Glad about that because I was just about to moan about the opposite. Looked at Stuff’s politics section and it’s all:
English won; Bill is back; Nat finds Lab’s weak spot; etc etc. Seemed like the sugar hit they got from Jacinda was over and they were now back in blood mode.
The media will bend whatever way they think the wind is blowing. They are no longer the fourth estate, they are just PR and revenue source for their owners.
It’s fascinating how so many people are jumping ship this election from media commentators to the general public.
I listen to a lot of talkback radio and the volume of people ringing up saying they have always voted national but this election are voting for Labour is staggering, it’s a beautiful thing when people finally ‘see the light’.
” What on earth does National do now? It is now crisis time in the governing party’s camp, pure and simple.
National’s election campaign strategy is in desperate need of a rethink after the party found itself on the receiving end of a morale-crippling double-whammy on Thursday evening.”
Sorry to be Grinchy but I don’t think they are ‘seeing the light’ – they are excited by a new shiny object. For a lot of the electorate, Jacinda Ardern is a sort of adult fidget spinner – must-have object of fascination for six weeks, then completely forgotten about.
I suppose the question is, will the fad last up to election day? And are we cynical enough to celebrate an election that is won on ephemeral froth, not policy?
lurgee
Really? You think calling Adern; “a new shiny object”, is less objectifying than; “a sparkly young thing”. Wow – just wow! As for; “adult fidget spinner”, you do get just how obscene that sounds, don’t you? [this paragraph then continued into pornographic territory which I opted to delete, along with the links]
I still contend that Ardern’s greatest virtue is that she allows the public to hear the policies that Labour has largely been advocating all along (with a few tweaks), briefly clear of the attack lines around; “unelectable Angry Andy”. You are probably right that six weeks is about how long it will take for focus testing of new Nat attack lines on Ardern. By which time the media will have played out the rise of Jacinda storyline, and be grateful to switch to a downfall narrative. Whatever fill (shows and articles) sells the content (ads).
Really? You think calling Adern; “a new shiny object”, is less objectifying than; “a sparkly young thing”. Wow – just wow! As for; “adult fidget spinner”, you do get just how obscene that sounds, don’t you? [this paragraph then continued into pornographic territory which I opted to delete, along with the links]
Well, if your mind immediately connects the term ‘adult fidget spinner’ with porn, that says something about where your mind is at.
On this blog, it is considered acceptable to refer to David Shearer as ‘Mumblefuck’; I don’t recall people getting up in arms about that. And that was Labour supporters commenting on the Labour leader … so I’m not going to treat your OUTRAGE over my mild disdainful comments about how facile and superficial our political culture is with too much seriousness.
[lprent: All part of our decade long culture of robust debate. Treating politicians or the behaviour of the voting public with respect is a purely optional activity. 😈 We are more concerned with behaviour on site, and I think that you and DSpare are merely continuing the long tradition here of mutual incomprehension – to every one eases amusement.. ]
lurgee
It is strange how; “adult” has come to mean; juvenile titillation, for example; “adult films” which are only watchable by adolescents. That’s not your fault of course, but it does mean that the phrase; “adult fidget spinner” is an unfortunate one to apply to any person. I find it easily amusing, even if everyone else doesn’t.
It was; “Captain Mumblefuck”, (I think that is was QoT who invented it, but it quickly caught on), so combined respect as well as disparagement – which is why it was so funny. Your; “sparkly young thing” is simple dismissive objectification. rather tedious, and assumes that your bigotry is shared by a large proportion of the electorate.
I’m not really outraged by your disdain for the positive reaction to Ardern, certainly not to the level of SHOUTING about it. More embarrassed to be sharing a comment thread with such a lumbering dinosaur. If you need a dismissive metaphor, surely you could do something with her being a casual DJ (“voters rushing to chase the pied-piper beat of a fashionable new dance track” or something like that).
Look at your children
See their faces in golden rays
Don’t kid yourself they belong to you…
It is strange how; “adult” has come to mean; juvenile titillation, for example; “adult films” which are only watchable by adolescents. That’s not your fault of course, but it does mean that the phrase; “adult fidget spinner” is an unfortunate one to apply to any person. I find it easily amusing, even if everyone else doesn’t.
Like I said, if you immediately link the term ‘adult fidget spinner’ with porn, that tells us something about you but not much more; though I’d observe it puts your ability to interpret other people’s meanings and intentions into doubt.
It was; “Captain Mumblefuck”, (I think that is was QoT who invented it, but it quickly caught on), so combined respect as well as disparagement – which is why it was so funny.
Plain old “Mumblefuck” on plenty of occasions, usually coupled with calls for him to resign. I think the apogee was when someone (Rhinocrates?) was complaining on one thread about use of abusive language and ranting about “Mumblefuck” on another. No self awareness, some people.
You really think continually referring to someone as “Captain Mumblefuck” can be read as showing respect? If anything, the bogus rank adds to the contempt. Instant credibility collapse.
I thought we were having an adult debate.
Oh, shit, I see how you’re going to interpret that …
Your; “sparkly young thing” is simple dismissive objectification. rather tedious, and assumes that your bigotry is shared by a large proportion of the electorate.
I’m not really outraged by your disdain for the positive reaction to Ardern, certainly not to the level of SHOUTING about it. More embarrassed to be sharing a comment thread with such a lumbering dinosaur. If you need a dismissive metaphor, surely you could do something with her being a casual DJ (“voters rushing to chase the pied-piper beat of a fashionable new dance track” or something like that).
Why would I poke fun at Ardern’s dablling in DJing? My target was not her and never was.
All this is in your head. Just admit you went off half-cocked (n.b. that is not a porn reference, but describes flintlock pistols misfiring) because you thought you saw something that wasn’t really there.
Lurgee… Don’t know about you but I’m voting for policy.
I know the teachers at school are voting for policy as they asked me about it and I gave them the printed info on education policy.
I know the parents around the corner are voting for policy, the are interested in free tertiary education and cheaper doctors visits, clean rivers to swim in.
I know the oldies next door (both sides) are voting for policy home heating among other things.
I know the latest leaders debate had huge viewing numbers, no doubt those viewers will be voting for policy too.
I also know that people are finally understanding just how bad things are in NZ, especially since Key has exited, and rosecoloured glasses are removed.
I do know people have had a gutsfull of the old boys club and old ideas.
It’s amazing that in the darkest room, that one glimmer of light changes everything.
Analytically the numbers/dates/reoccurances etc tell a fascinating story
That sounds great.
Can you please help me by telling me where I can find the Labour Party policy on taxation?
In particular the CGT they are talking about bringing in before the next election.
I heard a rumour that the water charges were to be on polluters and were to be spent on cleaning up rivers but since then there have been other stories about them being levied on non polluting water users such as horticultural businesses.
There also seems to be a proposal to spend the money on new roads rather than on cleaning up rivers.
Where is this material about policy documented?
Who told you horticulture didn’t produce pollution, alwyn? Check out this link to NIWA and pay particular attention to their comments about the effects of chemical runoff on water quality in rivers (and consequent loss of fish species, invertebrates etc plus increased algal, water turbidity…etc).
where 4 Banks try to drive off with $2.2 Billion of Government revenue ….. 100 X more than Benefit fraud in the same year …. John Key rewarded the accountant behind it …. John Shewan
Tony Molly QC : ” the IRD’s December 2009, NZ$2.2 billion settlement with ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac over structured finance tax disputes, or as he puts it: “The four major New Zealand banks’ multi-billion dollar assault on the New Zealand tax system.”
Molloy notes that the settlement saw the banks agreeing to pay 80% of what IRD said they owed, and that prior to settling the IRD had won two High Court cases, one against BNZ and the other against Westpac. He suggests the full amount IRD could have sought from the banks, if penalties were included, amounted to about NZ$2.75 billion.
“(So) effectively a gift was being made to the banks of at least three quarters of a billion dollars.”
Yet Russell described the settlement as a very good result for New Zealand taxpayers.
“The ‘taxpayers of New Zealand,’ for whom the Commissioner was arrogating the right to speak, might have differed from his view that rewarding this anti-social assault on the New Zealand economy with a gift of three quarters of a billion dollars at their expense had been a ‘very good result’.”
and the other rich free loaders … stealing from ordinary honest Nzers and other people in the world … and the NActs help them do it ….
“a New Zealand Herald investigation revealed that Apple had paid zero tax in New Zealand in the past decade, despite selling billions of dollars’ worth of products to New Zealanders.
Oxfam New Zealand Executive Director Rachael Le Mesurier said: “New Zealand and many other countries around the world are missing out on crucial tax revenue from companies like Apple; money that could be invested in education, healthcare and infrastructure…. ” https://www.oxfam.org.nz/news/us-companies-stashing-16-trillion-shore
There is enough revenue …. But National undermine it ….
You quote the Herald as saying that
“a New Zealand Herald investigation revealed that Apple had paid zero tax in New Zealand in the past decade, despite selling billions of dollars’ worth of products to New Zealanders”
There is an alternative interpretation of this story which was explained in the DomPost. https://www.stuff.co.nz/90613870/Q-A-What-makes-Apple-NZs-tax-arrangements-unique
The problem is that although a lot of Apple goods are sold in New Zealand they don’t actually do any real business here. They completely manufacture the goods overseas, bring them here and simply sell them on. Their transfer price to the New Zealand market is just about what they sell them for.
I am not going to get into a debate about Apple’s tax affairs though. I would warn you though about what might happen if we allow Governments to arbitrarily decide what tax a multinational company should pay and what taxable income the business makes in “their” country.
The Chinese Government could simply decide that all the Fonterra sales made in China should be taxed in China. At the moment Fonterra makes nearly all of its income in New Zealand and pays its tax here. That is because there business is based here. Do you really want the Chines Government to simply decide that all Fonterra’s profit was really made in China and to slap taxes on them?
Taxation of multinational companies is a multinational problem and a standard method of allocating the profits will have to be developed and agreed by all the counties we trade with.
Their transfer price to the New Zealand market is just about what they sell them for.
In other words, they are running all of their sales and distribution to NZ from offshore. So if they want to sell their physical devices from here, then they must use a local company with local storage and distribution – like everyone else does. We just need to put in proper border controls to prevent direct distribution – the way that the Chinese do.
I think you will find it in the same place you would have found National’s promise of no new taxes… and then raised GST with heaviest impact on lowest earners.
Funny how so many care about their policy now. Last election they released shitloads and almost no one bothered to read it despite railing against them for not having any. Given that experience I can hardly blame them for not bothering as much with detail this time.
Funny how National suddenly thinks homelessness, housing, the environment, education and health have problems… and let us not forget alwyn, their great policy of using invisible language teachers in primary schools to improve children’s maths. Joyce has spent 9 years driving down staff and funding in Humanities in tertiary and polytechs and now they have to produce heaps of language teachers!
If you want a party with detailed policy and costing, vote Green but do not go to Labour or National websites. You will not find what you seek.
The last sentence is the only one that makes any sense.
It also conflicts with Cinny’s story about everyone voting on policy.
How can we when they won’t tell us what it is?
Your first paragraph is simply false. If you look at what was said you will find the statement was that taxes would not be increased. You, like everyone else may have interpreted it as being that each individual type of tax would not be increased. The alternative, that the total tax burden would not increase is equally valid and the one that Key said he meant and which he honoured. What does that have to do with anything, anyway? It was long, long ago and was said by someone who has retired from politics. It is about as relevant as anything David Cunliffe told us about.
I don’t think I bothered reading all of Labour’s policies last election because I never though they would be in a position to form a Government and I wasn’t going to vote for them anyway. Why waste my time? I am much more interested today because, in general, I do not believe that any Government should go for more than 3 terms. The problem is that there has to be a competent alternative which has well thought out plans. Labour has had 9 years to come up with some but they don’t seem to have anything they have actually thought through.
As far as reading the Green policies goes I think that is a waste of time. Firstly I don’t think they will have any MPs after the election and secondly, even if some miracle was to occur and they scraped back in, they won’t be in the Government. Any Government will either be National/NZF or Labour/NZF.
In the video, taken during a press conference in 2008, Mr Key was asked to rule out a hike in GST after suggestions the next government would have no choice but to raise GST to 15 per cent, and raise taxes.
Mr Key’s response to the question was: “National is not going to be raising GST.
He then went on to raise GST which is a regressive tax mostly affecting the poor while cutting taxes for the rich.
The problem is that there has to be a competent alternative which has well thought out plans.
Dude, you vote National who simply should never be in government because of their general psychopathy.
Labour has had 9 years to come up with some but they don’t seem to have anything they have actually thought through.
Except for the fact that they have which means that you’re lying again.
Here is the link to ALL of their announced policies so you may browse at your leisure. Please note… “More policy to be announced as we get closer to the election.”
Lurgee… Don’t know about you but I’m voting for policy.
I know the teachers at school are voting for policy as they asked me about it and I gave them the printed info on education policy.
I know the parents around the corner are voting for policy, the are interested in free tertiary education and cheaper doctors visits, clean rivers to swim in.
I know the oldies next door (both sides) are voting for policy home heating among other things.
I know the latest leaders debate had huge viewing numbers, no doubt those viewers will be voting for policy too.
That’s all very nice but do you really think Labour’s 15% surge is about policy. Like I said earlier, to the despair of DSpare, people are simply excited because they have a new toy that looks fun to play with.
“It feels like time for a generational change because the present Government’s big failure has been housing. It waited too long to do anything to dampen the demand that sent house prices through the stratosphere and has deprived too many of the younger generation of much hope of home-ownership. The Government left it to the Reserve Bank to eventually introduce loan-to-value restrictions, and left it to Labour to utter the once-unspeakable phrase, capital gains tax…Now Labour not only plans to extend the bright line to five years, but tax negative gearing (which I hope means remove interest deductions), remove urban limits and establish a $2 billion state corporation to build houses for sale at cost to first-home seekers.”
