John Key claims that terrorists exist in New Zealand but refuses to name them.
The whole terrorist scare nonsense is phoney. The government had no concerns at all about naming and even spectacularly raiding and arresting Tuhoe and other activists merely on suspicion of being terrorists. Suspicions that had no factual basis.
The need to have anonymous terrorists running around their identities protected by the government is to justify the GCSB amendment bill.
But we all know the real reason for this bill.
In spying on 88 New Zealanders. (most probably, none of whom are terrorists).
The GCSB spies have been, and still are acting illegally.
Being soft on white collar crime, John Key wants to let them off, by legalising their criminal activities.
There are no other reasons for this bill. Other than that our spies want the right to spy on all New Zealanders legally.
If any of their victims did uncover their illegal activity, the GCSB don’t want to find themselves in court.
Mr Key said the number of people who have links to terrorist groups is small and the Government knows who they are.
Radio New Zealand
So why doesn’t he tell us?
In 2011, WikiLeaks named New Zealander Mark Taylor as someone who had visited Yemen and had links to al Qaeda. John Key said at the time he was aware of Mr Taylor, who was living in Hamilton under a number of restrictions, but that the public had nothing to fear from him.
Mr Key would not say if his reference to terrorists on Thursday included Mr Taylor, who has denied the links.
Radio New Zealand
Sir Bruce Ferguson headed the GCSB for about four years from 2006 said on Thursday he was not aware of people from New Zealand going to training camps in Yemen, but that didn’t mean it did not happen.
Sir Bruce said normally, this would have been handled primarily by the Security Intelligence Service, not the GCSB. It is possible the GCSB could have been asked to help under warrant, but he said he has no memory of this.
Radio New Zealand
Threat real, says academic
An Islamic studies specialist says people with links to al Qaeda exist in New Zealand and are a risk to the community. Zain Ali, from the University of Auckland, says the terrorist group has a clear agenda to instil fear and terror.
“They’re always looking to recruit. And I think even John Key’s statement indicates that intelligence services are monitoring people who already have links. So it’s not so much links that are being developed. I think there are already people here who may already have links.”
However, Dr Ali says with such a violent mindset, the best option is to contain them rather than just monitor them.
What does all this mean? The government “know who they are” and just want to “monitor them.” Talk about being soft on crime.
I would have thought the best option if they exist, at the very least would be to name them. That is, if they actually exist.
By letting us become aware of these dangerous terrorists in our midst, their chance to do any actual harm would be greatly diminished.
By keeping their identities secret John Key is protecting them. Why is he doing that?
Is he actually hoping that they do create some sort of terrorist outrage. So that he can justify spying on the other 4 million New Zealanders.
By keeping the identities of these few terrorists alleged to be among us secret, Key is smearing all Kiwi Muslims and people of Middle East origin. Helping the spread of Islamaphobia and hysteria.
Or is he making it all up just to instil a feeling of terror and fear to justify his spy bill.
John Key, if they exist, stop protecting terrorists.
If there were terrorists, why would they tell you? That’s retarded. It wouldn’t even be about protecting them. Like in the UK, it’s about watching them and seeing who they have links to.
Did it ever occur to you that term terrorist is a contrivance and maybe the people who undertook the attacks were responding to something? I do not condone violence indeed I’m something of a pacifist but what occurred in the US/ UK was a response to these countries undertaking acts of imperialism.
If New Zealand keeps its nose out of other peoples affairs and plays clean international politics why would we have anything to fear?
Yep I think the terrorists Key was referring to are the New Zealand Defence Force who, it is becoming clearer with every passing week, were in complete cahoots with the US cunts, torturing, killing civilians, and threatening to kill our own civilians.
But more likely Key is apeing George Bush and the complete and utter bullshit that was weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which of course resulted in tens of thousands of civilians being killed there too by the American people.
After witnessing NZ Defence Force actions in Christchurch during the earthquake period, and now finding out what they have been doing abroad, and spying on and threatening journalists, the conclusion has been reached that they are as dangerous as any armed militia anywhere in the world. Don’t trust them – they are just a bunch of murderers who would (and have just threatened to) turn their guns on us if their generals told them to. This is what militias do. Fuck them.
Hey Winston, you may want to look at this. It exposes perhaps a reason people are coming to the conclusion about the Queen’s militia here in NZ that I outline above….
You may be particularly interested in this accurate description of their true role… “The Army, Navy and Air Force do not exist to serve the people of New Zealand, they exist to defend the Crown.”….. and then further through Trotter’s commentary, some more examples of when that has been demonstrated in the past.
Here we sit, exposed to the world. Naked to the intrusion of a gestapo, along the road from barracks filled with soldiers armed to the teeth with weapons not even intended to protect us.
Cold lonely chilling exposed.
We have nothing to protect us from internal government or militia threats and nothing to protect us from external governments or militia threats.
If there were terrorists, why would they tell you? That’s retarded. It wouldn’t even be about protecting them. Like in the UK, it’s about watching them and seeing who they have links to.
Umm infused old chap, The PM gave out daeatils, and siad they are very few in number, talked about AQ training camps and Yemen. I think the targets know he’s talking about them.
