In the past few months a series of mini-scandals and criticisms have been levelled at the social welfare fund, largely thanks to digging by Winston Peters.
Most damning has been the conviction of Mongrel Mob member Korrey Teeati Cook for supplying drugs he bought with a $20,000 Whanau Ora grant. At first, Turia insisted there was no proof – until Cook was jailed this month, which she dismissed as a one-off.
It was recently revealed that a quarter of applicants who received Whanau Ora cash were from Te Tai Hauauru – Turia’s electorate. It has only 8 per cent of the Maori population. Turia says she is “more than satisfied with the accountability of the spend”.
Seriously, it seems that the police should be looking into Whanau Ora already. And if not the police then a ministerial enquiry. There’s just too many stories of what looks like people getting money for nothing.
Tamihere, who was a failed Minister and poor electorate performer, is lined up for a seat selection despite a string of financial and political sins.
Cunliffe, who was a ministerial star and is a top electorate performer, is shafted for refusing to say how he will vote in a future secret ballot.
Shearer is a genius. Shearer is genius.
Heil Shearer.
He will lead up to 23% in 2014 and do better than English in 2002.
We are saved. We are saved.
I intend to write to the council stating that though I have no particular objection to his being a member of the party, I would strongly oppose his being allowed to stand for Labour. Surely even a cursory reading of the foundational principles of the party, compared with Tamihere’s stated views, and past behaviour would rule him out as a representative.
Hell, any hint of a possibility, and I’ll ring up talkback shows myself, and remind listeners of the family pets he abandoned when he moved home a few years ago. Just to get things moving.
I hope others will make their feelings known on this issue, along with the many, many, reasons why Tamihere is not acceptable, and not Labour.
I’d vote for David before I’d vote for John.
I have to agree about Shearer’s genius, though. It takes a special type of political nous to ignore Jones, Tamihere, and Mallard and attack Cunliffe instead. It shows focus in the race for that 23%.
Reading this mornings NZH there is a item about record redundancies in NZ. National can take a bow for a lot of these job losses because of their inability too manage the economy properly. High NZD coupled with inaction
to stimulate job growth, thru one example ‘keeping it local with Govt contracts etc.’ Thank goodness the major opposition parties had the sense to hold a manufacturing/job summit
recently. I imagine in part Labour’s bold new Housing Policy came out of this? I think most New Zealanders know someone being made redundant lately. Is enough pressure being put on National by opposition parties? Should they band together with the CTU & lead a protest day of ‘all’ the workers getting the axe before Christmas. A damn good idea too highlight a piss & wind Government!
just beginning to wonder if the Labour leadership understand that the poll this week showing Labour losing ground and Greens gaining has something to do with membership dissatisfaction.
The way Cunliffe was handled was one thing. But Tamihere is another.
I suspect this will generate massive distaste among Labour’s female members, who will either stay home or switch membership to the Greens in droves.
The poll shift means this is really hurting Labour and will get worse.
Feels sick to be part of a nasty calculation like that ie liberal females are worth sacrificing in order to get a seat-winner back, and to shore up Shearer’s caucus majority.
Sepuloni would stand a good chance winning back Waitakere. And Tamihere’s opening salvo is to call Bennett “fat”? Yes, that’s really what’s wrong with her bennie bashing campaign.
Labour has enough ‘show ponies’ without adding has been JT. Shearer is going to be rolled by New York’s Lady Penelope’s boy Parker. So no need to worry.
Tamihere is a dinosaur. Also for all his talk he’s very thin skinned. He can dish it but can’t take it. He just got personal with that vile ‘fat’ comment. Problem is a bunch of us know some personal stuff about you JT. Keep acting like this and we’ll start slapping you back.
This may well be the final nail in the coffin for my Labour membership. Who thought this was a good idea? Did they allow Tamihere back in as a show of how broadminded they are? To have him pissing from inside the tent? Look at the very first thing he’s done – he’s fired off a bunch of shots at his own members.
Labour isn’t being led at the moment. It is lurching forward. It is dying and it doesn’t even know it.
My guess? David Shearer, Grant Robertson, and their respective staff. A lot of you guys know people on New Zealand Council. Ask them to see if they can confirm or deny.
Anyhows, the Labour Party is a ship headed by Captain Edward John Smith, and the order from the bridge is “Full speed ahead. Damn the icebergs”.
A crisp military salute to Viper ‘.’ This Ed Smith will be relieved of Captains duties by way of a mutiny ala the Bounty. Cpt Bligh’s crime of subjecting his crew to harsh treatment ( attempting a right lurch into dangerous waters instead of remaining to port) will require action from Fletcher in February. “Stir give em the lash… not the rum & the others coming.” lol.
Well cv looks like centralist shearer shoring up a power base by including JT and negating the power play by Parker and or robertson. Labour broad church split into multi blocks and factions has just got broader and more inclusive. JT connects to a segment of the elctrorate that labour needs to reengergise and reconnect to….also JT is a attack dog, a mongrel who can and will get dirty taking on the Tories.
Whilst I don’t like jt he and his kind have a place in the very very broad tent that is or should be labour.
Shearers divide and rule is working well so far shame he isn’t performing in public.
God if only I had that much faith as you in Shearer’s political acumen (ahem) that I could see him making a proper splitter play.
It is definitely good “divide and rule” caucus politics. Great while you are still 2 years out. Crush your enemies and turn the whole caucus into West Germany 1981: absolutely everyone is a spy for everyone else. Keeps the leader the leader.
It is spectacularly bad Party politics.
And shockingly, cynically bad electoral politics. Don’t anyone think this guys brings swags of votes. He brings a handful, and burns a sackful.
The Greens are the winners out of this. Watch the next poll for the same tracking as current.
IMO JT can do nothing to fix Labour’s disconnection and tone deaf approach to the working class and underclass. You still have a caucus of MPs too many of whom completely live and breathe the insular Wellington beltway bubble of palace politics.
JT is being put back into caucus to appeal to the brash, slightly red neck, middle class. Also, as you point out, to further divide and rule caucus.
Can Labour use him to bring a bit of dirty street fighter mongrel back? Sure, exactly like a skinny snob can ring in for a bit of muscle to rough up the other side. But what does that really change? How will this move solve any of Labour’s biggest issues and limitations? In fact it risks much in return.
One further observation: in Labour, it appears you get handpicked by the few to become an MP if you belong to the right clique.
But it will blow up in their faces, as we are not all ‘1970’s blokey, insult everyone, bloke’s’. Personally I reckon he should run for the Nats, as his politics fit with them better.
Feels sick to be part of a nasty calculation like that ie liberal females are worth sacrificing in order to get a seat-winner back, and to shore up Shearer’s caucus majority.