That is from the Roughan article, and it is what will win Labour the election.
Getting rid of interest deductibility is an excellent idea, and one which I have advocated myself in many a comment; (though I´m not sure if that is what is meant by ¨taxing negative gearing¨).
OR it shows how much we have become voters who want to be on the “winning” team and the polls direct us to who that will be. I still advocate abolition of polls from 3 months prior to an election. We might force our media to educate us rather than pontificate
Hey North. Putting words in my mouth there. I don’t advocate disengagement at all. I like Ardern and hope she is PM for three terms. I just don’t trust Roughan and I have a pretty clear picture of how he will start sniping away at a new government.
“The Bundesbank headquarters, less than 600 meters from the location of the bomb, stores 1,710 tonnes of gold underground, around half the country’s reserves.
“We have never defused a bomb of this size,” bomb disposal expert Rene Bennert told Reuters, adding that it had been damaged on impact when it was dropped between 1943 and 1945.
Airspace for 1.5 kilometers around the bomb site will also be closed.”
Really looking forward to the Health Debate on the Nation this morning.
Coleman spins the same old crap everytime, it’s almost worthy of a bingo board.
Hand picked stats followed by blaming a government from nine years ago, or blaming hospital health boards, blame blame, that’s how coleman rolls, he offers no hope.
NZ Health sector is seriously broken we hear so many stories about it, stretched services, over worked staff, equipment from bunnings, people suffering and dying due to an over burdened system.
Any comment on the hospital changes in westport coleman? Staggering that half the population of that town is attending protests against it.
Cinny
I can’t see a link on the Newshub/ Nation site, may check again at 9:30 to see if it is livestreamed (no TV unless I go visiting which mightn’t be appreciated this early on a Saturday morning). Hopefully, someone (probably Clark) asks Coleman about this:
National disclosed this week it had budgeted nothing for the estimated $1.4 billion project because of its intention to agree a public-private partnership (PPP).
Mr Macpherson said “It was agreed at this workshop that we (Waikato DHB) could not achieve all of the $32.5M savings needed in the first year…
“Therefore, I think it is totally wrong for him [Coleman] to have gone on National media to say that Waikato DHB will have a break-even budget; he knows this is not possible in the 2017/8 year, and he knows that we have not agreed on any position yet.”
Cinny
Thanks for the panel discussion link, I turned off after the debate. Had caughtup on the starting few minutes of the debate already, but good to get the timecode for Gowers smirk to the camera (at 14:55) after his; “good ideas don’t cost money” line. That really sums up his style of trying to insert his own ego into the story, which was further on display in the panel discussion.
I thought Harre looked a bit out of practice and got talked over a bit by others more used to speaking in soundbites. She did have interesting things to say that’d better suit a longer speech format.
Heather Roy was dangerously plausible. And while Newshub are happy to let us know she was a; “former Associate Health Minister”, this does not seem to be accuarate. She was a minister (& associate minister) outside cabinet in Key’s second term, but not for health. Later, she was demoted and for one year made the ACT party spokesperson for health (amongst other things). I personally wish that a political news program during an election would have a greater regard for accuracy.
Roy is currently chair if the pharmaceutical lobby group; Medicines New Zealand , who had this to say in one of their press releases:
“Already some pharmaceutical companies choose not to register medicines in New Zealand due to either the unlikelihood of funding approval by PHARMAC, or current Intellectual Property laws in New Zealand making the products not commercially viable. This is a statement of fact, not a threat. For this to be raised as a “threat” ahead of the US Trade Representatives’ Office visit is at best mischievous, and at worst a blatant misrepresentation of our position.
Medicines New Zealand supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its potential economic benefits to New Zealand.
Jonathan Coleman could not keep his head up strait its because he knows that everything in his scripted statements are a fascicle lies.
Lisa and Paddy are finally treating all there host with a unbiased manner which is the way we should demand that all our media reports our news.
And that story on children in state care you could see the people who were interviewed that were in the state care were devastated by what they experienced
while in state care you can see it in there eyes to.
This is one of the reason why I say that the state is to blame for all the gangs in OUR
country . One other reason is state targeted unemployment by killing of our union.
Union are designed to protect the vulnerable people whom do not no how to negotiate a fair deal for there employment.These people would and are being ripped off because unions have been shut down and demonized by the neo- liberals . Gangs are a product of our society gangs are a infection in our society which could infect any of our youth in many ways!!!!!!.
So lets come up with policy’s to cure this infection lets reward people who are in our justice system to stay out of jail . Lets reward employers to train employ and help give them self esteem self worth and a work culture a life worth living for
The carrot always works beter than the stick it is a much more intelligent humane and cost effective way to cure our society illnesses using policy’s based on this method.
We haven’t heard half the stories. I’ve said it here before but our entire public health system is in such a state and so chronically underfunded, it is now relying heavily on goodwill. Diabetes podiatric services, for example, are in dire need. Some DHBs can’t even afford to purchase consumables and basic equipment, and because of the resourcing issues the system cannot cope with the demand. Intervention is not happening early enough and diabetes-related amputation rates, for example, are increasing.
If fat is now back. Can we buy chip cooked in lard, tallow, or whatever. These oils they use now just make people fatter. Chips was a filling meal before the oil revolution.
You won’t be able to any time soon. Science progresses one death at a time, but the social sciences are even slower. Nothing to stop you using lard, dripping and butter for your home cooking, though – roast potatoes cooked with lard or dripping are awesome.
“If fat is now back. Can we buy chip cooked in lard, tallow, or whatever. These oils they use now just make people fatter. Chips was a filling meal before the oil revolution.”
Depends on how much you eat over time. The issue is insulin resistance (one of the underlying reasons for heart disease, stroke, diabetes etc), and this naturally increases over time so the older you get and the more refined carbohydrates you’ve been eating the less refined carbs it takes to push insulin resistance further.
I’d have my chips fried in fat, but I wouldn’t rely on them for a meal that often.
Agreed. Lard is much more consistent than Canola, tastewise. I believe that we like consistency, our bodies want to be able to get a nutrient and so find the taste that gave them that nutrient. But as foods become commodities, they can taste the same but come from a totally different nutrient niche. So our bodies are forced to eat more to find again the same amount of nutrient. It’s pregnant mothers eating cravings. Health food is locally sourced, not some industrial canola. So even if it’s better for us, it ain’t cos it’s making us fatter.
Big Brother knows everything.
If you had looked outside you would have seen Nicky Hager peering in the window. I suggest you pull the curtains in future.
China’s fooling itself. https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/96429007/pms-blah-blah-blahing-show-australia-is-a-second-class-citizen-chinese-newspaper
NK fires and detonated a nuke in outerspace, would cause a economic depression.
China needs to remove those nukes, like USSR from Cuba, NK is its sphere of influence and makes us all concerned about Chinese threat to the world.
Grow up China!
NK is full of people who want change, they get their hands on the means to cause collapse of NK, like it isn’t already! It’s not going to bother them if a global depression ensues. All it takes is Kim to put a nuke on a missile any it’s a lottery.
Do you think the tension would be considerably lessened if the United States and its vassal countries stopped carrying out the ceaseless provocations on the border?
How do you think the United Kingdom, for instance, would react if an aggressive nuclear power staged “war games” in the Bristol Channel with half a million troops?
Provocative? Gulags. Forced Starvation. S.Korea look north and see their relatives…
We should not cease until regime change, oh and more pointedly, they sign a peace treaty bringing the Korean war to an end. Forgot that too.
David Clark was very good in the discussion on the Nation this morning. He has only been in the Health role for a few months, since Annette King stepped down from it, but he is clearly on top of the issues. His background is as a Treasury economist but also a Presbyterian minister. I hear he also has a large and efficient electorate organisation in Dunedin North and has been campaigning on the shocking Government neglect of Dunedin hospital for a long time. He would be a very competent Minister of Health and wouldn’t run away from the difficult issues like the current one.
Ethica
Clark was good, Coleman seemed a bit rattled (or maybe; ironically, had a cold – something was off with his voice anyway), but he’s never been good at fronting up to the camera. One thing you missed about Clark’s history is that he was Associate Spokesperson for Health from 2013 until March of this year when he took over from King ; so he has the depth of knowledge to back up his new role. The link for the debate is now here:
The interventions Clark was talking about seemed a bit top down to me. Three of the guys I started deepsea fishing with took their own lives – I suspect the causes were more socioeconomic than psychological or neurological. In our society the expectation is that men shall work and buy a home – in a society with 11% unemployment, significant housing inflation, and wage suppression from cheap migrant labour, this expectation is increasingly unachievable. Life in the precariat is not conducive to achieving eudaemonia.
the socioeconomic becomes psychological and if untreated becomes neurological.
at the end of the day fear of not being able to provide, of not being able to give your family a decent stable live is still fear or anxiety if you rather call it that way, and that is deeply psychological. Also many that are highly successful are often also very high strung, and we all know that the hardest healthcare to get in this country is mental healthcare. Even if you have the several hundred dollar a week it would cost you to see a Doctor. Not everyone that commits suicide starts out with a nicely diagnosed mental illness. I think for men socioeconomic reasons are more often then not the trigger to mental illness.
Agreed – I saw an attempted suicide when I took my father in to casualty for a broken arm a few months back. Economic factors were not insignificant in her life either.
The 12 o’clock news reported that Bill is throwing more money at the pest eradication programme and (this is what I heard) the total eradication of pests is ahead of schedule and will be complete in 2048, two years early!
Hell’s bell – are we meant to swallow this bullshit?
@Tony Veitch (not etc)
I think we are expected to swallow this rat. Indeed I believe it is a brilliant Malthusian recipe for a couple of problems.
The poor will be forced to get off their butts /sarc. and do something, ie to go and trap rats, and recipes and training will be given in how to hygenically prepare and cook rats with the appropriate herbs and spices.
Alt restaurants will spring up supplying this delicacy and national trials will be televised to find the most way-out raving chef and recipe. A TV show will be made showing the best, most talented rat-catchers, admiringly displaying their prowess and process from hole to bowl of juicy stew.
Don’t under-estimate Gnashional. They make their money from food obtained from the grassroots, and their whole intellect and intelligence is centred down there. They may be rats but specially cunning, so there never will be a problem of them getting caught and ending up in a bowl, though they might be drawn to the lights and fame in the Hollywood Bowl. But there be dragons, as well as rats.
I see Jacinda highlighted the importance of her “values” in the first leaders debate, to which English responded, “people can’t go shopping with your values.”
I think it’s important as voters (and especially for those from the left) we delve a little deeper into her values.
Here are a few questions we should be asking about her values.
What does maintaining a surplus while rejecting increasing core benefit rates imply about her values?
What does implementing a flat regional fuel tax, hitting lower income households the hardest, akin to GST (opposed to utilizing progressive income tax) imply about her values?
What does Labour’s policy of building 10,000 homes a year, yet only a 1000 state homes (when we clearly require more) say about her values?
At a time when the bottom end is doing it hard meanwhile CEO salaries are outrageously high. What does her rejection to increase the top tax rate say about her values?
Although Labour are a party that believes in full employment, what does her unemployment target of 4% imply about her values?
The Green at 15% when Labour was at 24% spoke volumes. I agree Greens poll higher than on the day. I do not know if this was the case when the Greens were first getting in to Parliament?
While some is natural return to Labour of disgruntled. But some of Labour’s strategy to bleed as much as they can may yet backfire if Greens get less than 5%. The “answer” would be to assist Greens to get a seat but that is not going to happen.
Maybe, but not likely, Turei knicks te Tai Tonga. 😉
Despite the Green’s current polling, left voters need to snap out of falling for our new cult of personality, look and question the values (my post at 9) Labour are revealing, and decide if they merely want a change of Government or do they want a Government that will do more?
John Armstrong asks, “What on earth does National do now? It is now crisis time in the governing party’s camp, pure and simple. National’s election campaign strategy is in desperate need of a rethink …”
Well John, National needs to invent a time machine, take the world back years, get brain and heart transplants and work from there.
A rethink of the election campaign strategy may be a desperate need but the far more desperate need was years ago.
“And Labour diehards with a long memory are starting to whisper the name David Lange and the year 1984.
That’s the last time they truly felt this buzz and momentum for a leader who went on to be the PM.”
Is that a happy memory or a subtle Garner dig at Labour and neoliberal dreams of change??
It was a mixed article. The headline did not really convey the gist of his story. BUT it served an editor’s purpose of making it seem like Labour are bad.
I must confess I tried not clicking on it all morning as I saw it climbing up the Herald ‘chart’ of popular stories, but…Garner…who can resist..but yeah, the article was totally flat after the promise of outrage in the heading.
This is Queenstown, last election National got 63% of the vote here, and if you add in the Cons it goes to 67%. So at least 12 point swing away from the dills
Not a bad piece by Andrew “I lost my job in coup” Little, that tops the list. Forget the link at the end of Andrew “I lost my job in coup” Little piece, does not work.
So prison reform, I would have thought with the Kelvin Davis all up in Aussies face their justice policy, with what 28 days or so, that it would be out by now.
Just so we clear the Tory’s have a justice policy all over the place, and verging on utter incoherence. With no prison reform. Plus as an added bonus, the usual attacks on the weakest in society as a center piece, coupled with failed polices discredited by both the left and the right. https://www.national.org.nz/national_s_plan_for_serious_young_offenders
Paul Bloom, psychologist and Yale professor, argues that empathy is a bad thing—that it makes the world worse. While we’ve been taught that putting yourself in another’s shoes cultivates compassion, it actually blinds you to the long-term consequences of your actions. In this animated interview from The Atlantic, we hear Bloom’s case for why the world needs to ditch empathy.
