO’s to move freely across country borders – just not workers which have a greater tendency to default to immigration policy.
The Wormald prosecution will have to be brought by Graham McCready. ‘Senior police’ have closed ranks: “his words have been taken out of context”, “he thought the question was about physical surveillance”, “the transcript proves his innocence. You can’t see it.”
I’ver wondered about this. Has anybody ever asked J Key if he holds a USA passport? If he does there must be potential for some pretty big conflicts of interest? And if he does, then he is liable for US taxes on his worldwide income which I assume includes his Prime ministerial salary. Maybe he also takes advantage of the US tax breaks around donations?
I recently emailed Maori television to ask if the station thinks in light of the ongoing human rights violations against the Palestinian people at the hands of israel they feel it is prudent for the station to go ahead and screen israeli comedy films in their 9:30 pm Sunday night film slot. I waited the time they said it would take to respond and longer. No reply. I did receive responses from both Trademe and RNZ on the same topic. Both were pretty much bullshit- but at least they did reply.
At this moment, 705 candidates from the original pool of over 200,000 applicants remain in Mars One’s astronaut selection process. They will be interviewed by the Mars One selection committee, headed by Dr. Norbert Kraft, Chief Medical Officer of Mars One.
With a long history in astronaut selection and crew preparation at NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, Dr. Kraft is well aware of the risks and challenges for the Mars settlers. He has also spent 110 days in group isolation as commander of an international mixed gender crew and spaceflight simulation experiment in Moscow, Russia.
Dr. Kraft says, “we’re incredibly excited to start the next phase of Round 2, where we begin to better understand our candidates who aspire to take such a daring trip. They will have to show their knowledge, intelligence, adaptability and personality.”
Who are the 705 candidates?
The remaining 418 men and 287 women in Mars One’s astronaut selection program come from all over the world: 313 from the Americas, 187 from Europe, 136 from Asia, 41 from Africa, and 28 from Oceania. In this spreadsheet you’ll find all the 705 candidates and a link to their profile on our community platform.
Aspiring Martians T-shirt
We are temporarily offering an Aspiring Martians themed T-shirt to celebrate the Aspiring Martians Community first anniversary. We will have them printed if at least 100 shirts are pre-ordered by May 31st. Don’t miss out!
Each month, we award an autographed Mars One coffee mug to two randomly picked monthly donors. This month, the rewarded supporters are Humberto Q. (Brazil) and Arnold S. (Denmark). Thank you!
The next selection steps
The remaining candidates will be invited for a personal interview. Mars One is in negotiations with media companies to report on those interviews. Once the television deal is finalized and the interviews begin, the stories of the 705 aspiring Martians will be shared with the world.
The selection phases that follow in 2014 and 2015 will include rigorous simulations, many in team settings, with focus on testing the physical and emotional capabilities of the candidates.
Aspiring Martians who have missed the first application round can join subsequent astronaut selection programs. Mars One will commence regular recruitment programs as the search for follow-up crews continues. Read more about the astronaut requirements.
Candidates dominate headlines!
As round two of the astronaut selection process carries on, Mars One has continued to be the subject of many media stories. Many of our candidates have been featured by various media outlets, including:
Followed by sycophantic giggling to Matthew Hooton as he makes snide comments about them.
Body language..everything different.
Very chummy and convivial amongst all of the panel.
What a bunch of….
I was interested to watch Qu & A this week, because it was being talked about online. But I do find Susan Woods pretty unwatchable. She is so not right for a current affairs show. Just smug and prissy, and totally out of her depth when engaging with someone as politically savvy as Harre.
She lives in Paratai Drive does she not? I’m sure no-one is allowed live in that street without first presenting their National membership card. They do allow ACT members to live there too but only with special dispensation.
I also HATE it when the interviewer asks a question and interrupts the answer before the person has a chance to complete the answer. It is not only bad manners, rude and irritating, but quite off putting for the person answering. Many of these ego driven stupid interviewers do it! For them it is just a feel good game for a few minutes for their programme, but for the politician answering the question and for the party they represent, a lot is at stake.