The “nasty calulation” goes far wider than “liberal females”. Be nice if people would look at the bigger picture, as opposed to the narrow biased view, but encouraging the calculations are being clocked!
Labour are being imploded, National, currently having a free ride during some of the lowest times in NZ political history, and Russel Norman is being plumped nicely to slide in as “the left”
Any odds on an offical National/Labour merger, or will they leave it at unoffical co-operation!
Makes it feel like Shearer is preferring a superstar with high firework-burnout risk, to a lower-profile player who is likely to win with lower risk. Perhaps instead they could put Tamihere head to head with Hone from Mana. Carmel Sepuloni is a keeper.
Simply put, Shearer is shoring up his risk with Jones by bringing back Tamihere. He thinks if he’s got to have a Maori, it had better be a bloke and either will do. Can anyone point to any evidence since Shearer became leader that he supports women or any other minority that JT feels entitled to publicly abuse?
I don’t even LIKE Bennett, and I’m offended at JT’s comments. We aren’t in a schoolyard FFS.
I’m reminded of when males attacked my body insulting it as if it were their right to pass approval or disapproval.
The proportion of “fat” insults are predominantly directed at females such as Bennett. It seems to me if you are female you can be considered “fat” at a size 12, or even a size 10 if you have offended someone sufficiently.
Can anyone tell me if JT has launched a personal attack like this on Parekura Horomia, Tau Henare, or Pita Sharples?
And DO we really want an MP who focuses his valuable time on body image rather than significant issues? He clearly has intelligence, but unless he is Winston I’m not sure he can pull of this type of angle.
I think you have your answer. The fresh names on Council are too scared to face down the Leadership team. Its just a no brainer regarding the harm Tamihere will do to Labour. But if that’s what the Leadership team want, then guess what we’ll all have to live with it.
My guess is Moira is stuck between a rock and a hard place. She knows in her heart what is right but is powerless to stop the Shearer/Robertson train wreck.
“Look, I don’t have to get on with these people. I’m joining the Labour Party. I’m not joining the ‘Women’s Party’, I’m not joining the ‘Union Party’, I’m not joining the ‘Gay Party’, I’m joining the Labour Party.
It’s been a while since I attended a LEC meeting so will be going to the next one. Last thing we need is JT championing his own cause during election year & turning voters off in droves. His carry on supporting Gibson & co at POAL sums him up. Bloggers on here referring to him as an attack dog, as if he is a heavy hitter have to be kidding. I’d rather have his side kick Willie Jackson at least he fights from a true left corner.
JT has only just got membership of labour again and he launches into the same type of
rhetoric that got his membership withdrawn,incredible.
NZ women dont need some political ‘wannabe’ telling them they are fat,therefore not
worthy of respect,does the labour caucus really need the likes of JT in its ranks,indeed,
in the membership ?
After the Cunliffe dumping, i can see no real reason to support the Shearer led Labour
party, the Robertson and Labour endorsement of JT,cements that.
I’ve managed to get a few details, with some reasonable although I must say not absolute certainty. Parker, Twyford and Cosgrove all supported JT’s membership application earlier this week.
All this talk of JT reminded me of an American soap drama from the seventies with a main character called JR. Checking out if I had the initials correct (I had thought it might be JT too) I came across another spooky coincidence on the search engine in the description of the series…….
“The soapy, backstabbing machinations of Dallas oil magnate J.R. Ewing and his family…….”
Substitute the words in italics one gets a Kiwi up to date version:
“The less than soapy backstabbing machinations of certain caucus members of the 2012 Labour party.”
JR, and the entire cast of the Dallas series would have felt right at home in the Kiwi version.
Odd? Nope it just goes to show the level of distrust thats going on. Cunliffe should have been the guy who went to it. but they went with No one. A Brilliant idea that was, maybe they though we wouldn’t notice.
John Tamihere gives interviews to the media, openly attacks members of a party that has just taken him back, throws around insults, and generally acts like an infant.
This is OK.
People on a blog then criticise Tamihere and his supporters.
This is not OK. This is “undermining Labour” or “supporting National” or something. Because it’s on a blog.
It’s now clear that this is all part of a great human experiment. The aim is to find out how often you can say “Black Is White”, and still get people to defer to authority, instead of reality.
We must unite! We must rally round Shearer-Labour! We must support people who say “Labour”, even if they themselves are attacking Labour! If they undermine the party, we must support them, otherwise we will be undermining the party! Be Loyal to Disloyalty! It is the Only Way!
And never forget … YOU are the real problem. Not Tamihere. Not Shearer. Not Jones. You. Because you’re on a blog.
OK he may not get his wish to repeal the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, but as an associate education minister in a Shearer Cabinet he might launch a pogrom against gay schoolteachers, or campaign to get homosexual themed literature out of the school system, or as Social Development minister, stack the Families Commission with homophobes and seek to deny sickness benefits to those with HIV.
He also supports Partnership Schools, and privatisation of health,education and welfare — if he had his way. — and hates unions, which is a bedrock of the labour party.
He also called for tax cuts which would have collapsed our schools and hospitals.
JT coming back is more of what the hollowmen ordered, carry on captain shearer. Aye aye Admiral.
Sepuloni lost Waitakere largely because Bradford and Mana couldn’t be bothered with the big picture in unseating a cabinet minster and further evidence how ego ecentric they all are. They were never going to win it but rather then let Carmel have a clear run at it they did the ‘me me me me’ routine.
Letting the devious and inciteful JT back is asking for trouble, he’ll make the nat’s look presidential with his talkback rant time adding to an already dodgy and flawed political character.
Sue Bradford:
I’ve been making it really clear at every meeting I speak at that I am only asking for the Party vote for Mana in Waitakere, not the electorate vote.
Anyway, it’s not ego, it’s about using her electorate to increase the profile of Mana, and the issues.
tc, why blame Bradford and Mana but not the GP, or the ALCP? Sepuloni lost by 9 votes, and any of Mana, GP or ALCP not standing a candidate would have ensured she won.
We should be talking about parties accommodating at the electoral level.
and in Ideas 10.06 a.m.
Last month Human Rights Watch issued a report calling for so-called killer robots to be stopped in their tracks and this week Jeremy Rose talks to the report’s author, Bonnie Docherty. Wellingtonian Mary Wareham, who has just taken up the position of advocacy director of disarmament at Human Rights Watch in Washington DC, tells Chris Laidlaw about the challenges of convincing governments to give up some of the nastier parts of their arsenals, and Wim Zwijenburg, of the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, talks about efforts to have a moratorium placed on the use of depleted uranium. Produced by Jeremy Rose.
Also keep an eye on santa fe institute – some great thinking that I could possibly understand, and many of you for sure. http://www.santafe.edu/education/
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. . Current Leader of the National Party, Simon Bridges gave the usual rah-rah speech to the Loyal & Faithful in Christchurch today (27 July). With National’s party polling and his own personal popularity sliding steadily in the polls, Mr Bridges has not much left to reverse his fortunes. ...
