China’s greatest significance to the world is not its economic model but the recurring lesson of its political one. Without the rule of law, whatever economic value might be built will ultimately fail. What is the rule of law ? The power of responsible human beings to ask questions. Last year’s Hong Kong students understood it, even as others seemed to miss the point: the rule of law is not clearer rules and stricter punishments, it is the submission of the state to the discipline of a legal system that listens to the voices of people on the ground. Without it, all great orders – including those of the global economy and global security – are of no more substance than a dream.
The Herald mistakes people’s democratic decisions for a sinister plot.
No surprises then.
The Herald doesn’t have a clue what democracy looks like.
And nor does Claire Trevett.
Like Hisking, I guess her defence might be she is not a journalist.
How dare they. How arrogant can you get. Disagreeing with the pathetic agenda of the government of the day is not a plot – that headline is just sick and shows a huge lack of respect for the right of people to campaign and make a decision that suits them.
Aren’t they part of a plot to foist something on the country that A truckload of people are less than interested in.
There is going to be activism to affect the first referendum, encouraging people to make an informal vote, and I would guess the second too, although the second one will look normal to the MSM.
I agree about the Herald/Trevett not understanding democracy. If it were a plot it would be secret, like say dirty politics, or the whole way the flag thing has been orchestrated by National. But people opposed to what National are doing with the flag are being open about it.
Get that Herald? FFS, NZF put out a press statements about it some time ago. Did the Herald fail to cover that at the time and so now you feel the need to ‘reveal’ it?
Truckloads of people may find themselves out of favour in transport of (not) delight if National keep singing Muldoon’s satirical signature tune, I did it my way.
Fascinating (but nothing more than that I am sure) that the guy who led the flag change crusade got two flags in the final four AND they are liked by John Key.
It would be a good satirical response to have a 20′ pole and a little 6″ version of the new flag. But perhaps you have decided you will accept the selection!
or they might have decided to let it continue its commercial operations and the government are simply going to gather the proceeds of any future sales seeing as it has been quite a quite successful operation over the past decade or so?
“The real and imagined refugee crisis engulfing Europe: What accounts for the EU’s near indifference to the plight of refugees clamoring to enter European countries? Could it be that these people are from countries NATO members have attacked, and turned into failed states or havens for terrorists? These refugees never wanted to leave home in the first place…
CrossTalking with Sukant Chandan, Anders Lustgarten, and Tim Finch.”
Chooky, I’m not sure if you realise you’re listening to RT, a Russian state sponsored news source…..
This is not an “imagined crisis” this is real. I’m here and seeing hundreds of refugees a week queuing in my own street trying to get processed. I have watched regular news reports on all European news stations showing thousands a week crossing European borders.
There is no “EU indifference”.
I joined a march of more than 20,000 people last night in Vienna protesting that we’re not doing enough here in Austria. By July this year Austria was taking in 370 refugees daily. The number is increasing ….. 80,000 are expected this year in a country one third of the size of NZ and with only double NZ’s population
Thousands of people are opening their homes ……. and there is a genuine welcome for people fleeing from the atrocities of war
Spouting politics and blame about NATO or anyone else is not going to help one little bit
“We’re going to take out 7 countries in 5 years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan & Iran..” General Wesley Clark 2007
in Chooky’s link does it say anywhere that the crisis is imagined? it is very real, and as usual it’s the people paying the price, not the engineers of the crisis.
But those very same groups that created the crisis are now capitalizing on it, exporting the problems to Europe.
If your country is in debt and failing, taking on more mouths to feed without first fixing your own underlying structural issues is suicide.
Every coloured revolution has resulted in the destruction of countries and introduction of totalitarian regimes, George Soro sponsored or US foreign policy, all have been funded and designed to destroy.
We could, in NZ set aside The Catham Islands as a new country free from debt, and allow the refugees an opportunity to start again, but no, what do we do, welcome them into our failing system, more citizens locked into debt slavery.
in Chooky’s link does it say anywhere that the crisis is imagined?
Yes……
From the RT site (which is more interested in framing Europe as the bad guys, than recording the plight of the hundreds of thousands of refugees and the outpouring of support from Austria, Germany and others) :
The real and imagined refugee crisis engulfing Europe
hmm fair enough it does look like i’m picking a fight… sorry that wasn’t the intent and it was a bit snotty of me to say ‘who are you to…..
i’m not interested in a fight, i’m just a bit sensitive to the blame game that is filtering in to conversations about how best to help refugees.
I’m living in Austria – and we’re doing a lot to help here, so I couldn’t understand the bitterness of your comment – clearly referring to Austria given the link you provided:
If your country is in debt and failing, taking on more mouths to feed without first fixing your own underlying structural issues is suicide
by 1863 the population had increased from 75 to about 300…….’ In 1862, after a campaign by business owners, Peru’s parliament voted to allow the ‘recruitment’ of labourers from the Pacific Islands. Islanders would supposedly be invited to sign ‘contracts’ that promised them freedom and a lives as ‘colonists’ in Peru in return for three years of almost unpaid labour there. The contracts of islanders could be bought and sold.
A fleet of ships soon sailed from Callao, the port of Lima. Instead of convincing Pacific Islanders to sign contracts freely, the crews of these ships usually kidnapped whomever they could find. More than three thousand men, women, and children were taken from eastern and western Polynesia and from Micronesia. More than fifteen hundred came from Rapa Nui alone…..’
and you think NZ shpuld pay compensation….as the treaty was what 1840…long bow much!!!
As rest of blog post shows, NZers were the ones who removed Tongans from their islands and sold them to Peruvians. NZ state knew what was going on but never took action against slavers.
‘New Zealand became effectively self-governing in all domestic matters (except ‘native policy’) in 1856, when responsible government (the executive having the support of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives) was accepted. Control over native policy passed to the colonial government in the mid-1860s. The New Zealand government became fully responsible for its own foreign relations in 1935 ‘.
Labour needs to paint Key into a resign corner over flag change.
He’s spending $28million of taxpayers money on a personal quest.
If it turns out the flag change campaign is a complete flop he should resign for such a waste of money. Which will without a doubt have been spent entirely in the pursuit of his own vain ambition.
Why are the Labour Party not taking this line of attack on Key?
Make him promise to resign if the participation rate is low and the flag change does not happen. It will be $28 million pissed up against the wall.
Are not opposition parties meant to hold governments accountable?
That could be risky. I suspect that there are plenty of traditional National voters who want to keep the current flag and similarly plenty of Labour/Green voters who might want a change. Making this a resignation issue could overshadow what should be almost a conscience issue, as the flag should be a national symbol that transcends political allegiance.
That said, if the current flag should win, there would be plenty of egg on Key’s face.
What worries me is that Key will now use every dirty trick in the book – and more – to manipulate the NZ public into voting for change, purely because his ego and credibility are at stake. Scum.