Short video at link.
He may have some valid points. Will have to wait and see once he publishes his book.
Thanks for that; I went on to read a little more by Paul Bloom.
If you haven’t read it yet, try this link: http://bostonreview.net/forum/paul-bloom-against-empathy (September 10, 2014). In it, he makes well-considered points supported by science when possible. I was pleasantly surprised to see the familiar name of Matthieu Ricard pop up too in regard to scientific research into compassion (and meditation).
With all the water that has passed under the bridge in the last month or so of New Zealand’s election campaign (and it’s been a torrent), I thought I’d offer some strategic insight if I was in the captain’s seat looking change the government and offer New Zealand a genuine progressive alternative to the last nine years of selfish soul-crushing neoliberalism. This strategy will be brief and not necessarily analyse in depth parties, or policies. Many others have done this so I wouldn’t be offering anything new. I’m by no means an expert of New Zealand politics, but I read about it a lot. This is based entirely on where things are now, and what’s currently on the table. I’ve looked at voting data from the previous election and compared it with more recent data.
So what do we know so far?:
— National’s support under Bill English is slowly eroding. The emphasis being slowly. They are no longer at the dizzying Key era heights of 47% polling. However they have still regularly been in the mid-to-low 40s. That’s not a bad place for them to be in, and governments can still be formed on those numbers. But inevitably they will need a coalition partner. The Labour leadership change might entice some centrist voters back from National, especially middle-class and educated women, and some might switch to Labour. The trend: a slow leak, but not necessarily in a dire position thus far. The latest Colmar Brunton poll that put National at 40%, 3 points below Labour, can’t be taken as a done and dusted sign. However, if the current trend continues I think this is where the result might settle. This is unless, they do something chronic which could see them dip into the 30s, but not by much.
—Labour’s rising star also must be taken with a grain of salt for two reasons. In order for a strong result they need those young, poorer, and non-voting types to actually turn up or the flashy gimmicks will all be a waste. Despite the latest poll that has them just in front, National could pip them at the post if they get their voters mobilised because of the threat of losing out on the coveted fourth term. But secondly, and more importantly, the need to adhere assiduously to the strategic importance of the Green Party as a valuable support partner. They signed the memorandum of understanding with the goal of changing the government to a real progressive alternative. The data from Horizon released this week suggested that 70% of voters who have switched to Labour have done so on the basis of Labour’s new leadership rather than the Green Party’s own internal strife. A little bit of switching was always expected, but if Labour starts sending the message that it no longer needs the Greens they risk losing this partner if they fall below the 5% threshold. Of course they will be flirting with the idea of New Zealand First, but strategically speaking the more coalition options the better. New Zealand First are a risk: they could join a Labour government that shuts out the Greens like 2005, or they could choose to support National. The point is, if you are someone looking for a strong progressive government, New Zealand First are not reliable in the same way that the Greens are. To me, a Labour-New Zealand First government is more tolerable than a National-New Zealand First Government (with or without the Green Party in Parliament). Even if Labour are still looking towards Winston and co., it would be strategically unwise for them to strangle the Greens out of Parliament as they could offer supply and confidence without being in coalition.
—Which brings me to the next party that Labour needs for a viable progressive coalition: the Māori Party. Party President Tokoroirangi Morgan has suggested that the party, on advice from members and constituents is open to working with Labour again. This certainly works well with kaupapa Māori of always having a seat at the table. On current polling the party still needs electorate seats to remain in Parliament. Labour has suggested it wants to hold all Māori seats, which is a dangerous strategy, because National has proven time and time again the importance of coalition partners. Labour seems to forget it is entitled to seats based on the party vote (unless of course you are a minor party that has a good chance of winning an electorate seat). If the Māori party could hang on to a couple of seats that would be strategically beneficial for Labour.
So what does all this mean? Well here are some things if I was Jacinda Ardern I would be thinking about with regards to forming a government on current number, as well as my prediction.
Here’s where I see the number’s settling. Below I will offer a bit more explanation as well as some basic MMP strategy.
–>
Party vote (%) Electorate seats List seats Total seats
Labour 42.5 29 23 52
National 39.5 39 9 48
NZ First 9 0 11 11
Green 6 0 7 7
TOP 1.5 0 0 0
Māori 1 2 0 2
ACT 0.5 1 0 1
United Future 0 0 0 0
100 71 50 121
I know there’s probably a certain degree of optimism, and therefore some bias, but I have tried to generous to even the right block parties.
The electorate seats here are based on my belief that Labour can win back the Maungakiekie, Ohāriu, and Christchurch Central. United Future is at a loss without Dunne, and National voters in Epsom smart enough to give ACT the tick. New Zealand First will pass the Greens as the third largest party, and the Greens themselves will just hang in there. On current polling in the Māori electorates, if Te Ururoa Flavell can hang on to Waiariki, and if Howie Tamati can pick up Te Tai Hauāuru from Labour, then that’s two seats Labour ought to take advantage of. Given these numbers Labour can put together what I believe can be a working coalition of Labour, Greens, and Māori to provide a one seat majority of 61. The remaining parties would add up to 60. In this scenario New Zealand first could offer confidence and supply. This also means National’s chances of coalition forming are seriously diminished because not only would they be the second largest party (Winston goes to the largest first), a coalition with ACT seems unworkable.
If Labour was serious about using MMP to its utmost advantage it would have to think like National. It needs coalition partners. If too many Green voters jump to Labour, say 1-2 %, it will make the Labour-New Zealand First scenario inevitable. To anyone putting together a real progressive coalition this is massive disappointment, as the Green Party wouldn’t even be in Parliament as a cross-bench or confidence and supply party. Labour can guarantee support partners by allowing the Māori party to retain its current numbers and one other radical strategy: withdraw Grant Robertson from Wellington Central to guarantee the Green Party an electorate seat in the event they fall below the 5% threshold. This is of course a risky strategy and the backlash from National and the media would be phenomenal. Electorate deals are acceptable for National but not Labour would be the message. However, I see the probability of both Labour and Robertson giving this seat to the Greens (even given its strategic value) as a snowball’s change in hell.
Whatever happens, Labour needs to be pragmatic rather than attempting to have its cake and eat it too. Don’t campaign at the expense of allies, because it’s going to be a tight one.
Post script: Here’s the “Wellington Central” strategy numbers adjusted from the above table.
Party vote (%) Electorate seats List seats Total seats
Labour 44 28 26 54
National 39.5 39 9 48
NZ First 9 0 11 11
Green 4.5 1 4 5
TOP 1.5 0 0 0
Māori 1 2 0 2
ACT 0.5 1 0 1
United Future 0 0 0 0
100 71 50 121
— National’s support under Bill English is slowly eroding. The emphasis being slowly. They are no longer at the dizzying Key era heights of 47% polling.
Thats unfair on Bill, it was eroding under Key and Key was savvy enough to get out before too many started to vocalise that fact. I say poor Bill. nice man.
David Seymour wants to give private schools 50% of the per-pupil State funding to private schools. I’ll agree to that if the private schools give 50% of their tuition fees to their nearest state school.
Private schools want it both ways – they want to be sort of state integrated so they can get state money but not enough state integrated so that they have to do without the resources that they get through making parents pay through the nose.
Private school parents shouldn’t get a hand out from the state when they chose to send their kids to private school. They put a burden on the state system by not contributing to the state system through their social capital – they shouldn’t be able to walk away and get funded for it. Walking away should come at a cost and high private school fees are that cost.
But there is a catch: “The ACT Party says it will give schools nearly $1 billion more, so long as they abandon national union contracts.”
Hope that they don’t give on Union. Individual contracts are cruel.
They’ve ditched further tax cuts I reckon, they’ve realised there’s no appetite for them and in fact NZers have cottoned on to the whole tax cuts equal degraded government services trick that National has been pulling all these years.
If they had any morals they’d go quietly into that good night.
Being the Gnats, Bill may disappear in a frenzy of backstabbing.
The thing to fear is a Mandelson-like revenant, the Key to National’s long and inglorious kleptocratic misrule, suddenly standing where Barclay once sat.
Labour now needs to ask what areas Bill is not coping with, and use that knowledge.
In many of the sciences a positive has to be balanced by a negative. For example in the planet’s atmosphere, an intense high pressure system will be balanced by an adjacent deep depression. Climate Change is causing these two extremes to become even more extreme but that is another story. Imo, it’s an hypothesis which can also be applied to politics.
To be relentlessly positive is fine but in order to balance out the equation the political party – and in particular it’s leader – must also address the negatives associated with it’s opposition political party or parties. Jacinda and her senior Labour MPs have to also constantly point out the weaknesses and the wrong footed actions of their opposite numbers. A failure to do so will eventually tilt the balance back in favour of National.
“Only doing one event a day”, was coined by National Party embedded journalist Stacey Kirk at the end of the week and it was plainly false because I know Ardern did three that day.
It looks like they are trawling their partisan media allies and repeating what they say in the next stand up. This manifested itself with Bingles attacking the Labour machine today (instead of the leader, specifically) using the same line.
Another criticism of Ardern by the National Party aligned media in Henry Cooke, Stacey Kirk, Jo Moir, Tracey Watkins, Claire Trevett, and Audrey Young is that she only goes to schools where hard questions won’t be asked.
Funny then that Bingles has done Whangarei Boys High, a sports institute, and an Ocean sports club in consecutive days. Is the Nat machine taking its cue off their media friends and the Labour Party?
I read so often of teachers brainwashing kids and how politics should not intrude into schools.
Why are school boards of trustees allowing their schools to be used for politicians to push their barrow?
Would the new buildings being promised for Whangarei Boys High School not come about if their board had said to the Prime Minister, “thanks for the needed buildings, we don’t need a big announcement, put it in a letter, we’ll tell our community about it and how grateful we are” ?
Also, as is the way with the National Party and their pollster, Dr Death threw the same numbers around which mean nothing without reference. He says there’s 50,000 more operations a year but, since when?
I loved that Coleman said twice in a row in answer to two different questions “after the election – if we’re elected”…
Those words weren’t in their lexicon 4 weeks ago.
Bout bloody time!
ROFL that’s his go to line, don’t forget the appointments lmfao. Was cracking up this morning hearing him say it over and over again, it’s all he’s got, uses it in Parliament repeatedly. Just did a search on Parliament and his go to line.. check out the result lolololz Results 1-10 of 9536 for 50,000 more operations
That’s encouraging but from what I saw last week Marama Fox was not interested in working with Labour. She still has Stockholm syndrome after being slave to National for all these years.
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This year’s Budget is about rebuilding New Zealand together in the face of COVID-19. Jobs are central to how we’re going to do that.There’s a lot of targeted investment for employment in this year’s Budget, with announcements on creating new jobs, training people for the jobs we have, and supporting ...
Speaking to Stuff's Coronavirus NZ podcast, Foreign Minister Winston Peters revealed China tried to dissuade New Zealand from going into lockdown.“Without speaking out of turn, they wanted a discussion as to why we were doing it, because they thought it was an overreaction,” Mr Peters told Stuff’s Coronavirus NZ podcast.He also ...
The Coalition Government is making changes to the Overseas Investment Act to ensure New Zealand assets don't fall into the hands of foreign ownership in the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Associate Minister of Finance David Parker announced the Act will be amended to bring forward a national interest ...
A quick start to a trans-Tasman bubble could see the tourism industry make a swift recovery, according to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. "I believe tourism will turn around dramatically faster than people think," Mr Peters told reporters after Thursday's Budget. "Why? Because I think the Tasman bubble is [going ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Please check against deliveryhttps://vimeo.com/418303651 Budget 2020: Jobs, Business and Balance Introduction Acknowledgements to all Cabinet colleagues, and party ministers Tracey Martin, Shane Jones and Ron Mark, Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau and to caucus colleagues. Thank you for your support, your ...
The 2020 Budget includes significant support to stabilise New Zealand’s family violence services, whose work has been shown to be so essential throughout the COVID-19 lockdown. ...
The Green Party says huge new investment in public and transitional housing will get thousands more families into the warm, safe homes they deserve. ...
The Green Party says the $1.1 billion environmental investment in this year’s budget to create thousands of green jobs will help jump start a sustainable recovery from the COVID crisis. ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said today the Coalition Government told foreigners at the start of the Covid-19 crisis that if their circumstances had changed dramatically, they should go home. "And 50,000 did," Mr Peters said. Official advice to Cabinet revealed there is potentially 380,000 foreigners and migrant workers in ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the decision today to go to Alert Level 2 from midnight Wednesday, says Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters. Alert Level 2 will mean a return to work for the vast majority of New Zealand’s businesses. A return ...
Nurses now look set to get more protection from violence at work, under a proposed new law.This after NZ First MP Darroch Ball's "Protection for First Responders Bill", which introduces a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders, will now also cover emergency department healthcare workers. The ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Law and Order Spokesperson An amendment to the ‘Protection of First Responders Bill’ is being tabled which will see emergency department healthcare workers included in the legislation. “During this COVID-19 crisis we have seen reports of violence and specifically increased incidents of spitting towards ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is breathing new life into the proposal to move Auckland's port to Whangārei to help in the economic recovery post Covid-19 pandemic.If New ZealandFirst was returned in the September general election, Minister Jones said a priority would be development of an "economic haven" at Northport, ...
