“The major failures confronting New Zealand today stem from the neoliberal economic agenda that has dominated the past four decades with its blind faith in ‘free’ markets, the increasing privatisation of public policy and the out-dated approach to measuring our economic and fiscal performance. As articulated by Treasury during the 1980s and 90s the neoliberal agenda has played a critical role in reinforcing class differences, in generating a low wage economy and in promoting the social conditions for child poverty and for what is best described as a major social deficit.”
Selective faith in free markets… cos when labour is short the market woukd rise the wages/conditions to attract workers but in NZ we important people to offset the usual market response and to retain profit margins
And in relation to the repeal of the 3 strikes law, one of the many problems now facing NZ is stated as:
The archaic practices in justice and policing that have led to bulging prisons and incarceration levels that are among the highest in the developed world; and
With an embedded link to a briefing paper on our prison system.
But we need to read yesterdays announcement with Nash’s announced priorities. He gives me little (no pun intended) faith in a paradigm shift to funding/resourcing programmes proven to reduce recidivism, addictions, and so on.
Any criticism of Nash is welcome by me! Or Shane Jones for that matter. Can’t stand either of them.
Luckily Andrew Little will be leading the review of the Justice Department and Kelvin Davis as Corrections Minister will be working with him to reform the prison system. Andrew has already said that the planned new prison being will probably be canned.
Nash is an idiot and will be stomped on if tries to overplay his hand. I hope that he will eventually lose that Police portfolio. I’d like to see one of the Māori MPs in that role.
I’m not a subscriber to the ideology excuse. It’s convenient to blame a belief system for the ills of society but also somewhat self-defeating. Followers are ideologues and followers only … follow. IMO behind the so-called neo-liberalism is plain old greed; thirst for power, money, influence, social status etc.
If the political left really wanted to fight neo-liberalism they might take a leaf out of the old policeman’s book; follow the money.
Best analysis I’ve read about situation prior to election. Prof Ian Shirley taught me back in the day at Massey Palmerston North. Always clear and comprehensive explanations. I would like to read more of his recent writing.
You no how I said I had been examining my past and a few Incidence that I took no notice of well here is one.
Back in the day I had a M8 that I had known for 10 years through work .
I use to have a cup of tea with this person and he and another guy whom was like a scientist really onto it guy well every time I wen’t over these two would be playing Chest .
I new how the game was played and all the moves that the pieces can make and played a few games. I use to just watch tv while the battled away. Well one day I took on my M8 challenge and I played him and he whipped ass in three moves LOL.
Well I took that challenge seriously and I was playing my wife my children a computa I was clocking up 5 hours a day playing chest . And after 2 weeks I kicked my mate ass 4 times I had met the Challenger head on and won so I gave up playing him. You see I had all ready made up my mind that playing game’s I.E crash bandicoot video games was a waste of my precious time that I needed to build my Maunga so my children got the run of there video games lol .
Well there is a correction for my statements made yesterday which is I should have said that I try not to affect most people negatively, But some people get to feel the Thunder and some people are feeling the Thunder and they don’t even no it .
And I will keep using the Thunder to fight for equal right’s for all and my fight for OUR Mother Earth P.S to my clients you are just innocent bystanders and I have OUR whole World as my witness . Kia Kaha
“But some people get to feel the Thunder and some people are feeling the Thunder and they don’t even no it.”
What do you mean by “the Thunder” eco Maori?
Amazing, -knew bout –james, — also “Gerry I’m coming through”, Brownlee, ARHH !! –but did he know bout “button it sweetie” Paula? She would have a crush on our james me thinks.
The last paragraph reads:
“A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at.
But do you think it worries him
To know that he is far from slim?
No, just the other way about –
He’s proud of being short and stout.”
Sometimes I wonder if your head isn’t stuffed like a Teddy bears!
Could be a little exercise to use each time a troll gets going – think up a suitable poem or piece of music for them. It would be like turning them into an art installation that we add to, and make them a feature that is less annoying and obstructive, and more inspirational so that we get creative. Also it would add to our artistic appreciation, so making a silk purse out of a sows ear, as traditionally spoken.
Found the following part interesting cos we also do not know the value of their purchases and if they may be a small number but buying high end properties?
“LINZ reported that five percent of buyers of 12,951 Auckland properties in the June quarter were not New Zealand tax residents, while 20 percent of properties were bought by 2,637 corporate or business entities. All but six of those entities stated they were resident in New Zealand for tax purposes, but no information was given on the ultimate residency status of the owners of those New Zealand companies or trust.
So the actual percentage of properties that could involve people without permanent residency could range between five percent and 20 percent. The data itself is therefore not useful in determining the actual scale of the foreign buying.
The simple answer is that no one knows exactly how much overseas capital has flowed into Auckland and how much of an impact it has had on prices, alongside the pressures of record high net migration and the lowest house building rate in history. It could be a lot or it could be not much.
But it’s clear that the difference in New Zealand’s policies with Australia have been a factor in New Zealand prices outperforming Australia’s.