Those concerned for Langridge’s wellbeing say they hope he’ll change his mind when he sees the ocean coming. The protester who has vowed to stand outside Parliament every day until the Government announces a climate emergency says he accepts that his quest will most likely end in drowning. Ollie Langridge, ...
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...
Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says the report of the Small Business Council will help maintain the momentum for innovation and improvements in the sector. Mr Nash has thanked the members of the Small Business Council (SBC) who this week handed over their report, Empowering small businesses to aspire, succeed ...
Extra Police officers are being deployed from Northland to Southland with the graduation of a new wing of recruits from the Royal New Zealand Police College. “The graduation of 78 constables today means that 1524 new constables have been deployed since the government took office,” says Police Minister Stuart Nash. ...
An Auckland Homelessness Collective is optimistic extra government support for sustaining tenancies signals a commitment to a multi-pronged approach to tackling homelessness. ...
Wanaka-based trust ONE New Zealand will be hosting six days of talks, workshops and hands-on activities with local and national experts to educate, inspire and enable grassroots action towards a sustainable future. ...
In last week’s episode of Politics in Full Sentences, David, Brooke and Ruwan discussed why Jacinda Ardern has been lecturing our friends overseas, why Andrew Little called ACT's three strikes law “fascism”, whether he will give prisoners the right to ...
“Community safety must be the paramount consideration when releasing an offender, and the only way for that to be achieved is for the offender to acknowledge their crimes.” ...
“District Health Boards are failing to foster a culture of distributed clinical leadership, despite its demonstrated benefits to the sector,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS). ...
Ratepayers around Auckland were spitting out their morning coffees listening to Phil Goff’s incredible claims on breakfast radio today that this election is about ‘honesty’ and that Aucklanders can trust him on his promises. Auckland Ratepayers’ ...
The Hōkai Rangi plan for reducing Māori reoffending announced today fails to fulfil the Waitangi Tribunal’s recommendations, says justice organisation People Against Prisons Aotearoa. Minister Kelvin Davis announced the plan this morning, which aims ...
Waatea News at the invitation of the North Island Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency will exclusively broadcast the next Māori-led Inquiry into Oranga Tamariki starting today at 1pm. ...
Staff at the Ministry of Social Development say they are enthusiastic about the government’s $54 million investment in housing the homeless, with many describing it as a welcome change. ...
Today posters have gone up outside ANZ branches across New Zealand to expose ANZ’s sponsorship of an exclusive oil industry group, ‘The Petroleum Club’. The satirical posters play on ANZ’s recent ad campaigns, replacing the banks’ tagline ‘healthy ...
Imagine a country where children look forward to walking or cycling to school, parents arrive home safely, and the journeys we take for work or pleasure do more than leave us alive or uninjured, they also improve our lives. This is happening now in countries ...
Sunday, 18 August, 2019 - Environmental groups and well known New Zealanders are preparing to deliver a 55,000 strong petition to the steps of Parliament tomorrow, calling on the Government to protect the world’s smallest dolphin. ...
The Government’s proposed rescue plan must be strengthened because it is the last chance to save Māui dolphins from extinction and secure the future for Hector’s dolphins, Forest & Bird says. ...
Simon Shepherd: Roads, schools, hospitals, prisons, the building blocks that keep society functioning. And we don't have enough. It's called the infrastructure deficit and will be the focus of a major conference this coming week. The man charged with ...
New Zealand has been issued a stark challenge from Pacific leaders to dramatically upscale its action to address climate breakdown, Oxfam says, after a clear rallying cry from nations at this week’s Pacific Islands Forum. ...
Support for Recreational Dope Going ‘Up in Smoke’ Family First NZ is welcoming yet another poll showing plummeting support for legalising cannabis in New Zealand. The Horizon Research poll shows support for legalising has plummeted from 60% last ...
The prospect of ending wider cannabis prohibition looks increasingly unlikely. Over the last nine months, the percentage of New Zealanders who would vote for legalising the personal use of cannabis has declined at a near linear rate of around 10% per ...
“It’s disappointing that news out of the United States of hospitalisations linked to illegal street drugs is somehow seen as relevant to the New Zealand vaping scene,” says Ben Pryor, Director of Alt New Zealand – the largest Kiwi-owned vaping company. ...
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) welcomes the successful passing of Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill through parliament, by the New Zealand Government. ...
Today’s news from the Electoral Commission has provided the party with the clarity it was seeking around use of the word “Coalition” being used as the brand name of the party. ...
A recently released Otago University study has provided further evidence that low-quality housing is a significant problem in Aotearoa. This has prompted the Chief Executive of the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACENZ) Paul Evans to question “why ...
With the BNZ-Business NZ PMI signaling manufacturing is contracting , the Government needs to seriously consider tax relief, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . ...
The New Zealand Maori Council has called for an overhaul of the Public Services executive ranks as the Corrections debacle shows mis-management and incompetence at the highest level. Matthew Tukaki, Executive Director of the New Zealand Maori Council has said ...
Findings from the 2018 New Zealand Consumer Survey have been released and the results are in; 48 per cent of respondents consider their purchases based on how ethically employees are treated. ...
The responsibility for the fact that Westland Milk Products is now in the hands of an overseas conglomerate 25% owned by the Chinese government can be laid fair and square at our government's doorstep. ...
As Fonterra is projecting multi million dollar losses for the second year in a row, it is clear the writing is on the wall for dairy as more and more Kiwis turn to plant milks. 22nd August is International Plant Milk Day and there is now a different plant ...
The $65,000 granted to Interislander so it can install electric vehicle chargers on its ferries is the most absurd waste of money yet to be delivered by the “Low Emissions” vehicle fund, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. ...
Wellingtonians will have the chance to hear international child rights experts from Ireland, Scotland and Samoa speak at the Making Child Rights Real in Aotearoa New Zealand seminar to be held in the city on Wednesday 21 August. ...
Paul Evans, Chief Executive of the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACENZ), is advocating a balanced approach to the development of productive land. ...
CPAG (Child Poverty Action Group) says that new research from the University of Otago provides a solid foundation for why the Government must not delay instating a comprehensive Warrant of Fitness for tenanted homes in Aotearoa-New Zealand, and ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer drove carelessly during a pursuit and that this was the primary cause of a collision with a motorcycle that injured the rider. ...
Responding to the Prime Minister’s commitment of $150 million in funding for climate change response in the Pacific, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “It is no secret that many Pacific nations lack serious oversight when it ...
AUT research not only shows an increase in political affiliation, but that candidates affiliated to a central political party are more likely to win seats in Auckland local government. ...
