The emperors clothes may finally be seen by the bulk of the subjects of granny/ TVNZ for what they are….nothing. His vacuous demeanor is wearing thin and he doesn’t even bother to appear concerned about a global economy that has every other leader genuinely worried.
Time for the opposition to hit the trail hard, keep it simple and expose the shysters for plundering a zero nett debt position to give tax cuts to the already well off, reward their backers and generally degrade our standing on all the wrong indicators like child poverty, inequality, minimum wage buying power etc.
The only trick they’ve got is Asset sales …….imagine your power prices over the next 10yrs with the likes of Fay, Richwhite, Goldman Sachs etc behind the generators…..scary indeed.
Not to mention the privatization they’ve already undergone in ACC, health and other juicy govt funded sectors for their mates to plunder.
(That particular graphic has hadly changed in 3 months and the drought has affected Texas for nearly a year now). Similar things are happening all over the world. And Fukishima is still spewing radiation into the atmosphere and into the ocean.
Add to that the social meltdown and a health meltdown (cancer rates are rising spectacularly) throughout most of the western world)..
Clearly the vast majority of politiicans could not care less about any of it.
Either that or they are acting as agents to bring it all about. My experience of talking with politicians over many years indicates the latter.
It is long past time we threw out the dinosaurs and saboteurs, and put in the their place some people who have some knowledge of things other than how to operate rorts, long past time we put in place people who actually care about the people they are supposed to be representing and care about the future. Unfortunately, such people are probably unelectable because the general populace has been trained to believe in short- termism and trained to think that distractions, such as rugby, have some significance. The stupidity we have witnessed over recent weeks bears withness to that.
A friend of mine, now around 70 years old, told me yesterday that for the first time in his life he was seriously thinking about not voting because he now realised that voting made no difference.
Yes, systemic collapse is getting very close CV. And anyone who thinks the government or the local council will be of much (any?) assistance is utterly deluded.
We are in a really difficult position. Our advice in 2009 to focus on the threat of a Credit Rating downgrade to measure the success of the budget has come back to bite big time. It allowed National to get through tax cuts for the wealthy without any major damage.
But last week’s double downgrade poses major problems. Our carefully cultivated veneer of competent economic management is in tatters.
So we need to divert attention. Two Labour MPs said something not very nice about Peter Leitch and there were a few comments on the Standard what were not complimentary either. For the type of debates that occur on blogs they were not out of the ordinary but this presents us with a unique chance to try and divert attention.
So go for it. Talk about the two female MPs being “unleashed from their kennels” and be disparaging as you like. Don’t worry about the irony (look it up in the dictionary if you do not know what this means). Attack and be as pointed as you can be.
PS: And have a go at anyone who supports the two female MPs. Especaily if they’re also female. Be as venal as you can…paint them as silly bitches who don’t know nothing. It goes down well with Waitakere man.
Former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard once said “people who exercise free speech have an obligation to do so in a sensitive and caring fashion. That has always been my credo.”
But Howard also said: “It has also been my credo that, if someone disagrees with the prevailing orthodoxy of the day, that person should not be denigrated as a narrow-minded bigot.”
Perhaps what is missing though is what I first learnt in Territory politics and that is to play politics and business like you would a game of rugby: hard on the field, but to the rules, in the spirit of the game, with some simple courtesies before and after the game to demonstrate there is something bigger at stake.
That is the nature of a civil society; not the absence of conflict but the presence of civility, respect and the acceptance that there is a diversity of views out there.
BREAKING NEWS: Dan Carter is out of the World Cup.
The All Blacks first five-eighths has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament because of the groin injury he suffered at yesterday’s captains run and Colin Slade will now be expected to wear the No 10 jersey.
A challenge, like any greatv team if the ABs are good enough they will overcome this and still get a result. Tghey have to be good enough to do it without McCaw to if necessary.
Time for grumpy graham to roll that plan B he’s had 4 years to perfect…..great players though they are they’re not young and backing up after a tri nations series.
Just over a month ago, it was revealed that National was borrowing a whopping $380 million per week; but $100 million of that was not required. That amounts to around $5.2 billion in additional debt per year. When questioned about this, Bill English said it was a good time to borrow because interest rates were low, but it would put additional pressure on the exchange rate…
for massive tax cuts, and suddenly they get a downgrade.
They knew they were up for it, they pretty much insured
that it would happen.
