Is Waitangi Day supposed to be a national day of celebration? Or has it just become entrenched as a day of protest opportunism? A symbol of grievance, not unity?
Does Waitangi Day fill you with patriotic pride?
Or do you roll your eys and wonder what protest popups will piss on it?
I hardly think it’s banal when what is supposed to be a national day of celebration is degraded by rent-a-mob.
I’d guess that most New Zealanders either don’t give a shit about Waitangi Day (except for enjoying a holiday some years) or get the shits about the inevitable shit stirring. That’s a sad state.
Pete, are you saying that Waitangi Day should be the day of the year that we all forget about what the treaty said and just pretend that it’s been honoured and everything’s peachy? that it should be the day when one partner in that treaty should STFU so that the rest of us can feel good about ourselves?
That’d be a pretty fucking ironic way to go about things.
No one’s stopping you having your big party platitude pete – go hard, crack a beer, tell a few jokes… meanwhile the people you slur will continue working towards equality and a fairer society for all.
how is saying that waitangi should be a day of celebration,
and implying that those who disagree aren’t getting into the spirit of it
or what the fuck ever it is you are saying,
not trying to start a slur fest?
No surprise that Mana want to talk up a hostile reception for Key.
It must be very frustrating for those trying to organise a “peaceful family-oriented celebration” at Waitangi to have all the media and protest addicts take all the attention.
My points are, should we accept that Waitangi Day is going to always be a focus of dissent and protest, and should we have an alternate day for all New Zealanders to enjoy? Or just not bother with some sort of collective celebration of our country?
Thing is Pete, Waitangi day could be the day you want it to be, but it can’t get there by pretending everything is peachy. Sort out the shit, and it won’t be shitty, and we’ll have aday that we can feel good about ouselves in a way that means something.
And can you honestly not see that complaining that Waitangi day isn’t treated as a celebratory love in congratulating pakeha on their awesomeness is actually pretty fucking offensive?
yes you are but you are not very good at it – judging others by how you see yourself methinks – all those lines about piss and shit – save it for your party when you’re reciting your tired jokes pete I’m sure you and your mate will have a big laugh at the expence of others
I suppose they could if they wanted to, but they probably wouldn’t try it here.
Why can’t all New Zealand celebrate a day in common?
Anzac Day comes closest but it is not so much a celebration, it is in Remembrance of past sacrifices, which is important.
Queens ‘Birthday’ is a bit farcical. Labour Day is just Holiday Day. I think it would be good if we could have something here like Independence Day or Australia Day.
Maybe we’re just not mature enough as a country for that yet.
I tend to agree with you Pete in terms of celebrating being a New Zealander.
Waitangi day is what it is and will remain that until Maori achieve equality with their treaty partners in law and in society.
I would do away with Queens Birthday and create Aotearoa Day. A day that we stop and celebrate being Kiwi. There are many things wrong with this country but they are far outweighed by all the things that are right. We never really reflect on that as a country. Surely for one day a year we can come together and forget about our differences and celebrate the one thing we all have in common. Living in a fucking great country.
Yes, it would be good if we could find something we can all come together and celebrate on. I’d be happy calling it Aotearoa Day but I suspect that wouldn’t be universally popular.
But realistically I’m not sure it could happen judging by the level of attacks here for daring suggest it.
Why don’t you take the 364 days that aren’t Waitangi day and use those to celebrate being wealthy and white and part of the power structure built on the very wrongs that the Waitangi protests are attempting to draw your dulled attention to?
I haven’t seen an attack on you for wanting an ‘Aotearoa’ Day. Just leave us Waitangi Day please. It may annoy you that there is protest there but there is nothing to stop tauiwi protesting there as far as I know.
Pay no attention to the concern troll. Waitangi Day is already awesome, there is gonna be a big party up North just like last year. But the only thing you will see on the news is protests and scary looking brown dudes
Oh yeah Pete Australia Day is a fantastic day for the Aborigines too. Yes its great to have a day where the colonialists celebrate all the damage past and present inflicted upon the indigenous people.
So what you are saying Pete is that no matter what the rich and powerful inflict upon you, steal from you etc. you should just forget it and join in with a fake celebration. Get real PG, I actually thought there was a few more brains in your head than you have shown us today.
Pompous Git until Maori hold high place in their homeland instead of being at the bottom of the heap protests will go on simple something you tiny brain should be able to figure out .Your so much like your leader stating the obvious reeling out boring old arguments that NZ will never move on until idiots like you read the real hisTory of new Zealand.
Why can’t the rich white straight men have just ONE day where they get to have THEIR say for a change?
I don’t go a bomb on what PG has to say, but the way you’re all ganging up on him is making me sicker than I already am (and according to the neurologist at Auckland City I am actually not all that crash hot)…
It reminds me of the gang beatings I have had in the past, and that made me despise this place. There are some people, in some groups that it just is not safe to offend or upset. Never has anonymity seemed so valuable! 🙁
I think pete likes offending and upsetting people – but not all people, just ‘some’ people.
Waitangi protestors, the target of pete today, also direct their actions to ‘some’ people, but the difference is that they are working to make our society better, fairer and more equal.
I’d guess that most New Zealanders either don’t give a shit about Waitangi Day …
I admit I don’t… (but then QoT has already labelled me a racist, and as we all know, there’s no defence against that accusation. *)
Years back, in the 1970s, protestors shouted “F*** the Treaty, it’s a fraud, we want nothing to do with it!”
Years later, in the 80s and beyond, the protestors said the exact opposite – “Honour the Treaty, we love it and we want it”.
I am just a stupid evil White bitch, (or so I’ve been told.) I know nothing.
* For his/her benefit – the evil-ex (Maori, but the point s/he missed it he’d have been evil regardless of race – he was an alcoholic) died about 7 weeks back.
Every country must have a starting point, and like it or not, I guess the signing of that Treaty was that starting point.