The LINZ data is even more flawed than that Tracey. It is reporting property transfers, not property sales, but the narrative from it is persistently that of sales. Even in their reports they transpose the word ‘transfer’ for ‘sale’ when they’re not all sales.
A number of transfers would simply be change of title; transferring from an individual to a trust, family estate changes, business to business transfers etc. Just what the proportions are they don’t say and they absolutely should be saying because the data is untruthful without that information.
I hope she can make a difference. Labour have been very weak on numbers, they rarely pulled National up when they made shit up like that.
The LINZ reports were pretty blatant and the response really should have been….
“Hang on a minute, you keep saying that only 5% of sales were to foreign tax residents when your own data says that the 5% is of total transfers …. not total sales.”
It’s pretty simple maths too, they only need to know how many houses were actually sold and that data is available elsewhere. LINZ report 48,603 property transfers from April 2017 to June 2017, somewhat more than the numbers of genuine sales the likes of REINZ report.
If half of all property transfers were not sales, and there was no foreign content in those non-sales, then the true number would be 10% of sales were to foreign tax residents.
It was a little convenient that the approach National took would invariably understate the true percentage of foreign buyers.
Thanks Pat.
Bernard Hickey: “So the actual percentage of properties that could involve people without permanent residency could range between five percent and 20 percent. The data itself is therefore not useful in determining the actual scale of the foreign buying.”
The previous Government was not trying to deceive us was it?
Sadly the changes might take a long time to have an effect and meantime the dropping of capital value of houses will annoy some investors.
A. Agents told us the market always slows pre election
B. LVR by RB may be the factor in lower prices in Auckland although I note Wellington is up 10% year on year, not anything the “nothing to see here” Nats did
1. It’s always possible that the reason the American left is going after Russian influence on elections in western countries isn’t because they’re dupes of the establishment, but because they’re concerned about Russian influence on elections in western countries.
2. Jamie Raskin is right. Instead of quibbling about this or that detail, the pro-Putin left needs to ask itself why it’s backing conservative authoritarian nationalists against liberal democracy. And if they won’t ask themselves, the rest of us should at least think about what the reasons might be.
Can you just clear up the point – which country is the conservative authoritarian nationalists and which the liberal democracy vis a vis Russia and the USA? They both seem in a state of flux, and I’m not sure whether you are being ironic?
I think you might have the wrong end of the stick there. Its not about backing Putin or Trump or whoever. Its about how its possible to believe the fantasy which is #russiagate. Its a bit like reading the bible and thinking its a real story. Bush may have said “you’re either with us or against us” but there are more options. We may just think your story really sucks
2/ Heart of Texas, a Russian-controlled Facebook group that promotes secession, planned an anti-Muslim rally in May. https://t.co/tKOZ6u6Yd0— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) November 1, 2017
So if I have this correct. Russia supposedly used some super mind control techniques to convince patriotic texans to be involved in large scale protests and counter protests inside the US from its troll farm somewhere in Russia all for the cost of $200?
This would neatly fit in with the work they were doing with Pokemon Go I suppose where they were leading unsuspecting gamers to black lives matter events so they would end up voting for the Donald.
Amongst ways of managing the country better for better outcomes for all of us, this procedure from Harvard Business Review is probably behind the leaner and meaner, ‘cutting out the fat’ philosophy. It no doubt works when first reviewing a business or department and trying for more efficiency, but how often can it then be repeated still retaining good quality of resource, and good quality of adequate staff on reasonable wages?
https://hbr.org/1991/05/profit-priorities-from-activity-based-costing Fully exploiting ABC as a guide to profitability, however, requires a conceptual break from traditional cost accounting systems and a willingness to act on the insights ABC analysis provides. Managers must refrain from allocating all expenses to individual units and instead separate the expenses and match them to the level of activity that consumes the resources. Very simply, managers should separate the expenses incurred to produce individual units of a particular product from the expenses needed to produce different products or to serve different customers, independent of how many units are produced or sold.
Then managers must be prepared to act. First, they should explore ways to reduce the resources required to perform various activities. Then to transform those reductions into profits, they must either reduce spending on those resources or increase the output those resources produce. The actions allow the insights from ABC to be translated into increased profits at the bottom line.
I’m reading a book set in 11th century Britain, and these quotes refer to Wales at the time.
…here in a half-barbaric Welsh landholder, no great lord, but a mere squireling elevated among his inferiors to a status he barely rated, at least in Norman eyes. It was the difference between them that Robert [the Norman] thoughtin hierarchies, and Rhisiart [the Welshman] thought in blood-ties, high and low of one mind and in one kinship, and not a man among them aware of inferiority, only of his due place in a united family…. p67
[A bribe was offered by Robert to Rhisiart to persuade the village people to give up a religious treasure to Robert] ‘Money!’ said Rhisiart in the most extraordinary of tones, at once curious, derisory and revolted. He knew about money, of course, and even understood its use, but as an aberration in human relations. In the rural parts of Wales, which indeed were almost all of Wales, it was hardly used at all, and hardly needed. Provision was made in the code for all necessary exchange of goods and services, nobody was so poor as to be without the means of living, and beggars were unknown. The kinship took care of its helpless members, and every house was open as of right. p.69
from A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters.
