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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Counter-Puncher: The “activists” and “radicals” (his own words) from the Indian community who took such strong exception to Shane Jones’ remarks about Immigration NZ’s treatment of arranged marriages, may end up bitterly regretting their intervention. Jones is not the sort of person who turns the other cheek to his critics.SHANE ...
In the spirit of Remember, remember the fifth of November, let's keep this in mind FOREVER.
Oh dear. Extraordinary interview on PM with Andrew Bridgen and @EvanHD just now. Bridgen was defending Jacob Rees Mogg’s Grenfell comments. Evan asked him if JRM had meant to say he would have left ...
Collision Course? In conditions of ideological white-out, the international bankers’ “Woop-Woop! Pull Up!” warning may have come too late to save global capitalism.WHAT DOES IT MEAN when international bankers are more willing to embrace radical solutions than our politicians and their electors? At both the International Monetary Fund and the ...
Pertussis (whooping cough) is a conundrum. It is a disease that was described hundreds of years ago and the bacteria that causes it (Bordetella pertussis) isolated in 1906. We have had vaccines for about 80 years but this disease is defiant in the face of human immunity. I wanted to ...
The Zero Carbon Bill has just passed its third reading, uanimously. In the end, National supported it - but we all know they'll turn around and gut it the moment they regain power. Meanwhile, I guess ACT's David Seymour didn't even bother to show up. I am on record as ...
Dr Lindsay Robertson, Dr Jerram Bateman, Professor Janet HoekMembers of the public health community hold divergent views on how access to vaping products or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products should be arranged. Some believe ENDS should be as widely available as smoked tobacco and argue for liberal ...
When the Police were trying to cover up for the National Party over Dirty Politics, they went all-in with their abuses of power. They illegally search Nicky Hager's house, violating his journalistic privilege and invading his privacy. They unlawfully acquired Hager's bank records. They did the same to left-wing blogger ...
Last month, in response to a wave of protests by Extinction Rebellion, the British government purported to ban their protests from the whole of London. It was a significant interference with the freedoms of expression and assembly, and another sign of the country's decline into tyranny. But now, a court ...
Clayton Mitchell, Spokesperson for Consumer Affairs The ‘wheel clamping’ Bill that will cap clamper fees to $100 passed its third readinginParliament today. New Zealand First welcomes The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill to combat predatory wheel clamping behaviour in what is currently a largely unregulated business. Cowboy clampers are: gouging ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its first reading in Parliament. “Today’s progress takes serious action on the mental health and addiction crisis the country is facing,” says New Zealand First Health Spokesperson Jenny Marcroft. “The re-establishment ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries Today the Government announced the delivery of the promise to protect New Zealand interests by applying a new National Interest Test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. This further strengthening of the Overseas Investment Act will ...
The Coalition Government is delivering on its promise to protect New Zealanders’ interests by applying a new national interest test to the sales of our most sensitive and high-risk assets to overseas buyers. Under current Overseas Investment Act (OIA) rules, assets such as ports and airports, telecommunications infrastructure, electricity and ...
Rt Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Allegations raised this morning by Stuff Limited / Fairfax concern a party matter but I am confident that New Zealand First has operated within electoral laws, now and for the last 27 years. Declarable donations were declared to the Electoral Commission. Our ...
The chairman of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy (UNISCS) working group, Wayne Brown, has hit back at critics of his group’s recommendations to relocate the Ports of Auckland cargo operations to Whangarei’s deepwater port of Northport. The working group's recommendation to close Auckland waterfront to all but cruise ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First backs the public to decide on the End of Life Choice Bill via a referendum at the 2020 General Election. The Bill, with New Zealand First’s referendum provision incorporated, passed its final reading in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Justice New Zealand First is proud that a key Coalition Agreement commitment which will provide for a more transparent and effective criminal justice system has been realised. Legislation to establish the Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body focused on identifying and responding to possible miscarriages of ...
