It's a pivotal scene from the original TV series of V. Diana swallowing a hamster not realising that she is being watched. The realisation that she isn't a human!
Covid may end up slowing down Barrett getting rammed through onto the SCOTUS. But it won't stop it. Even if it's delayed the Repugs will still have plenty of time after the election in the lame duck period and every incentive to make sure it happens and zero incentive to back off.
Yep. There's no law stopping them, and even a law wouldn't stop them trying.
The only reasons for them not to do it would be respect for the will of the American people, personal integrity, or principle. They have all given plentiful proof that they have precisely zero of any of those attributes, that the only thing that animates their dead-brained zombie carcasses is the exercise of power.
The practical reality is current sitting senators hold their seats and retain all their powers until noon on January 3, 2021. So they can confirm Barrett at any time up until then.
Politically, it's arguable whether they're better off confirming Barrett before or after the election. Any backlash for underhandedly confirming Barrett after the election is two or four years away for those senators not up for election, and by then the election is over and a done deal for those running this year.
If they do it before the election, then yes, they've "delivered" for their base. But then they also have nothing left to offer to those that are otherwise disgusted with them but would nevertheless stick with them in order to get reactionary judges appointed.
What adverse rulings are you referring to that RBG stopped?
In recent 5-4 rulings, Roberts has been the deciding swing vote. But you can be damn sure that Roberts would vote in favour of throwing the election to the Repugs if there were any possible way to do it.
At 5-4, Gorsuch or Roberts could decide matters in a non partisan way.
At 5-3 they could make it a 4-4 tie.
At 6-3 they would need to agree to block the GOP/partisans.
If Breyer is replaced, then even together they could not block the conservative GOP appointees deciding matters.
The Democrat Party need a POTUS and a Democrat majority on the Senate to appoint Garland and another to make a 11 seat SCOTUS. It would have a 6-5 GOP appointed majority, equivalent to the 5-4 one it would have been if they had confirmed Garland in 2016.
But Biden says he will not do this and thus allow Mad Mitch to get his way, no wonder he has friends across the aisle.
People like Susan Collins only win their Senate seats by posing as anti-Republican conservative positions from time to time.
Fortunately for her and the GOP her vote is not required for the appointment to go ahead. So it makes no difference when the vote is held – so she will try and win the Senate seat in Nov by saying she is against another conservative pick for SCOTUS.
For mine if her vote was required they would delay until after the election to allow her vote to get Barrett through without any electoral consequences.
Had I disappeared off-grid to live in a cave 10 weeks ago – and don’t think I wasn’t tempted – then returned last night to the Newshub “powerbrokers” debate, I’d have confidently told you this: Winston Peters, perched on the far-left stool, beaming above his immaculate white-spotted tie, is heading back to parliament… Here he was relaxed, quick, funny, grinning – he appeared not to have a worry in the world https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/02-10-2020/winston-peters-looked-like-a-man-transformed-at-the-newshub-debate/
Te ao Māori was present throughout – not just because of the questions, and not just because Tamihere and Davidson worked hard to raise kaupapa at every turn, but also because every candidate on the stage was Māori. Tamihere afterwards scoffed at that characterisation, though, saying that not everyone could, like him, be called a “practising Māori”.
Between them, the warhorse pair of Peters and JT were great entertainment. It was as if they had been sitting beside each other on those stools forever. A mix of banter, back slapping…
Tamihere told Peters to his face that he was “the biggest handbrake on the Māori renaissance … of all politicians”. Peters retorted that the people who sailed the Pacific to populate Aotearoa had the wherewithal to lift themselves up without the nannying state.
Does seem significant, this evidence of Māori renaissance. How many of the four will function as powerbrokers post-election is a pertinent question. Volatility in the polls with two weeks to go suggests potential for someone to get a shift happening…
Seem clear, but volatility emanates from two sources: fluctuations in the short term amongst those who indicate an intent to pollsters yet change their mind in response to events on the campaign trail, and a separate crowd that don't respond to the pollster request for an indication because they are genuinely undecided.
This latter lot apparently make up their mind on the day of voting. Given the size of the two crowds combined (20% of the electorate according to one recent media view, and 10-15% according to another, somewhat earlier) it is evident that the margin of error gets totally obliterated if they all vote.