Though I am concerned about how we are in such a hurry to settle old greivances, we are creating new ones, with the systematic shifting of conservation land into iwi hands, for them to restrict access. And lets not forget Tuhoe’s desire to get their hands on Te Uruwera National Park, which will almost see New Zealanders having to pay big bucks to enjoy something that everyone should be able to enjoy.
Celebrating being a New Zealander is something I do every day but I don’t see Waitangi Day as a day on which one celebrates Te Tiriti but rather a day to commemorate and reflect on what might have been and what still may come to pass. Then again, that is just me
Speaking for myself, I commemorate, not celebrate.
Until The Crown (Her Majesty’s NZ Government) not only settle old grievances in a meaningful manner, then stick to the contracts that have been negotiated as part of those settlements as well as honouring the original Treaty, I have no reason to celebrate.
I seem to remember someone calculating that it took less than a week for the Crown to breach the Ngai Tahu Settlement
Most conservation land that is handed back to iwi comes with strict conditions around public access, however, iwi have known to wait for a few months and then block it off. The Port Nicholson Block Settlement is an example, where access to several lagoons have been restricted.
Is Pete George supposed to be raising a valid issue? Or has he just become entrenched as an attention-seeking linkwhore?
Does Pete George fill you with patriotic pride?
Or do you roll your eyes and wonder when he will actually say or do something that matters a damn?
Yes CV. We do have a limit to the length of the Election. And we nearly have transparency about funding. But it does appear that the few very rich control the direction of decision making.
Maybe the case is waiting to be made for a Public Funding, so that Government is not corrupted (any more.)
A long listen but some parallels with NZ. All for Root Hacking rather than Partisan arguments.
Do you think that in all this is a cause for Voter Apathy in NZ?
I think that there are a few factors leading to citizen apathy (voter apathy being only a symptom of citizen apathy).
Time and information poverty for the majority is an issue. Pervasive framing by the Right Wing that business is the solution and government is the problem is an issue. A lack of civics education is an issue. A distant complex self serving bureaucracy is an issue. The ideology of individualism and not understanding how broader societal and economic structures affect personal income and lifestyles is an issue. A set of politicians who seem to all sound and look the same is an issue.
EDIT a lack of perspective of 20th century NZ history, especially of social and worker struggles, is also an issue.
There aren’t any. We have the resources here to do whatever we want and the only thing that’s holding us back is a socio-economic system that accumulates the control of the wealth into the hands of the few. Money, a non-resource, from over seas won’t change that.
RIP another NZ business owing $11 million. In business since 1964, employing 180 people.
from stuff business – business and KordaMentha Receivers KordaMentha were called into Auckland-based Criterion Group and its New Zealand and Australian subsidiaries on Tuesday. About 180 staff are affected.
Their appointment followed a “serious decline in trading” for the group, the receivers said.
It exports around 70 per cent of its production to North America, South America, Europe, Singapore and the Pacific Islands.
I don’t think that the politicians and economic advisors and company directors understand about the business of making things, and how important it is. They quote the stats about the myriad of small businesses forming the important other sector with earnings not arising from the land.
The lawyers, financial advisors, even the managerial class are service providers only making a good living out of a thriving economy (except recently where a business gains ‘face’ by paying top cash to the top people, and then to avoid losing ‘face’ pay more cash when those top people lead the business into a decline.)
ha ha PG. I have a friend who’s worst insult is to call someone ‘banal’. Card carrying lefty too. I reckon we should keep Waitangi Day, get rid of the Queen’s Birthday and have a New Zealand day. Or have an extra public holiday.
Youre a pretty nasty person Monique. I have a feeling that you are of these women who sit in a cafe and run down all and sundry while being all nice to their faces.
You give me that vibe. Youre a nasty nasty bitchy woman. I can tell.
Hmmm, Monique has a contempt for the poor, and appears both socially conservative and politically naive. An ideal United Future candidate, perhaps? Maybe you could have a chat to The Hair, Pete. If he remembers who you are, that is.
A whole 2 people support UF. A guy who tends to do nothing else than sit on the internet all day, and a manicured slumlord who really really needs to get some – perhaps she needs to realise that slagging off those on benefits/her tenants is really a big turn off.
Millsy: Advocating the hanging of people who disagree with you (/treachery/comment-page-1/#comment-429671) tends to undermine your position as the arbiter of nastiness.
The only gaming I do is on blogs. I won’t try to describe my roles as I’d just be struck down by opposing Forces of Banality.
One of my games is wordplay. It was interesting that IB introduced the word ‘banal’ – that comes from Old French banel – ‘pertaining to a ban’.
Another definition is ‘ pertaining to compulsory feudal service ‘. While not compulsory one can get the impression of attempts at imposing serfdom here by the overlords. At least banal doesn’t seem to be banned.
my concise oxford has a good definition – ‘trite, feeble’ and interestingly it sits between ban and banana – nice universe humour in the context of this discussion
I can’t edit my previous comment, straight after I have put it up. The stats of the numbers of small businesses are quoted and we know they are so important, yet they are abandoned whenever the government chooses to make changes. One example of abandonment is after the Christchurch earthquake. There seemed little co-operation with the businesses affected, with explanation of the known and unknown risks in daily briefings in a venue large enough to cater for all and whiteboards where info could be presented even if there was no electricity.
And these are the wealth creators, that phrase which comes to the lips of politicians so often, spoken of but too small to be able to offer quid pro quo, or tit for tat, no doubt.
No, small businesses aren’t the “wealth creators” that the politicians speak of. The “wealth creators” that politicians speak of are the rich parasites and the name is pure misdirection.
SME’s better get it into their little heads that NAT is here to represent the corporates and the multimillionaires, and if you are a small enterprise they are quite happy to leave you twisting in the wind.
When I press Home to refresh my page it seems to take me back some time not bring me up to date. The index shows at the top lprent POAL sleeze each time I press Home – if that’s helpful to know.