The plan to build a memorial to the SS Ventnor, and those who were lost when it sank off the Hokianga coast in 1902, has been granted $100,000 from the Provincial Growth Fund.Originally planned for a site near Rāwene cemetery, the memorial will now be built at the new Manea ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First LeaderLeader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters said: “Today is the 75th anniversary of VE Day – marking the end of World War II in Europe."Millions died in the six years of war, and families were torn apart. 75 years ...
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Government has committed to providing calm, clear, and consistent communication, including regular press conference updates from the Prime Minister. While New Zealand is at Alert Level 3, we're making sure that New Zealanders are kept informed and up-to-date with all the latest ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay. A day earlier, National Party leader Simon Bridges was on the radio show and referred to the Deputy Prime Minister as, "my sweetheart Winston". Mr Peters swiftly dismissed the question of whether Bridges had changed his mind about ...
The Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa have agreed to settle the pay equity claim for teacher aides, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. This will see more than 22,000 teacher aides, mostly women, being valued and paid fairly for the work they do. “Teacher aides are frontline ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have marked the first anniversary of the New Zealand-Singapore Enhanced Partnership with a virtual Leaders’ Meeting today. The Enhanced Partnership, signed on 17 May 2019, provides the framework for cooperation across the four main areas of trade, defence and ...
On 17 May 2019, New Zealand and Singapore established an Enhanced Partnership to elevate our relations. The Enhanced Partnership – based on the four pillars of trade and economics, security and defence, science, technology and innovation, and people-to-people links – has seen the long-standing relationship between our countries strengthen over the ...
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Winston Peters has welcomed KiwiRail’s announcement that it is seeking a preferred shipyard to build two new rail-enabled ferries for the Cook Strait crossing. “This Government is committed to restoring rail to its rightful place in New Zealand. Bigger, better ships, with new technology are yet another ...
Better protection for seabirds is being put in place with a new National Plan of Action to reduce fishing-related captures, Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The National Plan of Action for Seabirds 2020 outlines our commitment to reduce fishing-related captures and associated seabird ...
Almost $1 billion in interest-free loans for small businesses More than 55,000 businesses have applied; 95% approved Average loan approx. $17,300 90% of applications from firms with ten or fewer staff A wide cross-section of businesses have applied, the most common are the construction industry, accommodation providers, professional firms, and ...
Thousands of children will have healthier lungs after the Government’s ban on smoking in cars with kids becomes law, says Associate Minister of Health Jenny Salesa. This comes after the third reading of Smoke-free Environments (Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles Carrying Children) Amendment Bill earlier today. “This law makes it ...
The special Epidemic Response Committee (ERC) has successfully concluded its role, Leader of the House Chris Hipkins said today. The committee was set up on 25 March by the agreement of Parliament to scrutinise the Government and its actions while keeping people safe during levels 4 and 3 of lockdown. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced four diplomatic appointments: New Zealand’s Ambassador to Belgium, High Commissioners to Nauru and Niue, and Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism. “As the world seeks to manage and then recover from COVID-19, our diplomatic and trade networks are more important than ever,” Mr Peters said. “The ...
New Zealanders will be better protected from online harm through a Bill introduced to Parliament today, says Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin. “The internet brings many benefits to society but can also be used as a weapon to spread harmful and illegal content and that is what this legislation targets,” ...
New Zealand’s world-first plan to eradicate the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis is on track the latest technical data shows, says Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor. “Two years ago the Government, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand and industry partners made a bold decision to go hard and commit ...
Further support for New Zealanders affected by 1-in-100 year global economic shock 12-week payment will support people searching for new work or retraining Work programme on employment insurance to support workers and businesses The Government today announced a new temporary payment to support New Zealanders who lose their jobs due ...
The Provincial Growth Fund will play a vital role in New Zealand’s post-COVID-19 recovery by creating jobs in shorter timeframes through at least $600 million being refocused on projects with more immediate economic benefits, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The funding is comprised of repurposed Provincial Growth ...
Government exempts some home improvements from costly consents Homeowners, builders and DIYers will soon have an easier time making basic home improvements as the Government scraps the need for consents for low-risk building work such as sleep-outs, sheds and carports – allowing the construction sector to fire back up quicker ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the New Zealand Government has reacted with concern at the introduction of legislation in China’s National People’s Congress relating to national security in Hong Kong. “We have a strong interest in seeing confidence maintained in the ‘one country, two systems’ principle under which Hong ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio, says the theme for the 2020 Samoa Language Week is a perfect fit for helping our Pacific communities cope with the unfolding COVID-19 crisis, and to prepare now for the journey ahead as New Zealand focuses on recovery plans and rebuilding New ...
A nearly 40-year programme to protect one of New Zealand’s most critically endangered birds is paying off, with a record number of adult kakī/black stilt recently recorded living in the wild, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. “Thanks to the team effort involved in the Department of Conservation’s ...
The story of the Waikato-Tainui Treaty process and its enduring impact on the community is being told with a five-part web story launched today on the 25th anniversary of settlement, announced Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni. “I am grateful to Waikato-Tainui for allowing us to help capture ...
Taita College in the Hutt Valley will be redeveloped to upgrade its ageing classrooms and leaky roofs, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “The work is long overdue and will make a lasting difference to the school for generations to come,” Chris Hipkins said. “Too many of our schools are ...
The Government is allocating $36.72 million to projects in regions hard hit economically by COVID-19 to keep people working, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. Projects in Hawke’s Bay, Northland, Rotorua and Queenstown will be funded from the Government’s $100 million worker ...
A $35m boost to financial capability service providers funded by MSD will help New Zealanders manage their money better both day to day and through periods of financial difficulty, announced Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni. “It’s always been our position to increase support to key groups experiencing or at risk ...
Dunedin barrister Melinda Broek has been appointed as a District Court Judge with Family Court jurisdiction to be based in Rotorua, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Ms Broek has iwi affiliations to Ngai Tai. She commenced her employment in 1996 with Scholefield Cockroft Lloyd in Invercargill specialising in family and ...
The Coalition Government has approved a business case for $206 million in upgrades to critical infrastructure at Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Ohakea, with the first phase starting later this year, Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. The investment will be made in three phases over five years, and ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today released the Ministry of Transport’s review of the organisational culture at the Civil Aviation Authority. Phil Twyford says all employees are entitled to a safe work environment. “I commissioned this independent review due to the concerns I had about the culture within the CAA, and ...
Ensuring that Stats NZ’s direction and strategy best supports government policy decisions will be a key focus for a new Governance Advisory Board announced today by the Minister for Statistics, James Shaw. The new Governance Advisory Board will provide strategic advice to Stats NZ to ensure it is meeting New ...
Environment Judge David Kirkpatrick of Auckland has been appointed as the Principal Environment Judge, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Judge Kirkpatrick was appointed an Environment Judge in February 2014. From December 2013 to July 2016 he was Chair of the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel. Prior to appointment he ...
A programme to connect marae around the country to the internet has received $1.4 million to expand to include urban marae in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Kris Faafoi and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The funding for the Marae Connectivity Programme ...
The Government will provide $500,000 to the Hawke’s Bay Mayoral Drought Relief Fund to help farmers facing one of the worst droughts in living memory, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Yesterday afternoon I received a letter from Hawke's Bay's five local Government leaders asking me to contribute to the Fund. ...
Budget 2020 provides a major investment in New Zealand’s documentary heritage sector, with a commitment to leasing a new Archives Wellington facility and an increase in funding for Archives and National Library work. “Last year I released plans for a new Archives Wellington building – a purpose-built facility physically connected ...
Government Ministers are asking significant private enterprises to adopt prompt payment practices in line with the state sector, as a way to improve cashflow for small businesses. The Ministers of Finance, Small Business, Commerce and Consumer Affairs have written to more than 40 significant enterprises and banking industry representatives to ...
Maori Arts and Crafts will continue to underpin the heart of the tourism sector says Minister for Maori Development Nanaia Mahuta. “That’s why we are making a core investment of $7.6 million to Te Puia New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, over two years, as part of the Government’s ...
The Government is funding more pathways to jobs through training and education programmes in regional New Zealand to support the provinces’ recovery from the economic impacts of COVID-19, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson have announced. “New Zealand’s economic recovery will be largely driven by ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced the launch of a national conversation that aims to find out whether New Zealanders think there should be a formal agreement between service people, the Government, and the people of New Zealand. “This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World ...
The Government’s drive to improve the quality of early childhood education (ECE) is taking another step forward with the reintroduction of a higher funding rate for services that employ fully qualified and registered teachers, Education Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “Research shows that high-quality ECE can improve young people’s learning ...
The Sport and Recreation sector will receive a multi-million dollar boost as part of the COVID-19 response funded at Budget 2020. Grant Robertson says the Sport and Recreation Sector contributes about $5 billion a year to New Zealand’s GDP and employs more than 53,000 people. “Sport plays a significant role ...
A major increase in funding and availability of support will improve the incomes and reduce the pressure on 14,000 caregivers looking after more than 22,000 children. Children’s Minister Tracey Martin says that caregivers – all those looking after someone else’s children both in and outside the state care system – ...
Vital conservation and visitor infrastructure destroyed by a severe flood event in Fiordland earlier this year is being rebuilt through a $13.7 million Budget 2020 investment, announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “This investment will mean iconic Great Walks such as the Routeburn track and the full length of ...
The Government is investing $40 million in a partnership with Māori to get more whānau into warm, dry and secure accommodation, Associate Minister for Housing (Māori Housing) Hon Nanaia Mahuta says.. “We are partnering with Māori and iwi to respond to the growing housing crisis in the wake of COVID-19. ...
Keeping New Zealanders safe in the water Our lifeguards and coastguards who keep New Zealanders safe in the water have been given a funding boost thanks to the 2020 Budget, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Poto Williams has announced. The water safety sector will receive $63 million over ...
The COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020, which set a sound legal framework ahead of the move to Alert level 2, has been referred to a parliamentary select committee for review. Attorney-General David Parker said the review of the operation of the COVID-19 specific law would be reported back to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Hepburn, Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin University In the expansion of its iron ore mine in Western Pilbara, Rio Tinto blasted the Juukan Gorge 1 and 2 – Aboriginal rock shelters dating ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Climie, Exercise Physiologist and Research Fellow, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute In Australia, more than 1.1 million people currently have type 2 diabetes. A host of potential complications associated with the disease mean a 45-year-old diagnosed with type 2 diabetes will ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scott Adams, Postdoctoral Biomedical Engineering Researcher, Deakin University During the frenzy of the past few months to secure resources for the fight against COVID-19, the demand for technologies that promise to detect symptomatic individuals has been sky-high. However, not all proposed solutions ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brooke Collins-Gearing, Senior Lecturer, University of Newcastle Review: The Beach, created and directed by Warwick Thornton Watching Warwick Thornton’s The Beach is a journey into place and self. It made me want to breathe deeper and smell the salty air. It made ...
“The Government is undermining democracy by progressing 15 bills in the space of just 17 hours,” according to ACT Leader David Seymour. “The Government has put Parliament into urgency this evening and asked it to consider 15 pieces of legislation ...
By RNZ News New opposition National leader Todd Muller is backing his front bench, saying he chose the shadow cabinet line-up on merit and talent. While three out of National’s top four ranked MPs are women, there are no Māori MPs on the front bench, or of any other ethnicity. ...
Civil society and tech industry stakeholders are split over a provision in new legislation that would grant the Government the ability to filter the internet. ...
National Party leader, Todd Muller. Is Todd Muller the Ned Flanders of the National Party? This is how he’s been characterised by political commentator Gordon Campbell, who suggests the change in leadership is, in Simpsons terms, akin to swapping the scary and cruel Monty Burns for Homer Simpson’s compassionate ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Sweden reverting to type. Chart by Keith Rankin. Australia happy to spend foreigners’ savings (someone has to do it!). Chart by Keith Rankin. 1980s: Sweden like New Zealand and Australia Sweden in the 1980s, financially speaking, looked something like New Zealand and Australia. It ...
Tensions flared over race relations again today at Parliament, with National MP Judith Collins saying questions about treaty partnership and government procurement were "stupid". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Quinn, Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University A new trial has begun in Victoria this week to evaluate a potential vaccine against COVID-19. The vaccine is called NVX-CoV2373 and is from a US biotech company, Novavax. ...
Pacific Media Watch Six South Pacific journalists have been awarded grants by the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) to strengthen environmental reporting in the region, reports Internews. The awardees include three Fiji journalists – Mai TV journalist and chief executive Stanley Simpson, who hosts the investigative current affairs programme Simpson@Eight, ...
Immigration regulations newly-introduced by Government that applications from migrants trapped offshore with valid work visas need clearance through a Lead Agency (Government Dept responsible for a specific industry) are nothing but a political whitewash,” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Maguire, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, University of Newcastle The Jerusalem District Court has ruled that Malka Leifer is fit to stand trial on charges of child sexual abuse. This is a significant ruling in a very long ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elspeth Tilley, Associate Professor of English (Expressive Arts), Massey University You’re walking on a public footpath when a jogger overtakes you from behind, well inside the recommended two-metre physical distance. What to do? By the time you’ve reacted it’s too late. Just ...
Last night New Zealand witnessed one of the most exhilarating, confronting political stories to air on national television. Hayden Donnell has watched it several hundred times. Newshub at 6 opened last night with a back-and-forth between presenters Samantha Hayes and Mike McRoberts. After an intro from Hayes, McRoberts set the scene ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lorana Bartels, Professor and Program Leader of Criminology, Australian National University Yesterday was National Sorry Day in Australia. It marks the anniversary of the tabling of the Bringing Them Home report, which chronicles decades of removals of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ...