I have to say Shearer was almost fairly quite good talking about this last night. Almost started to sound like a leader. Just a pity it’s too late, a bit like Goff at the last election, but I console myself by saying it’s surely a one-off.
+1 Jenny… I don’t believe the surveillance is for ‘terrorists’ at all
…and I would like to see these so called ‘terrorists ‘ named
….just as I would like to see named the 88 New Zealanders who were illegally spied on
…and I would like to see those responsible for illegal spying held to account before the justice system of NZ.
John Armstrong in todays NZ Herald does his best to provide John Key with veiled protection by suggesting that Parliamentary Services provided the Inquiry with information off their own bat.
“That someone working for Parliamentary Service could consider it okay to release the private phone records of a Press Gallery journalist to an inquiry sanctioned by the Prime Minister truly beggars belief.”
And then goes all the way by suggesting its simply not Nationals fault.
“But a different kind of “culture” must take responsibility for this disgraceful episode – a culture which developed long before Key became Prime Minister.”
The National Party have a strategy of ensuring what should be independent/neutral institutions such as the Parliamentary Services and the Media (Listen Mr. Armsrong!) end up on their side. However this whole saga will test the media, it has not yet pushed John Armstrong into neutral territory but I’m sure it is putting the pressure on.
I’m loving the way Radio NZ is continuing to remind listeners that while the PM was apparently too busy to go on Morning Report yesterday he somehow found time to go onto ‘music’ station More FM and make his ridiculous claims about terrorists in NZ.
Shonkey goes where the soapbox is and he demands all questions are written in advance so the spin can be prepared, this one’s moving too fast for that.
Shonkey doesn’t like to go where the sunlight will get shone into his ever growing list of lies and deception.
Tautoko and Sable:
Typed up a comment here along the same lines yesterday. Wondered if the NZ govt. was getting some sort of financial kickback from the Americans for doing their bit to toe the US line?
I deleted it because I thought some might claim a step too far etc…
Bear in mind Deep Throat’s oft repeated advice to Woodward and Bernstein: Follow the money trail.
Perhaps out investigative journos need to do the same.
Given the UK government is being paid to spy on its people I do not see why the Keys government might also not be getting compensated for their spy efforts. Its a reasonable question Anne.
The revelation re-the NSA funding of GCHQ in Britain hadn’t hit the ether when I commented Sable. Hence the deletion. A bit of skiting on my part that I’d already thought of it. 🙂
Well it wont be the first time Annie.
Remember the Cossack adverts when Muldoon never disclosed who paid for them/Also realize that the National party is a member of the Democratic Union .The senior member being the USA Republican Party and don’t forget their association with
I’d be surprised if they weren’t getting logistic, technical, and financial support from the seppos. Spies love a chance to play with the latest technical wizardry, but given the ideology of NAct and the school prefect types who become spies, I think they’d work for Washington anyway. Access to toys would be an added bonus.
Meanwhile, we have an army unit who are trained to kill (not capture) “terrorists” inside Aotearoa. They were put together before the Rubber Wool Cup and the soldiers in it believe that the unit was established due to international treaties and responsibilities to the UN. It seems that it hasn’t been widely publicised.
What’s Labour’s stance on resourcing the Ombudsman’s office? Keys and the Nats are milking its under-funding to death. Government is getting away with a truckload of underhand and undemocratic shonkiness and every other kind of unfairness simply by starving the watchdog into a toothless malfunctioning joke of an organisation. The question is whether Labour has the guts to say they’d fix it in the name of transparency and democracy, or whether they’d also like to benefit from the same deliberate under-resourcing?
Yes that’s the question, isn’t it. Are National the only party who have been co-opted by foreign interests and have a vested interest in quashing Kiwis human rights?
What people need to appreciate, is that the banks shares can be crashed at any time the High Frequency Trading algorithms are set to do so!
When the nations do not fall in behind the demands of the imperials, two things happen.
1: Taken to War
2: Stock market crash(ed), act of war.
The publically listed companies ensures that with the technology behind the electronic markets, and the banks owning, not only the lions share of the equities, but also the High Frequency Trading sytems, which can be set to carry out any buy/sell instruction desired, to achieve instability and panic, when in reality, share prices do not mean squat, but in virtual speak, they absolutely do!
Divide and conquer is the Key governments approach. Set rich against poor and divide the middle class into the social climbers and the disenfranchised. Rush changes through government with no time for discussion and public submissions.
Do I believe that there are people who are being trained for terrorism by Al Queda who are NZ residents. YES. I have meet one at University and his beliefs scared the living daylights out of me. Do they need to take away everyone’s privacy to catch such people. NO.
People are killed in vehicles. Do we take all the vehicles off the road so nobody will be killed. NO.
The National government is playing on our fears. They have the means to hunt down the few people that threaten NZ without targeting innocent people.
Fear, uncertainty & doubt…is what we are being dished up every day. The media need to do more to expose how we are being manipulated by our elected government.
Is John Key another Robert Muldoon in a better looking face?
No……….I don’t believe Muldoon went near the excesses of this guy. Muldoon was committed to New Zealand. He made me puke but it was a New Zealander puking at a New Zealander.
Not this bitch whose homeland is Wall Street/City of London. There’s a different morality.