Statistics tells us that they are most likely to break down along the lines of the portion of the electorate who do give an intent to vote party preference to pollsters. However the nature of volatility is such that campaign events can easily shift them en masse.
Complexity now being a science, the metaphor of weather shifts due to a butterfly wing flutter in the distance does apply. The electorate is a complex system.
I see the idiot/savant has declared his voting intent: "Having the Greens in government is the only way we have a hope in hell of doing that. So, I'm going to hold my nose, and vote for them as the lesser evil – and you should too. But they need to change. Because we deserve something better to vote for than a lesser evil."
Ah, the lesser evil thesis. So much the default mass psychology of representative democracy. It's hallowed status still has everyone by the balls.
I'll be voting Green, but for the common good reason. Not with enthusiasm – just a sense of inevitability. Slow learners will get crunched by reality sufficiently to figure it out eventually. Probably after I've passed on. Faith in the Greens withstands the reducing effect of the lack of political competence of those in parliament, because the common cause has more staying power.
Nice report from the backwaters of the culture wars:
My friend and I smoked pot nearly every day of our final year of university. We both graduated with close to A-grade BAs.
Fast forward 30 years and that friend is now a fulltime naturopath who regularly consumes cannabis chocolates. She says it’s a popular form of therapy among the healthy set. In those three decades I’ve had a successful career, working for high-profile, multi-national companies abroad and running my own business at home for the last 20 years.
Marijuana has been a constant companion throughout. That said, I seldom smoke these days. After a lot of pot and a 25-year ciggie habit, I look after my health and have taken up the vaporiser instead.
It’s called the Mighty, made in Germany. Precision engineered, rapid heat-up, variable temperature settings to get the most out of your weed, clear LCD display, excellent battery life, and pocket sized with discrete aesthetics. I’d been off the pot for several years because I was wrangling anxiety, and smoking weed wasn’t helping. But the vaporiser brought the good times back. The Mighty high is lighter, more uplifting. It makes me feel relaxed, cheery and open.
There is a higher level of THC in the blood if one vapes, rather than smokes.
Perception is just that.
It's easier on the lungs than smoking – unless its not.
There have been deaths amongst those vaping – leading to suspicion about the harmful impact of other ingredients (such as Vit E acetate) used on lungs.
You could be in Texas, where you might have to drive over a hundred miles to drop off your ballot at the one ballot-drop location that serves the hundreds of thousands of people in your county.
It's completely intentional – it was an explicit order by Texas' Repug governor, Greg Abbott. A lot of already installed drop-boxes had to be removed to comply with the order.
Vote suppression tactics last because they work. They're targeted in ways that don't really inconvenience the supporters of those that benefit from them. Repugs are quite open about the fact that their only chance of remaining widely in power is through successful vote-suppression, so they have to keep doing and their supporters continue to reward them for it.
However, undeterred from our quest to exercise our right to an early vote, off we went.
There are three potential public entrances to the voting room in Te Ahu in Kaitaia and the only one open and guarded by security was the one with the steep steps.
One of the other possible entrances was accessible by a ramp that would be easily doable by a paralegic…bit of a mission for a quad. That was completely out of bounds.
The other was a set of double fire exit doors that opened outwards and access involved negotiating a 50 mm edge on the frame. Totally unnecessary as there was already a aluminum ramp fitted…for want of a couple of seconds thought it could have been level entry.
However. We were admitted into the Inner Sanctum with way too much fuss and bother and with much 'oh, its no trouble really" s (which of course it was) an did our thing. (Social Credit candidate, Green Party vote and a no and a yes…FWIW) (With very little in the way conferring, as couples are wont to do.)
Repeat of the fuss and bother to get us and the wheelchair out of the room.
Sadly for the lady struggling with a single crutch…the Keepers of the Inner Sanctum had shut the fire doors and turned their backs and Security made her take the steps.
Sorry, there are no voting places that match that set of filters.
However.
Of the eleven polling booths between Kaitaia and Te Rerenga Wairua only two rather proudly declare " Independent access to and within this building." Both are primary schools and unfortunately not available for early voting.
The others all rather sheepishly admit "Accessible with assistance. May have step, steep ramp etc. "
Understandable for Te Hapua perhaps, and maybe Te Kao, but totally unacceptable for a busy metropolis like Kaitaia.
