That makes me feel physically sick. Foreigners buying up what they can now in anticipation that National may not get re-elected next year? Time to change the sell out National government, before there is nothing left in NZ’s hands anymore.
Flogging state houses should be collated with an OIA request about how much property soe’s and govt departments have flogged such as police houses in the regions etc
The good National party members picked someone who lives in and who has just set up her office in a East Auckland.yeah she is a great local candidate for a West Auckland seat.
Whereas the Labour party head office overrode the local Labour party members to appoint a candidate who I was working with as beiing crucial to the campaign in Mt Roskill in the 2005 election, and who was living there then. And he was an old hand in Roskill then.
/sarc
FFS it would been nice if you actually thought about reality more. The losing national candidate in Roskill with her faux concern about local issues is losing to the local preferred by the Mt Roskill Labour members.
Does Mr Wood really live in Mt Roskill and is to be voted for because he is a “local candidate”.
It will make a change, both for him and for the electorate then, won’t it?
What did Mr Wood say when he ran in Botany?
What did Mr Wood say when he ran in Epsom?
What did Mr Wood say when he ran in Pakuranga?
Or wherever else he has tried to get a nomination.
Is he the parliamentary equivalent of Shadbolt? “I don’t care where as long as I’m Mayor”. Mind you he will be a lucky man if he lasts as long as Tim has.
Just promise them “Bullshit and Jellybeans”.
Did Phil Goff, or you for that matter, suggest people not vote for him because he lived as far away from Mt Roskill as he could and yet still be in the general Auckland area for the 35 years he spent in Parliament? If not why not?
“Wood: I’m standing in the right electorate because Mt Roskill is my home, and it has been for the past 13 years. I’ve served in the community, been on the local board for the past six years.”
Very good. And yes I was aware of his current claim.
However what did he say to the residents of Botany when he stood there?
What did he say to the residents of Epsom when he stood there?
What did he say to the residents of Pakuranga when he stood there?
Did he tell them he was a carpetbagger, which he NOW seems to think is a valid objection to someone who doesn’t live in an electorate they choose to stand in?
Does he tell them how privileged they are to have someone who lives there rather than a person like their previous MP who lived an hours drive away?
Like hell he does, even though it is all true.
Now personally I don’t see why an MP should live within the actual boundary of the electorate. Wood however seems to think he can complain about his opponent doing exactly what he did so many times.
I wonder how he will explain these views to his leader? After all Little left New Plymouth when he was a teenager but still, in his 50s I suppose, tried to get elected there.
Hey Lyn, life would be a whole bunch easier for Labour activists if Labour’s leaders stopped trying to parachute in unpopular carpet-baggers into electorates with strong LEC’s.
I’m sure everyone’s got their own war stories of have a strong local candidate, well supported and known, only to have some numpty pop up and truck busloads of otherwise unknown union delegates into the selection meeting, or the Selection Committee gets stacked for some dork, and Hey Presto the local choice gets steamrollered flat.
And then they wonder why fresh talent doesn’t find Labour candidacy attractive, and caucus looks stale.
And then as a result most of the LEC ups and leaves or is totally pissed off. Sure, these things need to be renewed, and in reality what difference does and LEC do but form a fawning little glee club to plump up the MP’s ego, and actually don’t always a huge amount of difference to actual vote turnout.
But, people are not meant to be burnt off needlessly in life or in politics. It doesn’t need to happen.
The Labour Party should support its own renewal, without parachuting.
Unlike Labour where head office overrides the local members and decides who runs in an electorate.
LOL
yeah – like Scott Simpson for Coromandel!
Just one example – but I could list dozens.
Ever heard of John Key for Helensville?
Macro,
You clearly do not how local selections in National work. I can assure you that if the local party (membership above the qualifying threshold) has control they well and truly exercise it.
In fact being pushed too heavily by the leadership is likely to backfire.
The people you have to convince are the local delegates. If you can’t you won’t get selected.
Clutha-Southland must have some pretty gullible National party members then. (Though, arguably no more gullible than the rest of the locals, given the vote counts)
Soooo……… after the big test period where gear was checked so as to being up to the job and the net result is the independent company which produces footage of all sorts of illegal activity loses out to the company which is balls deep in corrupt practices of self interest.
Then…….. you remove the human observers and replace with surveillance equipment supplied by said corrupt company.
And 3 months later it turns out up to 80% of the gear is not up to the job and there has been very little if any actually monitoring of an industry which officials have previously admitted would fold if forced to follow the rules.
WTF?? So are we actually going to pay these compromised cowboys for a shite job?
What happened to proving the equipment was up to task prior to deployment (shades of Novapay here)?
Are we really surprised the corrupt fishing industry cant monitor its own practices?
Typical Nats solution to a looming problem, mouth appropriate verbiage, slide a sycophantic, self interested body into management, control the media —> what problem? we’re on it, all solved.