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
In the States, hubby googled “backpack” ; shortly afterward, wife googled “pressure cooker” to find out how to cook lentils…… the FBI appear at the door.
Just goes to show how genuinely stupid these idiots are and worse still people are expected to pay taxes to be treated like this. Talk about making a rod for your own back.
Not entirely sure how I feel about ‘stuff’ treating it as ‘merely incidental’ or about ‘the guardian’ being so flippant in their piece.
There is some very serious shit about intrusion bubbling just below the surface that, for whatever reason, neither outlet even comments on – let alone investigates… (particulary odd given the guardian’s NSA exclusives.)
“Ha-ha-ha. The Stasi came to my door after I commented to my neighbour about buying bread after I’d done the washing. Turns out they thought I was money laundering. But, y’know. They were nice and they were just doing their job hahaha”
So Australian companies are coming here for lower wages. Hah! At last! I have been waiting for the market to start working as it should. At last we are being recognised as perople with the labour-saving tools that we have been in training for ie companies can save on labour in NZ!
More training and honing of our work and administration methods will mean that we can compete against the Chinese labour market soon and think of all that wonderful business we can woo here. /sarc
I’ve been thinking about modular housing for NZ, especially that can be built quickly and got the name Omega popping up. This seems to be a German company that has many different avenues for building new infrastructure, improving agriculture etc.
and other services across the globe http://www.omegahousingltd.com/agriculture.htmwhich NZ could be doing to earn some money in this country by promoting our services globally. I wonder if I look under Kiwi Capabilities or such, what would I see?
Under ‘Kiwi initiatives new business models’ first there is something about sports and then about Kiwirail. So there- that’s our brightest and best under this heading on google.
reliably informed headline is “Ugly people suffer more bullying at work”. Which is not lulzy. But the photo they grabbed to illustrate proved me to be a bad person.
When a proven treatment is available and it is denied I consider this to be manslaughter. There are many uncommon conditions which can kill and they also miss out on a proven treatment being researched. E.g. Limited or diffuse scleroderma.
You better have an ethical and moral model which takes into account limited resources.
For instance, would you have the Government purchase a $100,000 per year drug to keep one person alive 3 years longer, but have to cancel 25 hip and knee replacement operations for middle aged people stuck at home, in order to balance the books?
“You better have an ethical and moral model which takes into account limited resources.”
To see a specialist for a consult there is a point system so ethics and morals come into play here.
Money could be found by tackling type 2 diabetes or accidents due to having consumed alcohol which clogs up ED and costs the country millions. Too often people with a uncommon condition try to live healthy e.g limit alcohol and type 2 diabetes causing food.
IMO the problem isn’t so much available funds (which is always a problem, but largely determined by wider issues like inequality, tax policies, and early intervention points), but is more that when we talk about rare (but high consequence) conditions, the treatments are often disproportionately expensive and of limited effectiveness (or evidence of effectiveness).
The model used to assign funding is more generic and slaps a normal curve over the top (a basic model is the Quality-Adjusted Life-Years), so those treatments at either end of the curve miss out. It’s not so important at the low-incidence low-consequence low-cost area (by definition), but I think a separate fund for the low-incidence, high consequence high-cost conditions is probably a good idea.
Effectiveness can only be known if the medication or treatment is administered. I personally would want to trial a drug which is available if my life depended on it. Were I terminal I may think differently.
This is turning into a bit of a hobby-horse, but here’s the thing:
Bryce Edwards again explicitly associates The Standard with the Labour Party. Today, and I’m not linking – it’s in the Herald – he describes us as “Labour-leaning”. In the same article, and repeatedly in the past, he refers to Whaleoil with no similar designation. Apparently WO is independent of the National Party. In previous articles, Kiwiblog is not referered to as being associated with National. Despite the fact that both these blogs are National Party apologist sites, and while TS includes Labour supporters, it isn’t Labour-leaning – actually. Is left-wing too hard to spell, or is this just sloppy scholarship?
Bryce is of course ‘in training’ to take over from the titular head of Fifth Column Jonolism and NZ Herald political reporter John Armstrong,(pity His head wasn’t),
Bryce seems to be attempting to prove to the owners of that in-august rag that He to can denigrate the left while praising the right with monotonous consistency…
The Office of the Prime Minister has in the last hour ‘dumped’ hundreds of pages of information relating to the Henry inquiry on the Press,
What has so far been gleaned from this is that Eaggleson, the Prime Ministers Chief of Staff, demanded repeatedly that Parliamentary Services release full copies of emails between Peter Dunne and Andrea Vance which after an argument Parliamentary services did,
i have no knowledge yet if these emails also include the reverse, from Vance to Peter Dunne, Dunne is claiming outrage and seeking legal remedy…
I’d guess the first. I’ve seen plenty of evidence that Dunne is a stupid old fool who would let his imagination and narcissism run away with him, but none that he has any principles when it comes to constitutional practice.
If there is something in the emails – it will come out. He will be embarrassed. If he changed his vote to avert possible embarrassment, he should resign yesterday. He has the ethics of John Banks and the political vision of a lump of plasticine. He will not be remembered for anything worthwhile, which is the legacy he deserves.
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April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
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. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The 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 ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Recent extreme weather events showed the importance of a well-functioning insurance system, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister Andrew Bayly. ...