JK will harp on how changing the flag is part of Labour’s policy platform despite Labour clearly stating they don’t think this is the time for such a policy to be enacted. That won’t stop him spinning it every chance he gets. Once again though, John Key forgets to read to the end and misses the important bit, that Labour isn’t talking of change ‘right now’.
Key is already using a raft of dirty tricks, and I agree it could well get worse. Its one of the reasons I do not like the man.
However as to the resign issue, Labour do not have much to lose, but much to gain. Undoubtedly there is a risk here, but the rewards far outweigh the possibility of failure.
And the issue would not really be the flag so much as the waste of $28 million at John Key’s personal whim, when so many did not want it spent at all.
It would be even better if Labour could show how the whole process was rigged, and still it failed.
If this is a flop, then Key should be forced to resign. Not only for the waste of money, but also for the duplicitous and rigged manner in which the change campaign was conducted.
That wasn’t what I meant, which I’m sure you know.
How about this then? Why should anyone here take seriously any advice you have about what Labour, or the left, should do? If you can’t keep your side in order, don’t expect us to do it.
I am a true small govt voter who likewise seriously would like to see the weak socialist and spin merchant John Key and the National Party kicked out of govt, purged of Key and his supporters, and then completely reformed as a real right wing party.
And come back as that, and not a hollow bunch of compromisers and spinners trying to be all things to all men. As they are now.
I would be happy from the perspective that there does not appear to be any other route towards the restoration of the National Party to the conservative principles it was founded upon.
yes, so the means (getting the gnats out) is to get to the ends (getting a real gnat party in). Therefore any advice for labour from you is a poison pill isn’t it.
…the restoration of the National Party to the conservative principles it was founded upon.
You could do to read some actual NZ history rather than just making crap up. The National party wasn’t founded on conservative principles. Almost the exact opposite in fact.
It was formed from a coalition between the Union party (ie Liberals) and Reform (ie rural tory who were often pretty economically liberal) parties.
The true conservatives probably weren’t more than peripherally involved in the formation as they were haring off supporting the Democratic party, which was mainly made up of Reform party members who thought that their brethren in Reform were being too “socialist”, liberal and insufficiently conservative.
But that just about defines conservatives everywhere, short-sighted and unable to deal with a changing world. In this case The Great Depression. So for National to truly return to the values that they were founded on, I’d suggest a wholesale defenestration of the conservatives who have attached themselves to the party like freeloading barnacles.
I suspect that the word you were hunting for was actually nonsocialist, because that is all National have ever been.
Yet you go on to talk about the right. That is what I meant about sides, in the same way that Labour is on my side, despite me not voting for them and for them being so lite.
So the question still stands. Why should anyone on the left take your advice on what the left wing should do given you are right wing?
Lprent- I became interested in what National had started out as when I noticed they were swinging too far left.
We have a number of old NZ encyclopedias (ae?) in our house so I went and looked National up.
It was there I came across the founding principles of National as penned by Sid Holland and (presumably) his colleagues.
They were-
“To promote good citizenship and self-reliance; to combat communism and socialism; to maintain freedom of contract; to encourage private enterprise; to safeguard individual rights and the privilege of ownership; to oppose interference by the State in business, and State control of industry”.
I thought they were pretty good principles and worth conserving. As for whether National have ever lived up to these principles, of course I would not know much about earlier manifestations of the party. Perhaps they didn’t.
One thing I do know for sure is that Key and his weak directionless appeasers have never given them a second thought, if they even understood what they meant or even if they knew they existed at all.
The tide for change is clearly turning on the flag debate as indicated by the recent poll in the Herald. The timing of the referendum in relation to the Rugby World Cup indicates that there will be even greater interest in people having the democratic chance to rank their most popular option. With 3 out of 4 being a fern it is odds on that we will have a fern as the winner of the first referendum. Yet again John Key who shows great insight into the psyche of Kiwis has outsmarted the ever pessimistic Chicken Little who has hitched his negative campaign to what will be the losing side. A year into the job and not any shift in the polls. I hear he has been given till the end of the year to make inroads. Election 2017 will be in approx October. When in 2016 will Robertson make his move?
“I hear he has been given till the end of the year to make inroads”
Do you have a citation for that statement? or are you playing some kind of dirty politics against the leader of a political party by stating lies to create angst and damage? I think if Iprent or some moderator were to read your statement they might well want to kick you out for such nasty unsubstantiated bull shit. Stop being an arsehole.
JK will harp on how changing the flag is part of Labour’s policy platform despite Labour clearly stating they don’t think this is the time for such a policy to be enacted. That won’t stop him spinning it every chance he gets. Once again though, John Key forgets to read to the end and misses the important bit, that Labour isn’t talking of change ‘right now’.
James, you are commenting on a thread trail, so it is assumed you read the other posts in the thread.
If you dispute the stated position then say so and a Hansard dump can be delivered that clearly and repeatedly shows Labour do not believe this is the time for change.
Having a policy on their books which states they still support changing the flag is neither here nor there.
Why do you National fanboys have so much trouble comprehending the concept of “right now” ?
Please oh wise one, how is proving JK’s vanity project a failure going to hand him the 2017 election?
C’mon, what twisted machinations of your insalubrious synapses have you melded to form that conclusion?
There may be numerous contributing factors to a deleterious fourth term but having the referendum resolutely thrown back in his face ?
You have made a big claim stating the failure of the flag referendum would hand John Key the 2017 election.
Bizarrely referring to a massively manipulated smear campaign full of ignorance and lies that centered on NZ’s involvement in illegal surveillance of citizens and governments by our Five Eyes’ partnership is in what way relevant to the selection of a flag?
and how is the likely failure of that flag selection process going to hand John key an election in 18 months time?
Surprised you didn’t grasp what I was referring to but then again you left wingers seem to be utterly blinded by your own egos.
One of the main reasons National romped home at the last election was because Kim dot com was seen by the voting public to be fucking with our democratic process
Talk of ruining or trying to sabotage the referendum will have the same effect.
BM, I think you have failed to understand the basic premise of Spoil n’ Foil. What a shock.
The first referendum is meaningless. It is fun. You may not remember fun, slavishly regurgitating whatever propaganda your masters deem you fit to articulate, but fun in a democracy is in fact possible. And having fun with a pointless and unnecessary exercise, such as the first referendum process, is actually healthy for a democracy.
People messing about with their voting papers in the first ballot will actually contribute to and definitely benefit the sincerity brought to the second ballot in 2016. The first referendum will act as a release valve for so many pressures on our country and its people. That may not change anything for most but it will feel damn good at the time.