Of course the wee help elves are more than happy to rush over and give assistance…they are the Guardians of Democracy, right? But they shouldn't have to. Not in 2020 and certainly not in a relatively new and rather awesome community building like Te Ahu.
I've always had a soft spot for Social Credit, and young Brad is a solid , bright and enthusiastic candidate. I met him at a NZ Outdoors Party do, and after we chatted over washing the dishes I was not surprised that he chose a different waka. The Green Party seems to be always on the verge of self-destructing and I very nearly gave another tick to Social Credit. However Darlene Tana Hoff-Nielsen has taken considerable interest in local issues and did attend and support activists at the consent hearings for the most recent water grab from the Te Aupouri aquifer.
There needs to be a Ministry of Employment/Micro Business which helps people get skills and jobs, helps small entrepreneurs, and gets people doing useful stuff onto a payroll so they can keep on doing it.
The tall lean Southlander has been living on and off in the bush around the furthest reaches of the inlet in the Marlborough Sounds for about five years now, setting traps and living off the land… Apart from a few labouring jobs around about, Gary earns an income by selling possum fur, but lately, that’s been down because of Covid, he says. The price was about 25 percent down last time he went in but it hasn't put him off the job because "it's still for a cause."
Gary feels there should be a bounty for getting all the other pests he gets, like the feral cats, rats and stoats.
And the last time that was tried the country ended up with people spreading possums around so they wouldn't have to leave home to get the bounty. Trying a failed system again isn't going to make it work any better than the last time it failed.
"The first large-scale attempt to control possums was a bounty scheme which ran from 1951 to 1961. Eight million bounties of two shillings and sixpence were paid out for ‘possum tokens’ – the ears and a strip of fur. However, more than 75% of these animals were taken from near farms, picked off roads or caught in other easily accessible places. In the forests, possum numbers continued to grow."
How did they determined that those for whom the bounty was paid were taken from road kill? Even if possum numbers in forests continued to grow, it's hardly insignificant that numbers from other environments did decrease. I suspect there were other reasons for ceasing the bounty payments.
A bounty places a value on the existence of possums. They have been tried before in New Zealand but failed to reduce possum numbers. During the era when bounties were in existence, possum populations continued to expand in Coromandel and Northland as hunters deliberately introduced the pest to those areas in order to have a local population to 'farm'.
My bold.
Besides the bloody things are everywhere and even if the most accessible are only caught and the bounty claimed it's worth it.
I don't think it is. It's simply too labour intensive to be effective at anything other than short range.
From your link:
In more accessible areas, hunting reduced possum numbers.
Traditionally possum fur has been valued for trimming clothes, but since the 1990s prices have been low, forcing hunters out of the industry.
How did they determined that those for whom the bounty was paid were taken from road kill?
I suspect listening at the pub as people talked about getting easy money from the government.
I argued in a Waatea column back in 2014 about how NZs wider political framework could work alongside a Māori Parliament to fulfil our Treaty obligations. I imagine a NZ Parliament Upper House that has 50-50 representation between Maori and Pakeha.
Having a 50-50 Upper House with the power to delay legislation that was not in the best interests of the Nation when it comes to Treaty issues would stop Government’s from fire sales of national assets and prevent things like the Foreshore and Seabed legislation from becoming law.
Too conservative, I reckon. However the principle is validated by the racial partnership ethos, eh? Those for whom Te Tiriti is a handy device for shackling progress will be persuaded.
Note Bomber's subtle way of demonstrating class solidarity: stop Government’s from fire sales. Signalling that he couldn't pass School C English exhibits solidarity with the working class. Effective tacit psychology and totally pc. Full marks.
Yeah I agree, upper houses are an out of date idea. They can and have provided some useful balance of representation and scrutiny of legislation in countries where they exist, but very few (no?) countries are creating them if they don't have an historic one. It would presumably require a referendum to create and I think the idea of adding more politicians would be hard to sell. And what are the chances of selling an upper house of 50-50 ethnicity via a referendum?
I’m not convinced by binding citizens referenda – too often reduces complex problems to binary choices. A better answer would possibly be more democracy at local levels?
They can and have provided some useful balance of representation and scrutiny of legislation in countries where they exist
True but they've also done the opposite and rushed through bad legislation that the people didn't want. This has been especially true when both houses have been controlled by the same party.
And what are the chances of selling an upper house of 50-50 ethnicity via a referendum?
Non-existent.