The author Ellis Peters had made a study of Wales at that period and has a good take on conditions and practices. This approach of the Welsh sounds interesting and could serve us in the times to come. It should be noted that some of the Welsh found the English way of doing things and their moneyed way of life offered more opportunity for luxury and extravagance and the English were determined to absorb Wales, and were able to subvert them and take control of the land and people and ensure that their royalty died out.
With respect, that is not the sort of model for society that I believe in, and looking backwards is not a roadmap for the future. Those were feudal times …
syclingmad
Perhaps you will be able to hop on your cycle and go towards the future with great confidence and belief that all will be well.
I do not have such confidence and looking at how poorly we have applied knowledge and let standards slip up till now, I believe such lack of confidence is entirely justified. We are slipping back into colonial times in NZ with shonky and make-do houses, laws and lack of respect for those without money or the means to earn it. So good luck to you. I want to have a circle of mutual assistance for those who don’t hit the jackpot.
I didn’t say I have confidence – I presented an alternative pathway forward. Circle the wagons isn’t the approach to succeed. And everyone has the resources to contribute in some way, even just employing the grey matter in creative and innovative ways is what we need into the future.
Sure – re-imagining the way business is done. Thinking beyond profit. Impact on people and the environment.
The sorts of initiatives and broader thinking espoused and put into action by Christopher Luxon. And before people start regaling me with stories of deplorable wages at Air NZ or shutting down maintenance facilities, Rome wasn’t build in a day, as they say.
Thanks, syclinmad. Do you think neoliberalism will already have assimilated social enterprise and made it its own? Bastardised it to suit? Captured and corrupted it (It’s what neo-lib does 🙂
See I don’t get hung up on the labels and the categorising. What we have is a mixed economy with a “capitalist” (I hate using that term) organising principle. It will ever be so. What we need to do is find a way to make it more compassionate for all its members and to care for the great provider – mother earth.
So I choose to work within rather than throw rocks from the outside. Can it be done – who knows, but dire predictions for the climate sure hold everyone’s feet to the flames. And recruit everyone to this cause rather than exclude on the basis of ideology or past deed.
How can a person think “beyond profit”? Is that profit with a small “p”, ’cause every organism seeks to profit from its actions; few want to lose. Actually, none.
Neoliberalism is well skilled at coopting and bastardising social justice and Good Things. I like the idea of subverting that. No reason we can’t colonise them.
Unfortunately in this capitalist framed society, social enterprise will be as cynically used by some entrepreneurs as “greenwashing.”
There was a great site for advertising awards for ads highlighting the appropriation of good intent, but random delivery (but I can’t recall the name), but did find this one on Youtube:
I’ve been following the social enterprise movement for a while now, and agree with the stated intent of many of those disseminating the information, and have been heartened to see some of the (usually overseas) examples of social enterprise.
However, despite those examples, have been cynical about the use of this term in regards to NZ, because the few workshops I did attend were more about creating standard business opportunities rather than true social enterprise.
It is not “subversion” if it appropriated and used to bolster the same attitude towards growing business and what constitutes success.
I support – like you – a change, but I am trying to be vigilant that the change I support is fundamental and not just window dressing. I will be heartened to see true social enterprise take place in NZ, and would be very glad to see government support in the way of grants or tax rebates for businesses that follow a robust new model. A step up from Maryland recognising B-Corps in the US.
It has been a while since I checked the number of B-Corps in NZ, but they have increased. Interestingly, a cluster around Christchurch that didn’t exist before, but may be reflective of the growth in community that has happened since the 2011 earthquake.
As our local paper diminishes so they have pulled out Sports reporters. As she gave me a haircut my barber pointed out that the children’ sports teams that her husband’s work sponsored, would no longer get the exposure. So should they pull the sponsorship?
Well, if they consider the children purely as running billboards then I guess so.
If they consider the benefit that their contribution makes to community wellbeing, with the added kudos afforded their business by the team members, their family and their supporters – well they should keep contributing. As sacha points out, they will still get their support noted on social media.
Many Thanks to Forbes Magazine and CNN new’s for seeing the Great Potential of OUR great Lady leader and prime minister Jacinda Ardern and showing the man that crowned her Winston Peters OUR coalition government is the BEST . Kia Kaha
Here is a link to Suzie’s twitter post on her announcement at the end of Morning Report today that she is having major surgery tomorrow – a possible hysterectomy – due to long term endometriosis. She will probably not be back on air this side of Christmas.
RNZ are apparently putting together an article or something on endometriosis etc which will then be put up on their website.
Kim Hill, Mihingarangi Forbes, John Campbell and Philippa Tolley will be filling in on Morning Report.
I have not had this awful condition but have family and friends who have had it. And I know that we have a couple of absolutely excellent (female) doctors/surgeons here in Wellington who are experts in endometriosis. So hoping Suzie will be well looked after and back to full health in the near future.
EDIT – here is a link to the Endometriosis Support NZ website with a good explanation of Endo.
Yes guys – there is no reason why you should not also have a look and find out more.