It does not imply however, they will carry that attitude into the second ballot. There will most certainly be a change in attitude by those you so gleefully demean on a regular basis with your unending belief in dear leader but the thing is BM, the people you think are wastrels occupying valuable real estate in your precious economically corrupt magicland of opportunity, are in fact far more capable than most ‘right thinking’ people I have met when asked to alter their behaviour when required to do so. Especially when required to do so in order to achieve a result of benefit to others. I accept that is a concept that lays outside your dogma cage but in my experience it is true nonetheless.
Putting aside the fact there is no set minimum for returns and accepting the vote is binding are modes of comprehension that many people are actually fully capable of employing. Spoil n’ Foil does not in any way risk the outcome. It is not sabotaging the referendum or fucking with our democratic process. The first referendum is a near pointless exercise and in many ways is belittling the entire populace as it assumes that the citizens of NZ are incapable of dealing with a preferential selection process of a flag in a single ballot. But that is what the extremely undemocratic select committee process the government engaged in has decided and that is what we have to work with. When the committee chair decided to ignore over 700 applications to speak from the RSA for example, because they were submitted on what was deemed a “form submission” then some might say democracy wasn’t at the forefront of National’s agenda anyway. Their oft-proven hypocrisy in fact was glaringly evident as the entire “What do we stand for ” campaign that guided the flag selection process was driven by a similar form submission.
The first referendum will be a laugh. People will be creative and joyful and I’m sure some classic kiwi material will come to light as ‘representations’ of their voting papers get tweeted and facebooked on the way to the postbox.
The second referendum is an entirely more serious affair for everyone I know. And this might shock you but some of my best friends vote National and that is their choice. That is their right. As it is my right to regularly ridicule and berate them for doing so. Thankfully that number is diminishing. Not because they are no longer friends but because they have come to realise what a fucking treasonous and dangerous lot they voted in to power. Some of these people also see the benefit of Spoil n’ Foil in the upcoming referendums.
The second referendum will be a sober and straightforward exercise in democratic integrity. I know there are lots of theories that the votes will be interfered with and we won’t get a real result but none of us have any control over that process. We are resigned to trusting the authorities tasked with the oversight of all referendums and elections and I have faith the vote will be legitimate because the people I know who work in such fields all do good work
So please BM, think a little more and spurt a little less. I do not know a single person who is unwilling or undecided about partaking and the many people I have asked about the second referendum have unanimously stated they will be treating the vote as seriously as they do the general election. I do not believe the small but diverse subset of the NZ population that I interact with are in any way extraordinary in their approach to the upcoming referendum process.
Spoil n Foil is simple, it is fun, it is democracy proving that if a government continues to belittle and disregard its citizenry then repercussions eventuate. Now is not the time for Aotearoa New Zealand to change its flag and the government will soon enough realise the people, not the spin doctors, have spoken.
The spoiled votes are counted BUT do not effect the voting on the four. So supposing there were 45% spoiled papers. That would for example allow say flag 1 to have 40%, Flag 2 =30%, Flag3 =20%, Flag 4 =10%.
Flag 1 wins the poll in spite of the 45% spoiled papers.
Maybe it would be better to vote 45% Koru, wipe out the other 3 and much likely win the run off. Okay?
That’s not a bad idea, but I think the point of spoling the voting paper isn’t to influence which flag of the four is chosen, but instead is to make plain just how many people think the referendum is a farce. The informal vote % will be reported in the MSM.
Can imagine whatever option is finally selected from the first referendum, the spin numbers will not publicise it as a % of the total vote.
I do sense the hypno flag making a late run to the line as a protest vote.
also: The fact two of the choices are lost on a white (or black) background seems to have been overlooked by the selection panel but when they don’t bother putting anyone with practical design skills on a design selection panel …… and when they seem to have only investigated what the selections look like when hoisted up a flag pole …. then I think this not insignificant detail will sink in as people more carefully consider the options they have been presented with.
James- I find it pretty funny that you make yourself part of a corrupt rigged sleazy operation like Key’s flag change process and still expect to escape with your dignity intact.
just talking shit because you have not looked into it
Not talking shit. The usual legal position is that copyright needs to be bought out and that is what I would have expected to happen. But you’re right in that I hadn’t actually looked at the conditions for entering the competition (Probably have something to do with me not entering the competition) and thus hadn’t realised that the government had claimed ownership of the IP as a condition of entering. Thank you for clarifying.
are just another “national = bad” thinker.
I’m not. I do look into what National do and then declare it bad because almost everything that National does is, as a matter of fact, bad. They even manage to stuff up good ideas.
Hi weka, it’s been mentioned a few times over the past few weeks but seems of little concern to anyone. Even the journos I know don’t want to touch it. Perhaps someone doesn’t want the issue out in the public arena.
Three of the four have existing commercial copyrights.
The Companies and Immigration Offices of the NZ government have the b+w fern as was highlighted in NRT’s post.
and the two designs from the Silver Fern Flags website, which has been in operation for over a decade and as mentioned above is still operating
he has to sign over all rights and there is no financial compensation apparently, which seems harsh considering the many products he has been selling over the years to build the brand.
I would have imagined the sign over should have already happened prior to the public announcement but, as the final four shortlist is now public, and the site is still operating as a commercial enterprise then…….?
As James mentioned above it is probable an arrangement has been met to allow them to ‘wind up’ the business but that does not alter the bizarre situation of a country contemplating the adoption of a long standing commercial product as its national ensign.
“farcical” seems a tad inadequate, even for NZ Inc,
I don’t believe he has sold reproduction rights but he does ask for attribution if published material includes the design.
The site is primarily a store for the range of flags and peripheral objects, such as badges and pins etc.
A new line of text has appeared on the Store page
due to unprecedented demand as a result of the governments shortlist release, these flags have sold out, however more are on the way.”
They are obviously planning to continue commercial operations using the shortlisted design and we can only assume they have governmental approval for such activity. (as per article 19 of the T&C i guess)
What is stranger still, they updated their sales material after making the shortlist, but have not put a press release up on their media page announcing their success?
What it means as we go forward into the referendums is anyone’s guess
There is one other thing before I leave the SFF issue alone… These ‘NZ’ flags don’t seem to have a “made in NZ’ logo anywhere on the page. Wonder where he gets them manufactured?
The Israeli colonies are an American problem in a whole new way. Nearly one out of six settlers in the West Bank is an American. Haaretz broke the story. Oxford scholar Sara Yael Hirschhorn says Americans are starkly overrepresented among West Bank settlers:
Roughly 60,000 American Jews live in West Bank settlements, where they account for 15 percent of the settler population, according to figures revealed Thursday by an Oxford University scholar and expert on this population.
No wonder the US doesn’t say anything against the continued invasion and theft of Palestine while continuing to support Israel’s war of terror against Palestinians.
New research shows that the venom of Polybia Paulista, a Brazilian wasp, contains a powerful drug that attacks tumour cells without harming normal cells. It works by destroying lipids, which form the fatty tissue of certain cell surfaces.