"Today we have made a choice that will leave a legacy... I hope that means that future generations will see that we, in New Zealand, were on the right side of history." - Jacinda Ardern, Third Reading of the Zero Carbon Bill ...
Darroch Ball, New Zealand First List MP A Member’s bill has been proposed that would provide income tax exemptions for all New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel while on operational deployment overseas. The Income Tax (Exemption for Salary or Wages of NZDF Members on Active Deployment) Amendment Bill proposed by New Zealand First ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have brought common sense to the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill, which passed its final reading in Parliament today. Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters says months of hard work went into negotiating a balanced ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First has listened to calls to recognise paramedics as registered health professionals under the Health Practitioners’ Competence Assurance Act (the Act).Today, the Coalition Government announced plans for paramedics to be registered as health practitioners under the Act, and the establishment of a ...
We began the week by commemorating the New Zealand Wars and celebrating a major increase in the number of teachers. Then, we were busy supporting offenders into work and getting our rail back on track after years of underinvestment. And that's just the start! ...
In October I was sworn in as the Mayor of Lower Hutt.It’s the privilege of my life to serve Hutt people as their Mayor. There is something really special to be able to serve the community where I was raised, and where I live. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation 2021 (APEC 2021) Bill in Parliament today. The temporary bill supports New Zealand’s security preparations for hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in 2021. “APEC is the leading economic and trade forum ...
The Government is making progress on improving the wellbeing of the one million New Zealanders under the age of 18,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on World Children’s Day. The Government has today recommitted to the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history – the United Nation’s Convention on ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter has released a new report celebrating the contribution of Māori women in business across Aotearoa New Zealand. “Māori women are leaders in our communities, they employ many people and support our economy and our communities,” Julie Anne Genter said. The report, Ngā wāhine kaipakihi: ...
Four parcels of land have been bought in Omokoroa, in the Western Bay of Plenty District, for an education facility that will accommodate both a primary and secondary school on a campus-like facility, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. Two parcels were acquired from private land owners and two were ...
1 million New Zealanders warmed by the Winter Energy Payment 36,000 families bank the Best Start Payment in first year 6,000 more families received the Family Tax Credit, 220,600 in total They receive an increase too – from an average of $117 to $157 a week for Inland Revenue clients, ...
New rules to clamp down on overzealous wheel clamping and extortionate fees charged in order to release a vehicle have passed their final stage in Parliament today. The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill has now passed its third reading. “These changes mean $100 will be the maximum wheel clamping ...
An independent Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is a step closer after it unanimously passed its first vote in Parliament today. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill lays the groundwork for establishing the Commission as a fully independent crown entity – delivering on a key recommendation of He Ara ...
We’ve improved border security with the NZeTA, New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority, which helps us to screen travellers for border and immigration risks off-shore before they travel to New Zealand. It was launched in August and became mandatory on 1 October 2019. More than 500,000 NZeTAs have been issued since ...
A proposed national plan of action to reduce the number of seabirds caught in fisheries is being circulated for public feedback. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage say New Zealand is a global centre of seabird diversity with about 145 species in our waters. It has more ...
The Government is delivering on its promise to protect New Zealanders’ interests by applying a new national interest test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. Associate Finance Minister David Parker said under current Overseas Investment Act rules, assets such as ports and ...
The Government is building special housing to accommodate one of Aotearoa’s greatest taonga- our kaumātua, says the Minister for Māori Development, Hon Nanaia Mahuta. Speaking at a National Kaumātua Service Providers Conference in Rotorua today, the Minister reinforced the importance kaumātua play in maintaining and passing on mātauranga Māori, knowledge, ...
Eleven men from a pilot forestry training programme for prisoners in Northland now have full time jobs or job offers upon release, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis and Forestry Minister Shane Jones announced today. The ‘release to work’ programme was a collaboration between Te Uru Rākau and the Department of Corrections, ...
Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins today introduced into Parliament a Bill that will make it easier for the public service to tackle the biggest challenges facing Governments. The Bill represents the most significant change in the public service in 30 years. The State Sector Act 1988 will be repealed ...