Thanks for putting that up vv and I’m sure we all wish Suzie well. It is good if we have the means to do away with painful debilitating chronic conditions.
First post of the day: Sun spots! Will they drive a wedge in the coalition between Labour and the Greens?
145 comments denying climate change, 68 more blaming sunspots on Winston, 113 demanding a military coup against the communists.
Second post of the day: Will NZ First/Green tension over rival favourites in the Great British Bake off bring down the coalition?
120 comments calling the Greens communists. 100 more denying climate change.
Third post of the day: Halloween – Will Jacinda’s distribution of lollies cause coalition tensions with the social conservatives of NZ First?
45 comments claiming Jacinda was spotted on a broom flying over Wellington, 148 comments of even more vile women hatred, 98 demanding euthenasia of all NZ First voters over 65, and 102 making an incredibly lame comparison between socialism and free lollies.
“45 comments claiming Jacinda was spotted on a broom flying over Wellington, 148 comments of even more vile women hatred, 98 demanding euthenasia of all NZ First voters over 65, and 102 making an incredibly lame comparison between socialism and free lollies.”
“They’ve already got a measure of underemployment in there, which counts people who are working less than full time who would like to be working more hours,” Crampton said.
“They’re already tracking this. If it’s something you care about, you should be tracking the underemployment measure.”
Need to be tracking the over employment figure as well – those working more than 40 hours per week.
Crampton said it was important that the Government Statistician not be seen to be making changes at the request of her political masters.
“They shouldn’t be under any pressure to redefine measures with a change of government.”
The government does need to be confidant of the information that they’re getting from a state department and just because they meet ILO standards doesn’t mean that they’re at best practice. In fact, saying that they meet standards sounds remarkably like an excuse not to better themselves.
Former Reserve Bank special advisor Michael Reddell said the merit of existing measurements was the fact they can be compared internationally “and that isn’t something to sacrifice lightly”.
Meeting standards is the minimum needed, exceeding them is what we need to be doing if at all possible (and it usually is).
Standards aren’t static no matter how much some people seem to think that they should be.
“From a macro policy perspective, it usually doesn’t matter much which measure one uses – they all usually (but not always) move quite similarly cyclically – and so people like the Reserve Bank will sensibly prefer the series with the longest run of data (current official measure).”
Translation from EX-RBNZ governor: The RBNZ regularly ignores data it doesn’t like.
“But they are independent and they measure things independently and it’s one of the checks and balances on our government system.”
They may be independent but the last government still managed to use them to lie after a change in the statistic gathering/interpretation dropped the unemployment rate by ~0.5% which they claimed as a government success. This would probably explain the lack of belief in those statistics.
The problem as I see it is that RBNZ, Treasury, and Statistics NZ, for example, produce reports and press releases that are not easily digestible for general consumption by the general public. So, complex information gets reduced down to singular indices such as CPI, GDP, and Unemployment that are really aggregate measures and thus completely misunderstood by most if not all.
Our nation’s employment insurance organization is charging me insurance cost based on $31.720 but they forecast my income for 20018 at $22.466 and we no that if I get injured they are not going to pay me out 80 % of 31.720 they will pay me 80 % of 22.466.
There excuse is that is the minimum charge out rate WTF my reply was I will agree to disagree with that Policy Ka pai
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
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This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
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Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
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Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
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Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
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This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
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Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
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“The major failures confronting New Zealand today stem from the neoliberal economic agenda that has dominated the past four decades with its blind faith in ‘free’ markets, the increasing privatisation of public policy and the out-dated approach to measuring our economic and fiscal performance. As articulated by Treasury during the 1980s and 90s the neoliberal agenda has played a critical role in reinforcing class differences, in generating a low wage economy and in promoting the social conditions for child poverty and for what is best described as a major social deficit.”
http://briefingpapers.co.nz/the-challenges-ahead-for-the-new-government/
Fascinating article, thanks for sharing.
Selective faith in free markets… cos when labour is short the market woukd rise the wages/conditions to attract workers but in NZ we important people to offset the usual market response and to retain profit margins
And in relation to the repeal of the 3 strikes law, one of the many problems now facing NZ is stated as:
With an embedded link to a briefing paper on our prison system.
But we need to read yesterdays announcement with Nash’s announced priorities. He gives me little (no pun intended) faith in a paradigm shift to funding/resourcing programmes proven to reduce recidivism, addictions, and so on.
Nash still seems to be a neo-liberal clingon.
I was trying to make the point without saying that in light of the aversion of some to early criticism of the Labour/NZF C abinet.
Any criticism of Nash is welcome by me! Or Shane Jones for that matter. Can’t stand either of them.
Luckily Andrew Little will be leading the review of the Justice Department and Kelvin Davis as Corrections Minister will be working with him to reform the prison system. Andrew has already said that the planned new prison being will probably be canned.
Nash is an idiot and will be stomped on if tries to overplay his hand. I hope that he will eventually lose that Police portfolio. I’d like to see one of the Māori MPs in that role.