On the 23rd of August School Strike NZ will join Ollie Langridge in his 100th day of sitting outside of New Zealand Parliament calling for the government to declare a climate emergency. School Strike 4 Climate NZ also demand that Parliament acknowledge ...
You have stood up for what is fair, and I am sure you will speak for over 7 million people who have been muted and rendered voiceless in Indian occupied Kashmir for more than a 10 days now. I am writing to bring to your notice the plight of Kashmiri ...
In the last 10 months alone, 11 petitions have been delivered to Parliament calling for medicines to be funded by Pharmac. Today, another nine petitions have been launched by Patient Voice Aotearoa (PVA) members asking that life changing, saving and extending ...
When we were first working to get Miscanthus approved for import into New Zealand, the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) waived the fee for their work because they thought that having Miscanthus in New Zealand was so very much in the ...
PHARMAC’s recent decision to fund two additional drugs from December this year has been widely welcomed by patients and the general public alike. The drugs, Kadcyla and Ibrance, are used in the treatment of advanced lung and breast cancers and will ...
Animal rights organisation SAFE is urging the Government to include experts and advocates from outside the agriculture industry on its newly announced winter crop grazing taskforce. ...
The Government’s plans to prohibit housing on ‘productive’ farmland will serve as yet another regulatory tax on housing, and is a shameful breach of Jacinda Ardern’s promise to fix housing supply, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . ...
The latest round of the Ethnic Communities Development Fund opens today, supporting projects that grow the leadership and capability of ethnic groups, improve cultural understanding, and ensure our ethnic communities are a vibrant and celebrated part ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is warning of the dangers of hiking excise tax, in response to calls from a former Prime Minister for stronger action on alcohol harm. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “It seems inevitable ...
LGNZ will be cautiously assessing the wider implications of the newly proposed National Position Statement on Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL), noting that that it traverses a number of highly complex policy areas including housing affordability and property ...
Alex Casey chats to Bree Tomasel about hosting Celebrity Treasure Island NZ, farting in the ZM studio and going viral on the regular. The most important thing you need to know about Bree Tomasel is not the fact that she peed her pants during Celebrity Treasure Island NZ, but the glee ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsAnalysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – The election race is on. The nominations process for local government positions has now closed, and the political campaign is officially underway. But does the public care? Will many of us even vote for any of the various mayoral or council ...
At Eden Park on Saturday night, the Wallabies were on the receiving end of a ruthless players’ revenge, writes Scotty StevensonThe rain came. It always seems to at Eden Park, just as the Wallabies warm up on the pitch, dreaming of ending a drought. It came from the west, the ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Local government Michael Fallow (Stuff): Your council – what’s its job description? Dileepa Fonseka and ...
Protesters occupying land at Ihumātao will begin a four-hour hikoi to Mt Albert on Thursday to present a petition calling on the Prime Minister to visit the land. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Walvisch, Lecturer, Monash University This morning an Extinction Rebellion protester was arrested after hanging from a rope over the William Jolly Bridge in Brisbane, blocking all lanes to peak hour traffic. And earlier this month in Brisbane, more than 70 climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Jobson, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Monash University Many of us enjoy writing in a diary, reading autobiographies or nostalgically reflecting with others about past times. Why is remembering our past so important? Are there downsides? And what can we do ...
Roll Red Roll is a brutal, painfully illuminating documentary on the Steubenville High School rape case, a shocking crime that made headlines worldwide. Emily Writes reviews. This review discusses rape and sexual violenceAugust 11, 2012: two teenage boys rape an unconscious teenage girl as two of their peers watch and ...
By RNZ Pacific Tuvalu’s Prime Minister has condemned the Australian Prime Minister’s conduct at last week’s Pacific Islands Forum, calling Scott Morrison’s attitude “unfortunate” and “neo-colonial,” and questioning Australia’s future in the 18-member body. In an interview with RNZ on Sunday, Enele Sopoaga also threatened to pull Tuvaluan labour from ...
The second hui of the Māori-led inquiry into Oranga Tamariki takes place in Hamilton today. Newsroom, in partnership with Radio Waatea, are broadcasting it live from 1pm. ...
Prolific, award-winning Palmerston North poet Paula Harris somehow manages to be stroppy and properly vulnerable all at once. Here, she writes about her first slam competition – and why she cried all the way home. I am old enough to have given birth to most of the people here.Sure, there’s a ...
High speed rail links between cities could play a massive role in revitalising regional New Zealand, says a visiting transport infrastructure expert. Professor Andrew McNaughton spoke to Alex Braae. Imagine commuting from Hamilton to Auckland, and it only taking an hour to get there. It’s a vision of how the right ...
On the good days, riding a bike is the best. But in Auckland there aren’t nearly enough of those days, and unless decision makers take urgent action, that’s not going to change.This piece originally appeared on Bike AucklandMy first bike crash in central Auckland happened on Symonds Street. I was ...
It's not since 1989 that a mayoralty campaign in the southern city has been so unpredictable - a record 14 candidates have put their names forward. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Hon Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney On the morning of the last Monday in April, 2019, federal election officials opened the doors of more than 500 pre-poll voting centres around Australia, and waited for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Veronica Alfano, Research Fellow, Australian Catholic University Memorising poetry was once common in classrooms. But it has, for the most part, gone out of style. There are good reasons for this. Memorisation can clash with creativity and analytical thought. Rote learning can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darren Paul Fisher, Head of Directing, Department of Film, Screen and Creative Media, Bond University What do J.J. Abrams, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Shonda Rhimes, David Lynch, Aaron Sorkin, Donald Glover, Jenji Kohan, Jordan Peele, Tina Fey, and Joss Whedon have in common? They ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Mayors launch bids to return in Auckland and Wellington, Hamilton’s skyline could change significantly, and support for cannabis legalisation plummets in poll.Two incumbent mayors have launched their re-election campaigns over the weekend, with a bigger fight on their hands than ...
MediaWorks has been lobbying the Government to turn TVNZ 1 into a non-commercial channel to help stem its own financial bleeding. Frustrated, and getting nowhere, it’s decided to change tack. ...
The 37-8 result meant the Black Ferns finished with a handy 5-1 record for the year, suggesting they are tracking well enough towards a successful defence of the 2021 World Cup. ...
Customs has cracked down on a GST rort, leaving Trade Me to pay back thousands of dollars to customers who had new cameras and smartphones seized at the border. ...
New Zealand has long been the world’s imagined lifeboat – and increasingly for something more than just escape, writes Elle Hunt.One Friday morning in January 1847, Charles Dickens wrote to his friend John Forster that he was “disposed to go to New Zealand and start a magazine”. The quote was ...