The families of more than 416,000 students will be better off next year as their schools have signed up to the Government’s donations scheme, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. The scheme will see almost $62.5 million in additional Government funding go to schools nationwide next year. “I’m really pleased ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced further support as the Government of Samoa responds to a serious measles outbreak. “New Zealand will deploy a further 18 vaccination nurses, bringing the total to 30 working in Samoa over the next four weeks,” Mr Peters said. “A New Zealand Medical Assistance ...
Fa’atalofa atu, malo e lelei, Kia ora koutou katoa Thank you to the Child Poverty Action Group for asking me to be here today to provide an update on some of the things that have been happening across my the social development portfolio. Can I firstly acknowledge the vast ...
***Please check against delivery*** Good morning everyone. It is a pleasure to be with you this morning to open this year’s New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Conference and AGM. Firstly, thank you Dr Alan Jackson, NZTR Chair for your introduction. And let us acknowledge also: The NZTR Board; Dean McKenzie, Chair ...
The Government has delivered on its promise to the over one million New Zealanders who now rent to make it fairer and more secure, Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing) Kris Faafoi has announced today. Both renters and landlords will benefit from the suite of practical changes to the Residential ...
A marine conservation milestone - the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve - is being celebrated today at a community event in Tairāwhiti/East Coast attended by the Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “The creation of this marine reserve in November 1999 was a game ...
The Government is asking the food industry to step up work to tackle obesity including reducing sugar, fat and salt in their products, better information for consumers, and tighter restrictions on advertising to children. Health Minister David Clark and Food Safety Minister Damien O’Connor have responded to a ...
ew, modern emergency department and outpatient facilities at Queenstown’s Lakes District Hospital mean better emergency care for the growing tourist mecca’s visitors and locals, says Health Minister David Clark. Today Dr Clark officially opened the hospital’s redeveloped Emergency Department and Outpatient facilities. The new facilities include: • An extended Emergency Department ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter says today’s release of sexual and reproductive health data reinforces the significance of the Government’s commitment to providing free or very low-cost contraception. The Ministry of Health today published statistics from the Ministry of Health’s 2014/15 Health Survey. “It is important people can make ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced that at the request of the Samoan Government, New Zealand will be providing further support to Samoa as it faces a worsening measles outbreak. “In response to a request from the people of Samoa, New Zealand is providing 3000 measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) ...
“The new Disability Action Plan 2019–2023 moves us towards the inclusive and accessible New Zealand that this government has committed to,” Minister for Disability Issues Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “The Action Plan was designed by disabled people, their family and supporters, the disability sector and government agencies. It will ensure ...
Third Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting 14 November 2019 Joint Statement 1. Defence Ministers Ron Mark and Dr Ng Eng Hen today conducted their third annual Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore. 2. Building on the Enhanced Partnership signed between both countries in May this year, this annual meeting ...
A Bill to improve the court system’s response to sexual violence has passed its first reading in Parliament today. Justice Minister Andrew Little says the Sexual Violence Legislation Bill will reduce the trauma sexual violence complainants experience in court, while maintaining defendants’ fundamental rights and making sure the trial process ...
Streamlined payment practices are a step closer for Kiwi businesses with the formal launch of New Zealand’s e-Invoicing framework. Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says the government has now established the structure to enable automated and direct data exchange between the accounting systems of buyers and sellers. “The move to ...
Another 51 quarantine officers and four new biosecurity detector dog teams will help protect New Zealand from invasive pests and diseases this summer, says Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor. “The Government is delivering on its commitment to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity system and support our valuable primary sector “New Zealand’s flora, fauna ...
A new report has found New Zealand’s space sector contributed $1.69 billion to the economy in the last financial year and employs 12,000 people, Minister for Economic Development Phil Twyford announced today. The report by Deloitte was commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and shows New Zealand ...
Judge Coral Shaw has been appointed as the new Chair of the Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today. "Judge Shaw, who is currently one of the inquiry commissioners, is extremely well qualified for the ...