Dr Paul Beales, of the University of Leeds, explains to Newsday how the venom kills cancer.
My dear 93 year old mother who is rabidly against a flag change was shocked today when DW and I said we would spoil our voting papers. ” You can’t do that, your father went to war so you could vote.”
OK we won’t vote then…”You can’t do that your father etc..” “I don’t want to but I’m going to have to vote for one of them”
Me I’m not really interested but the old flag does seem like a real flag to me.
I tend to agree with the a Nat party politician who aptly described the 4 new flag choices as not real flags but more like nice beach towels?
Just a thought for later. I had an idea that for the next pre-election period TS could run a post entitled the Electorate Whisperer. It would probably get called the Vote W but that wouldn’t be correct.
It would be for people who don’t usually blog to get some hard information relating to them personally, and their neighbours. People would be asked to write in and ask how their electorate could get best advantage by voting strategically.
Probably there would be a cloud of useless gnats but the left would have the first attention. . A lot of people treat blogs as if there be dragons but for this post, it would be straightforward.
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Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
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 from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
The government should not set military style academies into youth justice law, the children's commissioner says, despite its first bootcamp getting a glowing report. ...
The infamous over-the-suit T-shirt worn by the PM at a Parliament barbecue has gone on sale to raise funds for children living in poverty, in a TradeMe auction. ...
MONDAYSheriff Seymour rode slowly down the main street of Dodge on his faithful white horse Atlas Network.He liked what he saw.Children were being fed free lunches prepared by kind people who collected the scraps from an offal rendering plant.“Very strongly flavoured liver, such as ox liver, can be soaked overnight ...
Once upon a time it was all about being an astronaut, a firefighter or doctor; but these days kids have their sights set on becoming vloggers or YouTubers.That’s according to a 2019 study by Lego that surveyed 3000 children between the ages of eight to 12 from the US, the ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. From the moment I started high school and realised almost every other girl in my year was at least partially interested in what the boys were up to, I realised that I would be single for life. The feeling wasn’t one of ...
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Selina Alesana Alefosio.All photos by Geoffery Matautia.On a bright Sunday morning from her grandparent’s home in Pito-one, I spoke with ...
The White Lotus star reflects on her life in TV, including the local ad reference that doesn’t work in Australia, and her bananas co-star on Neighbours.Morgana O’Reilly was scrolling her phone next to her sleeping son on an idle Saturday morning when she got the call confirming that she ...
Claire Mabey explores the pros and cons of puff quotes on book covers.In January, Publishers Weekly put out an article by Sean Manning – publisher of Simon & Schuster’s flagship US imprint – in which he said he’d “no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books”.The ...
New Zealand’s Entomological Society is hosting its annual bug of the year contest. Here are some of the insects in the running. For some reason – perhaps humans’ inherent competitiveness, the idealisation of democracy, the need to demarcate winners and losers – one of the best ways to get people ...
A journey along the border, with words and illustrations by Bob Kerr.The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.The Sunset Limited leaves Union Station New Orleans on time at nine in the morning. We ...
Neville Peat is the 2024 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in nonfiction. He’s written 56 books, mostly on natural history; this excerpt is from The Falcon and the Lark: A New Zealand High Country Journal, first published in 1992. The falcon wintering on the Rock and ...
It was a light-hearted gesture Greta Pilkington will be forever grateful for – thanks to an Aussie rival who jumped in when the Olympic sailor couldn’t be at her own graduation.Pilkington, then 20, had been leading a double life – while qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the ILCA ...
I was born in the back of my grandfather’s ute, by an overgrown windbreak in a remote place called Wahi-Rakauyou can’t find on a map. I was born a girl but given the man’s name Harvey, as my dad always wanted a violent-minded boy to one day help him ...
“We’re not here to interfere in people’s property rights,” Ngāi Tahu’s Te Maire Tau has told the High Court.Tau, a historian, Upoko (traditional leader) of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and a university professor of history, is the lead witness in a case designed to force the Crown to recognise the tribe’s rangatiratanga ...
Pacific Media Watch Trump administration officials barred two Associated Press (AP) reporters from covering White House events this week because the US-based independent news agency did not change its style guide to align with the president’s political agenda. The AP is being punished for using the term “Gulf of Mexico,” ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific Presenter/Bulletin editor France’s top diplomat in the Pacific region says talks around the “unfreezing” of New Caledonia’s highly controversial electoral roll are back on the table. The French government intended to make a constitutional amendment that would lift restrictions prescribed under the Nouméa Accord, which ...
By bringing these global voices to the fight for free expression in New Zealand, we’ll continue to protect and expand our culture of free speech, says Nathan Seiuli, the Free Speech Union's Events Manager. ...
The issue is no longer a hypothetical one. US President Donald Trump will not explicitly suggest death camps, but he has already consented to Israel’s continuing a war that is not a war but rather a barbaric assault on a desolate stretch of land. From there, the road to annihilation is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cecelia Cmielewski, Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University To be selected as the artist and curator team to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale is considered the ultimate exhibition for an artistic team. To have your selection rescinded, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is bearing down on the northwest coast of Australia and is likely to make landfall early Friday evening. It’s a monster storm of great concern to Western Australia. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Ireland-Piper, Associate Professor, ANU National Security College, Australian National University A Victorian government decision to allow dingo culling in the state’s east until 2028 has reignited debate over what has been dubbed Australia’s most controversial animal. Animals Australia, an animal welfare ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University Overnight, Robert F. Kennedy Jr was confirmed as the secretary of the US Health and Human Services Department. Put simply, this makes him the most influential figure in overseeing the health and wellbeing of more ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard eight hours of submissions.Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.It was another work from home day for the Justice Committee, the only people in Room 3 being security guards, committee ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne Juris Teivans/Shutterstock In Australia, fatal road crashes are climbing again, especially since the pandemic, and despite years of attempts to reduce road trauma, the numbers ...
In its eagerness to appease supporters of Israel, the media is happy to ride roughshod over due process and basic rights. It’s damaging Australia’s (and New Zealand’s?) democracy.COMMENTARY:By Bernard Keane Two moments stand out so far from the Federal Court hearings relating to Antoinette Lattouf’s sacking by the ...
“The reality is we’re getting poorer. The government this year is leaning heavy on chasing economic growth, which is absolutely the right thing to do.” ...
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 The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Granta, $28) Han Kang’s astounding novel was based on an ...
This new docuseries about two single comedians looking for love is also a joyful celebration of female friendship. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. “How many people do you think are boning right now?” Kura Forrester asks Brynley Stent as the bright ...
A new poem by Freya Turnbull. Hunger Song – After Kaveh Akbar (Untitled With Hunger And Matcheads) I hold my age in ripped fishnet hold an empty vessel oldyoung body cracks like gunshot like killa i was a father ...