It makes sense to focus on our unique selling points as a country during the post-Covid rebuild. But we also have to live the values we market to the world, writes Jessica Desmond.Earlier this week ‘future of food’ expert Rosie Bosworth wrote that to turbo-boost our Covid recovery, New Zealand ...
A willingness to think differently, finding new ways to upskill Deaf people, and supporting businesses is a key priority for the employment team at Deaf Aotearoa. For many businesses, hiring a Deaf employee often presents their very first interaction ...
The National Plan of Action for Seabirds, released by the Government today, puts the fate of threatened species firmly in the hands of the fishing industry, says Greenpeace. Jessica Desmond, oceans campaigner at Greenpeace, says the action plan ...
Two Labour Members of Parliament have confirmed the claim by Democracy Action that the Government and Police condone illegal iwi roadblocks on public roads. Tamati Coffey (Labour – Waiariki) and Kiri Allan (Labour – List MP living in the East ...
Two years ago, her genre-busting show Nanette broke the internet. Now Hannah Gadsby has released a new stand-up special, and expectations are sky high. So how does Douglas hold up? “If you’re here because of Nanette, why?”The elephant in the room is quickly addressed in Hannah Gadsby’s new Netflix special ...
We’ve heard of people being treated like animals by the governments of some countries. But two statements from the Beehive yesterday suggest the well-being of beasts – those that contribute to our export receipts, at least – is much higher in government budget priorities than the well-being of people. Our ...
The Blues will return to their main home ground, Auckland’s Eden Park, for the revamped Super Rugby Aotearoa competition after the stadium and Auckland Rugby waived its hiring fee. Confirmation comes after Eden Park had initially asked the Blues for $30,000 to open the stadium for the games, given they will ...
The Blues will return to their main home ground, Auckland’s Eden Park, for the revamped Super Rugby Aotearoa competition after the stadium and Auckland Rugby waived its hiring fee. Confirmation comes after Eden Park had initially asked the Blues for a high fee - said by two sources to be ...
While the Budget promise to help rebuild the economy by creating 'nature-based jobs' has been lauded, the plan has also been met with renewed calls for a scorecard to measure progress. ...
Family First NZ today called on politicians in a select committee to amend a private members bill which allows for bereavement leave for a miscarriage to be extended to allow support for women with post-abortion grief. The wording of the previous ...
A week ago, New Zealand launched its official contact tracing app to help in the fight against Covid-19. How does it compare to some of those overseas?NZ COVID Tracer has been live for less than a week and so far it’s been downloaded by more than 400,000 users. The current ...
A lot of people – including quite a few in Britain’s Conservative party – don’t like Dominic Cummings, special adviser to PM Boris Johnson and a key figure in the Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum and the 2019 Brexit-focused general election.So there was some undisguised joy ...
The Green Party has revealed its three candidates to contest the Wellington electorates in the forthcoming general election. Climate change minister and Green Party co-leader James Shaw will stand in Wellington Central, environmental lawyer and author Teall ...
WAI 1945 claimants, supported by Ātiawa kaumātua and Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai Charitable Trust, welcome the Waitangi Tribunal report on the Kārewarewa Urupā, and its findings that the systematic lack of Crown protection led to its development ...
True to the party's nature, National's leadership change was not about personalities, policies, or even performance – it was solely focused on regaining political office ...
By Barbara Dreaver, Pacific correspondent of TVNZ One News Pacific governments are being warned to put urgent covid-19 safety measures into place at ports as foreign fishing boats emerge as a new point of transmission. One Ecuadorian vessel is now at sea with 29 out of 30 of its crew ...
Here’s The Spinoff’s weekly round-up of data tracking the effects and response of Covid-19 around the world – and how New Zealand stacks up.Our weekly summaries of data and visualisations use Our World in Data’s work on the Covid-19 pandemic, which is freely available for re-use. Not all data is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sian Tomkinson, Media and Communication Scholar, University of Western Australia Last week, a 17-year-old boy in Toronto was charged with an act of terrorism in the alleged killing of a woman with a machete – the first time such a charge has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Rosenbaum, Associate professor & Scientia Fellow, UNSW Amid the coronavirus pandemic we are being warned of a “second wave” of mental health problems that threatens to overrun an already weakened mental health service. As we emerge from this crisis, while some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Hare, Director, Climate Analytics, Adjunct Professor, Murdoch University (Perth), Visiting scientist, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Every few years, the idea that gas will help Australia transition to a zero-emissions economy seems to re-emerge, as if no one had thought ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah McLaren, Professor of Life Cycle Management, Massey University CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University As COVID-19 lockdown measures are lifted, some children may experience social anxiety about the prospect of returning to school. People with social anxiety may fear embarrassment or the expectation to perform in social ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Libby Porter, Professor of Urban Planning, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University The need for public housing is greater than ever before – Australia has a shortfall of at least 433,000 dwellings. Using public land for public housing is a no-brainer. But, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brigit Busicchia, PhD, Political Economy, Macquarie University Extreme shortages of toilet paper, pasta and other pantry products defined the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic for many shoppers around the world. Availability of most these goods has returned to normal. But not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Toffoletti, Associate Professor of Sociology, Deakin University Digital fitness is enjoying a COVID-19 boom. Online fitness technology provider Virtuagym reports a 400% increase in engagement and a 300% increase in the use of online workouts. Gyms, barre instructors, and yoga studios ...
In response to a new financial vulnerability survey that shows Māori are among the worst affected economically by COVID-19, Māori Party Co-leader and Te Tai Hauāuru candidate Debbie Ngarewa-Packer is calling on the Government to lift incomes by doubling ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Political divisions rage as election looms, economic forecasts considered too optimistic, and travel routes start to move again.They had all been doing so well at getting along, but that’s all over now. A cross-party consensus is emerging that it’s time to ...
Tens of thousands in donor's funds given to the New Zealand First Foundation were spent paying expenses, wages and bills for people closely associated with the New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. ...
New Zealand writer Anna Rankin concludes her remarkable two-part essay on Los Angeles in lockdown as she wanders through the deserted, crumbling city. From my small apartment, I take walks around the old Mexican neighbourhood that was once Jewish, Russian, Japanese and so on. History is a palimpsest, its nucleus ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this ...
A flawed development plan for a fragile national park site must be stopped, opponents say. David Williams reports In November 2018, Jacinda Ardern announced a $140 million “investment package” for the South Island’s West Coast, through the cash-dispersing, regions-boosting provincial growth fund. Using symbolism that would fit neatly today, in ...
Bullying and harassment at the CAA is no exception in a public sector widely considered toxic. If we want a world worth handing to our children, it will require ethical leadership in our boards, writes Lola Toppin-Casserly. Transport Minister Phil Twyford is right to point out that to avoid further situations of the Civil Aviation Authority ...
A little dolphin is causing a big fuss for the fishing industry. Farah Hancock reports on how Māui dolphin are the subjects of a lawsuit in the United States that could impact $200 million of exports a year. A US lawsuit could spur government action on an overdue plan to better protect ...
With star shooter Bailey Mes laid low, the Northern Mystics will have a troika of teenagers scoring their goals in netball's revived ANZ Premiership. Grace Nweke has braced herself for the challenge. This time last year, the schoolgirl shooter was the phenomenon of the ANZ Premiership; the Avondale College student who, at 1.93m, ...
After many years of extolling the virtues of high capital levels, why would the Reserve Bank now encourage banks to use capital, asks Victoria University of Wellington’s Martien Lubberink The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has taken exceptional measures to respond to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. It ...
Still unsure about what you need to do in restaurants and bars under level two? You’re not alone, according to a new Spinoff-commissioned survey.Ongoing confusion around the use of mobile apps for contact tracing and social distancing in restaurants means New Zealanders and business owners still have work to do ...
How many hours you can and should work each week depends on the mode of thinking your job requires, writes Simon Hertnon. Our national discussion about a four-day week has jumped out of first gear, thanks to last week’s Facebook live video by prime minister Jacinda Ardern.In the video, which quickly ...
One in three households are in financial difficulty and a greater number still at risk of tipping into hardship following the Covid crisis, finds a Commission for Financial Capability report. The Commission for Financial Capability has this morning published findings on the financial vulnerability of New Zealanders following the Covid crisis. ...
Aggressively expanding its power in Hong Kong, and punitive to countries that call for an inquiry into how coronavirus took hold, China is making sure a good crisis is not going to waste. There’s no doubt that China has seized the opportunity of international distraction to sweep into Hong Kong. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has indeed taken to heart that adage about not wasting a crisis. He insists he is going to put to advantage the opportunity brought by these most unfortunate circumstances. His plan for a ...
COMMENT:By Sue Bradford for Punditand RNZ News In the age of covid-19 we are Jacinda’s team of five million, except for some. There has rarely been a more blatant case of discrimination against beneficiaries than Grant Robertson’s announcement yesterday that people who have lost their jobs because of the ...
With the new benefit policy, only some of us get to be in that waka the Prime Minister has talked about, while others get swept away further into poverty. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Krystian Seibert, Industry Fellow, Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology Comedian Celeste Barber’s whopping $51 million bushfire fundraiser showed us just how generous people can be in times of trouble. But the need to seek the NSW Supreme Court’s advice ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. From an interview with Geoff Bertram, on The Panel, RNZ 22 May 2020 Wallace Chapman: “Are we setting up our future generations, our future children, to be born into a life of national debt?” [He mentions the on-line Fabian Society discussion, held on 23 May, and ...
ACT is calling for an independent Royal Commission to investigate the response to Covid-19 before next year’s flu season. “Covid-19 may return next year and we can’t afford to shut the economy down again. Being unprepared for the first major ...
Open Mike 02/09/2017 
George Henderson New Zealand schools have introduced a climate change resource that suggests children “eat less meat and dairy”, even though teachers will not know how much meat or dairy any child in their care has eaten. Opinion pieces in the papers have called for the reduction of meat and ...2 hours ago
67 Articles Observations & observational methods of global warming & effects Dramatic decline of Arctic sea ice linked to global warming A rising trend of double tropopauses over South Asia in a warming environment: implications for moistening of the lower stratosphere Determining the anthropogenic greenhouse gas contribution to ...4 hours ago
Questioning the number of district health boards in New Zealand has got to the extent that “too many DHBs” has become a perceived truth requiring no further elaboration. It is rarely challenged by policy advisers, academics, and journalists. But when one drills down further it becomes clear that the number ...6 hours ago
While the government has dealt with the pandemic spectacularly well, it hasn't been perfect. One big flaw in its response has been its treatment of temporary migrants. The government has the power to extend social welfare benefits to temporary migrants during a pandemic, and the Epidemic Response Act clearly expects ...6 hours ago
The emergence of a new National party leader, seemingly out of nowhere, has – not surprisingly – raised a number of questions as to who Todd Mulller actually is and what makes him tick. He has been an MP for some time but seems to have hidden his light under ...7 hours ago
We all know that many so-called journalists and political commentators in New Zealand work directly or indirectly for political parties or for certain political factions. This was obviously the case when pundit for hire Matthew Hooton launched a campaign against then National Party leader, Simon Bridges, over their numerous polling ...1 day ago
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OMG NZHerald’s John Roufhan supports change of government with Ardern.
I read that Ad. The mood for change is strong in the papers this morning.
Glad about that because I was just about to moan about the opposite. Looked at Stuff’s politics section and it’s all:
English won; Bill is back; Nat finds Lab’s weak spot; etc etc. Seemed like the sugar hit they got from Jacinda was over and they were now back in blood mode.
The media will bend whatever way they think the wind is blowing. They are no longer the fourth estate, they are just PR and revenue source for their owners.
+1
It’s fascinating how so many people are jumping ship this election from media commentators to the general public.
I listen to a lot of talkback radio and the volume of people ringing up saying they have always voted national but this election are voting for Labour is staggering, it’s a beautiful thing when people finally ‘see the light’.
Link to the John Roufhan Herald article that Ad mentioned http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11915370
Also in the Herald this morning from John Armstrong..
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11915584
” What on earth does National do now? It is now crisis time in the governing party’s camp, pure and simple.
National’s election campaign strategy is in desperate need of a rethink after the party found itself on the receiving end of a morale-crippling double-whammy on Thursday evening.”
Sorry to be Grinchy but I don’t think they are ‘seeing the light’ – they are excited by a new shiny object. For a lot of the electorate, Jacinda Ardern is a sort of adult fidget spinner – must-have object of fascination for six weeks, then completely forgotten about.
I suppose the question is, will the fad last up to election day? And are we cynical enough to celebrate an election that is won on ephemeral froth, not policy?
But you celebrated when John Key won on froth.
lurgee
Really? You think calling Adern; “a new shiny object”, is less objectifying than; “a sparkly young thing”. Wow – just wow! As for; “adult fidget spinner”, you do get just how obscene that sounds, don’t you? [this paragraph then continued into pornographic territory which I opted to delete, along with the links]
I still contend that Ardern’s greatest virtue is that she allows the public to hear the policies that Labour has largely been advocating all along (with a few tweaks), briefly clear of the attack lines around; “unelectable Angry Andy”. You are probably right that six weeks is about how long it will take for focus testing of new Nat attack lines on Ardern. By which time the media will have played out the rise of Jacinda storyline, and be grateful to switch to a downfall narrative. Whatever fill (shows and articles) sells the content (ads).
Well, if your mind immediately connects the term ‘adult fidget spinner’ with porn, that says something about where your mind is at.
On this blog, it is considered acceptable to refer to David Shearer as ‘Mumblefuck’; I don’t recall people getting up in arms about that. And that was Labour supporters commenting on the Labour leader … so I’m not going to treat your OUTRAGE over my mild disdainful comments about how facile and superficial our political culture is with too much seriousness.