The Government has confirmed its third major mental health facility upgrade since the Budget, this time at Palmerston North Hospital. The Prime Minister and Health Minister today visited MidCentral DHB to announce that $30 million has been allocated to upgrade its acute mental health facility. It follows earlier announcements in ...
The roll out of the National Bowel Screening Programme has reached the halfway mark, with 10 out of 20 District Health Boards now part of the programme. MidCentral DHB, which covers Palmerston North, Manawatu and surrounding districts, this week became the latest to DHB to offer free bowel screening to ...
The Government welcomes PHARMAC’s decision to fund a vaccine to protect young people from meningococcal disease from 1 December this year. “Meningococcal disease is a serious threat which people at higher risk should be protected from,” says Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter. “The combined pharmaceutical budget was increased by ...
Groups involved with innovative fisheries research projects are encouraged to apply for government support in the latest funding round from the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures programme. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash says the SFF Futures funding is designed to be flexible enough to support small or large projects across a ...
The Government has fixed an issue affecting how Immigration New Zealand has processed visa applications for culturally arranged marriages, which will now see a consistent process applied which ensures people with legitimate arranged marriages can visit New Zealand while also preventing any rorting of the system. Earlier this year Immigration ...
The Royal Commission into the Attacks on Christchurch Mosques will report back on 30 April 2020 to give it more time to hear submissions and consider information, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Royal Commission was originally scheduled to report back to Government by 10 December 2019. “There has ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Washington DC today to attend a ministerial meeting focused on defeating ISIS, and to continue pursuing New Zealand’s trade opportunities. Mr Peters will participate in a meeting of Foreign and Defence Ministers from key countries contributing to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. ...
The recently crowned Bird of the Year, the hoiho/yellow eyed penguin, is getting a much needed helping hand alongside more than 168 other community conservation projects announced Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage today. 168 community conservation projects throughout New Zealand are benefiting from $8 million in government grants, including $500,000 ...
Controls on assault rifles and semi-automatic firearms are to be broadened to include some types of pistols, under changes to a bill currently making its way through Parliament. Police Minister Stuart Nash has tabled a Supplementary Order Paper to the Arms Legislation Bill, which is currently before a Select Committee ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark will travel to Singapore today to conduct a counterpart visit and to co-chair the third annual Singapore-New Zealand Defence Ministers’ Meeting with his counterpart, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen. “Singapore is one of our most important defence partners in the region, and our ...
News that one big publisher wants to buy the other, giving the state a Kiwishare to avoid regulatory objections, complicates a media crisis the government hasn't yet addressed. ...
A flash new playground has been unveiled on Parliament's grounds today, amid growing calls for the government to take more action to help lift Kiwi kids out of poverty. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne Two and a half months before the February 3 Iowa Democratic caucus, the highly regarded Selzer poll for CNN and the Des Moines Register gave Pete Buttigieg 25% in Iowa ...
A bill allowing overseas security agents to carry illegal guns while in New Zealand for the APEC summit has passed its first reading, without support from the Greens. ...
The Labour led coalition government is continuing to create homelessness. The impact of immigration, failure of Kiwibuild, and attacks on the rental market, have resulted in the opposite outcomes that New Zealanders were promised. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Every, Senior Research Fellow in social vulnerability and disasters, CQUniversity Australia If you live in a bushfire-prone area, you’ll likely have considered what you will do in the event of a bushfire. The decision, which should be made well in advance ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni Di Virgilio, Research associate, UNSW Temperatures across many regions of Australia are set to exceed 40℃ this week, including heatwaves forecast throughout parts of eastern Australia, raising the spectre of more devastating bushfires. We have already heard warnings this fire season ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) says that the Government’s Families Package Monitoring Report shows strong commitment to the intentions outlined in the Child Poverty Reduction Act, specifically with regard to reporting on progressing towards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni Di Virgilio, Research associate, UNSW Temperatures across many regions of Australia are set to exceed 40℃ this week, including heatwaves forecast throughout parts of eastern Australia, raising the spectre of more devastating bushfires. We have already heard warnings this fire season ...