I read a tonne on China. Simultaneously far from enough and quite the time-sink.
this piece stands out. brief and yummy.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wrong-chinese-model-jeanne-marie-gescher
QFT
The Herald mistakes people’s democratic decisions for a sinister plot.
No surprises then.
The Herald doesn’t have a clue what democracy looks like.
And nor does Claire Trevett.
Like Hisking, I guess her defence might be she is not a journalist.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11506413
How dare they. How arrogant can you get. Disagreeing with the pathetic agenda of the government of the day is not a plot – that headline is just sick and shows a huge lack of respect for the right of people to campaign and make a decision that suits them.
Aren’t they part of a plot to foist something on the country that A truckload of people are less than interested in.
There is going to be activism to affect the first referendum, encouraging people to make an informal vote, and I would guess the second too, although the second one will look normal to the MSM.
I agree about the Herald/Trevett not understanding democracy. If it were a plot it would be secret, like say dirty politics, or the whole way the flag thing has been orchestrated by National. But people opposed to what National are doing with the flag are being open about it.
Get that Herald? FFS, NZF put out a press statements about it some time ago. Did the Herald fail to cover that at the time and so now you feel the need to ‘reveal’ it?
Truckloads of people may find themselves out of favour in transport of (not) delight if National keep singing Muldoon’s satirical signature tune, I did it my way.
Fascinating (but nothing more than that I am sure) that the guy who led the flag change crusade got two flags in the final four AND they are liked by John Key.
I’ve just ordered a 20′ flagpole and 6′ NZ flag. Will be flying high at the front of the house.
It would be a good satirical response to have a 20′ pole and a little 6″ version of the new flag. But perhaps you have decided you will accept the selection!
+1 Tracey
a bit odd there is no press update on his website celebrating his success
http://www.silverfernflag.org/press
and the shops still open … perhaps the government have a different interpretation of the flag selection shortlist T&C (15)
https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/resources/terms-and-conditions/
or they might have decided to let it continue its commercial operations and the government are simply going to gather the proceeds of any future sales seeing as it has been quite a quite successful operation over the past decade or so?
I always thought gerrymandering was specifically in regards to electoral boundaries.
Seems I was right.
As a political columnist, it seems a basic error for Claire Trevett to make.
LOL, this is probably what happens when an idiot masquerading as a political columnist simply regurgitate the contents of a txt received from FJK.
Trev’ seems neither principled nor bright. How hopeless !
It’s someone who thinks they are clever by using a term like that.
Really it just shows their ignorance.
In other words: just smart enough to be dangerous.
Are Syria’s problems because of climate change? And will it be the first failed state because of global warming?
http://www.upworthy.com/trying-to-follow-what-is-going-on-in-syria-and-why-this-comic-will-get-you-there-in-5-minutes?g=6
excellent story, thanks .
Terrifying because it won’t stop there in Syria.
‘Western-made refugee crisis’
http://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/313860-western-crisis-eu-refugees/
“The real and imagined refugee crisis engulfing Europe: What accounts for the EU’s near indifference to the plight of refugees clamoring to enter European countries? Could it be that these people are from countries NATO members have attacked, and turned into failed states or havens for terrorists? These refugees never wanted to leave home in the first place…
CrossTalking with Sukant Chandan, Anders Lustgarten, and Tim Finch.”
Chooky, I’m not sure if you realise you’re listening to RT, a Russian state sponsored news source…..
This is not an “imagined crisis” this is real. I’m here and seeing hundreds of refugees a week queuing in my own street trying to get processed. I have watched regular news reports on all European news stations showing thousands a week crossing European borders.
There is no “EU indifference”.
I joined a march of more than 20,000 people last night in Vienna protesting that we’re not doing enough here in Austria. By July this year Austria was taking in 370 refugees daily. The number is increasing ….. 80,000 are expected this year in a country one third of the size of NZ and with only double NZ’s population
Thousands of people are opening their homes ……. and there is a genuine welcome for people fleeing from the atrocities of war
Spouting politics and blame about NATO or anyone else is not going to help one little bit
+ 1 Good to see that people are doing what they can to help this awful situation.
“We’re going to take out 7 countries in 5 years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan & Iran..” General Wesley Clark 2007
in Chooky’s link does it say anywhere that the crisis is imagined? it is very real, and as usual it’s the people paying the price, not the engineers of the crisis.
But those very same groups that created the crisis are now capitalizing on it, exporting the problems to Europe.
If your country is in debt and failing, taking on more mouths to feed without first fixing your own underlying structural issues is suicide.
http://www.nationaldebtclocks.org/debtclock/austria
Every coloured revolution has resulted in the destruction of countries and introduction of totalitarian regimes, George Soro sponsored or US foreign policy, all have been funded and designed to destroy.
We could, in NZ set aside The Catham Islands as a new country free from debt, and allow the refugees an opportunity to start again, but no, what do we do, welcome them into our failing system, more citizens locked into debt slavery.
and who are you ..Grim.. to tell the Austrians what they can and can’t do?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Austria
Yes……
From the RT site (which is more interested in framing Europe as the bad guys, than recording the plight of the hundreds of thousands of refugees and the outpouring of support from Austria, Germany and others) :
and another RT headline from Chooky’s link:
seriously?
did you even listen to the audio or watch the video?
and who am I to….. I am no-one, same as you.
I see you ignored everything else I posted in favor of trying to start a fight, good one.
hmm fair enough it does look like i’m picking a fight… sorry that wasn’t the intent and it was a bit snotty of me to say ‘who are you to…..
i’m not interested in a fight, i’m just a bit sensitive to the blame game that is filtering in to conversations about how best to help refugees.
I’m living in Austria – and we’re doing a lot to help here, so I couldn’t understand the bitterness of your comment – clearly referring to Austria given the link you provided:
worth at least a thousand words
http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/gif/201536/flag.gif
Ties in with Peter Lyon’s column but with fewer words. Well founded freedom.
Is it time for New Zealand to pay compensation to the Pacific Islanders it sent into slavery 150 years ago? Spotlighting a piece of history forgotten by most Kiwis http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/the-slave-raids-on-tonga-documents-and.html
by 1863 the population had increased from 75 to about 300…….’ In 1862, after a campaign by business owners, Peru’s parliament voted to allow the ‘recruitment’ of labourers from the Pacific Islands. Islanders would supposedly be invited to sign ‘contracts’ that promised them freedom and a lives as ‘colonists’ in Peru in return for three years of almost unpaid labour there. The contracts of islanders could be bought and sold.
A fleet of ships soon sailed from Callao, the port of Lima. Instead of convincing Pacific Islanders to sign contracts freely, the crews of these ships usually kidnapped whomever they could find. More than three thousand men, women, and children were taken from eastern and western Polynesia and from Micronesia. More than fifteen hundred came from Rapa Nui alone…..’
and you think NZ shpuld pay compensation….as the treaty was what 1840…long bow much!!!