So as Switzland finds that small country status ain’t
so good either, probably wishing it had a bunch of nasty
Nats running its economy (NOT, they ar emuch smarter),
that it has to peg its currency to the EU.
Small countries may be more stable in the crisis years
while the big blocks sort out the new more intergrated
world economic reality, but once we return to some
new normal small countries will be far worse off.
And their in lies the danger, as we enter the second
phase, those smart money will withdraw their cash from
Nz (its already started), farmers in Nz will be hit hard
by a stalled China, higher energy costs, low
commodity prices and still high currency as we still
all need new TVs.
So the stresses on European countries are actually
adaptive pressures that NZ is missing out on!
Because of the great short term management of National
to avoid the problem, and leave it for the future.
A shakeout of old tired thinkers, they sack their
Douglas’s far quicker, Thatcher only lasted a little
over a decade in the front shop! We have a Hubbard
like fashionation will keeping success long after its
use by date. aka Paul Holmes. Its hurts the economy
because they had their day, decades ago.
So here you have it, summation of the NZ economy.
Hollowed out by poor managers who won’t leave the
front desk when they make a killing so others
can, exposing NZ to exploitation and downgrades
for short term political and finance benefit (that
only pay out if they leave to retire in Hawaii!).
we are moving into a low growth world economy,
one where you either feed, house, doctor, your
population or they get very uncivil. Only then
can you pass the spoils on to your mates.
Remember don’t vote for a party that doesn’t
believe in government, doesn’t like the voting
system, and so spends its time in opposition
worried about lightbulbs rather than doing the
best with the system that’s there for all NZ.
ACC cannot be privatised as no Insurance Company in New Zealand is in any position, with the Christchurch situation, to re-open ACC with a new book of business.
Considering Billionaire George Soros owns Yahoo.com, is it any wonder that their search engines have been actively blocking communications containing the phrase Occupy Wall Street and OccupyWallStreet.org? Although Yahoo has been caught and apologized for blocking emails that contained content about the protests, doesn’t this show the underhanded way those controlling our media act?
It’s unsurprising that the capitalists don’t want the people to know what’s happening in the world. If they knew, they’d probably do something about the people (the capitalists) causing the poverty and that wouldn’t suit the psychopaths at all.
Although Yahoo has been caught and apologized for blocking emails that contained content about the protests, doesn’t this show the underhanded way those controlling our media act?
Oh good grief! I knew there were good reasons to ditch my Yahoo email, aside from the huge amount of spam and the fact that it doesn’t work very well..
If the media are stupid enough to pay interesting amounts of money for a story, then I back him 100% for selling said story. He doesn’t owe the public anything.
A sketch I would like to see……(a rewrite of Monty Python sketch)
Part V: Live Organ Transplants…
two paramedics (Chapman and Cleese) arrive at the doorstep of a card-carrying organ donor, Mr. John Key, to claim his kidney. Still being alive, he initially refuses. Not to be deterred, the paramedics burst through the door and brutally disembowel him, removing the organ “under condition of death”.
Was that the John Howard, notorious liar, who told the Australian nation that boat people threw their children to the sharks? the same John Howard who lied to the Australian people about Iraq so he could get troops involved? the same John Howard who lied to the people of Australia about the economy and told them the way to prosperity was to increase their debt level and spend their money on imported consumer goods? the same John Howard who refused to apologise to indigenous people for the injustices and abuses perpetrated against them by previous generations of psychotic spociopaths?
aerobubble
‘we are moving into a low growth world economy,
one where you either feed, house, doctor, your
population or they get very uncivil. Only then
can you pass the spoils on to your mates.’
We are in a negative growth world economy, due to the contraints of Peak Oil (peak practically everything actually).
Practially everyone’s standard of living is falling. The elites mission is to transfer an ever-bigger portion of the diminishing cake to themselves, at the expense of everyone, intially throiugh the use of lies, but when they start wearing thin, via the use of ‘security forces’ (as per 1984).
DTB
Exactly! 70% of NZers couldn’t care less about rugby, and of that 70%, about 30% loathe internationalised rugby and everythng it stands for -corporate bullshit wrapped in a platina of patriotism, money making by the few at the expense of the many, environmental and social degradation….. whorehouses and beer halls, smashed up hotel rooms and vomit.
thejackel
The [quoted] 400 people who control 99% of commercial activity in the western world will do whatever it takes to prevent the hundreds of millions of victims of the their scams from discovering the truth and throwing off the chains.