[lprent: All part of our decade long culture of robust debate. Treating politicians or the behaviour of the voting public with respect is a purely optional activity. 😈 We are more concerned with behaviour on site, and I think that you and DSpare are merely continuing the long tradition here of mutual incomprehension – to every one eases amusement.. ]
lurgee
It is strange how; “adult” has come to mean; juvenile titillation, for example; “adult films” which are only watchable by adolescents. That’s not your fault of course, but it does mean that the phrase; “adult fidget spinner” is an unfortunate one to apply to any person. I find it easily amusing, even if everyone else doesn’t.
It was; “Captain Mumblefuck”, (I think that is was QoT who invented it, but it quickly caught on), so combined respect as well as disparagement – which is why it was so funny. Your; “sparkly young thing” is simple dismissive objectification. rather tedious, and assumes that your bigotry is shared by a large proportion of the electorate.
I’m not really outraged by your disdain for the positive reaction to Ardern, certainly not to the level of SHOUTING about it. More embarrassed to be sharing a comment thread with such a lumbering dinosaur. If you need a dismissive metaphor, surely you could do something with her being a casual DJ (“voters rushing to chase the pied-piper beat of a fashionable new dance track” or something like that).
Like I said, if you immediately link the term ‘adult fidget spinner’ with porn, that tells us something about you but not much more; though I’d observe it puts your ability to interpret other people’s meanings and intentions into doubt.
Plain old “Mumblefuck” on plenty of occasions, usually coupled with calls for him to resign. I think the apogee was when someone (Rhinocrates?) was complaining on one thread about use of abusive language and ranting about “Mumblefuck” on another. No self awareness, some people.
You really think continually referring to someone as “Captain Mumblefuck” can be read as showing respect? If anything, the bogus rank adds to the contempt. Instant credibility collapse.
I thought we were having an adult debate.
Oh, shit, I see how you’re going to interpret that …
Why would I poke fun at Ardern’s dablling in DJing? My target was not her and never was.
All this is in your head. Just admit you went off half-cocked (n.b. that is not a porn reference, but describes flintlock pistols misfiring) because you thought you saw something that wasn’t really there.
You don’t see the problem , nothing I’m going to type can convince you. So I can’t be bothered with this anymore: Whatever.
I don’t see how anyone okay with ‘Mumblefuck’ could object to anything I said, without being a massive hypocrite.
I can’t see how there is a problem if there isn’t a problem with ‘Mumblefuck.’
Edit – weird double post phenomenon and now the goblins won’t let me edit my first effort.
Give ’em a good thumping, Lprent. Disobedient tykes.
Care to back that up with some evidence?
I’m about as leftwing as any here.
Lurgee… Don’t know about you but I’m voting for policy.
I know the teachers at school are voting for policy as they asked me about it and I gave them the printed info on education policy.
I know the parents around the corner are voting for policy, the are interested in free tertiary education and cheaper doctors visits, clean rivers to swim in.
I know the oldies next door (both sides) are voting for policy home heating among other things.
I know the latest leaders debate had huge viewing numbers, no doubt those viewers will be voting for policy too.
I also know that people are finally understanding just how bad things are in NZ, especially since Key has exited, and rosecoloured glasses are removed.
I do know people have had a gutsfull of the old boys club and old ideas.
It’s amazing that in the darkest room, that one glimmer of light changes everything.
Analytically the numbers/dates/reoccurances etc tell a fascinating story
Muttonbird… ROFL !
That sounds great.
Can you please help me by telling me where I can find the Labour Party policy on taxation?
In particular the CGT they are talking about bringing in before the next election.
I heard a rumour that the water charges were to be on polluters and were to be spent on cleaning up rivers but since then there have been other stories about them being levied on non polluting water users such as horticultural businesses.
There also seems to be a proposal to spend the money on new roads rather than on cleaning up rivers.
Where is this material about policy documented?
Who told you horticulture didn’t produce pollution, alwyn? Check out this link to NIWA and pay particular attention to their comments about the effects of chemical runoff on water quality in rivers (and consequent loss of fish species, invertebrates etc plus increased algal, water turbidity…etc).
https://www.niwa.co.nz/our-science/freshwater/tools/kaitiaki_tools/land-use/horticulture/impacts/chemical-contamination-and-horticulture
National support loop hole tax Alwyn ….
where 4 Banks try to drive off with $2.2 Billion of Government revenue ….. 100 X more than Benefit fraud in the same year …. John Key rewarded the accountant behind it …. John Shewan
Tony Molly QC : ” the IRD’s December 2009, NZ$2.2 billion settlement with ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac over structured finance tax disputes, or as he puts it: “The four major New Zealand banks’ multi-billion dollar assault on the New Zealand tax system.”
Molloy notes that the settlement saw the banks agreeing to pay 80% of what IRD said they owed, and that prior to settling the IRD had won two High Court cases, one against BNZ and the other against Westpac. He suggests the full amount IRD could have sought from the banks, if penalties were included, amounted to about NZ$2.75 billion.
“(So) effectively a gift was being made to the banks of at least three quarters of a billion dollars.”
Yet Russell described the settlement as a very good result for New Zealand taxpayers.
“The ‘taxpayers of New Zealand,’ for whom the Commissioner was arrogating the right to speak, might have differed from his view that rewarding this anti-social assault on the New Zealand economy with a gift of three quarters of a billion dollars at their expense had been a ‘very good result’.”
“It is the sort of thing Dr Goebbels might have said,” Molloy adds”. http://www.interest.co.nz/news/56209/finance-companies-collapsed-because-regulators-courts-lawyers-and-accountants-were
and the other rich free loaders … stealing from ordinary honest Nzers and other people in the world … and the NActs help them do it ….
“a New Zealand Herald investigation revealed that Apple had paid zero tax in New Zealand in the past decade, despite selling billions of dollars’ worth of products to New Zealanders.
Oxfam New Zealand Executive Director Rachael Le Mesurier said: “New Zealand and many other countries around the world are missing out on crucial tax revenue from companies like Apple; money that could be invested in education, healthcare and infrastructure…. ” https://www.oxfam.org.nz/news/us-companies-stashing-16-trillion-shore
There is enough revenue …. But National undermine it ….
You quote the Herald as saying that
“a New Zealand Herald investigation revealed that Apple had paid zero tax in New Zealand in the past decade, despite selling billions of dollars’ worth of products to New Zealanders”
There is an alternative interpretation of this story which was explained in the DomPost.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/90613870/Q-A-What-makes-Apple-NZs-tax-arrangements-unique
The problem is that although a lot of Apple goods are sold in New Zealand they don’t actually do any real business here. They completely manufacture the goods overseas, bring them here and simply sell them on. Their transfer price to the New Zealand market is just about what they sell them for.
I am not going to get into a debate about Apple’s tax affairs though. I would warn you though about what might happen if we allow Governments to arbitrarily decide what tax a multinational company should pay and what taxable income the business makes in “their” country.
The Chinese Government could simply decide that all the Fonterra sales made in China should be taxed in China. At the moment Fonterra makes nearly all of its income in New Zealand and pays its tax here. That is because there business is based here. Do you really want the Chines Government to simply decide that all Fonterra’s profit was really made in China and to slap taxes on them?
Taxation of multinational companies is a multinational problem and a standard method of allocating the profits will have to be developed and agreed by all the counties we trade with.
In other words, they are running all of their sales and distribution to NZ from offshore. So if they want to sell their physical devices from here, then they must use a local company with local storage and distribution – like everyone else does. We just need to put in proper border controls to prevent direct distribution – the way that the Chinese do.
+111
I think you will find it in the same place you would have found National’s promise of no new taxes… and then raised GST with heaviest impact on lowest earners.
Funny how so many care about their policy now. Last election they released shitloads and almost no one bothered to read it despite railing against them for not having any. Given that experience I can hardly blame them for not bothering as much with detail this time.
Funny how National suddenly thinks homelessness, housing, the environment, education and health have problems… and let us not forget alwyn, their great policy of using invisible language teachers in primary schools to improve children’s maths. Joyce has spent 9 years driving down staff and funding in Humanities in tertiary and polytechs and now they have to produce heaps of language teachers!
If you want a party with detailed policy and costing, vote Green but do not go to Labour or National websites. You will not find what you seek.
The last sentence is the only one that makes any sense.
It also conflicts with Cinny’s story about everyone voting on policy.
How can we when they won’t tell us what it is?
Your first paragraph is simply false. If you look at what was said you will find the statement was that taxes would not be increased. You, like everyone else may have interpreted it as being that each individual type of tax would not be increased. The alternative, that the total tax burden would not increase is equally valid and the one that Key said he meant and which he honoured. What does that have to do with anything, anyway? It was long, long ago and was said by someone who has retired from politics. It is about as relevant as anything David Cunliffe told us about.
I don’t think I bothered reading all of Labour’s policies last election because I never though they would be in a position to form a Government and I wasn’t going to vote for them anyway. Why waste my time? I am much more interested today because, in general, I do not believe that any Government should go for more than 3 terms. The problem is that there has to be a competent alternative which has well thought out plans. Labour has had 9 years to come up with some but they don’t seem to have anything they have actually thought through.
As far as reading the Green policies goes I think that is a waste of time. Firstly I don’t think they will have any MPs after the election and secondly, even if some miracle was to occur and they scraped back in, they won’t be in the Government. Any Government will either be National/NZF or Labour/NZF.
That would be a lie. John Key said that GST would not be raised:
He then went on to raise GST which is a regressive tax mostly affecting the poor while cutting taxes for the rich.
The problem is that there has to be a competent alternative which has well thought out plans.
Dude, you vote National who simply should never be in government because of their general psychopathy.
Except for the fact that they have which means that you’re lying again.
Sure Alwyn, no problem at all.
Here is the link to ALL of their announced policies so you may browse at your leisure. Please note… “More policy to be announced as we get closer to the election.”
http://www.labour.org.nz/policy
As well I am happy to ask at the office next time I am there, just let me know. Alternatively you could contact your local Labour Party office.
That’s all very nice but do you really think Labour’s 15% surge is about policy. Like I said earlier, to the despair of DSpare, people are simply excited because they have a new toy that looks fun to play with.
Agree
“It feels like time for a generational change because the present Government’s big failure has been housing. It waited too long to do anything to dampen the demand that sent house prices through the stratosphere and has deprived too many of the younger generation of much hope of home-ownership. The Government left it to the Reserve Bank to eventually introduce loan-to-value restrictions, and left it to Labour to utter the once-unspeakable phrase, capital gains tax…Now Labour not only plans to extend the bright line to five years, but tax negative gearing (which I hope means remove interest deductions), remove urban limits and establish a $2 billion state corporation to build houses for sale at cost to first-home seekers.”
That is from the Roughan article, and it is what will win Labour the election.
Getting rid of interest deductibility is an excellent idea, and one which I have advocated myself in many a comment; (though I´m not sure if that is what is meant by ¨taxing negative gearing¨).
OR it shows how much we have become voters who want to be on the “winning” team and the polls direct us to who that will be. I still advocate abolition of polls from 3 months prior to an election. We might force our media to educate us rather than pontificate
That’s a bad sign. Clearly Roughan thinks such a government can be relied on to largely maintain the status quo.
Agreed AB. A powerfully bad sign what Roughan thinks. Reckon I’ll just not vote. Much wiser to connive in present misery than risk disappointment.
Hey North. Putting words in my mouth there. I don’t advocate disengagement at all. I like Ardern and hope she is PM for three terms. I just don’t trust Roughan and I have a pretty clear picture of how he will start sniping away at a new government.
That’s easily solved by Jacinda… she just gets Roughan to write her biography as well.
Better vote Green if you want real change.
LOVE the Greens
I’ll almost certainly vote Green this time, because I don’t want them falling under 5%.
Because they will. There will be a slight lean leftward but nothing fundamentally will change.
I guess it’s a case of… if you can’t beat em join em.
They are so fickle.
Large 1.8 tonne WW2 bomb found right next to Germany’s gold reserves.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-frankfurt-evacuation/huge-ww2-bomb-to-be-defused-close-to-german-gold-reserves-idUSKCN1BB2MH
“The Bundesbank headquarters, less than 600 meters from the location of the bomb, stores 1,710 tonnes of gold underground, around half the country’s reserves.
“We have never defused a bomb of this size,” bomb disposal expert Rene Bennert told Reuters, adding that it had been damaged on impact when it was dropped between 1943 and 1945.
Airspace for 1.5 kilometers around the bomb site will also be closed.”
Really looking forward to the Health Debate on the Nation this morning.
Coleman spins the same old crap everytime, it’s almost worthy of a bingo board.
Hand picked stats followed by blaming a government from nine years ago, or blaming hospital health boards, blame blame, that’s how coleman rolls, he offers no hope.
NZ Health sector is seriously broken we hear so many stories about it, stretched services, over worked staff, equipment from bunnings, people suffering and dying due to an over burdened system.
Any comment on the hospital changes in westport coleman? Staggering that half the population of that town is attending protests against it.
Cinny
I can’t see a link on the Newshub/ Nation site, may check again at 9:30 to see if it is livestreamed (no TV unless I go visiting which mightn’t be appreciated this early on a Saturday morning). Hopefully, someone (probably Clark) asks Coleman about this:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/election-2017/no-money-hospital
And this from yesterday:
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/09/01/media-statement-form-waikato-dhb-member-dhb-deficit-is-real-it-cannot-all-be-saved-away-minister-coleman/
Also, there was a good Campbell piece on the health system a couple of days ago which I haven’t seen discussed here (though I might of missed it):
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2017/08/31/gordon-campbell-on-the-funding-crisis-in-the-health-system/
I missed the start, but it is on now – Clark vs Coleman (Gower moderating, but seeming more at home in studio than hall):
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows.html
Cheers for the link for the article DSpare, much appreciated.