I’m not convinced by binding citizens referenda – too often reduces complex problems to binary choices.
Depends upon how its done. It could be done in a way so that it's not just a binary choice.
A better answer would possibly be more democracy at local levels?
One of the reasons why I want to get rid of electorates is so that people have to get involved in local politics. No more running off to the local MP and thus immediately bypassing the local council who could probably do what needs to be done.
Not sure how well they work – but Korea routinely prosecutes members of outgoing administrations – and they are imprisoned while the investigation proceeds, to stop them covering things up. Such an investigation into Brownlee's performance in Christchurch would have ended very badly for him.
Probably not…at least in legal terms…and probably not even in political terms either.
That which occurred was widely recognised though probably not criminal and he remained supported in his electorate and party….dosnt make it right but such is life.
It was criminal – whether the law recognizes that or not. And healthy societies find ways to deal with such malefactors, either judicially or by mechanisms such as ostracism. That NZ has not augurs poorly for our future.
Yes ,I considered that when I wrote it, but technically is wasnt criminal (going on the information available)…and that is the point. The gutting thing about it is the lack of will by the opposition, the media and the public to fdorce the issue over a period of years….essentially he was given a free pass to behave as he did.
It was criminal – whether the law recognizes that or not.
There is a major problem when law fails to recognise immoral behaviour. It's an even bigger problem when the government then fails to adjust the law so that it will recognise and prosecute that same immoral behaviour.
next showdown between Judith Collins and Jacinda Ardern will be in front of a packed Christchurch audience and two staunchly Cantabrian moderators, next Tuesday.
The Press Leaders Debate has been held since 2011 and is the only town hall-style debate of the election campaign season. It will be in front of a live audience of 750 and the topics will be informed by The Press and Stuff readers.
Which leader can play a big crowd well, live? Does it matter? It does, inasmuch as floating voters can still flip the election outcome. Reef fish? Yeah, they can spin on a dime if something spooks them.
The Press Leaders Debate will be moderated by The Press editor Kamala Hayman and Stuff political editor Luke Malpass.
Having co-moderators is good, and one of each sex creates a good balance.
Hayman, who has held the editor’s chair of The Press since 2017, said… Christchurch voters would expect genuine, honest answers from the leaders, not political slogans or point scoring.
Let's hope the crowd provides a voice of unison on that basis, to loudly object when Collins tries to get away with talking over Ardern. Campbell & Gower were utter wimps, totally ineffective in moderating that behaviour!
Malpass worked at The Australian Financial Review where he was an editorial writer, opinion and editorial page editor and features editor, and spent time as acting foreign editor. He also worked at The Sydney Morning Herald. “The great thing about live town hall-style debates is that they test a different set of skills. The leaders get an immediate response from the crowd, who will decide which issues they care about, which answers are good and which are duds."
Non-floaters like you & me are irrelevant to the reef fish scenario. Will be interesting to see if the debate flushes out an issue or, more likely, a stance that could then go viral on social media & change the outcome (as per chaos theory).
Nigel Roberts once said that all election predictions are safe as long as you start your sentence with 'I'd be very surprised if …'
Well I'd be very surprised if the voting blocs revealed in the last dozen or so mainstream polls (and especially the last 3 or so) did not translate more-or-less into the election night result. That suggests Lab 45-50%, Nats 29-33%, Greens and Act each on 6-7%, NZFirst c 3%, quite a few smaller parties c 1%. A tightening of the race between the two leading parties and/or the major blocs often tends to happen in elections, though, as for example happened with National's results in 2011 and 2014.
Me neither. But that wasn't what I was writing about, eh? Remember how Nixon's 5 o'clock shadow changed the course of history? Well, maybe you weren't around then. Only took that trigger to shift the mass perception of a swathe of voters, turned him into a swarthy, shifty loser in their minds.
That showed how a leaders tv debate can transform politics. Overturned mass bias too, got the first catholic president in after three centuries of hard-line anti-papist sentiment.
Oh, the election you say. Labour following the 'art of the possible' when that doesn't reach what is necessary. No one shouting, only Yertle quivering far below.
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,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, Wednesday 8 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Long form article on the Pacific orchard workers, the so-called RSEs.
Oddly, they never become eligible for residence, unlike 4th tier "language students". It's not blackbirding of course – plus ca change 🙁 .