New Zealand is one of only two developed countries, along with the US, that permits direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines, and it needs to stop, writes Dr David Menkes. It’s been a long time coming: a new Consumer report makes it clear that most New Zealanders want to see a ban ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has a sharp lecture for bureaucrats about their KPIs, in a comprehensive speech laying down how he expects the Australian Public Service to operate under his government. Morrison stresses the service must be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has issued a timetable for the government’s dealing with the recommendations from the royal commission into banking, superannuation and financial services, which aims to have all measures needing legislation introduced by the ...
By Ghinan Salman in Surabaya As many as 43 Papuan students were taken to the district police headquarters after Indonesian police fired teargas and forced their way into a student dormitory in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya at the weekend. The Papuan students were forcibly removed from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Senior Associate, Grattan Institute Each new generation of Australians since Federation has enjoyed a better standard of living than the one that came before it. Until now. Today’s young Australians are in danger of falling behind. A new Grattan Institute ...
Jamie Wall reviews Jonah, the two-part Three telefeature that follows the life of our most famous All Black, and finds it an effective but mixed retelling of the legend.Honestly, it’s a wee bit disappointing that the only notable on-screen dramatisation of the All Blacks in recent years was centred on replacement ...
We love it battered and served with chips, but tarakihi stocks aren’t doing well and another big cut to commercial catch limits is in the works. Ah yes, terrakee, that’s a fish, right?Well, first things first, let’s say it correctly. Pronounce every syllable, remember the Māori vowel sounds (A-E-I-O-U), roll the ...
Good on their own, even better with cheese – these crisp, moreish crackers are destined to become your new go-to savoury snack.These crackers have been on high rotation in our household – they’ve filled lunchboxes, accompanied fine cheeses on evening platters and been eaten by the fistful straight from the jar. ...
Lists are good and so are Sundays. We combine both those things in a new Spinoff feature. This week: Headlines from the past six months about the the Reserve Bank governor, Adrian OrrRBNZ prepares to stick its Orr inASB, March 29Banks Orr-struck yet againThe Australian, April 10Big banks brace for ...
Over 300 hours of interviews condensed into five episodes that cover the entirety of New Zealand’s comedy history – how do you even start to approach that? Sam Brooks interviews Paul Horan, the documentarian behind the show.It’s one of those projects that sounds utterly futile – how does one cover ...
Judgement prevents understanding, which in itself is a barrier to preventing unsafe behaviour. Are different approaches to harm reduction in the Rainbow community needed? Sex. Drugs. Carly Rae Jepsen. This is the iconography that tends to be massaged into mainstream conceptions of gay culture. Depictions in TV/film see us railing lines ...
Open mike 02/12/2012 
by Philip Ferguson This weekend just past marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, the most famous of the great 1960s music festivals. It was held over the weekend (Friday-Monday) of August 15-18, 1969. Woodstock was a highpoint of the US ‘counter-culture’, and also the beginning of its end. When exploring the ...1 hour ago
Last week, Australia sabotaged the Pacific Forum by opposing action on climate change. Their Deputy Prime Minister followed that up by saying that Pacific Peoples could always pick Australian fruit - just as they had done in the era of blackbirding. And now, that arrogant, tone-deaf approach has drawn a ...1 hour ago
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...1 day ago
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...1 day ago
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...3 days ago
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Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...3 days ago
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...5 days ago
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...5 days ago
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...5 days ago
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...5 days ago
Most economists agree that a currently slowing economy could do with some stimulus – and they would also agree that there is no shortage of infrastructure projects which could be brought to productive fruition with help from that stimulus. In view of the current practice of sub-contracting economic policy decisions ...5 days ago
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...5 days ago
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ... 5 days ago
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...6 days ago
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...1 week ago
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...1 week ago
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...1 week ago
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...2 weeks ago
Blowing-Up The House: Is Winston Peters planning to put himself at the head of all those New Zealanders who refuse to countenance the Coalition Government caving-in to the Ihumatao protesters? The most effective way of doing this would be to issue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with an ultimatum. If she ...2 weeks ago
A Cult, that many actors, politicians, and those with a low IQ are joining is sweeping across civilisation, with one main intention – ending humans reign on Earth. Starting as a well meaning though deeply flawed theory, that the Earth was warming due to mankind emitting greenhouse gasses, it was ...2 weeks ago
There is a military phrase: “Full spectrum dominance”. It refers to the all-encompassing policy to dominate across all spheres of war. Lately, that has come to include the internet – in other words, cyberwarfare initiatives. That is in addition to land, sea, air and the like. Now, if ...2 weeks ago
The IMF issued a Report on the state of the Economy as it is at present. Some of it points out significant issues that certainly warrant attention, but that we know already exist. Some of it is very much tied to the very obvious context of global concerns, that everyone ...2 weeks ago
I'm glad to see the Lib Dems won.I had a moment of terror yesterday thinking that the Conservatives might cling on, due to a combination of Johnson's elevation to the premiership, the apparent uselessness of the Lib Dem candidate (who had failed to be elected in other constituencies) and the ...2 weeks ago
. . Current Leader of the National Party, Simon Bridges gave the usual rah-rah speech to the Loyal & Faithful in Christchurch today (27 July). With National’s party polling and his own personal popularity sliding steadily in the polls, Mr Bridges has not much left to reverse his fortunes. ...2 weeks ago
Those concerned for Langridge’s wellbeing say they hope he’ll change his mind when he sees the ocean coming. The protester who has vowed to stand outside Parliament every day until the Government announces a climate emergency says he accepts that his quest will most likely end in drowning. Ollie Langridge, ...2 weeks ago
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...2 weeks ago
An Auckland Homelessness Collective is optimistic extra government support for sustaining tenancies signals a commitment to a multi-pronged approach to tackling homelessness. ...2 hours ago
Alex Casey chats to Bree Tomasel about hosting Celebrity Treasure Island NZ, farting in the ZM studio and going viral on the regular. The most important thing you need to know about Bree Tomasel is not the fact that she peed her pants during Celebrity Treasure Island NZ, but the glee ...6 mins ago
The way things are going, Germany may soon be 'the sick man of Europe' again. ...35 mins ago
46 mins ago
At Eden Park on Saturday night, the Wallabies were on the receiving end of a ruthless players’ revenge, writes Scotty StevensonThe rain came. It always seems to at Eden Park, just as the Wallabies warm up on the pitch, dreaming of ending a drought. It came from the west, the ...47 mins ago
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