Probably not much in the way of cash.
However, they get paid in the contacts they make. They network on a programme like Q and A.
Future cushy contracts await.
If i were to pick a ”winner” out of tonight’s discussion it would be Labour’s Willow Jean Prime, my prejudices are showing here, both Grandfather’s freezing workers, father worked 20 years for the railways befor being made redundant,
She seemed to ‘come across’ best on the medium of television, pity Willow is contesting the Northland electorate for Labour,(havn’t checked to see where She sits on the list),
The Maori Party candidate made one good point about the current clusterfuck that is Auckland housing, in saying that it is easy to shift from the provinces to look for work, should you not find that work tho it is virtually impossible to shift back home again,
Of course seeing this from the point of view of the incongruous relationship the Maori Party shares with the current National Government devalues His point dramatically and it is such ”attacks” upon Maori from National while the Maori Party tucks nga korokoro under the table and nga tiro onto the leather seats of the beamers that have all but condemned the Party to the overcrowded dustbin of political history…
When it come to housing policy tho, Jack Mcdonald from the Green Party had it all over everyone else, with the Mana Party candidate failing to fire in terms of having a clear personal vision of Mana’s State House policy,
The variable equity scheme as outlined by the Green party policy is in my opinion an excellent forward looking piece of ”bread and butter” policy that they should spend far more effort explaining to the electorate,
This policy simply means that anyone, in theory, from the lowest of beneficiaries to the most comfortable of the middle class could be housed and it is only my worries about future attacks upon those housed under this policy by another Tory Government that i see as the slightest negative issue with the policy,
(besides the ability to build enough such homes that is)…
“Senior Labour Party MPs have used social media to attack the alliance struck between Mana and the Internet Party.
Former leaders Phil Goff and David Shearer, and Rimutaka MP Chris Hipkins are among those who have objected to the deal.
The strong opposition from within Labour could make post-election coalition talks tricky.
All three MPs were linked to the Anyone But Cunliffe [ABC] faction – who were opposed to David Cunliffe assuming leadership of the party. However, a Labour source played down talk of more division, saying all three were close to Te Tai Tokerau candidate Kelvin Davis.
Davis himself posted on Twitter: ‘‘Bro, I think of the people of Te Tai Tokerau, not Sergeant Shultz.’’ He was referring to Dotcom’s German origins.”
The neo-liberal rats in the Labour caucus are squirming and causing as much trouble as they can.
Cunliffe must apply some party discipline here.
Goff was a key member of the Douglas clique who betrayed NZ.
Davis looking more and more like a total plonker.
The Labour Party used to be the people’s party, but it seems determined to lose many of its traditional voters. I myself will not be voting Labour again, but with me that decision came about after the election as leader of David #2 – is he the biggest goose Labour has ever had as a leader? Too late to get David #1 back…. or is it.
Shearer proved unable to navigate internal Labour Party politics, partly because he was too inexperienced, I do not think he would be able to deal with the quickly changing dynamics that IMP is bringing to the table.
Imagine the Internet Party having a more experienced leader (Laila Harre ex Labour led Cabinet Minister) than the Labour Party (David Shearer 0 full terms as Labour MP).
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
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Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
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The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
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Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
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Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
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Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
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Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
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. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
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 ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Even if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...
The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...
For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...
If building one of Auckland’s possible waterfront stadiums was funded privately, it would need to hold a sold-out Ed Sherran concert every weekday for 25 years. That’s Rob Hamlin’s finding – he’s a senior marketing lecturer at the University of Otago. “It’s not going to happen; forget about it,” he ...
Comment: The debate over the future relationship between news and social media is bringing us closer to a long-overdue reckoning. Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism, because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business. News propels some attention — perhaps ...
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For the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...
Late one afternoon in March 1860 a man in a thin green velveteen jacket and a wide-awake hat arrived on foot at a sheep station named Glenmark, about 65 kilometres north of Christchurch. The man was in his mid-fifties but he looked older. Several people who met him that day ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A new Commonwealth Prac Payment will provide students with $319.50 a week when they are on clinical and professional placements. The payment will be means tested and start from July 1 next year, which ...