I’m not a subscriber to the ideology excuse. It’s convenient to blame a belief system for the ills of society but also somewhat self-defeating. Followers are ideologues and followers only … follow. IMO behind the so-called neo-liberalism is plain old greed; thirst for power, money, influence, social status etc.
If the political left really wanted to fight neo-liberalism they might take a leaf out of the old policeman’s book; follow the money.
+1
There is certainly a large amount of that. It seems truly amazing how many authoritarian followers don’t realise that they are followers.
Best analysis I’ve read about situation prior to election. Prof Ian Shirley taught me back in the day at Massey Palmerston North. Always clear and comprehensive explanations. I would like to read more of his recent writing.
You no how I said I had been examining my past and a few Incidence that I took no notice of well here is one.
Back in the day I had a M8 that I had known for 10 years through work .
I use to have a cup of tea with this person and he and another guy whom was like a scientist really onto it guy well every time I wen’t over these two would be playing Chest .
I new how the game was played and all the moves that the pieces can make and played a few games. I use to just watch tv while the battled away. Well one day I took on my M8 challenge and I played him and he whipped ass in three moves LOL.
Well I took that challenge seriously and I was playing my wife my children a computa I was clocking up 5 hours a day playing chest . And after 2 weeks I kicked my mate ass 4 times I had met the Challenger head on and won so I gave up playing him. You see I had all ready made up my mind that playing game’s I.E crash bandicoot video games was a waste of my precious time that I needed to build my Maunga so my children got the run of there video games lol .
Well there is a correction for my statements made yesterday which is I should have said that I try not to affect most people negatively, But some people get to feel the Thunder and some people are feeling the Thunder and they don’t even no it .
And I will keep using the Thunder to fight for equal right’s for all and my fight for OUR Mother Earth P.S to my clients you are just innocent bystanders and I have OUR whole World as my witness . Kia Kaha
Kia ora Eco Maori
Thank’s Tracy That’s the way Jack Promoting OUR science for our Moko to learn science is one of the tools we have to make OUR future bright Ka pai
“But some people get to feel the Thunder and some people are feeling the Thunder and they don’t even no it.”
What do you mean by “the Thunder” eco Maori?
You might be feeling it and not even knowing right now.
james, —james -james –hold the ladder steady,, hold the ladder steady-
“Georg was a goat and his beard was yellow,
And James was a very small snail.”
A.A.Milne.
Knew a thing or two did AA.Milne.
He knew about Gerry Brownlee.
http://voetica.com/voetica.php?collection=3&poet=685&poem=3335
Amazing, -knew bout –james, — also “Gerry I’m coming through”, Brownlee, ARHH !! –but did he know bout “button it sweetie” Paula? She would have a crush on our james me thinks.
Only if she rolled over in her sleep. I’m sure A.A. had something on Paula; the first paragraph of “Teddy Bear”?
https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/teddy-bear-by-aa-milne
Nice to know that you are the kind of per son who is happy to “fat shame” a woman – classy.
“A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at;
He-He Robert.
Oh, James, you are a duffer!
The last paragraph reads:
“A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at.
But do you think it worries him
To know that he is far from slim?
No, just the other way about –
He’s proud of being short and stout.”
Sometimes I wonder if your head isn’t stuffed like a Teddy bears!
Could be a little exercise to use each time a troll gets going – think up a suitable poem or piece of music for them. It would be like turning them into an art installation that we add to, and make them a feature that is less annoying and obstructive, and more inspirational so that we get creative. Also it would add to our artistic appreciation, so making a silk purse out of a sows ear, as traditionally spoken.
no effect?….we’ll see
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/11/01/57702/what-happened-without-a-foreign-ban-and-cgt
Found the following part interesting cos we also do not know the value of their purchases and if they may be a small number but buying high end properties?
“LINZ reported that five percent of buyers of 12,951 Auckland properties in the June quarter were not New Zealand tax residents, while 20 percent of properties were bought by 2,637 corporate or business entities. All but six of those entities stated they were resident in New Zealand for tax purposes, but no information was given on the ultimate residency status of the owners of those New Zealand companies or trust.
So the actual percentage of properties that could involve people without permanent residency could range between five percent and 20 percent. The data itself is therefore not useful in determining the actual scale of the foreign buying.
The simple answer is that no one knows exactly how much overseas capital has flowed into Auckland and how much of an impact it has had on prices, alongside the pressures of record high net migration and the lowest house building rate in history. It could be a lot or it could be not much.
But it’s clear that the difference in New Zealand’s policies with Australia have been a factor in New Zealand prices outperforming Australia’s.
“
The LINZ data is even more flawed than that Tracey. It is reporting property transfers, not property sales, but the narrative from it is persistently that of sales. Even in their reports they transpose the word ‘transfer’ for ‘sale’ when they’re not all sales.
A number of transfers would simply be change of title; transferring from an individual to a trust, family estate changes, business to business transfers etc. Just what the proportions are they don’t say and they absolutely should be saying because the data is untruthful without that information.
Eugenie Sage is the new Minister in charge of LINZ. I am looking forward to her getting her teeth into that portfolio.
I hope she can make a difference. Labour have been very weak on numbers, they rarely pulled National up when they made shit up like that.