Protesters occupying land at Ihumātao will begin a four-hour hikoi to Mt Albert on Thursday to present a petition calling on the Prime Minister to visit the land. ...57 mins ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Walvisch, Lecturer, Monash University This morning an Extinction Rebellion protester was arrested after hanging from a rope over the William Jolly Bridge in Brisbane, blocking all lanes to peak hour traffic. And earlier this month in Brisbane, more than 70 climate ...2 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Jobson, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, Monash University Many of us enjoy writing in a diary, reading autobiographies or nostalgically reflecting with others about past times. Why is remembering our past so important? Are there downsides? And what can we do ...2 hours ago
Roll Red Roll is a brutal, painfully illuminating documentary on the Steubenville High School rape case, a shocking crime that made headlines worldwide. Emily Writes reviews. This review discusses rape and sexual violenceAugust 11, 2012: two teenage boys rape an unconscious teenage girl as two of their peers watch and ...2 hours ago
By RNZ Pacific Tuvalu’s Prime Minister has condemned the Australian Prime Minister’s conduct at last week’s Pacific Islands Forum, calling Scott Morrison’s attitude “unfortunate” and “neo-colonial,” and questioning Australia’s future in the 18-member body. In an interview with RNZ on Sunday, Enele Sopoaga also threatened to pull Tuvaluan labour from ...2 hours ago
New Zealand's economy is not headed for recession, ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley says. ...4 hours ago
The second hui of the Māori-led inquiry into Oranga Tamariki takes place in Hamilton today. Newsroom, in partnership with Radio Waatea, are broadcasting it live from 1pm. ...4 hours ago
We continue our series on bookstores around New Zealand as Wilma van den Bosch explains how she opened Petronella's in Lake Tekapo. ...4 hours ago
Prolific, award-winning Palmerston North poet Paula Harris somehow manages to be stroppy and properly vulnerable all at once. Here, she writes about her first slam competition – and why she cried all the way home. I am old enough to have given birth to most of the people here.Sure, there’s a ...4 hours ago
The country's wood processors say the international log price war and protected overseas economies are crippling the New Zealand trade. ...5 hours ago
On the good days, riding a bike is the best. But in Auckland there aren’t nearly enough of those days, and unless decision makers take urgent action, that’s not going to change.This piece originally appeared on Bike AucklandMy first bike crash in central Auckland happened on Symonds Street. I was ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Mills, Hon Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney On the morning of the last Monday in April, 2019, federal election officials opened the doors of more than 500 pre-poll voting centres around Australia, and waited for ...8 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Hart, Senior Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Last week, federal health minister Greg Hunt announced that more than 60,000 Australians will be asked about their mental health and well-being as part of the Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study. The mental ...8 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Veronica Alfano, Research Fellow, Australian Catholic University Memorising poetry was once common in classrooms. But it has, for the most part, gone out of style. There are good reasons for this. Memorisation can clash with creativity and analytical thought. Rote learning can ...8 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darren Paul Fisher, Head of Directing, Department of Film, Screen and Creative Media, Bond University What do J.J. Abrams, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Shonda Rhimes, David Lynch, Aaron Sorkin, Donald Glover, Jenji Kohan, Jordan Peele, Tina Fey, and Joss Whedon have in common? They ...8 hours ago
The inverted yield curve is to economists what Voldemort was to Harry Potter - the dark lord whose name should never be mentioned. ...9 hours ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Mayors launch bids to return in Auckland and Wellington, Hamilton’s skyline could change significantly, and support for cannabis legalisation plummets in poll.Two incumbent mayors have launched their re-election campaigns over the weekend, with a bigger fight on their hands than ...10 hours ago
MediaWorks has been lobbying the Government to turn TVNZ 1 into a non-commercial channel to help stem its own financial bleeding. Frustrated, and getting nowhere, it’s decided to change tack. ...11 hours ago
The 37-8 result meant the Black Ferns finished with a handy 5-1 record for the year, suggesting they are tracking well enough towards a successful defence of the 2021 World Cup. ...11 hours ago
Nikki Mandow tells us why social procurement is more exciting than it sounds - and how it might change the world. ...11 hours ago
The Wallabies arrived in Auckland with one hand on the Bledisloe Cup and flew home with it amputated. ...11 hours ago
Customs has cracked down on a GST rort, leaving Trade Me to pay back thousands of dollars to customers who had new cameras and smartphones seized at the border. ...11 hours ago
New Zealand is one of only two developed countries, along with the US, that permits direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines, and it needs to stop, writes Dr David Menkes. It’s been a long time coming: a new Consumer report makes it clear that most New Zealanders want to see a ban ...12 hours ago
A look at how our banks behave when the rules aren't tough enough. ...12 hours ago
By Ghinan Salman in Surabaya As many as 43 Papuan students were taken to the district police headquarters after Indonesian police fired teargas and forced their way into a student dormitory in the East Java provincial capital of Surabaya at the weekend. The Papuan students were forcibly removed from ...16 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Senior Associate, Grattan Institute Each new generation of Australians since Federation has enjoyed a better standard of living than the one that came before it. Until now. Today’s young Australians are in danger of falling behind. A new Grattan Institute ...17 hours ago
Jamie Wall reviews Jonah, the two-part Three telefeature that follows the life of our most famous All Black, and finds it an effective but mixed retelling of the legend.Honestly, it’s a wee bit disappointing that the only notable on-screen dramatisation of the All Blacks in recent years was centred on replacement ...20 hours ago
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Turia personifies Whanau Ora problem
Seriously, it seems that the police should be looking into Whanau Ora already. And if not the police then a ministerial enquiry. There’s just too many stories of what looks like people getting money for nothing.
Hate to say it but Whanau Ora, the supposed magic bullet, has indeed turned out to be just another opportunity for those in the know to fleece the taxpayer.
It always had the look and smell of being Turia’s slush fund, those votes don’t come cheap you know.
So more funds diverted from hospitals etc. Lovin the accountability/transparency NACT, nice one.
Tamihere, who was a failed Minister and poor electorate performer, is lined up for a seat selection despite a string of financial and political sins.
Cunliffe, who was a ministerial star and is a top electorate performer, is shafted for refusing to say how he will vote in a future secret ballot.
Shearer is a genius. Shearer is genius.
Heil Shearer.
He will lead up to 23% in 2014 and do better than English in 2002.
We are saved. We are saved.
I intend to write to the council stating that though I have no particular objection to his being a member of the party, I would strongly oppose his being allowed to stand for Labour. Surely even a cursory reading of the foundational principles of the party, compared with Tamihere’s stated views, and past behaviour would rule him out as a representative.
Hell, any hint of a possibility, and I’ll ring up talkback shows myself, and remind listeners of the family pets he abandoned when he moved home a few years ago. Just to get things moving.
I hope others will make their feelings known on this issue, along with the many, many, reasons why Tamihere is not acceptable, and not Labour.
I’d vote for David before I’d vote for John.
I have to agree about Shearer’s genius, though. It takes a special type of political nous to ignore Jones, Tamihere, and Mallard and attack Cunliffe instead. It shows focus in the race for that 23%.