I’m sure that censorship is just the opening round of the ultimate war that has been in the making since the time humans gave up the hunter-gatehrer lifestyle and submitted themselves to agriculture and all it spawned, i.e. hierarchical societies in which the fruits of the labours of those at the bottom are transferred to those at the top.
“The [quoted] 400 people who control 99% of commercial activity in the western world will do whatever it takes to prevent the hundreds of millions of victims of the their scams from discovering the truth and throwing off the chains. ”
Another case of Russel Norman being out of touch with reality http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1110/S00006/govt-bungling-adds-cost-of-earthquake-levy-to-mortgages.htm
So if we introduced a levy there would have been no down grade?
With a levy kiwis would be facing interest increases AND this levy cost. Russel how does a household pay for this? There are not many households with surplus atthe moment, and with costs increasing all the time – just wait for the depreciating NZ$ to start taking hold.
A levy of 1.5 percent on income between $48,001-$70,000 and a 3 percent levy on income above $70,000, with no change needed to the corporate tax rate of 30 percent, would raise $1.026b a year, according to Green Party estimates. People earning $50,000 a year would pay an extra 58c a week, and those on $70,000 a year would pay an extra $6.33 a week. People on $100,000 would pay an extra $23.59 a week.
With a levy kiwis would be facing interest increases AND this levy cost. Russel how does a household pay for this? There are not many households with surplus atthe moment, and with costs increasing all the time – just wait for the depreciating NZ$ to start taking hold.
I know households who have bought tickets to every All Blacks game they think will happen right up to and including the final.
How the fuck did they afford that herod?
This reminds me of a lesson from budgeting 101. Its about your priorities.
How important is it that we help those New Zealanders (and those parts of New Zealand) who are most in need? We can assign the problem a high priority and deal with it as such, or put it in line behind a bunch of other shit.
Where economics is concerned, the Greens are generally never in touch with reality – it’s a nice luxury they have.
So if we introduced a levy there would have been no down grade?
No one knows. The agencies certainly didn’t say this, though Russel claims that’s what they meant. But the fact is no one knows.
However in fairness to Russel, he may be right, and therefore his assertion isn’t one iota as silly as Phil Goff’s claims that the downgrade somehow justifies Labour’s loophole-laden Capital Gains Tax.
(usual disclaimer: good on Labour for broaching the CGT rampart, support broad-based CGT in principle, brave move but poor execution, etc)
Where economics is concerned, the Greens are generally never in touch with reality…
They’re more connected to reality than pretty much any other party. Act is, of course, completely disconnected from reality and so is National. Unfortunately, so are the economists that advise the government.
How do the Road traffic department get controlling event and holiday traffic wrong?
Drove to Hamilton this afternoon. At 4 pm there was a major problem
of congestion north of Huntly – major traffic delays. Newstalkzb had
given an indication that traffic around Hamilton was building for RWC at 3 pm.
400 m, on a bend, sits a patrol car with lights flashing. Another one 200 metres with lights flashing. Neither indicating that as the expressway is finishing that the traffic is at a standstill or crawling.
It seems to be obvious that, if you have heavy traffic using two lanes, when those lanes merge, there is twice the amount of traffic to get into one lane. The traffic department must have known that this was likely to happen. What about a mobile trailer giving a warning to traffic on the Bombays that they were going to reduce the Expressway to single traffic at say Rangiri – coning one lane off and reducing traffic speed to say 70 KMH.
A listing of 25 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 15, 2024 thru Sat, December 21, 2024. Based on feedback we received, this week's roundup is the first one published soleley by category. We are still interested in ...
Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...
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The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
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The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
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The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
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Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
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Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
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Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
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I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
Te Pāti Māori has had to adopt a new way of debating, operating and even thinking in Parliament in response to the Government’s “onslaught” against te ao Māori, co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says.In an end-of-year interview with Newsroom, the Te Tai Hauauru MP reflected on how 2024 has differed from her ...
Opinion: The latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science report was announced earlier this month, yet it didn’t get the flurry of media attention and political hand-wringing that typically accompanies these announcements. This might be because it presented good news, or you could argue, no news; the results paint a ...
NewsroomBy Dr Lisa Darragh, Dr Raewyn Eden and Dr David Pomeroy
At long last, The Spinoff shells out for a nut ranking. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today.It recently came to The Spinoff’s attention ...