Jaeezzzusss, around America's Number One Crime Family, even women are nasty-ass sexual predators.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8796579/Kimberly-Guilfoyle-left-Fox-News-female-assistant-accused-host-sexual-misconduct.html
That sums it up nicely Joe90
I find this absolutely revolting. Normally I block images out but how do I do it for this.
I do too RedBaronCV, but what an image to recall when someone or media says that a politician has swallowed a dead rat.
It's a pivotal scene from the original TV series of V. Diana swallowing a hamster not realising that she is being watched. The realisation that she isn't a human!
Diana played by Jane Badler.
Covid may end up slowing down Barrett getting rammed through onto the SCOTUS. But it won't stop it. Even if it's delayed the Repugs will still have plenty of time after the election in the lame duck period and every incentive to make sure it happens and zero incentive to back off.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mike-lee-covid-supreme-court-hearing-amy-coney-barrett_n_5f775beec5b6d4e948b523fb
even if the Dems win?
Yep. There's no law stopping them, and even a law wouldn't stop them trying.
The only reasons for them not to do it would be respect for the will of the American people, personal integrity, or principle. They have all given plentiful proof that they have precisely zero of any of those attributes, that the only thing that animates their dead-brained zombie carcasses is the exercise of power.
Don't they want it before the election as insurance?
The practical reality is current sitting senators hold their seats and retain all their powers until noon on January 3, 2021. So they can confirm Barrett at any time up until then.
Politically, it's arguable whether they're better off confirming Barrett before or after the election. Any backlash for underhandedly confirming Barrett after the election is two or four years away for those senators not up for election, and by then the election is over and a done deal for those running this year.
If they do it before the election, then yes, they've "delivered" for their base. But then they also have nothing left to offer to those that are otherwise disgusted with them but would nevertheless stick with them in order to get reactionary judges appointed.
Don't they need her in place beforehand to help throw the election? Hanging chads and all that..
They've already got 5-3 for that. Going to 6-3 is just gilding the lily.
How was RBG stopping adverse rulings then?
What adverse rulings are you referring to that RBG stopped?
In recent 5-4 rulings, Roberts has been the deciding swing vote. But you can be damn sure that Roberts would vote in favour of throwing the election to the Repugs if there were any possible way to do it.
At 5-4, Gorsuch or Roberts could decide matters in a non partisan way.
At 5-3 they could make it a 4-4 tie.
At 6-3 they would need to agree to block the GOP/partisans.
If Breyer is replaced, then even together they could not block the conservative GOP appointees deciding matters.
The Democrat Party need a POTUS and a Democrat majority on the Senate to appoint Garland and another to make a 11 seat SCOTUS. It would have a 6-5 GOP appointed majority, equivalent to the 5-4 one it would have been if they had confirmed Garland in 2016.
But Biden says he will not do this and thus allow Mad Mitch to get his way, no wonder he has friends across the aisle.
People like Susan Collins only win their Senate seats by posing as anti-Republican conservative positions from time to time.
Fortunately for her and the GOP her vote is not required for the appointment to go ahead. So it makes no difference when the vote is held – so she will try and win the Senate seat in Nov by saying she is against another conservative pick for SCOTUS.
For mine if her vote was required they would delay until after the election to allow her vote to get Barrett through without any electoral consequences.
So the powerbrokers are all Maori, eh?
Does seem significant, this evidence of Māori renaissance. How many of the four will function as powerbrokers post-election is a pertinent question. Volatility in the polls with two weeks to go suggests potential for someone to get a shift happening…
Polling trends are pretty clear. Nobody is going to be a powerbroker.
Seem clear, but volatility emanates from two sources: fluctuations in the short term amongst those who indicate an intent to pollsters yet change their mind in response to events on the campaign trail, and a separate crowd that don't respond to the pollster request for an indication because they are genuinely undecided.
This latter lot apparently make up their mind on the day of voting. Given the size of the two crowds combined (20% of the electorate according to one recent media view, and 10-15% according to another, somewhat earlier) it is evident that the margin of error gets totally obliterated if they all vote.
Statistics tells us that they are most likely to break down along the lines of the portion of the electorate who do give an intent to vote party preference to pollsters. However the nature of volatility is such that campaign events can easily shift them en masse.
Complexity now being a science, the metaphor of weather shifts due to a butterfly wing flutter in the distance does apply. The electorate is a complex system.
