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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Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
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. ...
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. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islands’ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the country’s next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies “friction” is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. “Friction” is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) “F’s” in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, 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. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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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