I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here’s exactly how it played out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a ...
Summer reissue: One anxiously attentive passenger pays attention to an in-flight safety video, and wonders ‘Why can’t I pick up my own phone?’ The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up ...
Summer reissue: Why do those Lange-Douglas years cast such a long shadow 40 years on? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. First published June ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 23 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The Government’s social housing agency has backed out of a billion-dollar infrastructure alliance that would have built about 6000 new homes in Auckland – less than 18 months after signing a five-year extension.Labour says the decision to rip up the contract and sell off existing state houses could lead to ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The emperors clothes may finally be seen by the bulk of the subjects of granny/ TVNZ for what they are….nothing. His vacuous demeanor is wearing thin and he doesn’t even bother to appear concerned about a global economy that has every other leader genuinely worried.
Time for the opposition to hit the trail hard, keep it simple and expose the shysters for plundering a zero nett debt position to give tax cuts to the already well off, reward their backers and generally degrade our standing on all the wrong indicators like child poverty, inequality, minimum wage buying power etc.
The only trick they’ve got is Asset sales …….imagine your power prices over the next 10yrs with the likes of Fay, Richwhite, Goldman Sachs etc behind the generators…..scary indeed.
Not to mention the privatization they’ve already undergone in ACC, health and other juicy govt funded sectors for their mates to plunder.
Must watch: MELTDOWN part 2 – an Al Jazeera special – “A Global Financial Tsunami”
American government and business leaders incompetently contrive to fuck the American people.
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/meltdown/2011/09/201191713542357406.html
It’s not just a financial meltdown, of course. There is an ongoing environmental meltdown. For example.
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
(That particular graphic has hadly changed in 3 months and the drought has affected Texas for nearly a year now). Similar things are happening all over the world. And Fukishima is still spewing radiation into the atmosphere and into the ocean.
Add to that the social meltdown and a health meltdown (cancer rates are rising spectacularly) throughout most of the western world)..
Clearly the vast majority of politiicans could not care less about any of it.
Either that or they are acting as agents to bring it all about. My experience of talking with politicians over many years indicates the latter.
It is long past time we threw out the dinosaurs and saboteurs, and put in the their place some people who have some knowledge of things other than how to operate rorts, long past time we put in place people who actually care about the people they are supposed to be representing and care about the future. Unfortunately, such people are probably unelectable because the general populace has been trained to believe in short- termism and trained to think that distractions, such as rugby, have some significance. The stupidity we have witnessed over recent weeks bears withness to that.
A friend of mine, now around 70 years old, told me yesterday that for the first time in his life he was seriously thinking about not voting because he now realised that voting made no difference.
Yes, systemic collapse is getting very close CV. And anyone who thinks the government or the local council will be of much (any?) assistance is utterly deluded.
Memo to all RWNJs
From Crosby Textor NZ
We are in a really difficult position. Our advice in 2009 to focus on the threat of a Credit Rating downgrade to measure the success of the budget has come back to bite big time. It allowed National to get through tax cuts for the wealthy without any major damage.
But last week’s double downgrade poses major problems. Our carefully cultivated veneer of competent economic management is in tatters.
So we need to divert attention. Two Labour MPs said something not very nice about Peter Leitch and there were a few comments on the Standard what were not complimentary either. For the type of debates that occur on blogs they were not out of the ordinary but this presents us with a unique chance to try and divert attention.
So go for it. Talk about the two female MPs being “unleashed from their kennels” and be disparaging as you like. Don’t worry about the irony (look it up in the dictionary if you do not know what this means). Attack and be as pointed as you can be.
Message ends.
PS: And have a go at anyone who supports the two female MPs. Especaily if they’re also female. Be as venal as you can…paint them as silly bitches who don’t know nothing. It goes down well with Waitakere man.
and, if you can, throw in some homophobia that seems to go down well with many right wing males….
Memo to all LWNJs
From Mark Textor
Former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard once said “people who exercise free speech have an obligation to do so in a sensitive and caring fashion. That has always been my credo.”
But Howard also said: “It has also been my credo that, if someone disagrees with the prevailing orthodoxy of the day, that person should not be denigrated as a narrow-minded bigot.”