I see the idiot/savant has declared his voting intent: "Having the Greens in government is the only way we have a hope in hell of doing that. So, I'm going to hold my nose, and vote for them as the lesser evil – and you should too. But they need to change. Because we deserve something better to vote for than a lesser evil."
Ah, the lesser evil thesis. So much the default mass psychology of representative democracy. It's hallowed status still has everyone by the balls.
I'll be voting Green, but for the common good reason. Not with enthusiasm – just a sense of inevitability. Slow learners will get crunched by reality sufficiently to figure it out eventually. Probably after I've passed on. Faith in the Greens withstands the reducing effect of the lack of political competence of those in parliament, because the common cause has more staying power.
Please provide a link.
Sorry, here it is: http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2020/10/an-unenthusiastic-endorsement.html
Ta
Nice report from the backwaters of the culture wars:
FYI.
There is a higher level of THC in the blood if one vapes, rather than smokes.
Perception is just that.
It's easier on the lungs than smoking – unless its not.
There have been deaths amongst those vaping – leading to suspicion about the harmful impact of other ingredients (such as Vit E acetate) used on lungs.
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/11/11/20959198/vaping-vitamin-e-acetate
That's not vaping cannabis though, is it.
Yes it is.
Not the real thing. Only prepared liquids.
So if the THC is inhaled as vapour rather than as smoke its not cannabis …
Cannabis inhaled as vapour is cannabis. Some liquid with THC and other additives in it, not so much.
OK. This covers it.
https://bedrocan.com/vaping-vs-vaporization/
So I'm talking about vapourising cannabis, not vaping it? OK then.
Went to find the location of my most convenient polling booth…..
Oh well, scrolled through the map and off to vote…
You could be in Texas, where you might have to drive over a hundred miles to drop off your ballot at the one ballot-drop location that serves the hundreds of thousands of people in your county.
how is that anything other than intentional, and why do people put up with it?
It's completely intentional – it was an explicit order by Texas' Repug governor, Greg Abbott. A lot of already installed drop-boxes had to be removed to comply with the order.
Vote suppression tactics last because they work. They're targeted in ways that don't really inconvenience the supporters of those that benefit from them. Repugs are quite open about the fact that their only chance of remaining widely in power is through successful vote-suppression, so they have to keep doing and their supporters continue to reward them for it.
Damn these first world problems…
Fortunately you can also find a polling place old styles by typing: https://vote.nz/voting/ways-you-can-vote/find-a-voting-place-from-a-list/
Try applying few filters…say, Northland Electorate, in Kaitaia and accessible venues only…https://vote.nz/voting/ways-you-can-vote/find-a-voting-place-from-a-list/?ElectorateType=General+electorates&Electorate=Northland&Suburb=Kaitaia&isAccessible=1&action_filter=View+voting+places
Big zero.
However, undeterred from our quest to exercise our right to an early vote, off we went.
There are three potential public entrances to the voting room in Te Ahu in Kaitaia and the only one open and guarded by security was the one with the steep steps.
One of the other possible entrances was accessible by a ramp that would be easily doable by a paralegic…bit of a mission for a quad. That was completely out of bounds.
The other was a set of double fire exit doors that opened outwards and access involved negotiating a 50 mm edge on the frame. Totally unnecessary as there was already a aluminum ramp fitted…for want of a couple of seconds thought it could have been level entry.
However. We were admitted into the Inner Sanctum with way too much fuss and bother and with much 'oh, its no trouble really" s (which of course it was) an did our thing. (Social Credit candidate, Green Party vote and a no and a yes…FWIW) (With very little in the way conferring, as couples are wont to do.)
Repeat of the fuss and bother to get us and the wheelchair out of the room.
Sadly for the lady struggling with a single crutch…the Keepers of the Inner Sanctum had shut the fire doors and turned their backs and Security made her take the steps.
I did nae lose it, but I said my piece.
...and why do people put up with it indeed.
What did the 'Accessible voting place' filter produce?
Sorry, there are no voting places that match that set of filters.
However.
Of the eleven polling booths between Kaitaia and Te Rerenga Wairua only two rather proudly declare " Independent access to and within this building." Both are primary schools and unfortunately not available for early voting.