Asia Pacific Report About 500 people honoured Palestinian journalists in the heart of the New Zealand city of Auckland today for their brave coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza, now in its seventh month with almost 35,000 people killed, mostly women and children. Marking the annual May 3 World Press ...
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
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A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
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Ouch. That was a bad upgrade. It looks like it started failing after it switched back from the backup server to the usual web servers. Just after I went to bed (grr)
Fixed now by rolling back the web servers.
There will be some maintenance tonight.
Thanks for sorting it so quickly – while most others have the fortune to be in holiday mode.
Thank rocky. I was in full blown sleep-in mode…..
She rang because she has a problem with the video driver on her new desktop box and (grr) woke me up. I’d better head over to her new house and suffer the torments of no seats, boxes everywhere, and fixing windows driver problems. She’d already tried everything so it will be one of those nasty extract and reinstall.
Just run the vendors driver removal tool and reinstall the latest. Intel laptops, specifically HD4000 ones come with a buggy driver. So it’s probably just that. Download the newest version.
It is a desktop. Rocky had fixed it before I got there. Just fixing the WiFi card in Linux.
Thanks for the awesome Lprent, and all you do for the site.
My thanks also for all your hard work, lprent. Much appreciated. Felt ‘lost’ when I could not get on this morning!
+1
Thank you for your work to make this site run.
+100!
Thanks Lynn, was starting to get withdrawal symptoms. Thanks for all you do for this site.
Would be a grim world if it wasn’t available.
Ditto (even tho’ I am but an occasional/regular interloper).
As I register my compliments however, (and with the pleasure of having Natrad in holiday mode – with a superior Colin Peacock and a Matinee Idol team replacing the regulars) – has anybody else noticed todays msm preocc with their idol?
John Key says this
Jonkey says that
Simon says pick a bale of cotton!
So far I’ve heard is expertise on everything from bloody road accidents caused by international terrorists on the roads, to the All Bleks in Sam Owen to itchim smetchim fawn polsy fekting ear fewcha.
Thank Christ for alternative media (such as the Standard, and elsewhere)
Many dictators would be jealous of the uniformity of the western corporate media.
All hail the dear Leader.
He makes all sorts of important pronouncements for us.
Don’t thank me for this one. It was my cockup. Holiday mode…,
Coup d’état and Assassination Plan Unveiled in Venezuela
The United States has backed murderous insurrections against democratic governments in what its politicians contemptuously call its “backyard” for more than a century. It’s still at it…
http://www.minci.gob.ve/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Magnicidio-Inglés.pdf
Watched the Pilger South American program showing over and over again the USA dirty tricks overthrowing Democratic governments. If it is in the USA’s national interests then they will do what it takes. Sadly it is so huge it is beyond my ability to comprehend and what can the world do about it. Better to rail about the local carpark I suppose.
The Shock Doctrine was shown on Maori TV last week. It was chilling. Why is NZ associating itself with an ethically bankrupt regime? How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?
http://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/tuesday-festival-documentaries/S01E001/shock-doctrine
Great film. By the way, Shock Doctrine can be applied to the events in Christchurch and 1980s New Zealand. There are so many similarities between New Orleans post Katrina and Christchurch for the 2011 earthquake.
I recommend you watch ‘Dirty Wars’, which is a much more recent film.
As part of 5 Eyes, NZ now contributes to these secret wars and assassinations.
Review
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/24/jeremy-scahill-exposing-us-dirty-war-afghanistan-pakistan-somalia-yemen
Trailer
Have been meaning to watch this as I missed it last week on Maori TV.
Vaguely related. I’ve been watching the drama, Treme, about post hurricane Katrina New Orleans (see Paul’s comment) and have been disturbingly surprised by the themes of disaster capitalism and ordinary people’s experiences with their government and authorities.