Record Redundancies
Reading this mornings NZH there is a item about record redundancies in NZ. National can take a bow for a lot of these job losses because of their inability too manage the economy properly. High NZD coupled with inaction
to stimulate job growth, thru one example ‘keeping it local with Govt contracts etc.’ Thank goodness the major opposition parties had the sense to hold a manufacturing/job summit
recently. I imagine in part Labour’s bold new Housing Policy came out of this? I think most New Zealanders know someone being made redundant lately. Is enough pressure being put on National by opposition parties? Should they band together with the CTU & lead a protest day of ‘all’ the workers getting the axe before Christmas. A damn good idea too highlight a piss & wind Government!
just beginning to wonder if the Labour leadership understand that the poll this week showing Labour losing ground and Greens gaining has something to do with membership dissatisfaction.
The way Cunliffe was handled was one thing. But Tamihere is another.
I suspect this will generate massive distaste among Labour’s female members, who will either stay home or switch membership to the Greens in droves.
The poll shift means this is really hurting Labour and will get worse.
Feels sick to be part of a nasty calculation like that ie liberal females are worth sacrificing in order to get a seat-winner back, and to shore up Shearer’s caucus majority.
Sepuloni would stand a good chance winning back Waitakere. And Tamihere’s opening salvo is to call Bennett “fat”? Yes, that’s really what’s wrong with her bennie bashing campaign.
Tamihere is a 47% man like Mitt Romney. He dismisses women, gays and unonists in the Labour Party and still thinks he can win.
Labour has enough ‘show ponies’ without adding has been JT. Shearer is going to be rolled by New York’s Lady Penelope’s boy Parker. So no need to worry.
Tamihere is a dinosaur. Also for all his talk he’s very thin skinned. He can dish it but can’t take it. He just got personal with that vile ‘fat’ comment. Problem is a bunch of us know some personal stuff about you JT. Keep acting like this and we’ll start slapping you back.
Labour “show ponies”? It seems to me like Labour prefers to pick lames for race day.
This may well be the final nail in the coffin for my Labour membership. Who thought this was a good idea? Did they allow Tamihere back in as a show of how broadminded they are? To have him pissing from inside the tent? Look at the very first thing he’s done – he’s fired off a bunch of shots at his own members.
Labour isn’t being led at the moment. It is lurching forward. It is dying and it doesn’t even know it.
My guess? David Shearer, Grant Robertson, and their respective staff. A lot of you guys know people on New Zealand Council. Ask them to see if they can confirm or deny.
Anyhows, the Labour Party is a ship headed by Captain Edward John Smith, and the order from the bridge is “Full speed ahead. Damn the icebergs”.
“To have him pissing from inside the tent?”
Or more precisely, to have him also pissing and shitting inside the tent.
The Labour Party tent is getting more smelly, messy and distasteful.
National is just lovin’ it.
A crisp military salute to Viper ‘.’ This Ed Smith will be relieved of Captains duties by way of a mutiny ala the Bounty. Cpt Bligh’s crime of subjecting his crew to harsh treatment ( attempting a right lurch into dangerous waters instead of remaining to port) will require action from Fletcher in February. “Stir give em the lash… not the rum & the others coming.” lol.
Yeah it looks like a “Waitakere man” play. Who decides on the Waitakere candidate? – Carmel must be pissed.
Well cv looks like centralist shearer shoring up a power base by including JT and negating the power play by Parker and or robertson. Labour broad church split into multi blocks and factions has just got broader and more inclusive. JT connects to a segment of the elctrorate that labour needs to reengergise and reconnect to….also JT is a attack dog, a mongrel who can and will get dirty taking on the Tories.
Whilst I don’t like jt he and his kind have a place in the very very broad tent that is or should be labour.
Shearers divide and rule is working well so far shame he isn’t performing in public.
God if only I had that much faith as you in Shearer’s political acumen (ahem) that I could see him making a proper splitter play.
It is definitely good “divide and rule” caucus politics. Great while you are still 2 years out. Crush your enemies and turn the whole caucus into West Germany 1981: absolutely everyone is a spy for everyone else. Keeps the leader the leader.
It is spectacularly bad Party politics.
And shockingly, cynically bad electoral politics. Don’t anyone think this guys brings swags of votes. He brings a handful, and burns a sackful.
The Greens are the winners out of this. Watch the next poll for the same tracking as current.
I will certainly hope that such occurs.
+1 Ad @12.10
IMO JT can do nothing to fix Labour’s disconnection and tone deaf approach to the working class and underclass. You still have a caucus of MPs too many of whom completely live and breathe the insular Wellington beltway bubble of palace politics.
JT is being put back into caucus to appeal to the brash, slightly red neck, middle class. Also, as you point out, to further divide and rule caucus.
Can Labour use him to bring a bit of dirty street fighter mongrel back? Sure, exactly like a skinny snob can ring in for a bit of muscle to rough up the other side. But what does that really change? How will this move solve any of Labour’s biggest issues and limitations? In fact it risks much in return.
One further observation: in Labour, it appears you get handpicked by the few to become an MP if you belong to the right clique.
But it will blow up in their faces, as we are not all ‘1970’s blokey, insult everyone, bloke’s’. Personally I reckon he should run for the Nats, as his politics fit with them better.
He probably thinks the National party still hates brown people.
The “nasty calulation” goes far wider than “liberal females”. Be nice if people would look at the bigger picture, as opposed to the narrow biased view, but encouraging the calculations are being clocked!
Labour are being imploded, National, currently having a free ride during some of the lowest times in NZ political history, and Russel Norman is being plumped nicely to slide in as “the left”
Any odds on an offical National/Labour merger, or will they leave it at unoffical co-operation!
Makes it feel like Shearer is preferring a superstar with high firework-burnout risk, to a lower-profile player who is likely to win with lower risk. Perhaps instead they could put Tamihere head to head with Hone from Mana. Carmel Sepuloni is a keeper.
Not that I don’t appreciate your efforts, but this is what they usually call “picking up the polished end of a turd”.
It’s still sticky.
Simply put, Shearer is shoring up his risk with Jones by bringing back Tamihere. He thinks if he’s got to have a Maori, it had better be a bloke and either will do. Can anyone point to any evidence since Shearer became leader that he supports women or any other minority that JT feels entitled to publicly abuse?
Puts a lot more stress on Labour’s Council to get the selection criteria and mix right next year.
Whether the fresh names on Council can collectively stand up to Robertson, Shearer, Goff and King, is one last faint hope.
Wonder what Moira’s view of Tamihere is? Perhaps she needs the confidence of a strong Council majority.
In fact we should ask every female member of Labour’s caucus what they think of Tamihere back on the path to selection as well.
I don’t even LIKE Bennett, and I’m offended at JT’s comments. We aren’t in a schoolyard FFS.