Meanwhile our declining moana gets pillaged even moar………….SNAFU
you forgot that even if there is illegal activity captured on these cameras (blind spots known and reliability dubious) it is of insufficient quality as evidence……it is a Claytons monitoring regime and by design.
red face – indigenous rights activists continually fight against the ridicule and misappropriation of indigenous knowledge, imagery and artifacts. This happens all over the globe – and is especially poignant for Native Americans – so much of their culture has been mythologized, demonized, misappropriated and just stolen – including traditional costumes, headdress and so on.
It is not good enough to say – tough cheese. We know black face is not right and red face is not right too.
So my message to the santa parade in christchurch (just think about that mashing up of myths, consumerism and exploitation in that sentence – whew!!!) is STOP! You do not have the right to steal other cultures items and (for whatever reason) say you are honoring them or respecting them – you aren’t. You are being colonisers of the mind and of the body. You are continuing the unthinking arrogant and obnoxious traits of racists and previous colonisers. STOP it.
“Organisers of the Santa Parade in Christchurch will not pull a float featuring children dressed as First Nations and Native Americans this weekend, despite a complaint it is “essentially red face” and is “highly inappropriate and culturally insensitive”.
The float has been part of the Santa Parade for many years and features local children dressed as people of the Ojibwe tribe, complete with face paint and headdresses.”
“”But Santa Parade manager Pam Morris said she was “offended” by the request. If she had a good look at that float, some of it belongs to a tribe that I went to the reservation of in Buffalo. They know about this float and they gave me some headgear to use on this float.
“We have the blessing of that tribe.”
BULLSHIT
because
“Professor of Maori and indigenous studies at Massey University, Rawiri Taonui, said the costumes were only offensive if they mocked First Nations people.
“It is OK if they are dressing up in costume as a way of learning about that culture in a respectful way.
“If that is the intent we should support it. It depends on the intent.”
I wonder how they’d feel if someone went out of their way to find their tender spots and dressed up to poke those spots – probably laugh – after it is is just jolly fun eh.
It could be done easily too – pity I’m not down to Waikawa till early next year…
I have sent an email with links to a respected senior person I know within the tribe – may take a day or so for an answer – and I know in my gut, and as a person who fights this often, what the answer will be – I’ll let you know draco seeing as how you appear to be interested 🙂
If the Right get their way and charter schools are allowed to grow like weeds in South Auckland we will get more Misa Fia Turners. For LGBT people, setting foot in South Auck would be like setting foot in Moscow. Day after day, thousands of schoolkids will have it drilled into them that magic created the earth and homosexuals are vermin to be exterminated by laypreachers like Tamaki.
Posted this yesterday, but interested in further comments on it.
At present, we are seeing the long con strategy being utilised by National. Merkel’s Germany has been doing it to good effect.
How to do the long con.
1) Soften up the electorate as much as you can whilst retaining as many of the core policy settings that enable society to function (even while cutting funding left right and centre). This means temporarily swallow the dead rats.
2) Make the same soothing noises each time so as not to spook the horses.
3) Utilise the lack of MMP understanding to your advantage knowing that by and large, most voters don’t really care about the ins and outs. It suits National for voters to just know the ‘high level’ overview which is “vote for this party, and vote for that person”.
4) Incrementally, and surely, keep hammering home the same message of being “sound economic managers” and portraying the opposition as a bunch of inept muppets.
5) Constantly belittle any brainfart or policy ideas that erupt from those quarters.
6) Make any issues that crop up during your governing period anyone else’s fault but your own. Blame your support parties. Sheet home all responsibility to them (RMA delays = blame Maori party, Party Drug/Marijuana issues = blame Peter Dunne)
Once achieved, and the same message has sunk in, it’s odds on proof that the electorate is softened up and all the ducks are in a row, so now you can go hard.
Sell one message, and one message only.
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
Play to peoples wallets because 9 years of constant tax rises means people are poorer. Everyone is sick of hearing the same things – housing crisis, unclean water, mass sell offs of land etc.
Tax cuts, tax cuts tax cuts.
The majority do not care. The majority want more money to continue to obtain the things to buy to make their struggling, and probably miserable existence somewhat better. Consumerism has taught us all “feel down, buy junk, feel better.”
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
The majority listen, their ears perk up. More money say they! More money indeed say National.
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
9 years in power with constrained control under MMP, in order to keep selling yourself as the “long term” government is nothing. All people hear now are tax cuts. No one hears anything else. All talk of “30 new taxes since 2008” is ignored.
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
Overwhelmingly, the majority will vote for what’s good for their wallets. 9 long years of constantly struggling to get by and seeing more of your pay disappear each week means tax cuts will be a boon..
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
The opposition decries, “no, we can’t afford”. Shut up say the proletariat ‘You’re not the government, how do you know what we can afford. That John Key is such a nice guy’
tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
The masses hunger. They want these tax cuts. Nothing will stop them now from getting them. The party offering the message, simply, must. WIN!
Election day looms near. The repeated mantra of ‘tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts’ has assumed a soothing quality to the soma’d masses. No one wants to be a Delta, or an Epsilon. We all want to be Betas. Only the best can be Alphas. Being a Gamma wouldn’t be too bad, but a Beta is better.