Perhaps what is missing though is what I first learnt in Territory politics and that is to play politics and business like you would a game of rugby: hard on the field, but to the rules, in the spirit of the game, with some simple courtesies before and after the game to demonstrate there is something bigger at stake.
That is the nature of a civil society; not the absence of conflict but the presence of civility, respect and the acceptance that there is a diversity of views out there.
Message ends.
The words sound good.
Until you remember that his job is to lie and bullshit us into voting for, outwardly impressive, thieves.
The biggest crooks wear suits and ties, and open doors for Ladies.
Google Psychopath again.
I used to think you were a smart man putting on a dumb internet persona, Joe Bloggs.
Really, I always thought he was an idiot putting on a dumb internet persona because he’s stupid.
The nature of a civil society is one where everybody cooperates rather than one where individuals compete in a war of all against all.
Joe Bloggs quoting john Howard as if he is a moral and noble person whose fine words actually represent his thinking? Mutual self-hypnosis I think.
It’s not on podcast yet, but Mediawatch on National Radio had some good items.
One about John Key’s Radio Live appearance which hit all the main points of criticism.
One about the media focus on certain political leaders but not on any policies.
One on media ownership.
If you missed it then the podcast will be worth a listen.
Up now:
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mwatch/mwatch-20111002-0905-mediawatch_for_2_october_2011-048.mp3
John Key is obviously out of touch with the mainstream – 70% of kiwis were ignoring the rugby/league as they have no interest in it.
Good points on the rest as well especially the ownership of the MSM.
Exactly! 🙂
Thanks Felix – I knew I wasn’t going to get back on the net for most of the day so hoped someone else would provide the link.
Yup looking forward to Goff’s hour in the interests of fair play and balance…..yeah right !
Panic in National’s ranks.
Dan Carter has just been ruled out of the World cup with a torn tendon …
Wonder how Smile and Wave is feeling?
John Key is getting advice from the Mad Butcher… cheapest cuts ever.
He’s been on the phone to Ted telling him is is an all round sportsman (see his cricket performance anyone?) and also that he looks good in Jokey’s.
Hasn’t had time to make a video, too busy out on the piss in Sydney.
Man! I can’t wait for the Feelers to bang out ‘Right here right now’ as well. Awesome!
media works watch free fluff from celeb cat walk cat talk PM.Nzeds next top model.That only cost us taxpayers $ 43 million
BREAKING NEWS: Dan Carter is out of the World Cup.
The All Blacks first five-eighths has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament because of the groin injury he suffered at yesterday’s captains run and Colin Slade will now be expected to wear the No 10 jersey.
A challenge, like any greatv team if the ABs are good enough they will overcome this and still get a result. Tghey have to be good enough to do it without McCaw to if necessary.
Time for grumpy graham to roll that plan B he’s had 4 years to perfect…..great players though they are they’re not young and backing up after a tri nations series.
Injury prone colin slade
SHOTGUN WEDDING IN PALESTINE
Life goes on, even under brutal military occupation…
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/shotgun-wedding-in-palestine/
National’s Downgrade
Just over a month ago, it was revealed that National was borrowing a whopping $380 million per week; but $100 million of that was not required. That amounts to around $5.2 billion in additional debt per year. When questioned about this, Bill English said it was a good time to borrow because interest rates were low, but it would put additional pressure on the exchange rate…
Wonder what they’re using as collateral ?
Might not need to sell state assets if they get repoed by the international wunch of banksters.
We can only borrow and hope
The people and their ability to produce.
pollywog – neat description.
for massive tax cuts, and suddenly they get a downgrade.
They knew they were up for it, they pretty much insured
that it would happen.
So as Switzland finds that small country status ain’t
so good either, probably wishing it had a bunch of nasty
Nats running its economy (NOT, they ar emuch smarter),
that it has to peg its currency to the EU.
Small countries may be more stable in the crisis years
while the big blocks sort out the new more intergrated
world economic reality, but once we return to some
new normal small countries will be far worse off.
And their in lies the danger, as we enter the second
phase, those smart money will withdraw their cash from
Nz (its already started), farmers in Nz will be hit hard
by a stalled China, higher energy costs, low
commodity prices and still high currency as we still
all need new TVs.
So the stresses on European countries are actually
adaptive pressures that NZ is missing out on!
Because of the great short term management of National
to avoid the problem, and leave it for the future.