The LINZ reports were pretty blatant and the response really should have been….
“Hang on a minute, you keep saying that only 5% of sales were to foreign tax residents when your own data says that the 5% is of total transfers …. not total sales.”
It’s pretty simple maths too, they only need to know how many houses were actually sold and that data is available elsewhere. LINZ report 48,603 property transfers from April 2017 to June 2017, somewhat more than the numbers of genuine sales the likes of REINZ report.
If half of all property transfers were not sales, and there was no foreign content in those non-sales, then the true number would be 10% of sales were to foreign tax residents.
It was a little convenient that the approach National took would invariably understate the true percentage of foreign buyers.
@Tracey 8.17
‘outperforming’ – like on the highwire on a bicycle?
Thanks Pat.
Bernard Hickey: “So the actual percentage of properties that could involve people without permanent residency could range between five percent and 20 percent. The data itself is therefore not useful in determining the actual scale of the foreign buying.”
The previous Government was not trying to deceive us was it?
Sadly the changes might take a long time to have an effect and meantime the dropping of capital value of houses will annoy some investors.
And amidst it all please let us remember that
A. Agents told us the market always slows pre election
B. LVR by RB may be the factor in lower prices in Auckland although I note Wellington is up 10% year on year, not anything the “nothing to see here” Nats did
Max Blumenthal on the dangers for the left of the cynical russia narrative in us politics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMq2PKjl6fc
1. It’s always possible that the reason the American left is going after Russian influence on elections in western countries isn’t because they’re dupes of the establishment, but because they’re concerned about Russian influence on elections in western countries.
2. Jamie Raskin is right. Instead of quibbling about this or that detail, the pro-Putin left needs to ask itself why it’s backing conservative authoritarian nationalists against liberal democracy. And if they won’t ask themselves, the rest of us should at least think about what the reasons might be.
Can you just clear up the point – which country is the conservative authoritarian nationalists and which the liberal democracy vis a vis Russia and the USA? They both seem in a state of flux, and I’m not sure whether you are being ironic?
Why are you confused? There’s a serious problem of left-wingers backing Putin but none I’m aware of left-wingers backing Trump. Context is important.
Also: false equivalence ought to be embarrassing but apparently isn’t for a lot of people.
I think you might have the wrong end of the stick there. Its not about backing Putin or Trump or whoever. Its about how its possible to believe the fantasy which is #russiagate. Its a bit like reading the bible and thinking its a real story. Bush may have said “you’re either with us or against us” but there are more options. We may just think your story really sucks
Definitely no Russian interference in the US. Not a bit.
/
https://twitter.com/TexasTribune/status/925861609628676096
https://www.texastribune.org/2017/11/01/russian-facebook-page-organized-protest-texas-different-russian-page-l/
So if I have this correct. Russia supposedly used some super mind control techniques to convince patriotic texans to be involved in large scale protests and counter protests inside the US from its troll farm somewhere in Russia all for the cost of $200?
This would neatly fit in with the work they were doing with Pokemon Go I suppose where they were leading unsuspecting gamers to black lives matter events so they would end up voting for the Donald.
It’s fucking ridiculous.
RIP Dennis Banks – a true hero of the people
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Banks
Amongst ways of managing the country better for better outcomes for all of us, this procedure from Harvard Business Review is probably behind the leaner and meaner, ‘cutting out the fat’ philosophy. It no doubt works when first reviewing a business or department and trying for more efficiency, but how often can it then be repeated still retaining good quality of resource, and good quality of adequate staff on reasonable wages?
https://hbr.org/1991/05/profit-priorities-from-activity-based-costing
Fully exploiting ABC as a guide to profitability, however, requires a conceptual break from traditional cost accounting systems and a willingness to act on the insights ABC analysis provides. Managers must refrain from allocating all expenses to individual units and instead separate the expenses and match them to the level of activity that consumes the resources. Very simply, managers should separate the expenses incurred to produce individual units of a particular product from the expenses needed to produce different products or to serve different customers, independent of how many units are produced or sold.
Then managers must be prepared to act. First, they should explore ways to reduce the resources required to perform various activities. Then to transform those reductions into profits, they must either reduce spending on those resources or increase the output those resources produce. The actions allow the insights from ABC to be translated into increased profits at the bottom line.
I’m reading a book set in 11th century Britain, and these quotes refer to Wales at the time.
…here in a half-barbaric Welsh landholder, no great lord, but a mere squireling elevated among his inferiors to a status he barely rated, at least in Norman eyes. It was the difference between them that Robert [the Norman] thoughtin hierarchies, and Rhisiart [the Welshman] thought in blood-ties, high and low of one mind and in one kinship, and not a man among them aware of inferiority, only of his due place in a united family…. p67
[A bribe was offered by Robert to Rhisiart to persuade the village people to give up a religious treasure to Robert] ‘Money!’ said Rhisiart in the most extraordinary of tones, at once curious, derisory and revolted. He knew about money, of course, and even understood its use, but as an aberration in human relations. In the rural parts of Wales, which indeed were almost all of Wales, it was hardly used at all, and hardly needed. Provision was made in the code for all necessary exchange of goods and services, nobody was so poor as to be without the means of living, and beggars were unknown. The kinship took care of its helpless members, and every house was open as of right. p.69
from A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters.