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
Election day itself
Party vote “tax cuts” say the masses. The dutiful tick goes to the party with the right message.
After 9 long years of softening up the hoi polloi, the governing party is returned with an outright majority. Too late, the people awaken. The look of horror is abject. The next three years is a selloff. Too late, the damage is done, the plan is to be carried out. The bankers and merchant men took over the country.
New Zealand. The greatest experimental country for neo-liberalism to mass transfer and consolidate wealth to the few, since, well, ever.
All you are saying is that ‘tax cuts’ are superior political tactics to anything the left has produced.
What news is that? No news.
The left don’t seem to want to take notice of how they win elections getting fresh money into people’s pockets. They should. If they did they would be more likely to win elections.
It’s no news, but it’s the news that makes people take notice.
Unless labour can counter it with an effective appeal, it’s a vote winner.
Big issue policies won’t win over the hearts and minds of the undefined “centre”.
Hip pocket stuff wins the day.
My pick would be to counter the tax cuts mantra with something equally as powerful. $1500 tax refund within 100 days.
Then, when the inevitable bashing starts just say that it’s cheaper than Nationals tax cuts and people will get that $1500 right away instead of over 18 months under National.
Fight a lack of policy costings with just the same vigor. “We will show you our figures when National does”. Easy. Drives home the fact National have no plan.
How to pay for it? Easy. A new tax bracket for 500k+ of 45%. Sure as eggs are eggs, labour will win then.
….. or target those with the most who are cheating the rest of us ……
Its a worldwide problem
“All over the world governments are struggling to provide decent public services. Ordinary people pay ever-increasing taxes but get worse public services. Rather than paying their fair share of taxes, major corporations and wealthy individuals escape their social obligations by locating in offshore tax havens. Companies such as Enron, Newscorp, Elan, Exxon, Northern & Shell Group, Portland Investment, Microsoft, General Motors and others have used tax havens to shave their tax bills.
“A significant fraction of global private financial wealth — by our estimates, at least $21 to $32 trillion as of 2010 — has been invested virtually tax-free through the world’s still expanding black hole of more than 80 “offshore”secrecy jurisdictions. We believe this range to be conservative, for reasons discussed below. Remember: this is just financial wealth. A big share of the real estate, yachts, racehorses, gold bricks — and many other things that count as non-financial wealth –are also owned via offshore structures where it is impossible to identify the owners. These are outside the scope of this report. http://www.taxjustice.net/cms/upload/pdf/The_Price_of_Offshore_Revisited_Presser_120722.pdf
Through the US Export-Import Bank, Barack Obama’s administration has spent nearly $34bn supporting 70 fossil fuel projects around the world, work by Columbia Journalism School’s Energy and Environment Reporting Project and the Guardian has revealed.
This unprecedented backing of oil, coal and gas projects is an unexpected footnote to Obama’s own climate change legacy. The president has called global warming “terrifying” and helped broker the world’s first proper agreement to tackle it, yet his administration has poured money into developments that will push the planet even closer to climate disaster.
Great Moments in Broadcasting. NOT is an occasional series highlighting some of the worst moments in our pretty shameful history of broadcasting mediocrity and downright failure.
Dolores Umbridge has surely never thought of herself as evil. Evil people never do. They think of themselves as working for the betterment of the world they live in. Dolores Umbridge lives in a world that is populated by all sorts of people—werewolves and merpeople and muggles and wizards.
And she knows in her heart that it would be a better world if some of those people—the lesser people, the less important people—served people like her. Or died. Either one will do. Either way, they must be broken.
It would be a better world, she tells herself, for everyone.
Sounds remarkably like the National Party as they bash down beneficiaries and the poor while helping the rich exploit the rest of society.
firstly John Michael Greer – I have been an avid fan of his for years – I cannot agree with his trump analysis – I think he is wrong to suppose that trump will do anything. Feel sad about JMG’s opinion on all that – makes me want to not read him anymore – but his analysis on other topics is insightful so will probably keep reading him, but it isn’t the same now 🙁
and Mana and The Māori Party – I’ve really tried but nah. Too far Hone, you have lost mana and don’t have the same pulling power mate. The Internet-Mana and dotcom stuff burnt too much political capital – we trusted you and we were let down. You can’t ask us to do it again – I’m not going to – I don’t trust The Māori Party – they have done too much against our people and they have supported the gnats too much.
As a Māori indigenous rights left activist I am NOT supporting the Mana Movement joining with The Māori Party – and I am NOT supporting Hone Harawira. I want NEW leadership, I want a commitment to the kaupapa we originally signed up for not this additional new direction. Nah – I’m not compromising my values and what I believe about fighting inequality and fighting for indigenous rights and fighting for the underpriviledged, the forgotten, and discarded in our society (whose ranks are well overcrowded with Māori). Nah – this proposed marrigae is NOT the way – I’m NOT putting my patu down yet.