Laila summed it up beautifully on the panel, Compassion v’s Complacency
The link for the full debate is up now
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2017/09/health-debate-jonathan-coleman-vs-david-clark.html
Here’s the link for the panel discussion
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2017/09/panel-heather-roy-and-laila-harre.html
Cinny
Thanks for the panel discussion link, I turned off after the debate. Had caughtup on the starting few minutes of the debate already, but good to get the timecode for Gowers smirk to the camera (at 14:55) after his; “good ideas don’t cost money” line. That really sums up his style of trying to insert his own ego into the story, which was further on display in the panel discussion.
I thought Harre looked a bit out of practice and got talked over a bit by others more used to speaking in soundbites. She did have interesting things to say that’d better suit a longer speech format.
Heather Roy was dangerously plausible. And while Newshub are happy to let us know she was a; “former Associate Health Minister”, this does not seem to be accuarate. She was a minister (& associate minister) outside cabinet in Key’s second term, but not for health. Later, she was demoted and for one year made the ACT party spokesperson for health (amongst other things). I personally wish that a political news program during an election would have a greater regard for accuracy.
Roy is currently chair if the pharmaceutical lobby group; Medicines New Zealand , who had this to say in one of their press releases:
http://www.medicinesnz.co.nz/news/media-releases/medicines-new-zealand-has-never-threatened-new-zealand/
Thank you again Dspare for the info, I knew I had heard her name somewhere else before, so she’s a lobbist, explains her ACT outlook.
Cheers for the link
Jonathan Coleman could not keep his head up strait its because he knows that everything in his scripted statements are a fascicle lies.
Lisa and Paddy are finally treating all there host with a unbiased manner which is the way we should demand that all our media reports our news.
And that story on children in state care you could see the people who were interviewed that were in the state care were devastated by what they experienced
while in state care you can see it in there eyes to.
This is one of the reason why I say that the state is to blame for all the gangs in OUR
country . One other reason is state targeted unemployment by killing of our union.
Union are designed to protect the vulnerable people whom do not no how to negotiate a fair deal for there employment.These people would and are being ripped off because unions have been shut down and demonized by the neo- liberals . Gangs are a product of our society gangs are a infection in our society which could infect any of our youth in many ways!!!!!!.
So lets come up with policy’s to cure this infection lets reward people who are in our justice system to stay out of jail . Lets reward employers to train employ and help give them self esteem self worth and a work culture a life worth living for
The carrot always works beter than the stick it is a much more intelligent humane and cost effective way to cure our society illnesses using policy’s based on this method.
We haven’t heard half the stories. I’ve said it here before but our entire public health system is in such a state and so chronically underfunded, it is now relying heavily on goodwill. Diabetes podiatric services, for example, are in dire need. Some DHBs can’t even afford to purchase consumables and basic equipment, and because of the resourcing issues the system cannot cope with the demand. Intervention is not happening early enough and diabetes-related amputation rates, for example, are increasing.
If fat is now back. Can we buy chip cooked in lard, tallow, or whatever. These oils they use now just make people fatter. Chips was a filling meal before the oil revolution.
You won’t be able to any time soon. Science progresses one death at a time, but the social sciences are even slower. Nothing to stop you using lard, dripping and butter for your home cooking, though – roast potatoes cooked with lard or dripping are awesome.
yet it costs the same as butter… …there’s a glut and it costs a bomb! weird economics.
Duck fat. Oòooo la la
Mais oui.
C’est magnifique.
Its healthier than that disgusting canola.
yeah, free market enforced canola monopoly care of neolibs.
“If fat is now back. Can we buy chip cooked in lard, tallow, or whatever. These oils they use now just make people fatter. Chips was a filling meal before the oil revolution.”
Depends on how much you eat over time. The issue is insulin resistance (one of the underlying reasons for heart disease, stroke, diabetes etc), and this naturally increases over time so the older you get and the more refined carbohydrates you’ve been eating the less refined carbs it takes to push insulin resistance further.
I’d have my chips fried in fat, but I wouldn’t rely on them for a meal that often.
Agreed. Lard is much more consistent than Canola, tastewise. I believe that we like consistency, our bodies want to be able to get a nutrient and so find the taste that gave them that nutrient. But as foods become commodities, they can taste the same but come from a totally different nutrient niche. So our bodies are forced to eat more to find again the same amount of nutrient. It’s pregnant mothers eating cravings. Health food is locally sourced, not some industrial canola. So even if it’s better for us, it ain’t cos it’s making us fatter.
Hope this link works…should show number of election debate viewers compared with other years
https://mobile.twitter.com/bryce_edwards/status/903468025369698304
Interesting though this years count was fro TV1 where previous figures from Nielsen. Does it matter. Actually, how did TV1 know I was watching?
Big Brother knows everything.
If you had looked outside you would have seen Nicky Hager peering in the window. I suggest you pull the curtains in future.
You are mixing your something-or-others. Nicky Hager is not Big brother 😉
He’s to Mandy 😉
They just look it up on wikileaks … hot off five eyes
China’s fooling itself.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/96429007/pms-blah-blah-blahing-show-australia-is-a-second-class-citizen-chinese-newspaper
NK fires and detonated a nuke in outerspace, would cause a economic depression.
China needs to remove those nukes, like USSR from Cuba, NK is its sphere of influence and makes us all concerned about Chinese threat to the world.
Grow up China!
NK is full of people who want change, they get their hands on the means to cause collapse of NK, like it isn’t already! It’s not going to bother them if a global depression ensues. All it takes is Kim to put a nuke on a missile any it’s a lottery.
Do you think the tension would be considerably lessened if the United States and its vassal countries stopped carrying out the ceaseless provocations on the border?
How do you think the United Kingdom, for instance, would react if an aggressive nuclear power staged “war games” in the Bristol Channel with half a million troops?
Or flying nuclear capable aircraft over your country on a regular basis.
Ceaseless provocations. Good catch.
Provocative? Gulags. Forced Starvation. S.Korea look north and see their relatives…
We should not cease until regime change, oh and more pointedly, they sign a peace treaty bringing the Korean war to an end. Forgot that too.
David Clark was very good in the discussion on the Nation this morning. He has only been in the Health role for a few months, since Annette King stepped down from it, but he is clearly on top of the issues. His background is as a Treasury economist but also a Presbyterian minister. I hear he also has a large and efficient electorate organisation in Dunedin North and has been campaigning on the shocking Government neglect of Dunedin hospital for a long time. He would be a very competent Minister of Health and wouldn’t run away from the difficult issues like the current one.
Ethica
Clark was good, Coleman seemed a bit rattled (or maybe; ironically, had a cold – something was off with his voice anyway), but he’s never been good at fronting up to the camera. One thing you missed about Clark’s history is that he was Associate Spokesperson for Health from 2013 until March of this year when he took over from King ; so he has the depth of knowledge to back up his new role. The link for the debate is now here:
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2017/09/health-debate-jonathan-coleman-vs-david-clark.html
The interventions Clark was talking about seemed a bit top down to me. Three of the guys I started deepsea fishing with took their own lives – I suspect the causes were more socioeconomic than psychological or neurological. In our society the expectation is that men shall work and buy a home – in a society with 11% unemployment, significant housing inflation, and wage suppression from cheap migrant labour, this expectation is increasingly unachievable. Life in the precariat is not conducive to achieving eudaemonia.
the socioeconomic becomes psychological and if untreated becomes neurological.
at the end of the day fear of not being able to provide, of not being able to give your family a decent stable live is still fear or anxiety if you rather call it that way, and that is deeply psychological. Also many that are highly successful are often also very high strung, and we all know that the hardest healthcare to get in this country is mental healthcare. Even if you have the several hundred dollar a week it would cost you to see a Doctor. Not everyone that commits suicide starts out with a nicely diagnosed mental illness. I think for men socioeconomic reasons are more often then not the trigger to mental illness.
Agreed – I saw an attempted suicide when I took my father in to casualty for a broken arm a few months back. Economic factors were not insignificant in her life either.
Please, someone, tell me I misheard!
The 12 o’clock news reported that Bill is throwing more money at the pest eradication programme and (this is what I heard) the total eradication of pests is ahead of schedule and will be complete in 2048, two years early!
Hell’s bell – are we meant to swallow this bullshit?
@Tony Veitch (not etc)
I think we are expected to swallow this rat. Indeed I believe it is a brilliant Malthusian recipe for a couple of problems.
The poor will be forced to get off their butts /sarc. and do something, ie to go and trap rats, and recipes and training will be given in how to hygenically prepare and cook rats with the appropriate herbs and spices.
Alt restaurants will spring up supplying this delicacy and national trials will be televised to find the most way-out raving chef and recipe. A TV show will be made showing the best, most talented rat-catchers, admiringly displaying their prowess and process from hole to bowl of juicy stew.
Don’t under-estimate Gnashional. They make their money from food obtained from the grassroots, and their whole intellect and intelligence is centred down there. They may be rats but specially cunning, so there never will be a problem of them getting caught and ending up in a bowl, though they might be drawn to the lights and fame in the Hollywood Bowl. But there be dragons, as well as rats.
The countries where rats are on the menu
Probably just a bone thrown to a particularly corrupt crony.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96431698/national-boosts-predator-free-campaign-by-69m
I see Jacinda highlighted the importance of her “values” in the first leaders debate, to which English responded, “people can’t go shopping with your values.”
I think it’s important as voters (and especially for those from the left) we delve a little deeper into her values.
Here are a few questions we should be asking about her values.
What does maintaining a surplus while rejecting increasing core benefit rates imply about her values?
What does implementing a flat regional fuel tax, hitting lower income households the hardest, akin to GST (opposed to utilizing progressive income tax) imply about her values?
What does Labour’s policy of building 10,000 homes a year, yet only a 1000 state homes (when we clearly require more) say about her values?
At a time when the bottom end is doing it hard meanwhile CEO salaries are outrageously high. What does her rejection to increase the top tax rate say about her values?
Although Labour are a party that believes in full employment, what does her unemployment target of 4% imply about her values?
Do Labour, National and NZF have written values?
Here are National’s: https://www.national.org.nz/our-values
It is a confused message…
“Our Values
Less debt, more jobs, strong stable government”
Those are not actually values.
The confused confuse the confused – Confusius.
do be do be do – Sinatra
Yes for Labour. The last ones I was involved with would have been at the conference in 2012? The one in Christchurch. They will be online somewhere.
NZF probably. They keep referring to it in their conferences when discussing remits.
@ Tracey
I find a party’s actions (or in this case policy, their stated actions) better indicates what they truly value.
Agree.
I’m with you there The Chairman, that’s why I am voing for the Green Party to keep Labour honest – they are the only viable party which will.
Going off the last poll, the Greens will be lucky to get over the line. They tend to poll higher than what they get on election day.
And if Labour continue to grow their support, I have a feeling the Greens will be shut out.
The Green at 15% when Labour was at 24% spoke volumes. I agree Greens poll higher than on the day. I do not know if this was the case when the Greens were first getting in to Parliament?
While some is natural return to Labour of disgruntled. But some of Labour’s strategy to bleed as much as they can may yet backfire if Greens get less than 5%. The “answer” would be to assist Greens to get a seat but that is not going to happen.
Maybe, but not likely, Turei knicks te Tai Tonga. 😉
Despite the Green’s current polling, left voters need to snap out of falling for our new cult of personality, look and question the values (my post at 9) Labour are revealing, and decide if they merely want a change of Government or do they want a Government that will do more?
John Armstrong asks, “What on earth does National do now? It is now crisis time in the governing party’s camp, pure and simple. National’s election campaign strategy is in desperate need of a rethink …”
Well John, National needs to invent a time machine, take the world back years, get brain and heart transplants and work from there.
A rethink of the election campaign strategy may be a desperate need but the far more desperate need was years ago.
Well John, they do not know how to operate other than to lie and dupe fellows like you to spread their lies. What do you propose they do?
“And Labour diehards with a long memory are starting to whisper the name David Lange and the year 1984.
That’s the last time they truly felt this buzz and momentum for a leader who went on to be the PM.”
Is that a happy memory or a subtle Garner dig at Labour and neoliberal dreams of change??
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/96359181
It was a mixed article. The headline did not really convey the gist of his story. BUT it served an editor’s purpose of making it seem like Labour are bad.
I must confess I tried not clicking on it all morning as I saw it climbing up the Herald ‘chart’ of popular stories, but…Garner…who can resist..but yeah, the article was totally flat after the promise of outrage in the heading.
It was practically pro-Labour but you wouldn’t have known from the headline.
It was a good reminder about National’s no increase in taxes promise that saw GST go up
Bang on, tracey.
Another nail, poll this week in the local paper asks the question “Has Prime Minister Bill English done enough to get your vote?” Yes 51%, No 49%
http://www.scene.co.nz
This is Queenstown, last election National got 63% of the vote here, and if you add in the Cons it goes to 67%. So at least 12 point swing away from the dills
Damn I would have voted in that…
Larry King, not awed by Game of Thrones star
Does beg the question here though for progressives and people on the left. Prison reform – why are we not hearing about it?
The Greens have this http://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/Justice%20Policy.pdf
Labour not so much – http://www.labour.org.nz/search_results?cx=004900272430260552334%3A1tkq9uj3igu&cof=FORID%3A11&q=justice
Not a bad piece by Andrew “I lost my job in coup” Little, that tops the list. Forget the link at the end of Andrew “I lost my job in coup” Little piece, does not work.