By Jo Moir, RNZ News political editor, and Craig McCulloch, deputy political editor New Zealand’s Labour Party is demanding Winston Peters be stood down as Foreign Minister for opening up the government to legal action over his “totally unacceptable” attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. In an interview on RNZ’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Brakenridge, Postdoctoral research fellow at Swinburne University, Centre for Urban Transitions, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute The Conversation, Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock People have a pretty intuitive sense of what is healthy – standing is better than sitting, exercise is great for overall ...
The Wellington-based Reserve Force soldier is now almost three years into his New Zealand Army career with 5th/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. ...
"The Government needs to release the review immediately as this reckless approach to change risks disjointed decision making and creates more distress and uncertainty for staff," Fitzsimons said. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Jeremiah Manele has been elected Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, polling 31 votes to 18 over rival candidate and former opposition leader Mathew Wale with one abstention. The final result of the election by secret ballot was announced by the Governor-General, Sir David Vunagi, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Priestley Habru, PhD candidate, public diplomacy, University of Adelaide Former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele has been elected the next prime minister of Solomon Islands, defeating the opposition leader, Matthew Wale, in a vote in parliament. The result is a mixed bag for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shaun Eaves, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Jamey Stutz, CC BY-SA How often do mountains collapse, volcanoes erupt or ice sheets melt? For Earth scientists, these are important questions as we try ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Flood, Professor of Sociology, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock Most young adult men in Australia reject traditional ideas of masculinity that endorse aggression, stoicism and homophobia. Nonetheless, the ongoing influence of those ideas continues to harm men and the people ...
The NZQA proposal released to staff today would involve a net loss of 35 roles. There are 66 roles being disestablished with 13 of those currently vacant, and 31 new roles proposed, said Fleur Fitzsimons Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga ...
Alex Casey talks to Loren Taylor, the writer, director and star of new film The Moon is Upside Down, about assembling her dream ensemble cast, toilet paper pads and turning literal dreams into reality. There’s a moment in The Moon is Upside Down where frazzled anaesthetist Briar (Loren Taylor) gets ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassy Dittman, Senior Lecturer/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology), Research Fellow, Manna Institute, CQUniversity Australia With winter sports swinging into action, adults around the country have volunteered or been volunteered by others (humorously known as being “volun-told”) to coach junior sports teams. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University richardernestyap/Shutterstock Parents are often advised to burp their babies after feeding them. Some people think burping after feeding is important to reduce or prevent discomfort crying, or to ...
Workers at a major ASB contact centre in Auckland have voted to take strike action and withdraw their labour following disappointing pay negotiations with the employer and an "offer" to workers that would leave them worse off than the previous year. ...
As the government tries to get the country back on track with a school phone ban, Tara Ward has an idea for where they should turn their attention to next.New Zealand students returned to school on Monday morning, but their cellphones did not. The government’s new phone ban began ...
The Labour Party is demanding Peters be stood down, saying "he's embarrassed the country" with a "totally unacceptable" attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. ...
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, whose members were victims of a China-backed cyber attack, is discussing forming a standing committee to deal with foreign influence. ...
The PSA is concerned that the voluntary redundancies being offered to staff by Stats NZ will impact on the agency’s ability to deliver on its core functions. ...
Results ranged from surprisingly yum to soul-destroying. I love cooking. The kitchen is a hearth of culinary creation, of sensory delights, of gastronomic poetry. I also can’t afford anything nice. Why does a pack of instant noodles and some milk cost ten bucks? I love you, Aotearoa, but I miss ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Police in Solomon Islands are on high alert ahead of the election of the prime minister today. The two candidates for the top job are former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele at the head of the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation, which is ...
He’s fine but it feels like I’m losing a friend and it’s making me bitter. How do I say ‘enough is enough’? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzHey Hera,I’ve recently moved in with a girlfriend, her partner Steve, and his friend. We all live in a lovely little house. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney shutterstockAhmet Misirligul/Shutterstock You go to the gym, eat healthy and walk as much as possible. You wash your hands and get vaccinated. You control your health. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin University Children and young people may be seeing news headlines about men murdering women or footage of people rallying to call for action. Perhaps they or their friends have even gone to the protests. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Unemployment ...
The campaign will engage the community and encourage submissions on the bill to the New Zealand government by the closing submission deadline of Friday 31st of May 2024 4pm. ...
The paper raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand's political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency plays in that. ...
The Urban Habitat Collective was an attempt to built an innovative new form of apartment building in Wellington. Here’s why it failed, and why the idea could still work, writes co-founder Bronwen Newton. When we started the Urban Habitat Collective in November 2018, we thought we were starting a revolution, ...
Two decades ago this week, a controversial law that attempted to define ownership of the foreshore and seabed prompted a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga as 15,000 marched to parliament. Jamie Tahana looks back.‘Hīkoi, hīkoi,” they chanted by the thousands as the biggest Māori march in a generation ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 2 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Why has New Zealand slipped from third to 12th on Quality of Death Indexes over the past decade or so? Hospice New Zealand Chief Executive Wayne Naylor has a list of reasons. “We don’t have a current national strategy – the Government hasn’t renewed our 2001 strategy, so we don’t ...