Usually that is a problem with the local browser’s cache. For instance I get that type of issue when I use the back button on safari on my iPad (and bloody annoying it is as well). You could look at turning off the browser cache to test if it is just that. The site sends instructions about what should be cached and what should not. But some of the browsers ignore or misinterpret…
I just tried reproducing your diagnostic on linux with chrome and firefox and didn’t get it. Give me some more details – OS / Browser.
However we’re currently running on an apache2 mode that I have never used before after the outage on wednesday. I have no idea what effect it has on the cache modules that are also loaded at the server side. I will be testing my way back to my usual configuration this weekend.
What a train wreck flogging off power assets are proving to be and already there appears to be a blow out in the cost, (potential litigation of treaty rights and rightly so). I seem to recall the figure of 100 million to sell money earning power assets and what will they sell for?
2012 is going to be the year when all the figures do not add up. Bring on the budget I say.
When I click your link Draco, and when I click mine, they take me to exactly the same place – the beginning of the particular blog I’m mentioning.
Where does clicking my link take you?
Maybe this is a browser thing, you’ve made the same comment before, and I’ve clicked both links and ‘snap’. How do you go about linking to a blog or story from somewhere else? If there is a quick *F-key* shortcut I’d be glad to learn it.
Nope. Draco’s one takes you to the post – if you scroll down you’ll find you can add comments.
Your one takes to the front page – which just happens to look the same right now. However as soon as they put in a new post (tonight?), noone will have any idea what you were talking about when they click the link.
bernardchickey
Oh and by the way. Record net migration to Australia of 36,900 in 2011 (100/day) bit.ly/xYlWQd NZ economic policy not working
19 minutes ago
bernardchickey
Is this the path to greatness for NZ? Foreign debt funded property boom for the wealthiest? That pushes up NZ$? Just nuts.
24 minutes ago
bernardchickey
Govt borrows money from China, hands it to wealthiest via tax cuts, who then borrow more and buy bigger houses bit.ly/zDJRKw
25 minutes ago
Here’s the kicker though: “However, support for the full National-led Government has dipped to 49% (down 0.5%), trailing the Opposition Parties (51%, up 0.5%).”
How close was that election, eh? A couple of points would have done it. Still, the good news is the Tories and their support poodles are on the wrong side of the ledger for the first time in 4 years and David Shearer is looking good to be PM sooner rather than later.
Can we have a snap election, please John? Hawaii’s nice this time of year.
Tru ‘nuf, Chris. But Labour does have experience running minority Gov’ts and Winston isn’t going to forget that National condemned him to 3 years in the wilderness. He’d be odds on for a C&S agreement of some kind just to be able to stick it to the Nats, but if he is going to make good on his election promises, realistically, he has to come to an arrangement with Labour and the Greens.
Or he might just stick two fingers up again and offer to take over from the Maori Party as John’s new BFF. He’s got form in that area already, so who knows?
Who the hell thinks trotter is a paragon of the left wing anymore? He might have a slightly leftist emplyment policy, but his blogs on “identity politics” and how women and anyone else with an issue should toe the line and not endanger the Labour vote put him squarely in the camp of social conservatives.
I see that Farrer in Dominion today the polls give the balance of power to Winston Peters.
Nats dropped and Labour up and with other lefties are only one seat behind Nat/Coalition, giving Winston the baubles if an election were held today. How big will his baubles be I wonder – huge, remember he is very selfish, so perhaps Finance, although Norman has bagged that, Foreign Affairs, and he has a few of those.
Makes you wonder – with continued great shit stirring out of Waitangi, Christchurch in revolt, seems a good time to let Key know he’s on his way out.
A cat is purchased, and trained, the trainer is not the owner
and the trainer becomes an attraction in their own right, and
becomes wealthy. The cats need to be trained extensively and
can not be easily replaced, yet are also an attraction in their
own right. The act performed is highly dangerous and has already
caused the death of one keeper, and there is some doubt over
whether the entry into the enclosure should even be allowed.
Due to family bonds some dispute over ownership of the cats
have arisen. Are the cats family pets? Are they trained animals? Or
are they as it looks like an attraction of a zoo primarily?
Should the cats be split up, those that have not be strongly
trained remain at the park as a going concern, and the trainer
take some of the cats and passes onwership of the land back over
as a consideration for past financial investment?
Or should government step in and appoint an independant manager,
ban any member of this disfunctional family from ever having
any access to these wild animals? For if they are an asset of
the businesses of either party then surely the businesses can
fire the employees and hire new staff who can carry out their
function.
Maybe government could even speak to the highly dangerous
‘circus act’ of entering the cage? Since at the core its
the personal affections of the protagonists to the cats
that ellicts all the destruction of value in the brands.
The Lion park and the Lion Man.
But on a personal note, who owns the family pet? The
unpaided person who attends to its needs, or the business
owner who sells tickets to see both do a dangerous
circus act? If I buy a Bear, get someone to train it to
wear a dress and shit on command, and the trainer makes
a name for themselves, does the Bear become their property,
even where it clearly states at the entrance to the ‘Bear’ Park.
I’m having a bit of trouble deciding if Bowalley Road should be included in the Leftwing Blog… because old trots seems decidedly right wing these days… Slater keeps quoting him for one thing. Trotter used to be leftist when he wrote for the Listener back in the day, but he has soured over the years. So should he stay or should he go?
At the risk of being branded a “traitor”, I’m declaring my support for the Crafar farms sale. Not because I like seeing productive New Zealand farmland pass into the hands of foreigners, I don’t.
The reason I’m in favour is because I believe New Zealanders should keep their promises and fulfil their undertakings.
Nah, it happened a good couple of years ago now. When he started arguing that the “left” should bend over and be more cooperative with tories, and on no account should women, homosexuals, or Maori put that relationship at risk by being all activisty and uppity.