A poem from a few years ago
Beneath Te Papa
My knee clicked loudly like an out of time fingersnapper
as I entered Te Papa. A museum, as am I, both hoarding
treasures deep on this day of my birth.
I am 50 today as I descend below Te Papa, the oversized
lift looming around us like an atrium, my socks slip
on the floor. A slow motion ritual fall to our past.
The doors weep quietly aside and I find them along walls.
Taiaha stacked supine, appearing settled yet expectant,
as poised as hungry white herons staring at faint flickers of fish.
They watch as years slide by. Discarded weapons now relics,
longing for a warm hand, the lightest touch of emotion, we were
forged for our time, as useful as a steady pay packet, or an edge.
A weapon-less warrior watching warrior-less weapons.
Te Papa and I are the cave mouth open everyday, and they enter
to see, to touch, to feel – the museum, but not the man.
JK played golf with logical person! “President Obama Says Marijuana Should Be Treated Like Alcohol
In a just published “exit interview” with Rolling Stone Magazine, President Barack Obama opined that marijuana use should be treated as a public-health issue, not a criminal matter, and called the current patchwork of state and federal laws regarding the drug “untenable.”
“Look, I’ve been very clear about my belief that we should try to discourage substance abuse,” Obama said. “And I am not somebody who believes that legalization is a panacea. But I do believe that treating this as a public-health issue, the same way we do with cigarettes or alcohol, is the much smarter way to deal with it.”
He added, “It is untenable over the long term for the Justice Department or the DEA to be enforcing a patchwork of laws, where something that’s legal in one state could get you a 20-year prison sentence in another. So this is a debate that is now ripe, much in the same way that we ended up making progress on same-sex marriage.”
This from Avaaz about the Syrian people and their self help group The White Helmets. Perhaps Buzz Aldrin would go and visit on a Peace Mission there and bring out a whole lot of the wounded and their families for the same price as getting out of Antarctica.
73,530 lives in fact. That’s how many people they have saved, rushing to the scene of bombings to pull people from the rubble and carry them to safety.
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The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
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The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
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When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
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Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11758774
The selling off of nz gathers pace.
That makes me feel physically sick. Foreigners buying up what they can now in anticipation that National may not get re-elected next year? Time to change the sell out National government, before there is nothing left in NZ’s hands anymore.
Flogging state houses should be collated with an OIA request about how much property soe’s and govt departments have flogged such as police houses in the regions etc
So I hear on the tranny the over sight of fishing boats is to be further eroded.
The crux of this is lobbyists.
When (if) a new regime comes into power, the lobbyists remain.
Like a cancer, their hold gets stronger, the longer, they remain uninterrupted.
To the best of my knowledge, lobbyists only serve their masters.
How refreshing it would be to hear a leader of a major party, pledge to rid the lobbyists access to MPs, at least to the level that individuals have.
I personally think he is having a bit of fun and stirring – but if it was true I wonder who national would target from labour ??
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/national-poaching-labour-mps-2016120113
Stuart Nash and David Shearer.
The National party is a much better fit.
But James says Nash is sexist and comments inappropriately about women.
Oh wait, National is a much better fit.
He didn’t have his brain engaged in that situation, looks like a smart enough guy to learn from that and not do it again.
Have you read James’ posts? He’s not smart and is unlikely to learn much at all.
he will think it just not say it – yep the rightie way of learning lol
Key says they take all comers, and proof off that is in the position Misa Fia Turner finds herself in.
Odd that National can’t find decent candidates on their own though. Perhaps the end is near?
She must have been the choice of the local members.
Unlike Labour where head office overrides the local members and decides who runs in an electorate.
National the democratic party.
Misa Fia Turner is representing the National Party. Next you’ll be saying it’s out of their hands who gets selected.
According to the National party rule book If you have more than 600 members the region or the party HQ cannot get involved.
If the Mangere national party group has over 600 members than they can pick whoever they want.
You are more naive than I thought.
That’s what Slater says and he’d have a fairly good idea how things are done within National.
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2016/11/michelle-boag-spinning-todd-barclay/
Yep he sure has! Take the carpet bagging of Coromandel for instance..
wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more…
good to know where you get your info bm – thought you only went there to look at the pictures?
You do realise that the average number of National Party members per electorate is about 150 don’t you?
TurgidFascinating stuff BM. How do they make policy? At Cabinet Club? No?Ah. I can just see that happening in Mt Roskill.
The good National party members picked someone who lives in and who has just set up her office in a East Auckland.yeah she is a great local candidate for a West Auckland seat.
Whereas the Labour party head office overrode the local Labour party members to appoint a candidate who I was working with as beiing crucial to the campaign in Mt Roskill in the 2005 election, and who was living there then. And he was an old hand in Roskill then.
/sarc
FFS it would been nice if you actually thought about reality more. The losing national candidate in Roskill with her faux concern about local issues is losing to the local preferred by the Mt Roskill Labour members.
Do you think it will be close or do you expect Wood to win by a mile like Phil Goff?