I’m reminded of when males attacked my body insulting it as if it were their right to pass approval or disapproval.
The proportion of “fat” insults are predominantly directed at females such as Bennett. It seems to me if you are female you can be considered “fat” at a size 12, or even a size 10 if you have offended someone sufficiently.
Can anyone tell me if JT has launched a personal attack like this on Parekura Horomia, Tau Henare, or Pita Sharples?
And DO we really want an MP who focuses his valuable time on body image rather than significant issues? He clearly has intelligence, but unless he is Winston I’m not sure he can pull of this type of angle.
I think you have your answer. The fresh names on Council are too scared to face down the Leadership team. Its just a no brainer regarding the harm Tamihere will do to Labour. But if that’s what the Leadership team want, then guess what we’ll all have to live with it.
My guess is Moira is stuck between a rock and a hard place. She knows in her heart what is right but is powerless to stop the Shearer/Robertson train wreck.
In the words of the man himself –
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10851393
Says it all really. Fine by me. As a woman voter, I’ll be supporting the GP to go after the women’s vote.
It’s been a while since I attended a LEC meeting so will be going to the next one. Last thing we need is JT championing his own cause during election year & turning voters off in droves. His carry on supporting Gibson & co at POAL sums him up. Bloggers on here referring to him as an attack dog, as if he is a heavy hitter have to be kidding. I’d rather have his side kick Willie Jackson at least he fights from a true left corner.
War on Terror; an open-ended question?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/pentagons-top-lawyer-says-military-fight-against-al-qaida-not-en-open-ended-conflict/2012/12/01/90a02102-3bd2-11e2-9258-ac7c78d5c680_story.html
JT has only just got membership of labour again and he launches into the same type of
rhetoric that got his membership withdrawn,incredible.
NZ women dont need some political ‘wannabe’ telling them they are fat,therefore not
worthy of respect,does the labour caucus really need the likes of JT in its ranks,indeed,
in the membership ?
After the Cunliffe dumping, i can see no real reason to support the Shearer led Labour
party, the Robertson and Labour endorsement of JT,cements that.
I’ve managed to get a few details, with some reasonable although I must say not absolute certainty. Parker, Twyford and Cosgrove all supported JT’s membership application earlier this week.
Starlight +1. Me too. Talkback is a highly remunerative power trip for redneck bully boys. Any prospect of change in that fulla ? Doubt it.
All this talk of JT reminded me of an American soap drama from the seventies with a main character called JR. Checking out if I had the initials correct (I had thought it might be JT too) I came across another spooky coincidence on the search engine in the description of the series…….
“The soapy, backstabbing machinations of Dallas oil magnate J.R. Ewing and his family…….”
Substitute the words in italics one gets a Kiwi up to date version:
“The less than soapy backstabbing machinations of certain caucus members of the 2012 Labour party.”
JR, and the entire cast of the Dallas series would have felt right at home in the Kiwi version.
Whey was Labour missing from the lineup in today’s Q & A
Very odd.
Odd? Nope it just goes to show the level of distrust thats going on. Cunliffe should have been the guy who went to it. but they went with No one. A Brilliant idea that was, maybe they though we wouldn’t notice.
So …
John Tamihere gives interviews to the media, openly attacks members of a party that has just taken him back, throws around insults, and generally acts like an infant.
This is OK.
People on a blog then criticise Tamihere and his supporters.
This is not OK. This is “undermining Labour” or “supporting National” or something. Because it’s on a blog.
It’s now clear that this is all part of a great human experiment. The aim is to find out how often you can say “Black Is White”, and still get people to defer to authority, instead of reality.
We must unite! We must rally round Shearer-Labour! We must support people who say “Labour”, even if they themselves are attacking Labour! If they undermine the party, we must support them, otherwise we will be undermining the party! Be Loyal to Disloyalty! It is the Only Way!
And never forget … YOU are the real problem. Not Tamihere. Not Shearer. Not Jones. You. Because you’re on a blog.
John Tamihere hates gays, women and unions.
The guy is more or less a brown Hitler.
OK he may not get his wish to repeal the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, but as an associate education minister in a Shearer Cabinet he might launch a pogrom against gay schoolteachers, or campaign to get homosexual themed literature out of the school system, or as Social Development minister, stack the Families Commission with homophobes and seek to deny sickness benefits to those with HIV.
He also supports Partnership Schools, and privatisation of health,education and welfare — if he had his way. — and hates unions, which is a bedrock of the labour party.
He also called for tax cuts which would have collapsed our schools and hospitals.
The guy must be stopped. Plain and simple.
Tamihere is a distraction, and a symptom of other issues.
+1
+2 CV “symptom of other issues” very spot on
JT coming back is more of what the hollowmen ordered, carry on captain shearer. Aye aye Admiral.
Sepuloni lost Waitakere largely because Bradford and Mana couldn’t be bothered with the big picture in unseating a cabinet minster and further evidence how ego ecentric they all are. They were never going to win it but rather then let Carmel have a clear run at it they did the ‘me me me me’ routine.
Letting the devious and inciteful JT back is asking for trouble, he’ll make the nat’s look presidential with his talkback rant time adding to an already dodgy and flawed political character.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10766370
Yeah, such a “me me me” routine.
Yet she stood as a candidate.
Anyway, it’s not ego, it’s about using her electorate to increase the profile of Mana, and the issues.
tc, why blame Bradford and Mana but not the GP, or the ALCP? Sepuloni lost by 9 votes, and any of Mana, GP or ALCP not standing a candidate would have ensured she won.
We should be talking about parties accommodating at the electoral level.
Both TV1 and TV3 have got polls out tonight.
Telling times.
Apart from JT and Q&A there was some other interesting stuff on today. Chris Laidlaw on Sunday morning for Radio nz did a piece on the environment – good stuff.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday
Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint 11.41. a.m.
then
Chris follows up with Dr George Mobus, a University of Washington-based expert on cross-disciplinary approaches to understanding complex adaptive systems – blog is Question Everything.
http://questioneverything.typepad.com/question_everything/2011/03/limits-to-complexity.html
and in Ideas 10.06 a.m.
Last month Human Rights Watch issued a report calling for so-called killer robots to be stopped in their tracks and this week Jeremy Rose talks to the report’s author, Bonnie Docherty. Wellingtonian Mary Wareham, who has just taken up the position of advocacy director of disarmament at Human Rights Watch in Washington DC, tells Chris Laidlaw about the challenges of convincing governments to give up some of the nastier parts of their arsenals, and Wim Zwijenburg, of the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, talks about efforts to have a moratorium placed on the use of depleted uranium. Produced by Jeremy Rose.
Also keep an eye on santa fe institute – some great thinking that I could possibly understand, and many of you for sure. http://www.santafe.edu/education/