He’s been the tories’ token “lefty” for ages, getting wheeled out for a nice unchallenging “left perspective”.
You have to love Chris Trotters comments on the Crafar farm sales .How it reeks of hypocrisy for David Shearer to now be crticising it. Prediction as soon as Shearer starts debating in the house he is going to get eaten alive by the National front bench comments from trotter below
In 2008, this country ratified a free-trade agreement with the People’s Republic of China. It was hailed as the most important foreign policy and trade achievement of the 1999-2008 Helen Clark-led government. Not only was it the first such agreement to be signed between China and a Western-style democracy, but it also offered New Zealand businesses immense economic opportunities. …
It was all the more perplexing, then, to hear Opposition leader David Shearer declaring his and the Labour Party’s opposition to the sale. It’s simply inconceivable that Mr Shearer is unaware of the MFN prohibition against denying China the same right to buy land as the nations that bought upwards of 650,000 hectares of our national patrimony exercised when Helen Clark was Prime Minister, and Mr Shearer’s friend (and former boss) Phil Goff was the Minister of Trade.
The Chinese under the FTA must be treated equally with all others and not disadvantaged in a deal compared with others. But this means if all land sales to foreigners were banned then Chinese would not be treated any differently. Ban all sales to nonresidents above a certain size.
At some point we must say “Enough! No more land sales.”
Hope it is by then not too late?
They do have the same right and we have the same right to tell them to stuff off. Just because the OIO has been pretty much a rubber stamp process for the last few years doesn’t mean that it has to stay that way.
Fisi and James111, if either of you had the reading and comprehension ability of a preschooler and the wit to understand what Trotter wrote, you would come very quickly to the conclusion that he is calling a spade a spade. He is a leftist accusing his side of playing on the right for to long. Labour and its supporters don’t need RWNJs like yourselves to point out in some faux triumphalist bullshit way that the wounds are self inflicted.
Trotter by comparison is pointing out that for Labour it is too late to cry wolf when they signed the deals, and that we as a collective electorate allowed this to happen so we too have no right to complain. What I think he is driving at is that without repudiating their prior stance before the electorate Labour should shut up.
Question bollocks, Shearer is Johnny Come Lately and as such bears no personal responsibility. Unlike that fuckwit Key who allows his mates onshore and offshore to have their snouts in NZs trough on a permanent basis.
I find it amusing how you james 111 drop in, spout shit and then disappear when you are presented with a rational response (see /wanted-more-news-like-this/ as an example)
It’s kind of halarious the way the right are trotting out the xenophobic line against the left. Truth is, they are insulting the 80% of Kiwis who didnt want those farms sold for good reason – there still hasnt been a single argument as to why selling a chunk of the golden goose to the biggest consumer of golden eggs is a good idea . I mean unless you accept Steven Joyces laughingly lame attempt today suggesting Chinese investment will help local communties and create jobs. Okay Stephen, OIO found only two jobs will be created from the Crafar Sale, but PGG Wrightsons may sell more farm supplies. Of course we also know also they are now majority Chinese owned. Abysmally, there no analysis on the impact of competition against our own dairy industry.
What’s also ironic, is that the claims of xenophobia are sprouting either from resource sucking baby boomers such as the analytic devoid business commentator Fran O’Sullivan, or the politically senile Chris Trotter. But perhaps what is most interesting, is that this accusation has originated from a goverment who have just referrred to our Treaty as largely Symbolic , whose Muldoon supporting leader was pro-springbok , and who sees no issue public making racist and discrimatory jokes about Maori
james 111 is just waleshit in another incarnation.
he got multiple multiple personality disorder but he like a friendly idiot.
every now and then you have to give him a booot.
Despite the introduction of Future Focus, whereby beneficiaries have to adhere to strict conditions or loose their entitlements, people on the unemployment benefit grew by 2158 last month. In a press release today, Bene bashing Bennett does her best to spin the numbers so they don’t look bad, but information attained through the Official Information Act shows the truth of the matter…
Clearly John Key is trying to provoke a spectacle on Waitangi day that will take the focus off National’s plans to privatise state owned assets. National can then claim that the Maori’s are all radicals and therefore not give their concerns the attention they deserve…
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by Daphna Whitmore At Golden Oaks, a luxurious country retreat in the Hudson Valley, pregnant women have the best care money can buy. From the organic food, personalised exercise programmes, private yoga instruction and daily massages Golden Oaks looks like a country lodge for the upper class. Set some time ...
When Labour was running for election in 2017, it felt it needed to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and signed itself up to masochistic "budget responsibility rules". It was a fool's errand: the sorts of voters who demand fiscal responsibility are also the sorts of voters who believe that labour can never ...
Writing in Stuff, Joel MacManus looks at what we need to do to meet the Zero Carbon Act's targets. The core of it:1. Convert 85 per cent of vehicles on the road to electric. 2. Eliminate fossil fuels from all industrial heating up to 300 degrees Celsius. 3. Double our ...
Professors Janet Hoek and Richard Edwards, Emeritus Professor Phil Gendall, Jude Ball, Dr Judith McCool, Anaru Waa, Dr Becky FreemanRecent media reports have presented conflicting evidence on youth vaping in NZ. While some NZ school principals report concerns about increasing vaping on school grounds and confiscating vapes, ASH Year ...
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...
Image credit:The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ...
1080 is used to control pests in NZ. Its use is contested by a noisy few. A new report claims high levels of 1080 in rats washed up on a beach. Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa (F&F) won’t name the laboratory that did their testing. It has sparked a hunt ...
What Kind Of Empire? The thing for Kiwis to decide is what kind of empire they want to belong to. The kind that, while offering its own citizens democratic rights, demands absolute obedience from its “friends”? Or, the kind that, while authoritarian at home, takes a relaxed attitude to the ...