A shakeout of old tired thinkers, they sack their
Douglas’s far quicker, Thatcher only lasted a little
over a decade in the front shop! We have a Hubbard
like fashionation will keeping success long after its
use by date. aka Paul Holmes. Its hurts the economy
because they had their day, decades ago.
So here you have it, summation of the NZ economy.
Hollowed out by poor managers who won’t leave the
front desk when they make a killing so others
can, exposing NZ to exploitation and downgrades
for short term political and finance benefit (that
only pay out if they leave to retire in Hawaii!).
we are moving into a low growth world economy,
one where you either feed, house, doctor, your
population or they get very uncivil. Only then
can you pass the spoils on to your mates.
Remember don’t vote for a party that doesn’t
believe in government, doesn’t like the voting
system, and so spends its time in opposition
worried about lightbulbs rather than doing the
best with the system that’s there for all NZ.
Gareth Morgan and Sir Paul O’Callaghan highlighted a lack of balance and a loss of opportunities in our current economic management when interviewed on Q & A this morning.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2011/10/national-measures-balance-with-faulty.html
Good report about growing Occupy Wall Street movement from Stuff (of all places)!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/5719337/Anti-Wall-St-protesters-block-Brooklyn-Bridge
Have a look at nytimes.com – quite a good detailed article there
Bomber has a bit of a go at the NZ Herald for their lack of reporting.
Apologies! That was Phoebe Fletcher who wrote New Zealand Herald: you are failing us. Not sure why I got that wrong!
Interestingly the New York Times article was changed soon after publication to be nicer on the cops.
Even the Herald managed to have a miniscule link on their front page http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10756045
It would have been a headline had there been 400 polices arrests in Kabul, Beijing or Cairo.
The land of the free? Yeah Right
ACC cannot be privatised as no Insurance Company in New Zealand is in any position, with the Christchurch situation, to re-open ACC with a new book of business.
That just leaves the overseas insurance companies and investment funds then
The Revolution will not be Televised
Considering Billionaire George Soros owns Yahoo.com, is it any wonder that their search engines have been actively blocking communications containing the phrase Occupy Wall Street and OccupyWallStreet.org? Although Yahoo has been caught and apologized for blocking emails that contained content about the protests, doesn’t this show the underhanded way those controlling our media act?
It’s unsurprising that the capitalists don’t want the people to know what’s happening in the world. If they knew, they’d probably do something about the people (the capitalists) causing the poverty and that wouldn’t suit the psychopaths at all.
Oh good grief! I knew there were good reasons to ditch my Yahoo email, aside from the huge amount of spam and the fact that it doesn’t work very well..
Unfortunately all the email services capitulated to the American government a while ago so there are non that keep your info private anymore.
700 people arrested on Brooklyn Bridge today… not one word on New Zealand’s Six O’Clock news. Shame!
The revolution will not be privatized!
Lomu needs new kidney – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10756006
Lets see when Key offer his kidney! Now we know why Jonah wanted privacy; the story had been sold to NZ Womans Weekly.
If the media are stupid enough to pay interesting amounts of money for a story, then I back him 100% for selling said story. He doesn’t owe the public anything.
That’s odd. I heard he was donating his groin, maybe it’s both.
A sketch I would like to see……(a rewrite of Monty Python sketch)
Part V: Live Organ Transplants…
two paramedics (Chapman and Cleese) arrive at the doorstep of a card-carrying organ donor, Mr. John Key, to claim his kidney. Still being alive, he initially refuses. Not to be deterred, the paramedics burst through the door and brutally disembowel him, removing the organ “under condition of death”.
Joe Bloggs
Was that the John Howard, notorious liar, who told the Australian nation that boat people threw their children to the sharks? the same John Howard who lied to the Australian people about Iraq so he could get troops involved? the same John Howard who lied to the people of Australia about the economy and told them the way to prosperity was to increase their debt level and spend their money on imported consumer goods? the same John Howard who refused to apologise to indigenous people for the injustices and abuses perpetrated against them by previous generations of psychotic spociopaths?
aerobubble
‘we are moving into a low growth world economy,
one where you either feed, house, doctor, your
population or they get very uncivil. Only then
can you pass the spoils on to your mates.’
We are in a negative growth world economy, due to the contraints of Peak Oil (peak practically everything actually).
Practially everyone’s standard of living is falling. The elites mission is to transfer an ever-bigger portion of the diminishing cake to themselves, at the expense of everyone, intially throiugh the use of lies, but when they start wearing thin, via the use of ‘security forces’ (as per 1984).