As rest of blog post shows, NZers were the ones who removed Tongans from their islands and sold them to Peruvians. NZ state knew what was going on but never took action against slavers.
‘New Zealand became effectively self-governing in all domestic matters (except ‘native policy’) in 1856, when responsible government (the executive having the support of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives) was accepted. Control over native policy passed to the colonial government in the mid-1860s. The New Zealand government became fully responsible for its own foreign relations in 1935 ‘.
Labour needs to paint Key into a resign corner over flag change.
He’s spending $28million of taxpayers money on a personal quest.
If it turns out the flag change campaign is a complete flop he should resign for such a waste of money. Which will without a doubt have been spent entirely in the pursuit of his own vain ambition.
Why are the Labour Party not taking this line of attack on Key?
Make him promise to resign if the participation rate is low and the flag change does not happen. It will be $28 million pissed up against the wall.
Are not opposition parties meant to hold governments accountable?
See my post Key should resign if $28 million flag change project is a flop.
Labour should be making Key sweat over this.
It seems only fair that Key should just change the flag to whatever he wants and scrap the referendum charade..
That could be risky. I suspect that there are plenty of traditional National voters who want to keep the current flag and similarly plenty of Labour/Green voters who might want a change. Making this a resignation issue could overshadow what should be almost a conscience issue, as the flag should be a national symbol that transcends political allegiance.
That said, if the current flag should win, there would be plenty of egg on Key’s face.
What worries me is that Key will now use every dirty trick in the book – and more – to manipulate the NZ public into voting for change, purely because his ego and credibility are at stake. Scum.
JK will harp on how changing the flag is part of Labour’s policy platform despite Labour clearly stating they don’t think this is the time for such a policy to be enacted. That won’t stop him spinning it every chance he gets. Once again though, John Key forgets to read to the end and misses the important bit, that Labour isn’t talking of change ‘right now’.
Labour has a policy platform??? John Key obviously knows something the rest of us don’t.
Where else do you think National grab their more reasonable ideas from?
before they gut them of any social good and stew the innards and present the emaciated husk for public consumption of course 🙂
Key is already using a raft of dirty tricks, and I agree it could well get worse. Its one of the reasons I do not like the man.
However as to the resign issue, Labour do not have much to lose, but much to gain. Undoubtedly there is a risk here, but the rewards far outweigh the possibility of failure.
And the issue would not really be the flag so much as the waste of $28 million at John Key’s personal whim, when so many did not want it spent at all.
It would be even better if Labour could show how the whole process was rigged, and still it failed.
If this is a flop, then Key should be forced to resign. Not only for the waste of money, but also for the duplicitous and rigged manner in which the change campaign was conducted.
“Labour should be making Key sweat over this.”
Yeah, because of all the fucked up things Key has done, the flag one is the worst and is the best one to target him on.
Oooh, look… hypnoflag!
If Labour went about it the right way its an issue that could see Key leave politics. Would this be any kind of victory?
Is that another way of saying this is Labour’s fault?
Do I think Labour is weak in opposition?
Of course I do.
That wasn’t what I meant, which I’m sure you know.
How about this then? Why should anyone here take seriously any advice you have about what Labour, or the left, should do? If you can’t keep your side in order, don’t expect us to do it.
You should take my advice seriously because-
Key and the Nationals are not “My side”.
I am a true small govt voter who likewise seriously would like to see the weak socialist and spin merchant John Key and the National Party kicked out of govt, purged of Key and his supporters, and then completely reformed as a real right wing party.
And come back as that, and not a hollow bunch of compromisers and spinners trying to be all things to all men. As they are now.
so you wouldn’t be happy if labour formed a coalition as the next government then
I would be happy from the perspective that there does not appear to be any other route towards the restoration of the National Party to the conservative principles it was founded upon.
yes, so the means (getting the gnats out) is to get to the ends (getting a real gnat party in). Therefore any advice for labour from you is a poison pill isn’t it.
You could do to read some actual NZ history rather than just making crap up. The National party wasn’t founded on conservative principles. Almost the exact opposite in fact.
It was formed from a coalition between the Union party (ie Liberals) and Reform (ie rural tory who were often pretty economically liberal) parties.
The true conservatives probably weren’t more than peripherally involved in the formation as they were haring off supporting the Democratic party, which was mainly made up of Reform party members who thought that their brethren in Reform were being too “socialist”, liberal and insufficiently conservative.
But that just about defines conservatives everywhere, short-sighted and unable to deal with a changing world. In this case The Great Depression. So for National to truly return to the values that they were founded on, I’d suggest a wholesale defenestration of the conservatives who have attached themselves to the party like freeloading barnacles.
I suspect that the word you were hunting for was actually nonsocialist, because that is all National have ever been.
Key and the Nationals are not “My side”.
Yet you go on to talk about the right. That is what I meant about sides, in the same way that Labour is on my side, despite me not voting for them and for them being so lite.
So the question still stands. Why should anyone on the left take your advice on what the left wing should do given you are right wing?
Lprent- I became interested in what National had started out as when I noticed they were swinging too far left.
We have a number of old NZ encyclopedias (ae?) in our house so I went and looked National up.
It was there I came across the founding principles of National as penned by Sid Holland and (presumably) his colleagues.
They were-
“To promote good citizenship and self-reliance; to combat communism and socialism; to maintain freedom of contract; to encourage private enterprise; to safeguard individual rights and the privilege of ownership; to oppose interference by the State in business, and State control of industry”.
I thought they were pretty good principles and worth conserving. As for whether National have ever lived up to these principles, of course I would not know much about earlier manifestations of the party. Perhaps they didn’t.
One thing I do know for sure is that Key and his weak directionless appeasers have never given them a second thought, if they even understood what they meant or even if they knew they existed at all.
The tide for change is clearly turning on the flag debate as indicated by the recent poll in the Herald. The timing of the referendum in relation to the Rugby World Cup indicates that there will be even greater interest in people having the democratic chance to rank their most popular option. With 3 out of 4 being a fern it is odds on that we will have a fern as the winner of the first referendum. Yet again John Key who shows great insight into the psyche of Kiwis has outsmarted the ever pessimistic Chicken Little who has hitched his negative campaign to what will be the losing side. A year into the job and not any shift in the polls. I hear he has been given till the end of the year to make inroads. Election 2017 will be in approx October. When in 2016 will Robertson make his move?
Is that a synopsis of the Crosby Textor circular to all astroturfers? Because that’s exaclty what it sounds like.
“I hear he has been given till the end of the year to make inroads”
Do you have a citation for that statement? or are you playing some kind of dirty politics against the leader of a political party by stating lies to create angst and damage? I think if Iprent or some moderator were to read your statement they might well want to kick you out for such nasty unsubstantiated bull shit. Stop being an arsehole.