It was 10,000 to 18,000 in 2014 be interesting to see how much of that 8000 vote difference was due to Goff.
Are you claiming anything lower than an 8000 margin of victory for Wood is a win for National?
You don’t seriously believe the turnout will be as high as 2014, do you?
Percentages, I would have thought that was obvious.
Does Mr Wood really live in Mt Roskill and is to be voted for because he is a “local candidate”.
It will make a change, both for him and for the electorate then, won’t it?
What did Mr Wood say when he ran in Botany?
What did Mr Wood say when he ran in Epsom?
What did Mr Wood say when he ran in Pakuranga?
Or wherever else he has tried to get a nomination.
Is he the parliamentary equivalent of Shadbolt? “I don’t care where as long as I’m Mayor”. Mind you he will be a lucky man if he lasts as long as Tim has.
Just promise them “Bullshit and Jellybeans”.
Did Phil Goff, or you for that matter, suggest people not vote for him because he lived as far away from Mt Roskill as he could and yet still be in the general Auckland area for the 35 years he spent in Parliament? If not why not?
Just promise them “Bullshit and Jellybeans”.
Or penis lollies 🙂
“Wood: I’m standing in the right electorate because Mt Roskill is my home, and it has been for the past 13 years. I’ve served in the community, been on the local board for the past six years.”
<a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1611/S00261/the-nation-michael-wood-and-parmjeet-parmar.htm
Very good. And yes I was aware of his current claim.
However what did he say to the residents of Botany when he stood there?
What did he say to the residents of Epsom when he stood there?
What did he say to the residents of Pakuranga when he stood there?
Did he tell them he was a carpetbagger, which he NOW seems to think is a valid objection to someone who doesn’t live in an electorate they choose to stand in?
Does he tell them how privileged they are to have someone who lives there rather than a person like their previous MP who lived an hours drive away?
Like hell he does, even though it is all true.
Now personally I don’t see why an MP should live within the actual boundary of the electorate. Wood however seems to think he can complain about his opponent doing exactly what he did so many times.
I wonder how he will explain these views to his leader? After all Little left New Plymouth when he was a teenager but still, in his 50s I suppose, tried to get elected there.
He doesn’t need to explain, and he certainly doesn’t need to explain YOUR VIEWS to his leader. Did you read the transcript?
Your question was “Does Mr Wood really live in Mt Roskill and is to be voted for because he is a “local candidate”
The answer to your questions is yes and yes and I have provided the information in the link.
Hey Lyn, life would be a whole bunch easier for Labour activists if Labour’s leaders stopped trying to parachute in unpopular carpet-baggers into electorates with strong LEC’s.
I’m sure everyone’s got their own war stories of have a strong local candidate, well supported and known, only to have some numpty pop up and truck busloads of otherwise unknown union delegates into the selection meeting, or the Selection Committee gets stacked for some dork, and Hey Presto the local choice gets steamrollered flat.
And then they wonder why fresh talent doesn’t find Labour candidacy attractive, and caucus looks stale.
And then as a result most of the LEC ups and leaves or is totally pissed off. Sure, these things need to be renewed, and in reality what difference does and LEC do but form a fawning little glee club to plump up the MP’s ego, and actually don’t always a huge amount of difference to actual vote turnout.
But, people are not meant to be burnt off needlessly in life or in politics. It doesn’t need to happen.
The Labour Party should support its own renewal, without parachuting.
Unlike Labour where head office overrides the local members and decides who runs in an electorate.
LOL
yeah – like Scott Simpson for Coromandel!
Just one example – but I could list dozens.
Ever heard of John Key for Helensville?
Macro,
You clearly do not how local selections in National work. I can assure you that if the local party (membership above the qualifying threshold) has control they well and truly exercise it.
In fact being pushed too heavily by the leadership is likely to backfire.
The people you have to convince are the local delegates. If you can’t you won’t get selected.
Yes I’m sure the local delegates were convinced Wayne. 🙂 So convenient how the then incumbent, resigned at the time.
Clutha-Southland must have some pretty gullible National party members then. (Though, arguably no more gullible than the rest of the locals, given the vote counts)
So. What happened in Northland? Wayne.
Ask David Kirk about it
Yep. 23% shows they are finished for sure
Soooo……… after the big test period where gear was checked so as to being up to the job and the net result is the independent company which produces footage of all sorts of illegal activity loses out to the company which is balls deep in corrupt practices of self interest.
Then…….. you remove the human observers and replace with surveillance equipment supplied by said corrupt company.
And 3 months later it turns out up to 80% of the gear is not up to the job and there has been very little if any actually monitoring of an industry which officials have previously admitted would fold if forced to follow the rules.
WTF?? So are we actually going to pay these compromised cowboys for a shite job?
What happened to proving the equipment was up to task prior to deployment (shades of Novapay here)?
Are we really surprised the corrupt fishing industry cant monitor its own practices?
Typical Nats solution to a looming problem, mouth appropriate verbiage, slide a sycophantic, self interested body into management, control the media —> what problem? we’re on it, all solved.