While women’s sport is exploding in Aotearoa and around the world, you still don’t hear a lot of talk about athletes and their periods, RED-S, breastfeeding and visible panty-lines. SASS (Suze and Sez Sports)Talk isn’t afraid to have that kōrero.LockerRoom founder Suzanne McFadden and Olympian broadcaster Sarah ...
On an unusually hot night in January 2019, a little boy’s lifeless body was found face up in a small town’s sewage oxidation pond. To the police, it was an open and shut case: three-year-old Lachlan Jones had run away from his home in the Southland town of Gore, climbed ...
A Labour Party Member’s Bill aims to plug a culpability gap between manslaughter and health and safety breaches The post New push for corporate killing laws appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Terence O’Brien had the rare and no doubt undesired distinction of rising to one of the most exalted positions in New Zealand diplomacy, then being unceremoniously recalled to Wellington without explanation just when his career was at its zenith. What is perhaps more surprising is that he appears to have ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
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The politics of fear.
John Key claims that terrorists exist in New Zealand but refuses to name them.
The whole terrorist scare nonsense is phoney. The government had no concerns at all about naming and even spectacularly raiding and arresting Tuhoe and other activists merely on suspicion of being terrorists. Suspicions that had no factual basis.
The need to have anonymous terrorists running around their identities protected by the government is to justify the GCSB amendment bill.
But we all know the real reason for this bill.
In spying on 88 New Zealanders. (most probably, none of whom are terrorists).
The GCSB spies have been, and still are acting illegally.
Being soft on white collar crime, John Key wants to let them off, by legalising their criminal activities.
There are no other reasons for this bill. Other than that our spies want the right to spy on all New Zealanders legally.
If any of their victims did uncover their illegal activity, the GCSB don’t want to find themselves in court.
So why doesn’t he tell us?
What does all this mean? The government “know who they are” and just want to “monitor them.” Talk about being soft on crime.
I would have thought the best option if they exist, at the very least would be to name them. That is, if they actually exist.
By letting us become aware of these dangerous terrorists in our midst, their chance to do any actual harm would be greatly diminished.
By keeping their identities secret John Key is protecting them. Why is he doing that?
Is he actually hoping that they do create some sort of terrorist outrage. So that he can justify spying on the other 4 million New Zealanders.
By keeping the identities of these few terrorists alleged to be among us secret, Key is smearing all Kiwi Muslims and people of Middle East origin. Helping the spread of Islamaphobia and hysteria.
Or is he making it all up just to instil a feeling of terror and fear to justify his spy bill.
John Key, if they exist, stop protecting terrorists.
Name them.
If there were terrorists, why would they tell you? That’s retarded. It wouldn’t even be about protecting them. Like in the UK, it’s about watching them and seeing who they have links to.
Did it ever occur to you that term terrorist is a contrivance and maybe the people who undertook the attacks were responding to something? I do not condone violence indeed I’m something of a pacifist but what occurred in the US/ UK was a response to these countries undertaking acts of imperialism.
If New Zealand keeps its nose out of other peoples affairs and plays clean international politics why would we have anything to fear?
Yep I think the terrorists Key was referring to are the New Zealand Defence Force who, it is becoming clearer with every passing week, were in complete cahoots with the US cunts, torturing, killing civilians, and threatening to kill our own civilians.
But more likely Key is apeing George Bush and the complete and utter bullshit that was weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which of course resulted in tens of thousands of civilians being killed there too by the American people.
After witnessing NZ Defence Force actions in Christchurch during the earthquake period, and now finding out what they have been doing abroad, and spying on and threatening journalists, the conclusion has been reached that they are as dangerous as any armed militia anywhere in the world. Don’t trust them – they are just a bunch of murderers who would (and have just threatened to) turn their guns on us if their generals told them to. This is what militias do. Fuck them.
Fuck you wanker
Oh, hit a nerve eh? Which bit is wrong? You always know people are on the back foot when all they have is abuse.
Interesting intellectual point ws
Childish Winston but predictable.
Not as childish as pouring forth an incredible amount of bullshit and exageration against an organisation just to try to score some minor point
and you wonder why the lefts popularity is dropping
Thing is fool, there is no bullshit in there is there. Point to it if you can.
Hey Winston, you may want to look at this. It exposes perhaps a reason people are coming to the conclusion about the Queen’s militia here in NZ that I outline above….
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/07/29/no-friend-of-democracy-to-whom-is-the-nzdf-answerable/
You may be particularly interested in this accurate description of their true role… “The Army, Navy and Air Force do not exist to serve the people of New Zealand, they exist to defend the Crown.”….. and then further through Trotter’s commentary, some more examples of when that has been demonstrated in the past.
Any comment?
Thanks cnrjoe for the link.
Here we sit, exposed to the world. Naked to the intrusion of a gestapo, along the road from barracks filled with soldiers armed to the teeth with weapons not even intended to protect us.
Cold lonely chilling exposed.
We have nothing to protect us from internal government or militia threats and nothing to protect us from external governments or militia threats.
Feel the chill….
If there were terrorists, why would they tell you? That’s retarded. It wouldn’t even be about protecting them. Like in the UK, it’s about watching them and seeing who they have links to.