It hasn't been a good week for the Conservatives, pollwise. All major recent polls are showing their lead shrinking.Comparing each pollster's current (between 29/11 and 22/11) and previous most recent poll.Com Res - Conservative lead down 3 points.You Gov - Conservative lead down 1 point.Kantar - Conservative lead down 4 ...
Within quick succession, Countdown maths wizard and twitterer Rachel Riley, alleged comedian David Baddiel and prominent lawyer Andrew Julius have all expressed very similar opinions / ideas:
These #3billboards are going round London today, organised by ex-Labour people, horrified by what their party has become. Their principles haven’t changed, they’re ...
So, there have been a bunch of bad polls out for Labour, and even the Leftie's friend, Survation, have recently given the Conservatives a rip-snorting 11% lead. You Gov's much vaunted MRP poll - which pretty much nailed the result in 2015 - is currently predicting a comfortable majority for ...
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to declare a climate emergency:The European parliament has declared a global “climate and environmental emergency” as it urged all EU countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The vote came as scientists warned that the world may have already crossed ...
Pure Fear: Worse than Heroin, this drug’s addictive power was terrifying. People under its influence didn’t drift off to Elysium. Nor did it persuade inadequate individuals that they could conquer the world. No, this drug – pure crystal methamphetamine, “P” for short – unlocked the gates of Hell itself. It ...
As the rate of measles infection, and of deaths, continues to climb in Samoa, antivaccination activists infectious disease proponents seem intent on doubling down on their claims about vaccination. (Check pretty much any news-media FB post about measles & you’ll see exactly what I mean.) Unfortunately, some of them have ...
Samoa are experiencing a devastating measles epidemic. It is possible that 2-3% of the population will ultimately be infected by the time it is over. Hopefully the mass immunisation campaign currently under way can mitigate some of this, for many it is too late. The first question many people ask ...
Meghan Murphy is a Canadian writer and journalist She runs the Feminist Current website which she founded in 2012. She was a keynote speaker for the Feminism2020 conference in Wellington this month. When Massey University cancelled the original venue booking Feminism2020 was hosted in Parliament by MP David Seymour. Meghan ...
Text and photos by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Colombia has lived through one week of protests against the economic measures taken by president Duque. What looked like a protest that would fizzle out after its first day on November 21st is still going strong. Part of the reason for the continuance ...
Around a million billion pass through you each second, almost all originating from our sun, but few of them are likely to interact with you enroute. I was reading in a physics magazine earlier in the week about the nature of neutrinos. These are extremely numerous elementary particles, but only ...
By Pallab GhoshThere’s value in covering new research advances, even when the underlying science is unsettled. But there are also risks.The recent announcement that scientists discovered water on the planet K2-18b, 110 light years away, prompted a media swoon. News stories, including a piece written by me, billed ...
I wrote this review a couple of years ago when I was still in the process of getting my head around the politics of transgenderism, and specifically the claim that intersex conditions lend support to the notion that sex is ‘socially constructed’. Since writing this review I have come across ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzHow much does our use of air travel contribute to the ...
Minor planet/asteroid (2309) Mr. Spock is named not for the character in Star Trek, but for a cat that was itself imperturbable, logical, intelligent and had pointed ears. In a preceding blog post I introduced one of my favourite asteroids, (2472) Bradman, and also mentioned (6581) Sobers amongst a few ...
Today the death toll from measles in Samoa rose to 32. All but four of the dead were less than 5 years old. Absolutely terrible, heartbreaking, news. That statistic alone should be enough to give the lie to the common claim by antivaccination activists plague enthusiasts that “measles is a ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh It is late here in Bogotá, almost 11.30pm on Monday the 25th of November as I write this. The day began full of hope with yet more massive marches throughout the country, a mix of the International Day of Non-Violence Against Women and the National Strike. ...
Anti-fluoride activists are rubbing their hands in glee over what they claim is “yet another study” showing fluoride harms the brains of children. But their promotion relies on IQ relationships which the paper’s authors acknowledge disappearing when outliers or other factors are considered. And they completely ignore other relationships ...
The feature below is the conclusion of A History of Economic Thought, whose author was a leading Marxist economist in Russia in the early 20th century, Isaac Ilyich Rubin. The book arose from a course he ran at Moscow University following the Russian Revolution. First published in Russian in 1929, ...
There are many thousands of asteroids with formal names, some humdrum but other more noteworthy (depending on your predilections). One of my favourites, the name of which I was involved in suggesting, is (2472) Bradman, named for the Australian cricketing great. As a minor planet (synonym: asteroid) spotter, I have ...
Tory manifesto: big on austerity, low on promise, non-existent on delivery. The Tories: the party so big on ambition they couldn't be arsed writing a manifesto. MLK: "I have a dream!"BJ: "I'll just have a nap." Labour: Broadband!Tories: Narrow minds! Labour have hope, dreams and ambition. The Tories will save ...
The Ministry of Health has announced that “people under the age of 50 travelling from New Zealand to Samoa, Tonga, Philippines and Fiji” are now on the list of national priorities for MMR vaccination. Given the outbreaks of measles in Samoa, Tonga, Philippines and Fiji, the Ministry of Health is ...
Hong Kong has been protesting for six months for, demanding democracy, human rights, and an end to police violence. Today, they went to the polls in district council elections - a low-level of government with virtually no power, similar to community boards in New Zealand. But while the positions themselves ...
Text and photos by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh On Friday 22nd of November a curfew came into effect and troops were deployed on the streets, here in Bogota. It was the first time since September 1977 that a curfew had been imposed on the city. The decision was a cynical pre-planned ...
Meanwhile, while the government is planning to restore voting rights to prisoners, National is promising to turn our prisons into US-style slave-labour camps:The Opposition is proposing compulsory education, training or employment for prisoners who are serving sentences of two years or more. [...] On Sunday, National Party Leader Simon Bridges ...
Excerpts from Being and Being Bought, by Kajsa Ekis Ekman Spinifex Press, 2013. Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book. This is the second part of a synopsis and brief commentary of the book by Daphna ...