Christchurch mirrors New Orleans in some ways in some of the story lines.
A little bit about Treme:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treme_(TV_series)
And a great opening intro song:
Treme was written by David Simon, who also wrote the Wire.
Probably the best drama ever. Makes a strongest care ever for the end of the drug war.
“How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?”
If you see yankee warships in NZ harbours, then that will be a big clue.
Then, be very afraid.
Thanks I had missed that. Very interesting the PLAN was involved.
Scared me enough to decide to comfort cook toad in the hole for dinner, which coincidentally, is what JK will be when he gets booted from office and settles permanently in his u.s holiday home
The military exercises around Canty etc recently
Also our co-operation in drawing up GCSB legislation to their specifications and requirements
@Tautoko
How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?
For an excellent argument on corporate welfare, watch Joseph Stiglitz: Let’s stop subsidising tax dodgers.
https://www.commondreams.org/video/2014/05/31
I don’t buy this argument for the demise of left-right politics. I’m sure there’s an uprising in anti-establishment sentiment (that’s what drives the tea party). But that’s all a symptom of how the power elites have undermined left wing parties and politics over the last few decades, masking the entities that have the most power and influence.
Not to mention the occupy movement and a whole pile of non-party movements.
Incidentally I watched V for Vendetta last night. Finally cottoned on to the Guy Fawkes masks 🙂 This is what happens when you drop out of popular culture for a few years back in the mid-00s
CV
Alan Moore wrote the comic back in the 80s, but the masks didn’t really take off until the film happened.
The establishment isn’t doing the majority of people any good and everyone knows it but the established parties will keep doing the same things because it’s what they’ve always done before. We see it in Labour here in the fact that they are unwilling to make any real changes such as 80% tax rates on the rich, the banning of foreign ownership and stopping the private banks from creating money.
Well, maybe the mistake (of those who see left-right distinctions as in decline) is in assuming that political parties, like Labour, are totally left wing – rather than seeing them as embracing a mix of left and right wing values and policies.
Political parties do have a mixture of Left and Right in them but the real problem, IMO, is the embracing of the status quo. It is the status quo that needs changing but none of our major parties are willing to change it.
people think the status quo serves them because change is scarier
But currently the status quo favours right wing values more than left wing ones. Changing the status quo, without a clear idea of a society that works for all and in balance with the environment and resources – could just mean a new status quo, with different players, and not a lot different from the old status quo.
True but we’re not even seeing a vision of a better society.
if its substituting the status quo with a disguised status quo…
Humans hate change. Most resist it. Which is why too many politicians disguise it.
The basic status quo has benefitted the ruling elite for hundreds of years, they tinker only when they begin to be found out and then they pretend to change… After a few years the lack of change is obvious
From time to time the elite can support a change in the status quo OPERATIONS when circumstances dictate its necessity. They are forced to move to a new paradigm to maintain their place on top of the HIERARCHY which is the one status quo that they will not change.
Example – Roosevelt’s new deal. Massive government employment programmes were created and tax rates dramatically increased which was a change to the status quo OPERATIONS but it was only done with the aim of ensuring the 1%’s position as the status quo atop the HIERARCHY.
In the same vein, CV, my concern with the likes of Kim Dotcom, is that he (and maybe some of his colleagues) aim to change the way businesses operate in the Internet age: a way that makes the best use of digital technologies. The result could actually be to re-vitalise capitalism in a way that responds to its current challenges. But it also may only be a temporary boost to capitalism, given the challenges.
if some kind of renewed emphasis on high tech business can help give us an extra 10 years economic breathing room with which to adapt the rest of the nation to harsh future realities it may not be a wholly bad thing? Just pondering.
One other thing with KDC – he may be rich himself but he has also set himself in direct opposition to the corporate power elite. They don’t like bolshy SMEs that they can’t buy up and they definitely don’t like class traitors.
Hmmm. But, but in the past, at moments of upheaval, younger people break through in unorthodox ways to become the new elite – think Bill Gates,… or further back, the likes of Andrew Carnegie.