The others all rather sheepishly admit "Accessible with assistance. May have step, steep ramp etc. "
Understandable for Te Hapua perhaps, and maybe Te Kao, but totally unacceptable for a busy metropolis like Kaitaia.
Of course the wee help elves are more than happy to rush over and give assistance…they are the Guardians of Democracy, right? But they shouldn't have to. Not in 2020 and certainly not in a relatively new and rather awesome community building like Te Ahu.
http://www.kaitaianz.co.nz/
"Social Credit candidate, Green Party vote.." 🙂 Yup
I've always had a soft spot for Social Credit, and young Brad is a solid , bright and enthusiastic candidate. I met him at a NZ Outdoors Party do, and after we chatted over washing the dishes I was not surprised that he chose a different waka. The Green Party seems to be always on the verge of self-destructing and I very nearly gave another tick to Social Credit. However Darlene Tana Hoff-Nielsen has taken considerable interest in local issues and did attend and support activists at the consent hearings for the most recent water grab from the Te Aupouri aquifer.
There needs to be a Ministry of Employment/Micro Business which helps people get skills and jobs, helps small entrepreneurs, and gets people doing useful stuff onto a payroll so they can keep on doing it.
Like this:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/countrylife/audio/2018766647/a-precious-endeavour
The tall lean Southlander has been living on and off in the bush around the furthest reaches of the inlet in the Marlborough Sounds for about five years now, setting traps and living off the land…
Apart from a few labouring jobs around about, Gary earns an income by selling possum fur, but lately, that’s been down because of Covid, he says.
The price was about 25 percent down last time he went in but it hasn't put him off the job because "it's still for a cause."
Gary feels there should be a bounty for getting all the other pests he gets, like the feral cats, rats and stoats.
edit
Here's an enterprising business outside the cafe and bar trade for a change.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/countrylife/audio/2018766640/meet-the-farming-couple-breeding-leeches-for-nz-hospitals
And this is one of the diverse directions that will be valuable to the individual learning and the society in terms of balanced interaction on a civilised and friendly level with others.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018765486/top-mma-fighter-starts-mentorship-to-train-young-talent
[Removed hyperlink that had somehow (?) sneaked into the middle of the word “bar”.]
And the last time that was tried the country ended up with people spreading possums around so they wouldn't have to leave home to get the bounty. Trying a failed system again isn't going to make it work any better than the last time it failed.
Pretty sure I've told you that before.
So you're saying they caught the possums from the bush then let them go again so they could catch them closer to home?
If breeding them is the aim, considering it takes a year from conception to maturity it's hardly worth the trouble.
Besides the bloody things are everywhere and even if the most accessible are only caught and the bounty claimed it's worth it.
At present any attempt at growing fruit, vegetables, roses even in any semi rural area is impossible without both fencing and trapping.
According to this https://teara.govt.nz/en/possums/page-2
"The first large-scale attempt to control possums was a bounty scheme which ran from 1951 to 1961. Eight million bounties of two shillings and sixpence were paid out for ‘possum tokens’ – the ears and a strip of fur. However, more than 75% of these animals were taken from near farms, picked off roads or caught in other easily accessible places. In the forests, possum numbers continued to grow."
How did they determined that those for whom the bounty was paid were taken from road kill? Even if possum numbers in forests continued to grow, it's hardly insignificant that numbers from other environments did decrease. I suspect there were other reasons for ceasing the bounty payments.
Yes:
My bold.
I don't think it is. It's simply too labour intensive to be effective at anything other than short range.
From your link:
I suspect listening at the pub as people talked about getting easy money from the government.
Bomber was prescient:
Too conservative, I reckon. However the principle is validated by the racial partnership ethos, eh? Those for whom Te Tiriti is a handy device for shackling progress will be persuaded.
Note Bomber's subtle way of demonstrating class solidarity: stop Government’s from fire sales. Signalling that he couldn't pass School C English exhibits solidarity with the working class. Effective tacit psychology and totally pc. Full marks.
I get so irritated by people who say an upper house is the solution to our political troubles.
All the evidence from around the world shows that upper houses don't work the way that they want them to work.
Really want to stop the government from doing stupid stuff? Then go for binding citizens referenda.
Yeah I agree, upper houses are an out of date idea. They can and have provided some useful balance of representation and scrutiny of legislation in countries where they exist, but very few (no?) countries are creating them if they don't have an historic one. It would presumably require a referendum to create and I think the idea of adding more politicians would be hard to sell. And what are the chances of selling an upper house of 50-50 ethnicity via a referendum?