Meanwhile our declining moana gets pillaged even moar………….SNAFU
you forgot that even if there is illegal activity captured on these cameras (blind spots known and reliability dubious) it is of insufficient quality as evidence……it is a Claytons monitoring regime and by design.
Nah! The cameras are working fine now – they only seem to stop recording when there is fish dumping to be done.
It’s all good!
/sarc
red face – indigenous rights activists continually fight against the ridicule and misappropriation of indigenous knowledge, imagery and artifacts. This happens all over the globe – and is especially poignant for Native Americans – so much of their culture has been mythologized, demonized, misappropriated and just stolen – including traditional costumes, headdress and so on.
It is not good enough to say – tough cheese. We know black face is not right and red face is not right too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redface
http://apihtawikosisan.com/hall-of-shame/an-open-letter-to-non-natives-in-headdresses/
So my message to the santa parade in christchurch (just think about that mashing up of myths, consumerism and exploitation in that sentence – whew!!!) is STOP! You do not have the right to steal other cultures items and (for whatever reason) say you are honoring them or respecting them – you aren’t. You are being colonisers of the mind and of the body. You are continuing the unthinking arrogant and obnoxious traits of racists and previous colonisers. STOP it.
“Organisers of the Santa Parade in Christchurch will not pull a float featuring children dressed as First Nations and Native Americans this weekend, despite a complaint it is “essentially red face” and is “highly inappropriate and culturally insensitive”.
The float has been part of the Santa Parade for many years and features local children dressed as people of the Ojibwe tribe, complete with face paint and headdresses.”
“”But Santa Parade manager Pam Morris said she was “offended” by the request. If she had a good look at that float, some of it belongs to a tribe that I went to the reservation of in Buffalo. They know about this float and they gave me some headgear to use on this float.
“We have the blessing of that tribe.”
BULLSHIT
because
“Professor of Maori and indigenous studies at Massey University, Rawiri Taonui, said the costumes were only offensive if they mocked First Nations people.
“It is OK if they are dressing up in costume as a way of learning about that culture in a respectful way.
“If that is the intent we should support it. It depends on the intent.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/87072747/santa-parade-defiant-over-red-face-claims
Is that what they are doing? NO – it is simple entertainment.
In our town two people dress up as golliwogs for the Santa parade. Nothing’s said.
I wonder how they’d feel if someone went out of their way to find their tender spots and dressed up to poke those spots – probably laugh – after it is is just jolly fun eh.
It could be done easily too – pity I’m not down to Waikawa till early next year…
Jeepers, even i think golliwogs are a bit much
Have you contacted that tribe and asked them?
read up about this subject before you start – it may help you – may.
I have sent an email with links to a respected senior person I know within the tribe – may take a day or so for an answer – and I know in my gut, and as a person who fights this often, what the answer will be – I’ll let you know draco seeing as how you appear to be interested 🙂
More people join Pike River protest including a Dame.
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/dame-fiona-kidman-joins-pike-river-protest/
Andrew Little should be there.
If the Right get their way and charter schools are allowed to grow like weeds in South Auckland we will get more Misa Fia Turners. For LGBT people, setting foot in South Auck would be like setting foot in Moscow. Day after day, thousands of schoolkids will have it drilled into them that magic created the earth and homosexuals are vermin to be exterminated by laypreachers like Tamaki.
Looks like the ninth floor had a word with police…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11759041
Posted this yesterday, but interested in further comments on it.
At present, we are seeing the long con strategy being utilised by National. Merkel’s Germany has been doing it to good effect.
How to do the long con.
1) Soften up the electorate as much as you can whilst retaining as many of the core policy settings that enable society to function (even while cutting funding left right and centre). This means temporarily swallow the dead rats.
2) Make the same soothing noises each time so as not to spook the horses.
3) Utilise the lack of MMP understanding to your advantage knowing that by and large, most voters don’t really care about the ins and outs. It suits National for voters to just know the ‘high level’ overview which is “vote for this party, and vote for that person”.
4) Incrementally, and surely, keep hammering home the same message of being “sound economic managers” and portraying the opposition as a bunch of inept muppets.
5) Constantly belittle any brainfart or policy ideas that erupt from those quarters.
6) Make any issues that crop up during your governing period anyone else’s fault but your own. Blame your support parties. Sheet home all responsibility to them (RMA delays = blame Maori party, Party Drug/Marijuana issues = blame Peter Dunne)
Once achieved, and the same message has sunk in, it’s odds on proof that the electorate is softened up and all the ducks are in a row, so now you can go hard.
Sell one message, and one message only.
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
Play to peoples wallets because 9 years of constant tax rises means people are poorer. Everyone is sick of hearing the same things – housing crisis, unclean water, mass sell offs of land etc.
Tax cuts, tax cuts tax cuts.
The majority do not care. The majority want more money to continue to obtain the things to buy to make their struggling, and probably miserable existence somewhat better. Consumerism has taught us all “feel down, buy junk, feel better.”