That’s also true – changing the old oligarchs at the top for younger ones, and updating the company names on the Dow Jones to newer ones is hardly progress.
Labour 1984 changed the status quo. Now it is time to change the new, now old status quo.
Yep. They did it in 1935 as well. At some point in the past Labour had the guts to change the system but, seemingly, they no longer do.
In 1984 Labour led a revolution which upended the social and economic order of the country.
CV
Time for another turn of the wheel then?
80% tax on the rich?
Lets see what would happen
1)Dot Com woudnt declare any income in NZ
2) ACT would say all the monied types will invest overseas and the economy will collapse
3) The Nats will say the Banks will squeeze us and the economy will collapse
4)Winston First will release Dot Coms tax return to show the rich foerigners arent paying their fair share
5) Peter Dunne will also leak the Dot Com tax return and then blame Winston
6) Mana will make an exception for Germans
7) Labour will be strangely quiet and have no policy
8) The Greens will put in huge tax rebates for those who invest in wind farms and stuff they themselves invest in.
I suggest a 91% income tax rate on monies earnt over 10x the median income = $29,000.
That income tax rate is consistent with what the US had around 1960.
Also a death tax is a good idea to sweep in all that hoarded financial capital. Say 50% of all financial assets i.e. not including the family home.
1.) Doubt it
2.) Just so long as the monied types follow their money I’m all for it – along with the ban on foreign ownership
3.) The banks are already squeezing us dry
4.) Winston would be right about the rich foreigners – KDC isn’t one
5.) Peter Dunne will say something meaningless, then contradict himself and then build an altar to Sensible Centrism.
6.) Doubt it
7.) So, no change then?
8.) Good, need more renewable energy
How ironic. David Farrar being savaged on his own blog for (partially) siding with the Greens on the carbon tax.
Bomber waxing lyrical in the Herald today,”Some on the left call this a sell out. principled opposition is admirable, but, who will tell 285,000 children in poverty we wouldn’t replace the Government because we couldn’t agree on which version of Marx to follow”,
If Harawira, Harre, Sykes, and, minto are the sell out, sign me up”.unquote.
Couldn’t agree more, Principles can neither put food on the table or a roof over your head…
My comments are like mist, disappearing into the ethereal unknown…
Talking of non party movements, our little efforts in Ohariu get some attention from bored commuters. PPO’s latest placard, on the Govts reneging on the GCSB and SIS review, promised to Dunne as part of the “willing buyer, willing seller” deal, situated at the J’ville train station (with more sites to come as more placards are produced)
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=67747
Thanks, Rosie. Will add it to my 20th century spying post – which will make it more accessible for future use.
Love the poster, Rosie. Well done – and good to see your group’s efforts being reported on.
It’s especially awesome that this is just one in an ongoing series…people take this kind of consistency with much more seriousness.
i put it up on whoar..
Thanks karol, VV, CV and phillip.
We try to keep it a bit light by adding the emoticons Dunne face. (Although his angry face is rather a deep shade of red in the above placard 😀 ) and usually do a few placards on the Dunne topic du jour and place them in strategic sites around the electorate.
Here’s a previous placard from Scoop:
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=61648
It’s fun to do but is also a challenge to Dunne as well as an awareness raiser for the locals.
well done. Speaking truth to power
That is what is needed Rosie. A little abrasion often wears away the sock.
Just read the piece on the Herald website about the Samoan PM criticizing (or rather misconstruing) the Labour Party’s proposed immigration policy and of course John Key picking it up and running with it. Presumably the Samoan PM is well aware of the housing situation in Auckland and that PI families are living in cars and other inadequate housing, particularly in South and West Auckland. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11266018
Am I unfairly suggesting that he simply wants unfettered access for his people so they can come over and work for less than fair wages so more money can be sent back home to Samoa.
Really or maybe he would like his people to have the same labour mobility that the English and Australians have so that they can come here and work in higher paid jobs than fruit picking.