The author Ellis Peters had made a study of Wales at that period and has a good take on conditions and practices. This approach of the Welsh sounds interesting and could serve us in the times to come. It should be noted that some of the Welsh found the English way of doing things and their moneyed way of life offered more opportunity for luxury and extravagance and the English were determined to absorb Wales, and were able to subvert them and take control of the land and people and ensure that their royalty died out.
With respect, that is not the sort of model for society that I believe in, and looking backwards is not a roadmap for the future. Those were feudal times …
Social enterprise is the way forward.
syclingmad
Perhaps you will be able to hop on your cycle and go towards the future with great confidence and belief that all will be well.
I do not have such confidence and looking at how poorly we have applied knowledge and let standards slip up till now, I believe such lack of confidence is entirely justified. We are slipping back into colonial times in NZ with shonky and make-do houses, laws and lack of respect for those without money or the means to earn it. So good luck to you. I want to have a circle of mutual assistance for those who don’t hit the jackpot.
I didn’t say I have confidence – I presented an alternative pathway forward. Circle the wagons isn’t the approach to succeed. And everyone has the resources to contribute in some way, even just employing the grey matter in creative and innovative ways is what we need into the future.
syclingmad – can you tell me, in not too many words, what you mean by “social enterprise”?
Thanks.
Sure – re-imagining the way business is done. Thinking beyond profit. Impact on people and the environment.
The sorts of initiatives and broader thinking espoused and put into action by Christopher Luxon. And before people start regaling me with stories of deplorable wages at Air NZ or shutting down maintenance facilities, Rome wasn’t build in a day, as they say.
Derek Handley also advocates this approach.
Thanks, syclinmad. Do you think neoliberalism will already have assimilated social enterprise and made it its own? Bastardised it to suit? Captured and corrupted it (It’s what neo-lib does 🙂
See I don’t get hung up on the labels and the categorising. What we have is a mixed economy with a “capitalist” (I hate using that term) organising principle. It will ever be so. What we need to do is find a way to make it more compassionate for all its members and to care for the great provider – mother earth.
So I choose to work within rather than throw rocks from the outside. Can it be done – who knows, but dire predictions for the climate sure hold everyone’s feet to the flames. And recruit everyone to this cause rather than exclude on the basis of ideology or past deed.
How can a person think “beyond profit”? Is that profit with a small “p”, ’cause every organism seeks to profit from its actions; few want to lose. Actually, none.
Neoliberalism is well skilled at coopting and bastardising social justice and Good Things. I like the idea of subverting that. No reason we can’t colonise them.
“Social enterprise is the way forward.”
Unfortunately in this capitalist framed society, social enterprise will be as cynically used by some entrepreneurs as “greenwashing.”
There was a great site for advertising awards for ads highlighting the appropriation of good intent, but random delivery (but I can’t recall the name), but did find this one on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/5jx0ZjAXWwQ
By some, maybe. But I’d rather be trying to subvert for the better than being perpetually disappointed that the revolution hasn’t happened yet …
I’m not being clear, so I’ll try to clarify.
I’ve been following the social enterprise movement for a while now, and agree with the stated intent of many of those disseminating the information, and have been heartened to see some of the (usually overseas) examples of social enterprise.
However, despite those examples, have been cynical about the use of this term in regards to NZ, because the few workshops I did attend were more about creating standard business opportunities rather than true social enterprise.
It is not “subversion” if it appropriated and used to bolster the same attitude towards growing business and what constitutes success.
I support – like you – a change, but I am trying to be vigilant that the change I support is fundamental and not just window dressing. I will be heartened to see true social enterprise take place in NZ, and would be very glad to see government support in the way of grants or tax rebates for businesses that follow a robust new model. A step up from Maryland recognising B-Corps in the US.
It has been a while since I checked the number of B-Corps in NZ, but they have increased. Interestingly, a cluster around Christchurch that didn’t exist before, but may be reflective of the growth in community that has happened since the 2011 earthquake.
As our local paper diminishes so they have pulled out Sports reporters. As she gave me a haircut my barber pointed out that the children’ sports teams that her husband’s work sponsored, would no longer get the exposure. So should they pull the sponsorship?
Do they now get local exposure via Facebook etc rather that the chip-wrapper?
Well, if they consider the children purely as running billboards then I guess so.
If they consider the benefit that their contribution makes to community wellbeing, with the added kudos afforded their business by the team members, their family and their supporters – well they should keep contributing. As sacha points out, they will still get their support noted on social media.
I wonder if the big sponsors for the All Blacks would still sponsor if advertising stopped?
Many Thanks to Forbes Magazine and CNN new’s for seeing the Great Potential of OUR great Lady leader and prime minister Jacinda Ardern and showing the man that crowned her Winston Peters OUR coalition government is the BEST . Kia Kaha
Has anyone else seen Susie Ferguson’s twitter post? I am sure Standard readers would like to wish her a trouble free operation and a speedy recovery.