Today leading Māori health and public health organisations called on the Crown to meet its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi as it drafts legislation for the regulation of cannabis. More than 50 Māori leaders joined the call for Māori rights ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claudia Vickers, Director, Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform, CSIRO We need to revolutionise agriculture in the next 30 years. In 2050 we may have almost 10 billion people to feed. Farmland is already degraded by existing agriculture, and climate change is putting ...
Between now and March 2020 there is a small window where migrants who work in industries like aged care will have a realistic chance to get residency for the first time. This is due to ANZSCO skill levels being reclassified in Australia and some of those ...
Spinoff Art editor Mark Amery and photographer Ebony Lamb pay a visit to the internationally celebrated jewellery couple at their colonial cottage above Island Bay.The white horses are galloping in from the Cook Strait as photographer and singer-songwriter Ebony Lamb (Eb and Sparrow) and I roll in to Island Bay, ...
New powers to protect strategically-important assets from overseas investors are necessary due to the extremes of global capitalism, the government says. ...
Don’t get sucked in by the jovial banter and the sausage sizzle with Jacinda Ardern. Stephen Colbert is an international criminal mastermind who must be stopped. New Zealand is fizzing today with the exciting news that someone from another country has noticed that we exist. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ...
When the 59 new constables of Wing 332 graduate on Thursday, one of them will be the 1,800th new constable to head to the frontline since October 2017. ...
Extending the amnesty period for the return of banned firearms is utterly pointless unless the compensation period is extended as well, says the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO). ...
The Taxpayers Union denounced the role it seemed the government would require taxpayers to play in resolving the Ihumatao land dispute. But the union further claimed that taxpayers had contributed to the funding of an organisation which has been involved in the prolonged protest action at Ihumatao. This was a ...
Save the Children are extremely pleased by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement today that the Government will recommit to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). ...
David Farrier has been writing about clamping enthusiast Michael Organ for nearly three years. In this latest installment, the totally logical thing happens and the New Zealand government rolls up its sleeves.Catch up with the extraordinary saga of the clamp-happy Bashford Antiques: Parts I to V are hereWhen Michael Organ ...
In October teams of second-year Unitec Architecture students designed, modelled, then constructed interactive light installations in Devonport’s Windsor Reserve for GLOW@Artweek. The brief is strict. Their budget is zero. And the installations must be zero waste too, both in the construction and in the afterlife of the projects. These strict conditions ...
A wave of reviews and inquiries into audit around the globe are raising questions about trust, independence, and freedom from conflicts of interest in the profession, says CAANZ President Stephen Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen, who has previously been shadow treasurer and before that treasurer, wants the study of economics made “more sexy” to attract more students, especially women, to study it. And he thinks young ...
Jenée Tibshraeny of interest.co.nz surveys the issues that have farmers worried right now, and looks at the facts behind the fears.Rumblings from the dairy farming sector are becoming increasingly loud, as both the Government and Reserve Bank (RBNZ) make policy changes that affect the sector.New Zealand has for years milked ...
He Kākano Ahau is a podcast by writer and activist Kahu Kutia (Ngāi Tūhoe) that explores stories of Māori in the city, and weaves together strands of connection. In this episode: what happens when Māori are not ‘urban Māori’ as we know them, but mana whenua.For episode four of He ...
New powers to protect strategically-important assets from overseas investors are necessary due to the extremes of global capitalism, the government says. ...
The Children’s Commissioner is calling on the government to re-prioritise its commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Children’s Convention) on International Children’s Day. ...
National Party leaders Simon Bridges wants Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to take stronger action over allegations that New Zealand First has breached electoral law. ...
"Prince Charles’ visit to Waitangi today, the first by a Royal in a quarter-century, highlights Moana Jackson’s view that it is kāwanatanga that is the Treaty partner," said Lewis Holden, campaign chair of New Zealand Republic. ...