Don’t know where your poll comes fisiani but look at this:
http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/paulhenry/poll-should-we-change-the-new-zealand-flag-2015040314#axzz3kSxjWIrP
hi redbaiter, i think voices from the ‘right’ side of the spectrum, criticizing the dear leaders actions would be far more effective.
get on to one of the focus groups so beloved by the political heroes and make change that way.
You make such good posts, then such stupid ones like this.
Despite it being labour policy about a flag change and to have a referendum on it?
At 8.2.1 I posted the following:
James, you are commenting on a thread trail, so it is assumed you read the other posts in the thread.
If you dispute the stated position then say so and a Hansard dump can be delivered that clearly and repeatedly shows Labour do not believe this is the time for change.
Having a policy on their books which states they still support changing the flag is neither here nor there.
Why do you National fanboys have so much trouble comprehending the concept of “right now” ?
Hard right wing scum.
Warning, the images are bloody awful. And already the government in Ukraine is bowing down to these Neo-nazi scum.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/kiev-riots-horrifying-footage-shows-6355158
Bias I know – but.
https://www.rt.com/news/313880-ukraine-radicals-protest-parliament/
Carrying on the flag debate….
I’ll be voting for the status quo but had this one been in the mix I may have been persuaded to vote for it!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CNxX2vBUsAUDDqO.jpg:large
https://twitter.com/shawnmoodie/status/638481845986848772/photo/1
The only one I liked was the New Southern Cross by Wayne William Doyle
https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/gallery/design/14125
+1
Over at TDB, the Spoil n’ Foil agenda is laid out. It includes this crucial sentence.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/09/02/flying-the-flags-of-discontent-mobilise/
Time to remind the government democracy is a tool the people still have some control over?
Step 1 Spoil.
Step 2 Foil.
Great slogan that could catch on nation-wide.
love it.
You do realize you’re handing the next election to National.
Or does that not matter in activist world ?
I think we established some time ago that you don’t understand how social change works.
why do you care?
What ?!? 😮
Please oh wise one, how is proving JK’s vanity project a failure going to hand him the 2017 election?
C’mon, what twisted machinations of your insalubrious synapses have you melded to form that conclusion?
There may be numerous contributing factors to a deleterious fourth term but having the referendum resolutely thrown back in his face ?
Kim dot com
[Your comments on yesterday’s Open Mike….going somewhat out of my way to bring this to your attention BM.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01092015/#comment-1065417 ] – Bill
[lprent: Bill – wrong person. Ignore that BM. ]
What’s that got to do with me?
Again, WHAT !?! 😮
You have made a big claim stating the failure of the flag referendum would hand John Key the 2017 election.
Bizarrely referring to a massively manipulated smear campaign full of ignorance and lies that centered on NZ’s involvement in illegal surveillance of citizens and governments by our Five Eyes’ partnership is in what way relevant to the selection of a flag?
and how is the likely failure of that flag selection process going to hand John key an election in 18 months time?
Right.
Surprised you didn’t grasp what I was referring to but then again you left wingers seem to be utterly blinded by your own egos.
One of the main reasons National romped home at the last election was because Kim dot com was seen by the voting public to be fucking with our democratic process
Talk of ruining or trying to sabotage the referendum will have the same effect.
Stupid politics.
National didn’t romp home last election. Given you’ve tried to spin that part of your comment is there any reason to believe the rest of it?
BM, I think you have failed to understand the basic premise of Spoil n’ Foil. What a shock.
The first referendum is meaningless. It is fun. You may not remember fun, slavishly regurgitating whatever propaganda your masters deem you fit to articulate, but fun in a democracy is in fact possible. And having fun with a pointless and unnecessary exercise, such as the first referendum process, is actually healthy for a democracy.
People messing about with their voting papers in the first ballot will actually contribute to and definitely benefit the sincerity brought to the second ballot in 2016. The first referendum will act as a release valve for so many pressures on our country and its people. That may not change anything for most but it will feel damn good at the time.
It does not imply however, they will carry that attitude into the second ballot. There will most certainly be a change in attitude by those you so gleefully demean on a regular basis with your unending belief in dear leader but the thing is BM, the people you think are wastrels occupying valuable real estate in your precious economically corrupt magicland of opportunity, are in fact far more capable than most ‘right thinking’ people I have met when asked to alter their behaviour when required to do so. Especially when required to do so in order to achieve a result of benefit to others. I accept that is a concept that lays outside your dogma cage but in my experience it is true nonetheless.
Putting aside the fact there is no set minimum for returns and accepting the vote is binding are modes of comprehension that many people are actually fully capable of employing. Spoil n’ Foil does not in any way risk the outcome. It is not sabotaging the referendum or fucking with our democratic process. The first referendum is a near pointless exercise and in many ways is belittling the entire populace as it assumes that the citizens of NZ are incapable of dealing with a preferential selection process of a flag in a single ballot. But that is what the extremely undemocratic select committee process the government engaged in has decided and that is what we have to work with. When the committee chair decided to ignore over 700 applications to speak from the RSA for example, because they were submitted on what was deemed a “form submission” then some might say democracy wasn’t at the forefront of National’s agenda anyway. Their oft-proven hypocrisy in fact was glaringly evident as the entire “What do we stand for ” campaign that guided the flag selection process was driven by a similar form submission.
The first referendum will be a laugh. People will be creative and joyful and I’m sure some classic kiwi material will come to light as ‘representations’ of their voting papers get tweeted and facebooked on the way to the postbox.
The second referendum is an entirely more serious affair for everyone I know. And this might shock you but some of my best friends vote National and that is their choice. That is their right. As it is my right to regularly ridicule and berate them for doing so. Thankfully that number is diminishing. Not because they are no longer friends but because they have come to realise what a fucking treasonous and dangerous lot they voted in to power. Some of these people also see the benefit of Spoil n’ Foil in the upcoming referendums.
The second referendum will be a sober and straightforward exercise in democratic integrity. I know there are lots of theories that the votes will be interfered with and we won’t get a real result but none of us have any control over that process. We are resigned to trusting the authorities tasked with the oversight of all referendums and elections and I have faith the vote will be legitimate because the people I know who work in such fields all do good work
So please BM, think a little more and spurt a little less. I do not know a single person who is unwilling or undecided about partaking and the many people I have asked about the second referendum have unanimously stated they will be treating the vote as seriously as they do the general election. I do not believe the small but diverse subset of the NZ population that I interact with are in any way extraordinary in their approach to the upcoming referendum process.
Spoil n Foil is simple, it is fun, it is democracy proving that if a government continues to belittle and disregard its citizenry then repercussions eventuate. Now is not the time for Aotearoa New Zealand to change its flag and the government will soon enough realise the people, not the spin doctors, have spoken.