Umm infused old chap, The PM gave out daeatils, and siad they are very few in number, talked about AQ training camps and Yemen. I think the targets know he’s talking about them.
I have to say Shearer was almost fairly quite good talking about this last night. Almost started to sound like a leader. Just a pity it’s too late, a bit like Goff at the last election, but I console myself by saying it’s surely a one-off.
So Boys’ Own gets all mouthy and lets it all out. The spooks’ll be spewing !
I’m sure that within 24 hours Shearer will have his foot back where it’s most at home and everything will be okay again.
+1 Jenny… I don’t believe the surveillance is for ‘terrorists’ at all
…and I would like to see these so called ‘terrorists ‘ named
….just as I would like to see named the 88 New Zealanders who were illegally spied on
…and I would like to see those responsible for illegal spying held to account before the justice system of NZ.
Q+A tweeted that Corin Dann will be releasing new poll results on Sunday.
John Armstrong and cheerleading for John Key/National
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10905739
John Armstrong in todays NZ Herald does his best to provide John Key with veiled protection by suggesting that Parliamentary Services provided the Inquiry with information off their own bat.
“That someone working for Parliamentary Service could consider it okay to release the private phone records of a Press Gallery journalist to an inquiry sanctioned by the Prime Minister truly beggars belief.”
And then goes all the way by suggesting its simply not Nationals fault.
“But a different kind of “culture” must take responsibility for this disgraceful episode – a culture which developed long before Key became Prime Minister.”
The National Party have a strategy of ensuring what should be independent/neutral institutions such as the Parliamentary Services and the Media (Listen Mr. Armsrong!) end up on their side. However this whole saga will test the media, it has not yet pushed John Armstrong into neutral territory but I’m sure it is putting the pressure on.
That column came out on Wednesday. Events have moved on a fair bit since then.
Standard National play: If in a hole of their own digging, blame Labour.
Interesting information about NSA funding GCHQ in The Guardian. I wonder if GCSB has been offered funding by the NSA? Follow the money…
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/01/nsa-paid-gchq-spying-edward-snowden
I’m loving the way Radio NZ is continuing to remind listeners that while the PM was apparently too busy to go on Morning Report yesterday he somehow found time to go onto ‘music’ station More FM and make his ridiculous claims about terrorists in NZ.
Shonkey goes where the soapbox is and he demands all questions are written in advance so the spin can be prepared, this one’s moving too fast for that.
Shonkey doesn’t like to go where the sunlight will get shone into his ever growing list of lies and deception.
A they need to do this more often
Campbell Live is excellent at reminding viewers when Key, Joyce won’t front for his show.
This is interesting, wonder if Keys and co are getting a kick back from the Yanks:
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/01/nsa-paid-gchq-spying-edward-snowden
Tautoko and Sable:
Typed up a comment here along the same lines yesterday. Wondered if the NZ govt. was getting some sort of financial kickback from the Americans for doing their bit to toe the US line?
I deleted it because I thought some might claim a step too far etc…
Bear in mind Deep Throat’s oft repeated advice to Woodward and Bernstein: Follow the money trail.
Perhaps out investigative journos need to do the same.
Given the UK government is being paid to spy on its people I do not see why the Keys government might also not be getting compensated for their spy efforts. Its a reasonable question Anne.
The revelation re-the NSA funding of GCHQ in Britain hadn’t hit the ether when I commented Sable. Hence the deletion. A bit of skiting on my part that I’d already thought of it. 🙂
Well it wont be the first time Annie.
Remember the Cossack adverts when Muldoon never disclosed who paid for them/Also realize that the National party is a member of the Democratic Union .The senior member being the USA Republican Party and don’t forget their association with
I’d be surprised if they weren’t getting logistic, technical, and financial support from the seppos. Spies love a chance to play with the latest technical wizardry, but given the ideology of NAct and the school prefect types who become spies, I think they’d work for Washington anyway. Access to toys would be an added bonus.
Meanwhile, we have an army unit who are trained to kill (not capture) “terrorists” inside Aotearoa. They were put together before the Rubber Wool Cup and the soldiers in it believe that the unit was established due to international treaties and responsibilities to the UN. It seems that it hasn’t been widely publicised.
What’s Labour’s stance on resourcing the Ombudsman’s office? Keys and the Nats are milking its under-funding to death. Government is getting away with a truckload of underhand and undemocratic shonkiness and every other kind of unfairness simply by starving the watchdog into a toothless malfunctioning joke of an organisation. The question is whether Labour has the guts to say they’d fix it in the name of transparency and democracy, or whether they’d also like to benefit from the same deliberate under-resourcing?
Yes that’s the question, isn’t it. Are National the only party who have been co-opted by foreign interests and have a vested interest in quashing Kiwis human rights?
Is there some uncertainty as to the health of our Australisian banks and the strength our our economy.
Wonder why these responses are happening with such urgency ?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-01/banking-shares-fall-on-banking-levy/4858994
http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-shares-wobble-budget-levy-074703705.html
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/regulation_and_supervision/banks/policy/4368385.html
And we still allow property to go its own way, unregulated and allowing this bubble to inflate at such a damaging rate.
I get the impression that there are some very concerned bankers out there.
What people need to appreciate, is that the banks shares can be crashed at any time the High Frequency Trading algorithms are set to do so!