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
The majority listen, their ears perk up. More money say they! More money indeed say National.
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
9 years in power with constrained control under MMP, in order to keep selling yourself as the “long term” government is nothing. All people hear now are tax cuts. No one hears anything else. All talk of “30 new taxes since 2008” is ignored.
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
Overwhelmingly, the majority will vote for what’s good for their wallets. 9 long years of constantly struggling to get by and seeing more of your pay disappear each week means tax cuts will be a boon..
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
The opposition decries, “no, we can’t afford”. Shut up say the proletariat ‘You’re not the government, how do you know what we can afford. That John Key is such a nice guy’
tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
The masses hunger. They want these tax cuts. Nothing will stop them now from getting them. The party offering the message, simply, must. WIN!
Election day looms near. The repeated mantra of ‘tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts’ has assumed a soothing quality to the soma’d masses. No one wants to be a Delta, or an Epsilon. We all want to be Betas. Only the best can be Alphas. Being a Gamma wouldn’t be too bad, but a Beta is better.
Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.
Election day itself
Party vote “tax cuts” say the masses. The dutiful tick goes to the party with the right message.
After 9 long years of softening up the hoi polloi, the governing party is returned with an outright majority. Too late, the people awaken. The look of horror is abject. The next three years is a selloff. Too late, the damage is done, the plan is to be carried out. The bankers and merchant men took over the country.
New Zealand. The greatest experimental country for neo-liberalism to mass transfer and consolidate wealth to the few, since, well, ever.
This post deserves an article on mass hypnosis, great stuff James T!
All you are saying is that ‘tax cuts’ are superior political tactics to anything the left has produced.
What news is that? No news.
The left don’t seem to want to take notice of how they win elections getting fresh money into people’s pockets. They should. If they did they would be more likely to win elections.
It’s no news, but it’s the news that makes people take notice.
Unless labour can counter it with an effective appeal, it’s a vote winner.
Big issue policies won’t win over the hearts and minds of the undefined “centre”.
Hip pocket stuff wins the day.
My pick would be to counter the tax cuts mantra with something equally as powerful. $1500 tax refund within 100 days.
Then, when the inevitable bashing starts just say that it’s cheaper than Nationals tax cuts and people will get that $1500 right away instead of over 18 months under National.
Fight a lack of policy costings with just the same vigor. “We will show you our figures when National does”. Easy. Drives home the fact National have no plan.
How to pay for it? Easy. A new tax bracket for 500k+ of 45%. Sure as eggs are eggs, labour will win then.
….. or target those with the most who are cheating the rest of us ……
Its a worldwide problem
“All over the world governments are struggling to provide decent public services. Ordinary people pay ever-increasing taxes but get worse public services. Rather than paying their fair share of taxes, major corporations and wealthy individuals escape their social obligations by locating in offshore tax havens. Companies such as Enron, Newscorp, Elan, Exxon, Northern & Shell Group, Portland Investment, Microsoft, General Motors and others have used tax havens to shave their tax bills.
By plugging the leakage of tax revenues to tax havens, the UK government could raise up to £85 billion extra in tax revenues, large enough to fund schools, hospitals, pensions, public transport and social infrastructure.” http://www.taxjustice.net/cms/upload/pdf/No_accounting_for_tax_havens_FEB-02.pdf
“A significant fraction of global private financial wealth — by our estimates, at least $21 to $32 trillion as of 2010 — has been invested virtually tax-free through the world’s still expanding black hole of more than 80 “offshore”secrecy jurisdictions. We believe this range to be conservative, for reasons discussed below. Remember: this is just financial wealth. A big share of the real estate, yachts, racehorses, gold bricks — and many other things that count as non-financial wealth –are also owned via offshore structures where it is impossible to identify the owners. These are outside the scope of this report. http://www.taxjustice.net/cms/upload/pdf/The_Price_of_Offshore_Revisited_Presser_120722.pdf
And a who’s who ………. http://ctj.org/pdf/offshoreshellgames2016.pdf
Bank of America Corp. Number of Tax Haven Subsidiaries: 109
Location of Tax Haven Subsidiaries : Bahamas (2), Bermuda (4), Cayman Islands (18), Channel Islands (13), Costa Rica (1), Gibraltar (4), Hong Kong (3), Ireland (8), Luxembourg (13), Mauritius (6), Netherlands (25), Netherlands Antilles (1), Singapore (8), Switzerland (3
Good idea – The Community Fridge: Reducing food waste and feeding those in need
https://lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz/the-community-fridge-reducing-food-waste-and-feeding-the-hungry/
Through the US Export-Import Bank, Barack Obama’s administration has spent nearly $34bn supporting 70 fossil fuel projects around the world, work by Columbia Journalism School’s Energy and Environment Reporting Project and the Guardian has revealed.
This unprecedented backing of oil, coal and gas projects is an unexpected footnote to Obama’s own climate change legacy. The president has called global warming “terrifying” and helped broker the world’s first proper agreement to tackle it, yet his administration has poured money into developments that will push the planet even closer to climate disaster.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/01/obama-fossil-fuels-us-export-import-bank-energy-projects
Great Moments in Broadcasting. NOT.