Here is a link to Suzie’s twitter post on her announcement at the end of Morning Report today that she is having major surgery tomorrow – a possible hysterectomy – due to long term endometriosis. She will probably not be back on air this side of Christmas.
https://twitter.com/SusieFergusonNZ/status/925819569855328256
RNZ are apparently putting together an article or something on endometriosis etc which will then be put up on their website.
Kim Hill, Mihingarangi Forbes, John Campbell and Philippa Tolley will be filling in on Morning Report.
I have not had this awful condition but have family and friends who have had it. And I know that we have a couple of absolutely excellent (female) doctors/surgeons here in Wellington who are experts in endometriosis. So hoping Suzie will be well looked after and back to full health in the near future.
EDIT – here is a link to the Endometriosis Support NZ website with a good explanation of Endo.
Yes guys – there is no reason why you should not also have a look and find out more.
http://www.nzendo.org.nz/about-endometriosis/index.html
Thanks for putting that up vv and I’m sure we all wish Suzie well. It is good if we have the means to do away with painful debilitating chronic conditions.
Well now the left certainly can’t complain about the situation they’ve found themselves in:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/342833/unemployment-falls-as-wages-rise-from-equity-deal
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/98450261/qv-reports-first-yearonyear-price-drop-since-2011
That’s a pretty good situation to come into I’d say
🙂
Kiwiblog these days:
First post of the day: Sun spots! Will they drive a wedge in the coalition between Labour and the Greens?
145 comments denying climate change, 68 more blaming sunspots on Winston, 113 demanding a military coup against the communists.
Second post of the day: Will NZ First/Green tension over rival favourites in the Great British Bake off bring down the coalition?
120 comments calling the Greens communists. 100 more denying climate change.
Third post of the day: Halloween – Will Jacinda’s distribution of lollies cause coalition tensions with the social conservatives of NZ First?
45 comments claiming Jacinda was spotted on a broom flying over Wellington, 148 comments of even more vile women hatred, 98 demanding euthenasia of all NZ First voters over 65, and 102 making an incredibly lame comparison between socialism and free lollies.
Yeah it is a pretty boring zone for misogynist dickheads there at present.
I have had to curtail my reading at kiwiblog because they are too boring.
“45 comments claiming Jacinda was spotted on a broom flying over Wellington, 148 comments of even more vile women hatred, 98 demanding euthenasia of all NZ First voters over 65, and 102 making an incredibly lame comparison between socialism and free lollies.”
😆 It’s like an episode of the Goon show.
The Goon show were weird but funny. These people are weird and off-putting, even scary. The loons show.
Here’s a good reason to get James Shaw into Stats:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/98452880/economist-brands-government-review-of-unemployment-measures-as-a-bit-nonsense
Need to be tracking the over employment figure as well – those working more than 40 hours per week.
The government does need to be confidant of the information that they’re getting from a state department and just because they meet ILO standards doesn’t mean that they’re at best practice. In fact, saying that they meet standards sounds remarkably like an excuse not to better themselves.
Meeting standards is the minimum needed, exceeding them is what we need to be doing if at all possible (and it usually is).
Standards aren’t static no matter how much some people seem to think that they should be.
And there’s a serious question about those standards actually being good enough.
Translation from EX-RBNZ governor: The RBNZ regularly ignores data it doesn’t like.
They may be independent but the last government still managed to use them to lie after a change in the statistic gathering/interpretation dropped the unemployment rate by ~0.5% which they claimed as a government success. This would probably explain the lack of belief in those statistics.
The problem as I see it is that RBNZ, Treasury, and Statistics NZ, for example, produce reports and press releases that are not easily digestible for general consumption by the general public. So, complex information gets reduced down to singular indices such as CPI, GDP, and Unemployment that are really aggregate measures and thus completely misunderstood by most if not all.
Yep.
Well, it’s either that or they’re simply not being reported in their full.
Our nation’s employment insurance organization is charging me insurance cost based on $31.720 but they forecast my income for 20018 at $22.466 and we no that if I get injured they are not going to pay me out 80 % of 31.720 they will pay me 80 % of 22.466.
There excuse is that is the minimum charge out rate WTF my reply was I will agree to disagree with that Policy Ka pai
Heh. Seth Meyers gets his chance to ask Sarah Huckabee Sanders some questions.
https://youtu.be/65vOUdre1nI
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11939417
9th in the world but behind Rwanda, not quite sure how that works
You could just google rwanda gender equality and a veritable cornucopia of information will appear before your eyes.
I guess they may have better equality but I’m still guessing its better overall to be a woman in NZ than it is Rwanda
You’re more of a reverse Milton, then? Better to serve in heaven than reign in hell, sort of thing?
Well I dunno, theres something to be said for the other side every now and then…
http://www.monologuedb.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Al-Pacino-as-John-Milton-in-The-Devils-Advocate.jpg
Haahahhahahahahha!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98475675/hagaman-estate-loses-appeal-against-andrew-little-in-defamation-case
That is all.
lol