I’m not convinced by binding citizens referenda – too often reduces complex problems to binary choices. A better answer would possibly be more democracy at local levels?
True but they've also done the opposite and rushed through bad legislation that the people didn't want. This has been especially true when both houses have been controlled by the same party.
Non-existent.
Depends upon how its done. It could be done in a way so that it's not just a binary choice.
One of the reasons why I want to get rid of electorates is so that people have to get involved in local politics. No more running off to the local MP and thus immediately bypassing the local council who could probably do what needs to be done.
Not sure how well they work – but Korea routinely prosecutes members of outgoing administrations – and they are imprisoned while the investigation proceeds, to stop them covering things up. Such an investigation into Brownlee's performance in Christchurch would have ended very badly for him.
Probably not…at least in legal terms…and probably not even in political terms either.
That which occurred was widely recognised though probably not criminal and he remained supported in his electorate and party….dosnt make it right but such is life.
It was criminal – whether the law recognizes that or not. And healthy societies find ways to deal with such malefactors, either judicially or by mechanisms such as ostracism. That NZ has not augurs poorly for our future.
Yes ,I considered that when I wrote it, but technically is wasnt criminal (going on the information available)…and that is the point. The gutting thing about it is the lack of will by the opposition, the media and the public to fdorce the issue over a period of years….essentially he was given a free pass to behave as he did.
There is a major problem when law fails to recognise immoral behaviour. It's an even bigger problem when the government then fails to adjust the law so that it will recognise and prosecute that same immoral behaviour.
So the
Which leader can play a big crowd well, live? Does it matter? It does, inasmuch as floating voters can still flip the election outcome. Reef fish? Yeah, they can spin on a dime if something spooks them.
Having co-moderators is good, and one of each sex creates a good balance.
Let's hope the crowd provides a voice of unison on that basis, to loudly object when Collins tries to get away with talking over Ardern. Campbell & Gower were utter wimps, totally ineffective in moderating that behaviour!
Too late to be relevant. I've already voted.
Non-floaters like you & me are irrelevant to the reef fish scenario. Will be interesting to see if the debate flushes out an issue or, more likely, a stance that could then go viral on social media & change the outcome (as per chaos theory).
Well they'll probably call it off, now that you've voted.
They may as well.
You and many others from the reports
Funny how the journalists who get these gigs seem to be the most excited by them. The voters, not so much?
Cui bono?
You seem really stuck on this. Not going to happen given the really big gap between left and right blocs.
Nigel Roberts once said that all election predictions are safe as long as you start your sentence with 'I'd be very surprised if …'
Well I'd be very surprised if the voting blocs revealed in the last dozen or so mainstream polls (and especially the last 3 or so) did not translate more-or-less into the election night result. That suggests Lab 45-50%, Nats 29-33%, Greens and Act each on 6-7%, NZFirst c 3%, quite a few smaller parties c 1%. A tightening of the race between the two leading parties and/or the major blocs often tends to happen in elections, though, as for example happened with National's results in 2011 and 2014.
Yep. Not seeing any conditions at all that suggest a big shift.
Me neither. But that wasn't what I was writing about, eh? Remember how Nixon's 5 o'clock shadow changed the course of history? Well, maybe you weren't around then. Only took that trigger to shift the mass perception of a swathe of voters, turned him into a swarthy, shifty loser in their minds.
That showed how a leaders tv debate can transform politics. Overturned mass bias too, got the first catholic president in after three centuries of hard-line anti-papist sentiment.
This is not one of the first televised elections. Nor is Ardern a comms lightweight. Sorry it is all less interesting than you want it to be.
I'm sure Codger will give herself a going over with the triple blade beforehand.
Hey I think Billy T K has a new candidate
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12370079
Oh, the election you say. Labour following the 'art of the possible' when that doesn't reach what is necessary. No one shouting, only Yertle quivering far below.
Trumpty Dumpty and his team have really spread the love across the states.
The contract tracing overnight is now an enormous task.
Who he met and who's tested positive.
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54386681
Footage on overnight tv shows the rose garden ceremony on 26 September is set to be the super spreader event.
Kelly Conway positive and shown in footage mixing close and Senator Lee just announced as positive shared the hugs
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-54401069