Seriously, if you haven’t seen The Mandalorian, look away now. This article also contains spoilers for Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Return of the Sith, and The Last Jedi.In case you didn’t read the standfirst: this article contains spoilers about The Mandalorian, and also all of Star Wars.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.NZ First Matt Shand (Stuff): What NZ First slush fund was spent on: Campaign HQ, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Cook, Lecturer, Computer and Security Science,Edith Cowan University, Edith Cowan University Fake videos and doctored photographs, often based on events such as the Moon landing and supposed UFO appearances, have been the subject of fascination for decades. Such imagery is often ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evelyn Parr, Research Fellow in Exercise Metabolism and Nutrition, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University As an aesthetic society, we often demonise body fat and stigmatise people with lots of it. There’s often an assumption that people carrying excess ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Larissa McLean Davies, Associate Professor Language and Literacy Education, University of Melbourne In recent weeks, Australian universities’ commitment to teaching Australian literature has come under scrutiny. This came amid revelations Sydney University has withdrawn funding from its Chair of Australian Literature – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Maund, PhD Candidate, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Newcastle The impacts of the bushfires that are overwhelming emergency services in New South Wales and Queensland suggest houses are being built in areas where the risks are high. We ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Cebulla, Senior Research Fellow, South Australian Centre for Economic Studies, University of Adelaide In the past decade a 30-year trend to earlier retirement has been reversed. In OECD countries the average age at which people retire has risen by about one ...
Correspondence between MPI (Fisheries NZ) and NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmosphere), obtained by Sea Shepherd under the Official Information Act, shows conclusively that MPI unreasonably influenced the research they had contracted from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gay Hawkins, Professor, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University Most of us will never see a platypus or a lyrebird in the wild, but it’s likely we’ve encountered them on television. Our new research looks at the vital role early ...
The release of the proposed new electoral boundaries is an appropriate time to consider whether our electoral system is fit for purpose or needs a complete revamp. ...
Winston Peters says his party has always obeyed electoral law after new revelations about foundation; and RBNZ steps up BNZ supervision after capital calculation breaches. ...
The government has released statistics showing uptake of its budgeted welfare package two days after it was criticised over inaction on child poverty reduction. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure mounts over NZ First Foundation, range of changes made to overseas investment office, and accusations of bottom trawling destroying coral.The allegations swirling around the NZ First Foundation are serious enough to warrant going back to again today. Party leader Winston ...
Are possible solutions to child maltreatment complicated? Yes. Quantum physics? No. The University of Auckland's Dr Ian Hyslop looks at how we can address child abuse as a social problem. ...
Erica Dawson didn't want to be another female who dropped out of sailing, so now she's focused on the Tokyo Olympics and being a role model instead ...
If what has been reported is both true and not a breach of the rules for political donations, then New Zealand’s reputation for for being squeaky clean looks like a joke, writes electoral law expert Andrew Geddis.Anyone paying attention to New Zealand political parties and how they run their election ...
New Zealanders like to claim moral superiority over their Australian neighbours when it comes to how asylum seekers are treated. But this belief is not based on reality, writes Tim Maurice of the Asylum Seekers Support TrustThe local news media has welcomed Iranian asylum seeker Behrouz Boochani into New Zealand ...
Sometimes it’s a great job being a news editor. Like the BBC staffer putting together the national news for radio on Tuesday morning.Lead off with the Conservative party election pledge to increase the life sentence for child murderers to … er … really life. Add factual qualification: this might ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government is responding to increasing concern about the faltering economy by bringing forward A$3.8 billion of infrastructure investment into the next four years, including $1.8 billion for the current and next financial years. Scott ...
Power Play - Rumours of dodgy political donations, Winston Peters full of bluster and denial, and potentially a drawn-out series of combative but ultimately meaningless exchanges with the press gallery. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government has overhauled its much-criticised robo-debt scheme which has seen many welfare recipients asked to repay money they do not owe. A Tuesday email to staff in the Human Services department’s customer compliance division ...