Dalmeet Singh ChawlaIn 2008, psychologists proposed that when humans are shown an unfamiliar face, they judge it on two main dimensions: trustworthiness and physical strength. These form the basis of first impressions, which may help people make important social decisions, from who to vote for to how long a ...
Claas Kirchhelle, University of Oxford; Adam Roberts, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and Andrew Singer, Centre for Ecology & HydrologyAntibiotics are among the most important medicines known to humankind, but we are running out of this crucial resource. Decisive action is needed if we are to retain access to ...
Things That Make You Go - Hmmmm: “All right. Let me come at this another way. I’m guessing that what you’ve got in that box contains names, dates, bank account numbers – all the details you need to put Winston Peters and Jacinda Ardern squarely in the cross-hairs. So, the first ...
Coasters Turn Out In Droves: It’s precisely the widening gulf between those with actual experience of things like guns, chainsaws and drilling machines, and those who regulate their use, that accounts for the angry crowd at Greymouth’s Messenger Park on Sunday, 17 November 2019. In the rarefied atmosphere where decisions ...
There are perennial arguments about the circumstances of the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, and in particular whether more than one shooter is required by the evidence (such as the Zapruder film). Those who know little about physics frequently claim that the sharp backwards motion of JFK’s head as ...
Apparently, some people enjoy washing their cars. Each to his or her own, I suppose. I mean, some people like duck shooting, some people follow Coronation Street, and some people’s idea of a good day out is to sit on a grass bank at Seddon Park and watch cricket all ...
Last week we learned that New Zealand First had apparently tried to enrich itself from public office, with a dodgy forestry company linked to a number of NZ First figures sticking its hand out repeatedly for government money. Today in Question Time Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had his ...
Finally, governments seem slowly to be beginning to act on climate change. But its not enough. While they're publicly signing up to targets, they're planning to destroy the world by continuing fossil fuel extraction:The world’s nations are on track to produce more than twice as much coal, oil and gas ...
Stuff has begun interviewing NZ First's secret donors, and it turns out that its as bad as we expected. They start with racing industry figure Garry Chittick, who is predictably grumpy about NZ First's coalition choices. Meanwhile, I'm looking at the list of pork NZ First has effectively given its ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones wants to create a log barging facility at Hicks Bay and turn the area into a Special Economic Zone. The move would be part of protecting New Zealand's forests from being depleted by India and China, he said. It follows his announcement last week to strengthen ...
New Zealand First supports the changes recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce to improve animal welfare outcomes through the winter months, and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement them. New Zealand First Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Patterson says the report highlights areas of concern about the animal ...
Former prime ministers Helen Clark and Sir John Key, formerly from the Labour and National parties respectively, have joined forces in support of New Zealand First’s plan to relocate Auckland's port to Whangārei. While Ms Clark and Sir John spent their political careers on opposite sides of the political divide, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Japan for the Foreign Ministers' meeting of the G20 grouping of countries as one of nine "invited" countries. He has used the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the plight of Pacific countries, calling out countries which still offered subsidies or Government assistance to ...
It's been a great week of progress: we've celebrated Children's Day, we've made communities safer with 1800 new police, and we've seen almost 90% of eligible schools take up Government funding to scrap school donations - taking pressure off the families of more than 416,000 students. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Forestry The Government will further strengthen New Zealand’s wood processing sector as part of our focus on ‘value over volume’ in our forestry industry, Forestry Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones will today meet with forestry representatives in Northland to signal new measures to help the ...
New Zealand First are celebrating the announcement of an investment of $3.5 million into five new trapping devices. These are a range of bait and trap devices, all designed to be left unattended for long periods of time. NZ First conservation spokesperson Jenny Marcroft says that this latest development will ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Conservation New Zealand First is proud to announce the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has allocated $3.5 million to develop innovative predator control approaches which will reduce the need for repeated 1080 use. $19.5 million of PGF funding was announced for Predator Free 2050 Limited in February ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Police New Zealand First is proud to have delivered on a key Coalition Agreement commitment to adding 1800 new frontline police, with the graduation of Recruit Wing 332 in Porirua today. Law and Order Spokesperson Darroch Ball says increasing police numbers and boosting their resources was one ...
Clayton Mitchell, Spokesperson for Consumer Affairs The ‘wheel clamping’ Bill that will cap clamper fees to $100 passed its third readinginParliament today. New Zealand First welcomes The Land Transport (Wheel Clamping) Amendment Bill to combat predatory wheel clamping behaviour in what is currently a largely unregulated business. Cowboy clampers are: gouging ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its first reading in Parliament. “Today’s progress takes serious action on the mental health and addiction crisis the country is facing,” says New Zealand First Health Spokesperson Jenny Marcroft. “The re-establishment ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries Today the Government announced the delivery of the promise to protect New Zealand interests by applying a new National Interest Test to the sales of our most sensitive and high risk assets to overseas buyers. This further strengthening of the Overseas Investment Act will ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced further support as the Government of Samoa responds to a serious measles outbreak. “New Zealand will deploy a further 18 vaccination nurses, bringing the total to 30 working in Samoa over the next ...
The Coalition Government is delivering on its promise to protect New Zealanders’ interests by applying a new national interest test to the sales of our most sensitive and high-risk assets to overseas buyers. Under current Overseas Investment Act (OIA) rules, assets such as ports and airports, telecommunications infrastructure, electricity and ...
Rt Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Allegations raised this morning by Stuff Limited / Fairfax concern a party matter but I am confident that New Zealand First has operated within electoral laws, now and for the last 27 years. Declarable donations were declared to the Electoral Commission. Our ...
The chairman of the Upper North Island Supply Chain Strategy (UNISCS) working group, Wayne Brown, has hit back at critics of his group’s recommendations to relocate the Ports of Auckland cargo operations to Whangarei’s deepwater port of Northport. The working group's recommendation to close Auckland waterfront to all but cruise ...