When the nations do not fall in behind the demands of the imperials, two things happen.
1: Taken to War
2: Stock market crash(ed), act of war.
The publically listed companies ensures that with the technology behind the electronic markets, and the banks owning, not only the lions share of the equities, but also the High Frequency Trading sytems, which can be set to carry out any buy/sell instruction desired, to achieve instability and panic, when in reality, share prices do not mean squat, but in virtual speak, they absolutely do!
21st century newspeak.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/07/nsa_lexicon_how_james_clapper_and_other_u_s_officials_mislead_the_american.html
Divide and conquer is the Key governments approach. Set rich against poor and divide the middle class into the social climbers and the disenfranchised. Rush changes through government with no time for discussion and public submissions.
Do I believe that there are people who are being trained for terrorism by Al Queda who are NZ residents. YES. I have meet one at University and his beliefs scared the living daylights out of me. Do they need to take away everyone’s privacy to catch such people. NO.
People are killed in vehicles. Do we take all the vehicles off the road so nobody will be killed. NO.
The National government is playing on our fears. They have the means to hunt down the few people that threaten NZ without targeting innocent people.
Fear, uncertainty & doubt…is what we are being dished up every day. The media need to do more to expose how we are being manipulated by our elected government.
Is John Key another Robert Muldoon in a better looking face?
Well said Lorraine.
Starting to suspect he’s worse than Muldoon. I honestly don’t think Muldoon went as far as Key has done…
He wasn’t a wheeler/dealer by profession so he had some respect for the justice system and the rule of law.
No……….I don’t believe Muldoon went near the excesses of this guy. Muldoon was committed to New Zealand. He made me puke but it was a New Zealander puking at a New Zealander.
Not this bitch whose homeland is Wall Street/City of London. There’s a different morality.
+1
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
And, of course:
Do we want this happening here?
In the States, hubby googled “backpack” ; shortly afterward, wife googled “pressure cooker” to find out how to cook lentils…… the FBI appear at the door.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/8994624/Googling-leads-to-anti-terrorism-visit
Just goes to show how genuinely stupid these idiots are and worse still people are expected to pay taxes to be treated like this. Talk about making a rod for your own back.
Not entirely sure how I feel about ‘stuff’ treating it as ‘merely incidental’ or about ‘the guardian’ being so flippant in their piece.
There is some very serious shit about intrusion bubbling just below the surface that, for whatever reason, neither outlet even comments on – let alone investigates… (particulary odd given the guardian’s NSA exclusives.)
“Ha-ha-ha. The Stasi came to my door after I commented to my neighbour about buying bread after I’d done the washing. Turns out they thought I was money laundering. But, y’know. They were nice and they were just doing their job hahaha”
(subtext – “nothing to hide, nothing to fear”)
I play chess like a pigeon and have been pig wrestling…I need a shower!
Don’t suppose Darien Fenton is around so as she could explain WTF this artacle is about?
So Australian companies are coming here for lower wages. Hah! At last! I have been waiting for the market to start working as it should. At last we are being recognised as perople with the labour-saving tools that we have been in training for ie companies can save on labour in NZ!
More training and honing of our work and administration methods will mean that we can compete against the Chinese labour market soon and think of all that wonderful business we can woo here. /sarc
In actual fact a heading from Oz media talks about their business people being wooed by China.
http://www.theage.com.au/business/world-business/chinese-spies-woo-business-leaders-20130524-2k717.html
Trying to do a search on the Winz site, and this is what I get.
“There are too many pending search requests, so the search appliance cannot respond to your query at this time. Please try again in a few minutes.”
FFS. It looks like they are also cutting computer resources as well.
As thick as this sounds were Dunne to abstain would the GCSB bill still be able to be passed as the vote would be 60 to 59?
I’ve been thinking about modular housing for NZ, especially that can be built quickly and got the name Omega popping up. This seems to be a German company that has many different avenues for building new infrastructure, improving agriculture etc.
Maybe there is something they do that could be copied, utilised?
About modular housing methods
http://omegahaus.com/eng/what-is-a-modular-home
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elg1-vnmOsE
Omega low cost housing
and other services across the globe
http://www.omegahousingltd.com/agriculture.htmwhich NZ could be doing to earn some money in this country by promoting our services globally. I wonder if I look under Kiwi Capabilities or such, what would I see?
Under ‘Kiwi initiatives new business models’ first there is something about sports and then about Kiwirail. So there- that’s our brightest and best under this heading on google.
And other German initiatives –
http://www.standard-freeholder.com/2013/06/18/german-firm-teams-up-with-first-nation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jV-KW1jpJo&feature=youtu.be
We’ve got the capability, we’re just not using it.
Friday lulz
http://www.estrelladigital.es/salud/feos-sufren-bullying-trabajo_0_1435656644.html
reliably informed headline is “Ugly people suffer more bullying at work”. Which is not lulzy. But the photo they grabbed to illustrate proved me to be a bad person.
That explains why the Nats were so mean to him. I always thought they were bullies and this just proves the point.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/215945/labour-promises-special-fund-for-orphan-drugs
When a proven treatment is available and it is denied I consider this to be manslaughter. There are many uncommon conditions which can kill and they also miss out on a proven treatment being researched. E.g. Limited or diffuse scleroderma.