Explain to me any rational reason why our close ties to the Pacific nations shouldn’t ensure their workers have the same rights to work here as Australians.
Presumably you’re aware that housing problems is not just an issue for Pacific Island families.
I have some questions that just occurred to me that some may be able to answer (save me looking it up if one of you already know 🙂 )
Under what legal conditions is the Rt Honourable (& they are all Honourable men) John Key able to own land in Hawaii / United States? (Oh the irony of him being an absentee foreign owner of land!)
Under what legal conditions is he able to enter the United States for periods of time? Does he have a limited stay type of visa or does he have dual citizenship?
If he has dual citizenship (US & NZ) then what conflict of interest issues does that raise if he is the head of NZ’s security services? Does this explain why he & his govt have brought the KY to the James Clapper/Ian Fletcher/Eric Halder lovefests & the Dotcom raid?
as as side….
Why has Grant Wormald from OFCANZ (Organised and Financial Crime Agency) not been charged with perjury for his testimony in court?
Yes, foreigners can buy land in Hawaii.
And many of the trade agreements have provisions for executives and CEO’s to move freely across country borders – just not workers which have a greater tendency to default to immigration policy.
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/symp_apr_02_nielson1_e.doc
The Wormald prosecution will have to be brought by Graham McCready. ‘Senior police’ have closed ranks: “his words have been taken out of context”, “he thought the question was about physical surveillance”, “the transcript proves his innocence. You can’t see it.”
he would be staying on diplomatic equivalent or visitor visa, nz citizens get automatic 3 month visa to the us i think.
I’ver wondered about this. Has anybody ever asked J Key if he holds a USA passport? If he does there must be potential for some pretty big conflicts of interest? And if he does, then he is liable for US taxes on his worldwide income which I assume includes his Prime ministerial salary. Maybe he also takes advantage of the US tax breaks around donations?
I recently emailed Maori television to ask if the station thinks in light of the ongoing human rights violations against the Palestinian people at the hands of israel they feel it is prudent for the station to go ahead and screen israeli comedy films in their 9:30 pm Sunday night film slot. I waited the time they said it would take to respond and longer. No reply. I did receive responses from both Trademe and RNZ on the same topic. Both were pretty much bullshit- but at least they did reply.
What Is Money by Jeremy Lee 1993 Australia
The Greens have support for their Carbon tax proposals from an unexpected group.
http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=c86359d14575615d6ae8c2b60&id=5797dbd47b
i never realised tau henare is so old..(or bred so young..?..)
“..Henare, the great grandson of former Northern Maori MP Tau Henare –
was selected this afternoon to contest the Auckland Maori electorate..”
Phillip @ 12.
No not the National TAu Henare. The late Tau Henare who was a MP for Northen Maori
One way ticket to Mars.
From an email to me:
At this moment, 705 candidates from the original pool of over 200,000 applicants remain in Mars One’s astronaut selection process. They will be interviewed by the Mars One selection committee, headed by Dr. Norbert Kraft, Chief Medical Officer of Mars One.
With a long history in astronaut selection and crew preparation at NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, Dr. Kraft is well aware of the risks and challenges for the Mars settlers. He has also spent 110 days in group isolation as commander of an international mixed gender crew and spaceflight simulation experiment in Moscow, Russia.
Dr. Kraft says, “we’re incredibly excited to start the next phase of Round 2, where we begin to better understand our candidates who aspire to take such a daring trip. They will have to show their knowledge, intelligence, adaptability and personality.”
Who are the 705 candidates?
The remaining 418 men and 287 women in Mars One’s astronaut selection program come from all over the world: 313 from the Americas, 187 from Europe, 136 from Asia, 41 from Africa, and 28 from Oceania. In this spreadsheet you’ll find all the 705 candidates and a link to their profile on our community platform.
Aspiring Martians T-shirt
We are temporarily offering an Aspiring Martians themed T-shirt to celebrate the Aspiring Martians Community first anniversary. We will have them printed if at least 100 shirts are pre-ordered by May 31st. Don’t miss out!