Open mike 02/12/2012 
Satellites pass over NZ all the time (literally). Here I focus on the 187 Planet Labs ‘Dove’ Earth-imaging satellites, and I show that one can determine in advance where they will be, enabling scientists on the ground to correlate their environmental and other data collection with opportunities to get imaging ...1 hour ago
The Council of Disobedient Women has learned that the Prefect of Aro Valley has been promoted to a new role with the blessing of the Pope of Wellington. Softy Jejune Parson has been appointed Mother Superior of Woke Wellington for the work she has been doing calling out heretics, ...3 hours ago
On both sides of the Atlantic, some purportedly “contentious” and “difficult to deal with” leadership contenders to lead the US and UK, as President and Prime Minister respectively, seem to have thrown a few spanners into the works of the normal messaging most are used to hearing constantly. Except they’re ...5 hours ago
In Question Time today the Prime Minister was naturally facing questions about Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and his dubious party financing arrangements, which seem to violate electoral finance law. Her response was to pretend that it was nothing to do with her, and that she is not responsible for ...10 hours ago
It has been revealed that firing ranges used by the NZDF while deployed to the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan, contained unexploded ordnance that caused numerous deaths and injuries after the NZDF withdrew the PRT in April 2013. In 2014 seven children were killed when an unidentified ...15 hours ago
Didn't See It Coming: NZ Herald columnist Lizzie Marvelly's latest column merits serious scrutiny because such a clear example of anti-democratic thinking is encountered only rarely on the pages of the daily press. Which is not to say that the elitism which lies at the heart of such social disparagement ...2 days ago
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Initially it was reported that in an aerial bombardment that took place on August 30th seven children were massacred; the figure then went up to eight and then on November 11th Noticias Uno reported that, according to people from the community in close proximity to the ...2 days ago
MediaWorks announced in October 2019 that it intended to sell off its struggling television business and cancel or cut back on several popular local programmes, including New Zealand Today, Married at First Sight New Zealand and 7 Days. Its radio and outdoor advertising arms are currently performing well, but MediaWorks’ ...3 days ago
There is an article in The Conversation, written by Jeremy P. Shapiro (Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University), about what he sees as the psychologically-based underpinnings of three main matters that seem to vex people all around the planet. The article is titled “The Thinking ...4 days ago
. . Blogger Martyn Bradbury has won his case against unreasonable search and surveillance against the NZ Police; and subsequent Police attempts to produce evidence in secrecy, in a closed Court. His case highlights a disturbing growing trend in Aotearoa New Zealand for State power to be used against ...5 days ago
by The Council of Disobedient Women In her excellent oral submission to the Abortion reform select committee on 31st October on behalf of Otago University’s Department of Public Health, historian and public health researcher Hera Cook stated: “We would ask that the committee not use the term ‘pregnant persons’ and ...1 week ago
If FFNZ really put their faith in “Top Medical Journals” they would now be amending their billboards to recognise new research results. Image from FFNZ but updated to agree with the latest research. ... 2 weeks ago
Clayton Mitchell, Spokesperson for Consumer Affairs The ‘wheel clamping’ Bill that will cap clamper fees to $100 passed its third reading in Parliament today. New Zealand First welcomes The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill to combat predatory wheel clamping behaviour in what is currently a largely unregulated business. Cowboy clampers are: gouging ...15 hours ago
We're setting our young people up for success, investing in education around the country. ...3 days ago
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation 2021 (APEC 2021) Bill in Parliament today. The temporary bill supports New Zealand’s security preparations for hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in 2021. “APEC is the leading economic and trade forum ...7 hours ago
News that one big publisher wants to buy the other, giving the state a Kiwishare to avoid regulatory objections, complicates a media crisis the government hasn't yet addressed. ...3 hours ago
The Government has a $7.5b surplus, which experts and advocates say should be spent on helping children and families most in need. ...5 hours ago
Opotiki District Council is New Zealand's only council to have an all-female leadership team, led by the country's only Māori mayor. ...5 hours ago
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has proposed an "overlying structure" that would help with oversight of local government. ...6 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/