So prison reform, I would have thought with the Kelvin Davis all up in Aussies face their justice policy, with what 28 days or so, that it would be out by now.
Just so we clear the Tory’s have a justice policy all over the place, and verging on utter incoherence. With no prison reform. Plus as an added bonus, the usual attacks on the weakest in society as a center piece, coupled with failed polices discredited by both the left and the right. https://www.national.org.nz/national_s_plan_for_serious_young_offenders
Oh FFS.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96434845/act-says-it-will-give-schools-20k-more-per-teacher-if-they-abandon-union-contracts
Pretty sure that’s illegal as it goes against Freedom of Association, freedom to negotiate and probably against several articles in the BORA.
But, hey, we can’t really expect anything else from the ACT Party – the party of freedom for rich people and no one else.
Against Empathy
Short video at link.
He may have some valid points. Will have to wait and see once he publishes his book.
Addendum: Effective Altruism
Thanks for that; I went on to read a little more by Paul Bloom.
If you haven’t read it yet, try this link: http://bostonreview.net/forum/paul-bloom-against-empathy (September 10, 2014). In it, he makes well-considered points supported by science when possible. I was pleasantly surprised to see the familiar name of Matthieu Ricard pop up too in regard to scientific research into compassion (and meditation).
From my semi-infrequently updated blog. Might be some formatting glitches.
https://potentialhumanist.blogspot.co.nz/2017/09/how-does-labour-win-election-strategic.html
With all the water that has passed under the bridge in the last month or so of New Zealand’s election campaign (and it’s been a torrent), I thought I’d offer some strategic insight if I was in the captain’s seat looking change the government and offer New Zealand a genuine progressive alternative to the last nine years of selfish soul-crushing neoliberalism. This strategy will be brief and not necessarily analyse in depth parties, or policies. Many others have done this so I wouldn’t be offering anything new. I’m by no means an expert of New Zealand politics, but I read about it a lot. This is based entirely on where things are now, and what’s currently on the table. I’ve looked at voting data from the previous election and compared it with more recent data.
So what do we know so far?:
— National’s support under Bill English is slowly eroding. The emphasis being slowly. They are no longer at the dizzying Key era heights of 47% polling. However they have still regularly been in the mid-to-low 40s. That’s not a bad place for them to be in, and governments can still be formed on those numbers. But inevitably they will need a coalition partner. The Labour leadership change might entice some centrist voters back from National, especially middle-class and educated women, and some might switch to Labour. The trend: a slow leak, but not necessarily in a dire position thus far. The latest Colmar Brunton poll that put National at 40%, 3 points below Labour, can’t be taken as a done and dusted sign. However, if the current trend continues I think this is where the result might settle. This is unless, they do something chronic which could see them dip into the 30s, but not by much.
—Labour’s rising star also must be taken with a grain of salt for two reasons. In order for a strong result they need those young, poorer, and non-voting types to actually turn up or the flashy gimmicks will all be a waste. Despite the latest poll that has them just in front, National could pip them at the post if they get their voters mobilised because of the threat of losing out on the coveted fourth term. But secondly, and more importantly, the need to adhere assiduously to the strategic importance of the Green Party as a valuable support partner. They signed the memorandum of understanding with the goal of changing the government to a real progressive alternative. The data from Horizon released this week suggested that 70% of voters who have switched to Labour have done so on the basis of Labour’s new leadership rather than the Green Party’s own internal strife. A little bit of switching was always expected, but if Labour starts sending the message that it no longer needs the Greens they risk losing this partner if they fall below the 5% threshold. Of course they will be flirting with the idea of New Zealand First, but strategically speaking the more coalition options the better. New Zealand First are a risk: they could join a Labour government that shuts out the Greens like 2005, or they could choose to support National. The point is, if you are someone looking for a strong progressive government, New Zealand First are not reliable in the same way that the Greens are. To me, a Labour-New Zealand First government is more tolerable than a National-New Zealand First Government (with or without the Green Party in Parliament). Even if Labour are still looking towards Winston and co., it would be strategically unwise for them to strangle the Greens out of Parliament as they could offer supply and confidence without being in coalition.
—Which brings me to the next party that Labour needs for a viable progressive coalition: the Māori Party. Party President Tokoroirangi Morgan has suggested that the party, on advice from members and constituents is open to working with Labour again. This certainly works well with kaupapa Māori of always having a seat at the table. On current polling the party still needs electorate seats to remain in Parliament. Labour has suggested it wants to hold all Māori seats, which is a dangerous strategy, because National has proven time and time again the importance of coalition partners. Labour seems to forget it is entitled to seats based on the party vote (unless of course you are a minor party that has a good chance of winning an electorate seat). If the Māori party could hang on to a couple of seats that would be strategically beneficial for Labour.
So what does all this mean? Well here are some things if I was Jacinda Ardern I would be thinking about with regards to forming a government on current number, as well as my prediction.
Here’s where I see the number’s settling. Below I will offer a bit more explanation as well as some basic MMP strategy.
–>
Party vote (%) Electorate seats List seats Total seats
Labour 42.5 29 23 52
National 39.5 39 9 48
NZ First 9 0 11 11
Green 6 0 7 7
TOP 1.5 0 0 0
Māori 1 2 0 2
ACT 0.5 1 0 1
United Future 0 0 0 0
100 71 50 121
I know there’s probably a certain degree of optimism, and therefore some bias, but I have tried to generous to even the right block parties.
The electorate seats here are based on my belief that Labour can win back the Maungakiekie, Ohāriu, and Christchurch Central. United Future is at a loss without Dunne, and National voters in Epsom smart enough to give ACT the tick. New Zealand First will pass the Greens as the third largest party, and the Greens themselves will just hang in there. On current polling in the Māori electorates, if Te Ururoa Flavell can hang on to Waiariki, and if Howie Tamati can pick up Te Tai Hauāuru from Labour, then that’s two seats Labour ought to take advantage of. Given these numbers Labour can put together what I believe can be a working coalition of Labour, Greens, and Māori to provide a one seat majority of 61. The remaining parties would add up to 60. In this scenario New Zealand first could offer confidence and supply. This also means National’s chances of coalition forming are seriously diminished because not only would they be the second largest party (Winston goes to the largest first), a coalition with ACT seems unworkable.
If Labour was serious about using MMP to its utmost advantage it would have to think like National. It needs coalition partners. If too many Green voters jump to Labour, say 1-2 %, it will make the Labour-New Zealand First scenario inevitable. To anyone putting together a real progressive coalition this is massive disappointment, as the Green Party wouldn’t even be in Parliament as a cross-bench or confidence and supply party. Labour can guarantee support partners by allowing the Māori party to retain its current numbers and one other radical strategy: withdraw Grant Robertson from Wellington Central to guarantee the Green Party an electorate seat in the event they fall below the 5% threshold. This is of course a risky strategy and the backlash from National and the media would be phenomenal. Electorate deals are acceptable for National but not Labour would be the message. However, I see the probability of both Labour and Robertson giving this seat to the Greens (even given its strategic value) as a snowball’s change in hell.
Whatever happens, Labour needs to be pragmatic rather than attempting to have its cake and eat it too. Don’t campaign at the expense of allies, because it’s going to be a tight one.
Post script: Here’s the “Wellington Central” strategy numbers adjusted from the above table.
Party vote (%) Electorate seats List seats Total seats
Labour 44 28 26 54
National 39.5 39 9 48
NZ First 9 0 11 11
Green 4.5 1 4 5
TOP 1.5 0 0 0
Māori 1 2 0 2
ACT 0.5 1 0 1
United Future 0 0 0 0
100 71 50 121
That’s impressive, Brendan. Your research and conclusions are to be admired.
— National’s support under Bill English is slowly eroding. The emphasis being slowly. They are no longer at the dizzying Key era heights of 47% polling.
Thats unfair on Bill, it was eroding under Key and Key was savvy enough to get out before too many started to vocalise that fact. I say poor Bill. nice man.
David Seymour wants to give private schools 50% of the per-pupil State funding to private schools. I’ll agree to that if the private schools give 50% of their tuition fees to their nearest state school.
Private schools want it both ways – they want to be sort of state integrated so they can get state money but not enough state integrated so that they have to do without the resources that they get through making parents pay through the nose.
Private school parents shouldn’t get a hand out from the state when they chose to send their kids to private school. They put a burden on the state system by not contributing to the state system through their social capital – they shouldn’t be able to walk away and get funded for it. Walking away should come at a cost and high private school fees are that cost.
But there is a catch: “The ACT Party says it will give schools nearly $1 billion more, so long as they abandon national union contracts.”
Hope that they don’t give on Union. Individual contracts are cruel.
Seymour’s thinking is perfect Act thinking – people will do anything for money including not be in unions.
If being paid a lot inevitably meant people improved, tried harder and excellence came, how come the Warriors are so often so poor?
John Armstrong asks, “What on earth does National do now
I think Joyce will do a massive u turn on his, no personal tax cuts this election, pledge.
I think he has done that already.
They’ve ditched further tax cuts I reckon, they’ve realised there’s no appetite for them and in fact NZers have cottoned on to the whole tax cuts equal degraded government services trick that National has been pulling all these years.
If they had any morals they’d go quietly into that good night.
Being the Gnats, Bill may disappear in a frenzy of backstabbing.
The thing to fear is a Mandelson-like revenant, the Key to National’s long and inglorious kleptocratic misrule, suddenly standing where Barclay once sat.
What we on the Left need to be aware is that
a wounded National Party is a dangerous beast.
They will try to “white ant ” Jacinda by finding a weak inside link.
Bill will be “damning her with faint praise”
or, more likely, causticly dripping mantras which will rain on her parade.
e.g. “only doing one event a day” (can’t keep up?)
Pressure on perceived points of public concern. ” Tax.”
Labour now needs to ask what areas Bill is not coping with, and use that knowledge.
Keeping the tide running in for us is crucial. Let’s do this.!!
Labour now needs to ask what areas Bill is not coping with, and use that knowledge.
In many of the sciences a positive has to be balanced by a negative. For example in the planet’s atmosphere, an intense high pressure system will be balanced by an adjacent deep depression. Climate Change is causing these two extremes to become even more extreme but that is another story. Imo, it’s an hypothesis which can also be applied to politics.
To be relentlessly positive is fine but in order to balance out the equation the political party – and in particular it’s leader – must also address the negatives associated with it’s opposition political party or parties. Jacinda and her senior Labour MPs have to also constantly point out the weaknesses and the wrong footed actions of their opposite numbers. A failure to do so will eventually tilt the balance back in favour of National.
“Only doing one event a day”, was coined by National Party embedded journalist Stacey Kirk at the end of the week and it was plainly false because I know Ardern did three that day.
It looks like they are trawling their partisan media allies and repeating what they say in the next stand up. This manifested itself with Bingles attacking the Labour machine today (instead of the leader, specifically) using the same line.
Another criticism of Ardern by the National Party aligned media in Henry Cooke, Stacey Kirk, Jo Moir, Tracey Watkins, Claire Trevett, and Audrey Young is that she only goes to schools where hard questions won’t be asked.
Funny then that Bingles has done Whangarei Boys High, a sports institute, and an Ocean sports club in consecutive days. Is the Nat machine taking its cue off their media friends and the Labour Party?
I read so often of teachers brainwashing kids and how politics should not intrude into schools.
Why are school boards of trustees allowing their schools to be used for politicians to push their barrow?
Would the new buildings being promised for Whangarei Boys High School not come about if their board had said to the Prime Minister, “thanks for the needed buildings, we don’t need a big announcement, put it in a letter, we’ll tell our community about it and how grateful we are” ?
There’s no byline on this article but I did enjoy that Jonathan Coleman aka, Dr Death, was referred to as ‘National’s heath spokesperson’.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/338571/national-labour-clash-over-rising-elective-surgeries
Also, as is the way with the National Party and their pollster, Dr Death threw the same numbers around which mean nothing without reference. He says there’s 50,000 more operations a year but, since when?
And what sort of operations Muttonbird? National have been shameless at counting the most basic procedures while cutting back on all the harder stuff.
I don’t know enough about health but I do know the Nats use stats to promote themselves rather than to help ordinary people.
I loved that Coleman said twice in a row in answer to two different questions “after the election – if we’re elected”…
Those words weren’t in their lexicon 4 weeks ago.
Bout bloody time!
ROFL that’s his go to line, don’t forget the appointments lmfao. Was cracking up this morning hearing him say it over and over again, it’s all he’s got, uses it in Parliament repeatedly. Just did a search on Parliament and his go to line.. check out the result lolololz Results 1-10 of 9536 for 50,000 more operations
https://www.parliament.nz/en/site-search?term=50%2C000++more+operations
See Eglish
She’s stardust. You know who. The one who’s name they dare not speak.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11916100
We all are made of stardust: https://www.space.com/35276-humans-made-of-stardust-galaxy-life-elements.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodifacoum#Toxicology
Here is a balanced view of the protest in nelson today
Anyone feel like nailing colours to the mast with some predictions, this far out?
NAT – 42%
LAB – 39%
NZ1 – 8%
GRE – 6%
TOP – 2%
MAO – 1.5% (With electorate win(s))
MAN – 0.5% (With electorate win)
ACT – 0.5% (With electorate win)
UNF – 0.5%
Aren’t you being a tad optimistic with respect to United Future?
Labour/Greens/Māori Party is just 2 seats adrift of a bare majority in tonight’s Reid Research/Newshub poll.
That’s encouraging but from what I saw last week Marama Fox was not interested in working with Labour. She still has Stockholm syndrome after being slave to National for all these years.