Each month, we award an autographed Mars One coffee mug to two randomly picked monthly donors. This month, the rewarded supporters are Humberto Q. (Brazil) and Arnold S. (Denmark). Thank you!
The next selection steps
The remaining candidates will be invited for a personal interview. Mars One is in negotiations with media companies to report on those interviews. Once the television deal is finalized and the interviews begin, the stories of the 705 aspiring Martians will be shared with the world.
The selection phases that follow in 2014 and 2015 will include rigorous simulations, many in team settings, with focus on testing the physical and emotional capabilities of the candidates.
Aspiring Martians who have missed the first application round can join subsequent astronaut selection programs. Mars One will commence regular recruitment programs as the search for follow-up crews continues. Read more about the astronaut requirements.
Candidates dominate headlines!
As round two of the astronaut selection process carries on, Mars One has continued to be the subject of many media stories. Many of our candidates have been featured by various media outlets, including:
Interviews with some candidates:
RT http://rt.com/news/158216-mars-one-way-ticket/
CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/16/tech/innovation/mars-one-candidates/
CBS: http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=24d8ce153d9cbd2546aca36de&id=ca374bb0c4&e=d2915e610c
{The CBS video did not play for me}
http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=24d8ce153d9cbd2546aca36de&id=ca374bb0c4&e=d2915e610c
Find more Mars One media coverage on the Mars One website:
http://www.mars-one.com/news/media-publications
Is Kelvin Davis the new Shane Jones? You know he’s in trouble when he has immediately become the pet of Cameron Slater.
Just saw the interview of Leila Harre by Susan Wood.
The bias was just so overt.
Followed by sycophantic giggling to Matthew Hooton as he makes snide comments about them.
Body language..everything different.
Very chummy and convivial amongst all of the panel.
What a bunch of….
As I said earlier today on twitter – that Qu & A panel was rambling like the late end of a Remmers cocktail party.
A small group of people locked in their own bubble, clueless about the struggles of a lot of Kiwis.
A disgrace if that’s what constitutes political debate in this country.
I was interested to watch Qu & A this week, because it was being talked about online. But I do find Susan Woods pretty unwatchable. She is so not right for a current affairs show. Just smug and prissy, and totally out of her depth when engaging with someone as politically savvy as Harre.
Quite the Tory and in the Remmers set.
She lives in Paratai Drive does she not? I’m sure no-one is allowed live in that street without first presenting their National membership card. They do allow ACT members to live there too but only with special dispensation.
George Carlin – It’s a big club and you ain’t in it
Cheers, Paul. Seen it before, but you can never have too much of George Carlin, can you.
I also HATE it when the interviewer asks a question and interrupts the answer before the person has a chance to complete the answer. It is not only bad manners, rude and irritating, but quite off putting for the person answering. Many of these ego driven stupid interviewers do it! For them it is just a feel good game for a few minutes for their programme, but for the politician answering the question and for the party they represent, a lot is at stake.
And not just clueless – more like couldn’t give a fuck and the cruelty of deliberate ignorance.
I wonder how much these biased idiots are paid for their so called ‘expert commentary’!
Any idea or guess?
Probably not much in the way of cash.
However, they get paid in the contacts they make. They network on a programme like Q and A.
Future cushy contracts await.
Oh wow! He says it in a nutshell. Thanks Paul.
Damn all my comments have been locked out by this morning’s outage…
Edit: lolz except this one…
Maori television’s Native Affairs,as usual, out of the blocks first with in depth coverage of potential Maori MP’s for this election….
Poetry in motion?
Brilliant.
Can’t wait till John Oliver’s programme focuses on Key.
@ draco..that is very funny…
i want the green candidate..and the labour candidate..and the maori party candidate..
..they were all far better than most of the wastes of space who are currently mp’s..
..and all would improve parliament..
..and their skills/commitment could not be questioned..
..unforunately..as a mana voter..
..the mana candidate impressed least of all..
..why is the green guy number 21 on the list..?
..he won’t get in..and that is a shame..