International education continues to thrive as the Government focuses on quality over quantity, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. The tuition revenue from international education increased to $1.16 billion last year with the average tuition fee per student increasing by $960. The total number of international students enrolled in New Zealand ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says new appointments to DHBs represent a significant changing of the guard, with 13 new chairs including four Māori chairs. Today 76 appointments have been announced to complement elected board members, as well as eight elected members appointed as either chair or deputy chair. Four ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fletcher Tabuteau, is travelling to Germany, Poland, Austria, and Spain next week to bolster New Zealand’s political and trade relationships in Europe. While in Spain, Mr Tabuteau will represent New Zealand at the 14th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Madrid. “New Zealand strongly supports ...
“I’ve spoken to Minister Faafoi, who has apologised for his poor handling of this issue,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I have confidence in Kris as a hardworking and effective Minister, but this should have been dealt with in a much clearer manner, and I’ve made my views on that very clear ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters met with Tongan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa in Wellington today. The pair signed a Statement of Partnership setting out joint priorities for cooperation out to 2023. “We welcomed Prime Minister Tu'i'onetoa on his first visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister. Tonga ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash says his sympathies are with the family of a man who died after being shot by Police in Kurow. “Initial reports are that Police were called by a family member to help the man who was threatening to harm himself,” Mr Nash says. “However ...
Healthier waterways, better productivity and farmer wellbeing are front and centre in a new project involving more than 1000 Southland farmers and growers. Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor today announced that the Thriving Southland Change and Innovation Project is the first region-wide extension programme supported by the $229 million Sustainable ...
Work to look after nature and restore freshwater quality in Te Hoiere/Pelorus River catchment is getting a significant boost, thanks to new Government funding support Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage announced in Canvastown today. “Every New Zealander should be able to swim in their local river without getting sick, and ...
Eight Queen’s Counsel have been appointed under a process that includes the new criterion of a commitment to improving access to justice, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. “The new criterion was included this year. It emphasises that excellence and leadership in the profession can be seen through a wider, community ...
Onslow College in Wellington will get 20 new classrooms for more than 400 students, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The much-needed investment will relieve growth pressure the school has been experiencing for some time. Seven existing classrooms which have deteriorated over time will also be replaced, bringing the total ...
More than 250 young New Zealanders will add international experience to their education, thanks to the latest Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) and Latin America (PMSLA), Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. This round of scholarships supports 252 recent graduates or current students to undertake study, research or internships ...
Consumers will benefit from a more competitive, transparent retail fuel market as a result of changes the Government will be making in response to the findings of the Commerce Commission’s study of the fuel sector. “We accept the Commission’s findings and, as the Prime Minister has said, we’re ready to ...
Five new cancer medicines have now been funded this year, meaning thousands of people have more treatment options PHARMAC has today announced that it has approved two new medicines for funding – fulvestrant for breast cancer and olaparib for ovarian cancer. This follows earlier decisions on advanced lung cancer treatment alectinib, ...
The Minister of Local Government, Hon Nanaia Mahuta says the Government will consider making changes to local electoral legislation before the 2022 elections to fix the problems that have arisen where elections are settled by a coin toss. The Minister says the recount process in the Murupara- Galatea ward at ...
New Zealand will sign up to new international maritime regulations to reduce ship emissions and lift air quality around ports and harbours, Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter announced today. Subject to completion of the Parliamentary treaty examination process, New Zealand will sign up to Annex VI of MARPOL, an ...
New legislation to transform our urban areas and create sustainable, inclusive and thriving communities will tomorrow be introduced to Parliament, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said. “The Urban Development Bill gives Kāinga Ora-Homes and Communities the tools it needs to partner with councils, communities, mana whenua and private developers to ...
Today’s launch of He taonga te Tamaiti: Every child a taonga: The Early Learning Action Plan 2019-2029 provides the foundation for long-lasting changes to early learning, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. “Early learning will be one of the Government’s top education priorities going into 2020,” Chris Hipkins said. ...
Major decisions made by the Government will now be considered under a climate change lens, Minister for Climate Change James Shaw announced today. “Cabinet routinely considers the effects of its decisions on human rights, the Treaty of Waitangi, rural communities, the disability community, and gender – now climate change will ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced the appointment of Māori education specialist Dr Wayne Ngata and Business NZ head Kirk Hope to the Board of the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). Dr Alastair MacCormick has been reappointed for another term. “Wayne Ngata, Kirk Hope and Alastair MacCormick bring a great deal ...
The next phase of the Pike River Re-entry project is underway, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little says. “Fresh air will be pumped into the Pike River Mine drift this week, following acceptance of the plan for re-entry beyond the 170m barrier by New Zealand’s independent health and ...
New Zealand consumers will have greater certainty about their insurance cover when they need to make claims as a result of proposed government changes. “Insurance is vitally important in supporting consumers and businesses to be financially resilient when unexpected events happen,” Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Kris Faafoi said. ...
The Crown is providing an opportunity for the hapu of Ngāpuhi to rebuild its framework from the ground up for collective negotiations to deal with its historical Treaty claims, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little and Minister for Māori Development Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The Crown is also ...
A Bill enabling referendums to be held with the 2020 General Election has passed its third reading. Justice Minister Andrew Little says the Act is important for upholding the integrity of New Zealand’s electoral process. “The Government has committed to holding a referendum on legalising recreational cannabis at the next ...
The first release of public information on the two referendums to be held at next year’s General Election was made today with an informative new Government website going live. Additionally, the draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill has been released, showing the strict controls on cannabis that will apply if ...
The Government is taking action to protect New Zealand from foreign interference in our elections by banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced today. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament this afternoon and passed under urgency. “There’s no need for anyone other than New ...