DTB
Exactly! 70% of NZers couldn’t care less about rugby, and of that 70%, about 30% loathe internationalised rugby and everythng it stands for -corporate bullshit wrapped in a platina of patriotism, money making by the few at the expense of the many, environmental and social degradation….. whorehouses and beer halls, smashed up hotel rooms and vomit.
thejackel
The [quoted] 400 people who control 99% of commercial activity in the western world will do whatever it takes to prevent the hundreds of millions of victims of the their scams from discovering the truth and throwing off the chains.
I’m sure that censorship is just the opening round of the ultimate war that has been in the making since the time humans gave up the hunter-gatehrer lifestyle and submitted themselves to agriculture and all it spawned, i.e. hierarchical societies in which the fruits of the labours of those at the bottom are transferred to those at the top.
“The [quoted] 400 people who control 99% of commercial activity in the western world will do whatever it takes to prevent the hundreds of millions of victims of the their scams from discovering the truth and throwing off the chains. ”
JP Morgan buy $400 mill of Twitter shares
http://stopforeclosurefraud.com/2011/10/01/jpmorgan-chase-co-has-invested-in-a-fund-that-has-bought-about-400-million-in-twitter-inc/
Warriors lose.
*John Key & the Warriors lose.
Haha, my only upside of that loss is that Key didn’t get the chance to do a Mandela.
He’s got one more chance I suppose…
Maybe next season will be the year!!!!
Another case of Russel Norman being out of touch with reality
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1110/S00006/govt-bungling-adds-cost-of-earthquake-levy-to-mortgages.htm
So if we introduced a levy there would have been no down grade?
With a levy kiwis would be facing interest increases AND this levy cost. Russel how does a household pay for this? There are not many households with surplus atthe moment, and with costs increasing all the time – just wait for the depreciating NZ$ to start taking hold.
A levy of 1.5 percent on income between $48,001-$70,000 and a 3 percent levy on income above $70,000, with no change needed to the corporate tax rate of 30 percent, would raise $1.026b a year, according to Green Party estimates. People earning $50,000 a year would pay an extra 58c a week, and those on $70,000 a year would pay an extra $6.33 a week. People on $100,000 would pay an extra $23.59 a week.
Whats the problem?
I know households who have bought tickets to every All Blacks game they think will happen right up to and including the final.
How the fuck did they afford that herod?
This reminds me of a lesson from budgeting 101. Its about your priorities.
How important is it that we help those New Zealanders (and those parts of New Zealand) who are most in need? We can assign the problem a high priority and deal with it as such, or put it in line behind a bunch of other shit.
Where economics is concerned, the Greens are generally never in touch with reality – it’s a nice luxury they have.
So if we introduced a levy there would have been no down grade?
No one knows. The agencies certainly didn’t say this, though Russel claims that’s what they meant. But the fact is no one knows.
However in fairness to Russel, he may be right, and therefore his assertion isn’t one iota as silly as Phil Goff’s claims that the downgrade somehow justifies Labour’s loophole-laden Capital Gains Tax.
(usual disclaimer: good on Labour for broaching the CGT rampart, support broad-based CGT in principle, brave move but poor execution, etc)
They’re more connected to reality than pretty much any other party. Act is, of course, completely disconnected from reality and so is National. Unfortunately, so are the economists that advise the government.
Well thenm buddy, who is in touch with reality? Fitch? S&P?
You notice that both those guys just downgraded our asses?
Is that what you call reality, the incompetence of Key and English.
How do the Road traffic department get controlling event and holiday traffic wrong?
Drove to Hamilton this afternoon. At 4 pm there was a major problem
of congestion north of Huntly – major traffic delays. Newstalkzb had
given an indication that traffic around Hamilton was building for RWC at 3 pm.
400 m, on a bend, sits a patrol car with lights flashing. Another one 200 metres with lights flashing. Neither indicating that as the expressway is finishing that the traffic is at a standstill or crawling.
It seems to be obvious that, if you have heavy traffic using two lanes, when those lanes merge, there is twice the amount of traffic to get into one lane. The traffic department must have known that this was likely to happen. What about a mobile trailer giving a warning to traffic on the Bombays that they were going to reduce the Expressway to single traffic at say Rangiri – coning one lane off and reducing traffic speed to say 70 KMH.