..w.t.f.are the greens thinking..?
..why isn’t he higher..?
..would you like a list of current green mp’s who in a just world would/should move aside for the likes of macdonald..?
Jack McDonald was particularly impressive – and Willow was also excellent.
If i were to pick a ”winner” out of tonight’s discussion it would be Labour’s Willow Jean Prime, my prejudices are showing here, both Grandfather’s freezing workers, father worked 20 years for the railways befor being made redundant,
She seemed to ‘come across’ best on the medium of television, pity Willow is contesting the Northland electorate for Labour,(havn’t checked to see where She sits on the list),
The Maori Party candidate made one good point about the current clusterfuck that is Auckland housing, in saying that it is easy to shift from the provinces to look for work, should you not find that work tho it is virtually impossible to shift back home again,
Of course seeing this from the point of view of the incongruous relationship the Maori Party shares with the current National Government devalues His point dramatically and it is such ”attacks” upon Maori from National while the Maori Party tucks nga korokoro under the table and nga tiro onto the leather seats of the beamers that have all but condemned the Party to the overcrowded dustbin of political history…
Part One.
Don’t know what happened to part 4.
When it come to housing policy tho, Jack Mcdonald from the Green Party had it all over everyone else, with the Mana Party candidate failing to fire in terms of having a clear personal vision of Mana’s State House policy,
The variable equity scheme as outlined by the Green party policy is in my opinion an excellent forward looking piece of ”bread and butter” policy that they should spend far more effort explaining to the electorate,
This policy simply means that anyone, in theory, from the lowest of beneficiaries to the most comfortable of the middle class could be housed and it is only my worries about future attacks upon those housed under this policy by another Tory Government that i see as the slightest negative issue with the policy,
(besides the ability to build enough such homes that is)…
“Senior Labour Party MPs have used social media to attack the alliance struck between Mana and the Internet Party.
Former leaders Phil Goff and David Shearer, and Rimutaka MP Chris Hipkins are among those who have objected to the deal.
The strong opposition from within Labour could make post-election coalition talks tricky.
All three MPs were linked to the Anyone But Cunliffe [ABC] faction – who were opposed to David Cunliffe assuming leadership of the party. However, a Labour source played down talk of more division, saying all three were close to Te Tai Tokerau candidate Kelvin Davis.
Davis himself posted on Twitter: ‘‘Bro, I think of the people of Te Tai Tokerau, not Sergeant Shultz.’’ He was referring to Dotcom’s German origins.”
The neo-liberal rats in the Labour caucus are squirming and causing as much trouble as they can.
Cunliffe must apply some party discipline here.
Goff was a key member of the Douglas clique who betrayed NZ.
Davis looking more and more like a total plonker.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10111029/Labour-MPs-not-happy-with-Mana-Internet
Progressive voters in Mt Roskill, Mt Albert, and Rimutaka, now have a choice and can cast their party votes for IMP!
And those in Te Tai Tok can cast their electorate vote for Hone.
🙂
“..Davis looking more and more like a total plonker..”
..+1..
..’sgt schultz’..?..really..?
..that’s the best davis has got..
..i used to think davis was ok..
..but you are right…he is actually a ‘total plonker’..
John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight eviscerates Tony Abbott
The Labour Party used to be the people’s party, but it seems determined to lose many of its traditional voters. I myself will not be voting Labour again, but with me that decision came about after the election as leader of David #2 – is he the biggest goose Labour has ever had as a leader? Too late to get David #1 back…. or is it.
Sounds like a concern tr**l
Seriously? Do you think Shearer would have been able to cope with all the nasties the Nats have been throwing out?
Shearer proved unable to navigate internal Labour Party politics, partly because he was too inexperienced, I do not think he would be able to deal with the quickly changing dynamics that IMP is bringing to the table.
Imagine the Internet Party having a more experienced leader (Laila Harre ex Labour led Cabinet Minister) than the Labour Party (David Shearer 0 full terms as Labour MP).
Test. Link here http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29052014/#comment-821422