You better have an ethical and moral model which takes into account limited resources.
For instance, would you have the Government purchase a $100,000 per year drug to keep one person alive 3 years longer, but have to cancel 25 hip and knee replacement operations for middle aged people stuck at home, in order to balance the books?
“You better have an ethical and moral model which takes into account limited resources.”
To see a specialist for a consult there is a point system so ethics and morals come into play here.
Money could be found by tackling type 2 diabetes or accidents due to having consumed alcohol which clogs up ED and costs the country millions. Too often people with a uncommon condition try to live healthy e.g limit alcohol and type 2 diabetes causing food.
No complaints there. But I hear the calls of Nana State (alongside that of Big Brother State) already.
Coddington put it this way, an unhealthy diet causes hospital admissions and a premature death vs there is a cost in elderly care.
Choose carefully!
IMO the problem isn’t so much available funds (which is always a problem, but largely determined by wider issues like inequality, tax policies, and early intervention points), but is more that when we talk about rare (but high consequence) conditions, the treatments are often disproportionately expensive and of limited effectiveness (or evidence of effectiveness).
The model used to assign funding is more generic and slaps a normal curve over the top (a basic model is the Quality-Adjusted Life-Years), so those treatments at either end of the curve miss out. It’s not so important at the low-incidence low-consequence low-cost area (by definition), but I think a separate fund for the low-incidence, high consequence high-cost conditions is probably a good idea.
Effectiveness can only be known if the medication or treatment is administered. I personally would want to trial a drug which is available if my life depended on it. Were I terminal I may think differently.
This is turning into a bit of a hobby-horse, but here’s the thing:
Bryce Edwards again explicitly associates The Standard with the Labour Party. Today, and I’m not linking – it’s in the Herald – he describes us as “Labour-leaning”. In the same article, and repeatedly in the past, he refers to Whaleoil with no similar designation. Apparently WO is independent of the National Party. In previous articles, Kiwiblog is not referered to as being associated with National. Despite the fact that both these blogs are National Party apologist sites, and while TS includes Labour supporters, it isn’t Labour-leaning – actually. Is left-wing too hard to spell, or is this just sloppy scholarship?
Have you considered emailing him your concerns?
Bryce is of course ‘in training’ to take over from the titular head of Fifth Column Jonolism and NZ Herald political reporter John Armstrong,(pity His head wasn’t),
Bryce seems to be attempting to prove to the owners of that in-august rag that He to can denigrate the left while praising the right with monotonous consistency…
Does Bryce still need to prove that? In my view, that’s all he’s been doing for years.
Maybe Bryce is confusing the Labour Party with labour movement.
Found this and started laughing.
October 2007, the Standard announces that Key is losing his mojo.
http://thestandard.org.nz/key-losing-his-mojo/
A six year slide.
And I bet once Keys popularity does begin to slide (like in about 2-3 years time) there’ll be a lot of crowing on here about how they predicted it
The Office of the Prime Minister has in the last hour ‘dumped’ hundreds of pages of information relating to the Henry inquiry on the Press,
What has so far been gleaned from this is that Eaggleson, the Prime Ministers Chief of Staff, demanded repeatedly that Parliamentary Services release full copies of emails between Peter Dunne and Andrea Vance which after an argument Parliamentary services did,
i have no knowledge yet if these emails also include the reverse, from Vance to Peter Dunne, Dunne is claiming outrage and seeking legal remedy…
What is Dunne most outraged about?
That it may be publicly known what was said between him and Vance
or
that the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff demanded repeatedly that Parliamentary Services release full copies of emails.
I’d guess the first. I’ve seen plenty of evidence that Dunne is a stupid old fool who would let his imagination and narcissism run away with him, but none that he has any principles when it comes to constitutional practice.
If there is something in the emails – it will come out. He will be embarrassed. If he changed his vote to avert possible embarrassment, he should resign yesterday. He has the ethics of John Banks and the political vision of a lump of plasticine. He will not be remembered for anything worthwhile, which is the legacy he deserves.
https://www.facebook.com/IainParkerMonetaryReformAdvocate/posts/10200765150385467
Lianne Dalziel – Woops, caught in a load of spin, by one of NZ’s most knowledgeable financial researchers!
Dunne’s mad as fuck ! HE-IS-AS-MAD-AS- FUCK !
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8996411/Emails-given-to-inquiry
There really is something smelly here………
Gimme more power gimme more power !………???
What might happen if The Hair remains electric ?
Whatever happens it will contribute to the ShonKey Python’s Flying Circus fiasco we have become.
Sadly.
Dunne’s mad as fuck ! HE-IS-AS-MAD-AS- FUCK !
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8996411/Emails-given-to-inquiry
There really is something smelly here………
Gimme more power gimme more power !………???
What might happen if The Hair remains electric ?
Whatever happens it will contribute to the ShonKey Python’s Flying Circus farce we have become.
Sadly.
Ross McEwan, New Zealander, announced as head of Royal Bank of Scotland, on pay of £1m a year.
He used to work for CBA, so must have got called back to one of the mother ships, you know we are going to get some kick back from this.
Time to get digging, I guess.
You wouldn’t download a car