No. 1: Pippa Wetzell grovels and simpers before a slimeball….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbTCAbWTN2E
Great Moments in Broadcasting. NOT is an occasional series highlighting some of the worst moments in our pretty shameful history of broadcasting mediocrity and downright failure.
Great moments in stenography. NOT.
Any of Messr Breen’s postings on this fine blog.
Ouch.
http://rs991.pbsrc.com/albums/af32/TheValiantSoul/Thatreallyhurt.jpg~c200
Women of Harry Potter: Evil in Authority
Sounds remarkably like the National Party as they bash down beneficiaries and the poor while helping the rich exploit the rest of society.
Feeling a bit disillusioned.
firstly John Michael Greer – I have been an avid fan of his for years – I cannot agree with his trump analysis – I think he is wrong to suppose that trump will do anything. Feel sad about JMG’s opinion on all that – makes me want to not read him anymore – but his analysis on other topics is insightful so will probably keep reading him, but it isn’t the same now 🙁
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.co.nz/2016/11/the-end-of-american-century.html
and Mana and The Māori Party – I’ve really tried but nah. Too far Hone, you have lost mana and don’t have the same pulling power mate. The Internet-Mana and dotcom stuff burnt too much political capital – we trusted you and we were let down. You can’t ask us to do it again – I’m not going to – I don’t trust The Māori Party – they have done too much against our people and they have supported the gnats too much.
As a Māori indigenous rights left activist I am NOT supporting the Mana Movement joining with The Māori Party – and I am NOT supporting Hone Harawira. I want NEW leadership, I want a commitment to the kaupapa we originally signed up for not this additional new direction. Nah – I’m not compromising my values and what I believe about fighting inequality and fighting for indigenous rights and fighting for the underpriviledged, the forgotten, and discarded in our society (whose ranks are well overcrowded with Māori). Nah – this proposed marrigae is NOT the way – I’m NOT putting my patu down yet.
A poem from a few years ago
Beneath Te Papa
My knee clicked loudly like an out of time fingersnapper
as I entered Te Papa. A museum, as am I, both hoarding
treasures deep on this day of my birth.
I am 50 today as I descend below Te Papa, the oversized
lift looming around us like an atrium, my socks slip
on the floor. A slow motion ritual fall to our past.
The doors weep quietly aside and I find them along walls.
Taiaha stacked supine, appearing settled yet expectant,
as poised as hungry white herons staring at faint flickers of fish.
They watch as years slide by. Discarded weapons now relics,
longing for a warm hand, the lightest touch of emotion, we were
forged for our time, as useful as a steady pay packet, or an edge.
A weapon-less warrior watching warrior-less weapons.
Te Papa and I are the cave mouth open everyday, and they enter
to see, to touch, to feel – the museum, but not the man.
Kia kaha, Marty.
The future certainly looks very bleak but it is the continuing activism by people like you that still gives me some hope.
Agree – from another somewhat despondent and disillusioned leftie
“Taiaha stacked supine, appearing settled yet expectant,
as poised as hungry white herons staring at faint flickers of fish.
They watch as years slide by. Discarded weapons now relics,
longing for a warm hand, the lightest touch of emotion,…”
The tide MUST turn soon, it must.
A couple of updates on the panama papers. In the interest of internationalism, not globalisation.
https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/12/01/20502/journalists-hang-tough-face-backlash-against-panama-papers-reporting?
https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/12/01/20500/panama-papers-have-had-historic-global-effects-and-impacts-keep-coming?
JK played golf with logical person! “President Obama Says Marijuana Should Be Treated Like Alcohol
In a just published “exit interview” with Rolling Stone Magazine, President Barack Obama opined that marijuana use should be treated as a public-health issue, not a criminal matter, and called the current patchwork of state and federal laws regarding the drug “untenable.”
“Look, I’ve been very clear about my belief that we should try to discourage substance abuse,” Obama said. “And I am not somebody who believes that legalization is a panacea. But I do believe that treating this as a public-health issue, the same way we do with cigarettes or alcohol, is the much smarter way to deal with it.”
He added, “It is untenable over the long term for the Justice Department or the DEA to be enforcing a patchwork of laws, where something that’s legal in one state could get you a 20-year prison sentence in another. So this is a debate that is now ripe, much in the same way that we ended up making progress on same-sex marriage.”
Rolling Stone interview, which is excellent read:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/obama-on-his-legacy-trumps-win-and-the-path-forward-w452527
something up with my email just seeing if the standard still knows this is my address.
This from Avaaz about the Syrian people and their self help group The White Helmets. Perhaps Buzz Aldrin would go and visit on a Peace Mission there and bring out a whole lot of the wounded and their families for the same price as getting out of Antarctica.
73,530 lives in fact. That’s how many people they have saved, rushing to the scene of bombings to pull people from the rubble and carry them to safety.