The spoiled votes are counted BUT do not effect the voting on the four. So supposing there were 45% spoiled papers. That would for example allow say flag 1 to have 40%, Flag 2 =30%, Flag3 =20%, Flag 4 =10%.
Flag 1 wins the poll in spite of the 45% spoiled papers.
Maybe it would be better to vote 45% Koru, wipe out the other 3 and much likely win the run off. Okay?
That’s not a bad idea, but I think the point of spoling the voting paper isn’t to influence which flag of the four is chosen, but instead is to make plain just how many people think the referendum is a farce. The informal vote % will be reported in the MSM.
Can imagine whatever option is finally selected from the first referendum, the spin numbers will not publicise it as a % of the total vote.
I do sense the hypno flag making a late run to the line as a protest vote.
also: The fact two of the choices are lost on a white (or black) background seems to have been overlooked by the selection panel but when they don’t bother putting anyone with practical design skills on a design selection panel …… and when they seem to have only investigated what the selections look like when hoisted up a flag pole …. then I think this not insignificant detail will sink in as people more carefully consider the options they have been presented with.
WTF? One of Key’s flags is under copyright. Is the NZ govt going to be paying to use it? WHat about everyone else?
http://www.silverfernflag.org/copyright.html
All the flag designs will be under copyright. I expect that the government will be buying the present copyright holder out for a large sum.
Ha, if that is so they better have the price arranged before the referenda.
You guys need to do homework. The copyright is passed across without payment. Its pretty clear on the website.
But – yeah – keep saying it hoping it will be true. You should bring back the due authority arguments also.
so James, what is your take on the Silver Fern Flag website still offering the now shortlist designs for sale?
Are they in breach of the T&C or not?
p.s. regarding your post yesterday
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01092015/#comment-1065472
Possibly – although they may have agreed that they were allowed to continue as they handed over the copyright.
I was not privy to the conversation.
Yup. Always handy to include a free pass to change the rules.
🙂 but…
It is just bloody weird having a referendum to decide on adopting a commercial product as a national flag
I expect that you are completely unformed and just talking shit because you have not looked into it and are just another “national = bad” thinker.
But just to prove you are wrong – please try and read.
https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/resources/terms-and-conditions/
Sorry James, not interested enough.
I don’t want the flag changed EOS.
And neither do I buy into weak BS arguments like “its time”.
Stick the whole damn rigged corrupt process up your arse.
Typical – make argument. Provided evidence that proves wrong. Refuse to look at evidence. Puts head in sand, makes rude statement and walks away.
Yes, that is typical right wing behaviour from Bedwetter.
James- I find it pretty funny that you make yourself part of a corrupt rigged sleazy operation like Key’s flag change process and still expect to escape with your dignity intact.
No, I can assure you that I am fully formed.
Not talking shit. The usual legal position is that copyright needs to be bought out and that is what I would have expected to happen. But you’re right in that I hadn’t actually looked at the conditions for entering the competition (Probably have something to do with me not entering the competition) and thus hadn’t realised that the government had claimed ownership of the IP as a condition of entering. Thank you for clarifying.
I’m not. I do look into what National do and then declare it bad because almost everything that National does is, as a matter of fact, bad. They even manage to stuff up good ideas.
So you say you are fully informed, but hadn’t read something and just made an assumption based on what you would have expected to happen?
That really isn’t fully informed is it – despite the assurance you give.
And the government doesn’t “claim” ownership of the IP – it had to be handed over. There is a difference.
No, I didn’t say that at all.
Hi weka, it’s been mentioned a few times over the past few weeks but seems of little concern to anyone. Even the journos I know don’t want to touch it. Perhaps someone doesn’t want the issue out in the public arena.
Three of the four have existing commercial copyrights.
The Companies and Immigration Offices of the NZ government have the b+w fern as was highlighted in
NRT’s post.
and the two designs from the Silver Fern Flags website, which has been in operation for over a decade and as mentioned above is still operating
part 15 of the T&C for shortlist design copyright process
https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/resources/terms-and-conditions/
Thanks freedom. So has Lockwood been selling rights to use his designs and if so what does that mean for the NZ flag is his design gets chosen?
This thing just keeps getting worse and worse, but it does show us just how far NZ has become NZ Inc.
he has to sign over all rights and there is no financial compensation apparently, which seems harsh considering the many products he has been selling over the years to build the brand.
I would have imagined the sign over should have already happened prior to the public announcement but, as the final four shortlist is now public, and the site is still operating as a commercial enterprise then…….?
As James mentioned above it is probable an arrangement has been met to allow them to ‘wind up’ the business but that does not alter the bizarre situation of a country contemplating the adoption of a long standing commercial product as its national ensign.
“farcical” seems a tad inadequate, even for NZ Inc,
I meant if he has sold rights already, what happens to them?
I don’t believe he has sold reproduction rights but he does ask for attribution if published material includes the design.
The site is primarily a store for the range of flags and peripheral objects, such as badges and pins etc.
A new line of text has appeared on the Store page
They are obviously planning to continue commercial operations using the shortlisted design and we can only assume they have governmental approval for such activity. (as per article 19 of the T&C i guess)
What is stranger still, they updated their sales material after making the shortlist, but have not put a press release up on their media page announcing their success?
What it means as we go forward into the referendums is anyone’s guess
There is one other thing before I leave the SFF issue alone… These ‘NZ’ flags don’t seem to have a “made in NZ’ logo anywhere on the page. Wonder where he gets them manufactured?
U.S. is even more implicated in Israeli settlement project than we thought
No wonder the US doesn’t say anything against the continued invasion and theft of Palestine while continuing to support Israel’s war of terror against Palestinians.
More on the MSM’s misrepresentation of Corbyn, How to Speak Corbyn: a Healine-Writer’s Guide
https://twitter.com/Chris_Boardman/status/638739810052669440
Wendell Berry quote: We have allowed…
Could this wasp cure cancer?
Audio.
My dear 93 year old mother who is rabidly against a flag change was shocked today when DW and I said we would spoil our voting papers. ” You can’t do that, your father went to war so you could vote.”
OK we won’t vote then…”You can’t do that your father etc..” “I don’t want to but I’m going to have to vote for one of them”
At least next year she should have it sorted.
Me I’m not really interested but the old flag does seem like a real flag to me.
I tend to agree with the a Nat party politician who aptly described the 4 new flag choices as not real flags but more like nice beach towels?
Just a thought for later. I had an idea that for the next pre-election period TS could run a post entitled the Electorate Whisperer. It would probably get called the Vote W but that wouldn’t be correct.
It would be for people who don’t usually blog to get some hard information relating to them personally, and their neighbours. People would be asked to write in and ask how their electorate could get best advantage by voting strategically.
Probably there would be a cloud of useless gnats but the left would have the first attention. . A lot of people treat blogs as if there be dragons but for this post, it would be straightforward.