Governments and tech companies are holding a two-day workshop, hosted by YouTube/Google in Wellington, to test the Christchurch Call Shared Crisis Response Protocol. The workshop aims to refine and strengthen the response in the event of a terrorist attack with online implications. Companies, governments, civil society experts and NGOs will ...
The new independent Cancer Control Agency has formally opened today, delivering on the Government’s plan to improve cancer care in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Health David Clark marked the occasion by announcing the membership of the Advisory Council that will be supporting ...
Small businesses who deal with government departments are set to be paid faster and have improved cash flow as a result, under a new strategy released today. The Government is backing recommendations from the Small Business Council (SBC) and has agreed to implement three initiatives immediately to support business and ...
The Education and Training Bill 2019, introduced in Parliament today, proposes the biggest education changes in decades and is an important step towards improving success for all our learners, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “The Bill’s rewrite of education legislation is long overdue. Indeed one Education Act, parts of which ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will travel to Bali to represent New Zealand at the 12th Bali Democracy Forum that will be held on the 5-6 December. “The Forum is a valuable opportunity for Asia-Pacific countries to share experiences and best practice in building home-grown democracy and fostering ...
A package of new and expanded technology and other tools will encourage responsible camping and help communities and local councils better manage freedom camping this summer, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced today. “Our Government has been investing to improve the freedom camping experience for everyone because we want to support ...
The government is laying the groundwork to understanding our genes – work that can help us tackle some of our biggest health challenges, like heart disease and diabetes, says Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods. $4.7 million has been invested in the Genomics Aotearoa Rakeiora programme. The programme will ...
Nearly every state schools will receive a capital injection next year valued at $693 per student to bring forward urgent school property improvements, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. The one-off cash injection is the first project to be announced from the Government’s infrastructure package ...
The Government has decided to bring forward major investments in New Zealand’s infrastructure to future proof the economy. “Cabinet has agreed to a significant boost to infrastructure investment. I have directed the Treasury to help bring together a package of projects that can be brought into the Government’s short and ...
It is a great pleasure to be with you today in Whanganui. Like the Prime Minister I grew up with the TV clip of Selwyn Toogood booming “What do you say Whanganui, the money or the bag?” to an unsuspecting ‘It’s in the Bag’ audience. For those under the age ...
New Zealand’s newest Great Walk, the Paparoa Track, was officially opened in Blackball today by the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage alongside the family members of the Pike 29 and Ngāti Waewae. Local mayors and MP for the West Coast Hon Damien O’Connor were also in attendance. “Paparoa National Park ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark turned the first sod of earth on the infrastructure works for the new P-8A Poseidon fleet at RNZAF Base Ohakea today. “The Coalition Government’s investment in Ohakea will ensure the Royal New Zealand Air Force can manage, maintain and task the new fleet efficiently ahead ...
Civil Defence Minister Hon Peeni Henare today announced the establishment of the new National Emergency Management Agency from 1 December 2019. The National Emergency Management Agency will replace the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management. It will be an autonomous departmental agency, hosted by the Department of the Prime ...
New Zealand tertiary students with top grades and a passion for space will once again be offered the opportunity to work with the world’s best and brightest at NASA, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Recipients of the New Zealand Space Scholarship are nominated by the Ministry of Business, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further support to Samoa in the wake of an ongoing measles outbreak in the country. Additional medical supplies and personnel, including a third rotation of New Zealand’s emergency medical assistance team (NZMAT), further nurse vaccinators, intensive care (ICU) specialists and Samoan-speaking medical professionals, will ...
ASMS message to DHB Chairs and appointees The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) welcomes the District Health Board Chairs and board appointees announced by Health Minister David Clark. ...
Eight Queen’s Counsel have been appointed under a process that includes the new criterion of a commitment to improving access to justice, Attorney-General David Parker announced this week. The new criterion, he explained, ” … emphasises that excellence and leadership in the profession can be seen through a wider, community ...
“CEAC – University of Auckland asks ‘Can democracy survive’? Subject; Can democracy survive? https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2019/12/03/can-democracy-survive-.html Citizens Environmental Advocacy Centre Incorporated (CEAC) Press release 8th December ...
The Minister of Health’s announcement to appoint a new chair to the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board has come as a surprise and with some disappointment, especially given he had personally asked me to stand again with his confidence to continue in ...
Hell’s bells it’s Gone By Lunchtime, with Annabelle Lee, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire shooting the breeze on Kris Faafoi, Jason Kerrison, Winston Peters, NZ First donations, a cannabis referendum, and the year to come.Just when you thought politics was tucking under the duvet for Christmas, along comes the guy ...
Tis the season for hangovers, so we convinced some of New Zealand’s most experienced consumers of food and/or drink (OK, Spinoff staff and a bunch of chefs/hospo people) to share their tried-and-true culinary remedies.A hangover is a very individual thing. For some, it manifests as a splitting headache and extreme ...
Before Britain’s Got Talent: Champions hits our screens tonight, let’s take a fond look back at some of the show’s weirdest and most wonderful acts.Place your hands on your Golden Buzzer, because Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions kicks off this weekend. Champions is BGT bigger and better than it’s been before, ...
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Is Waitangi Day supposed to be a national day of celebration? Or has it just become entrenched as a day of protest opportunism? A symbol of grievance, not unity?
Does Waitangi Day fill you with patriotic pride?
Or do you roll your eys and wonder what protest popups will piss on it?
My god you’re banal.
Banal is an odd accusation.
I hardly think it’s banal when what is supposed to be a national day of celebration is degraded by rent-a-mob.
I’d guess that most New Zealanders either don’t give a shit about Waitangi Day (except for enjoying a holiday some years) or get the shits about the inevitable shit stirring. That’s a sad state.
PG, your banal claims of degradation is what is banal.
Pete, are you saying that Waitangi Day should be the day of the year that we all forget about what the treaty said and just pretend that it’s been honoured and everything’s peachy? that it should be the day when one partner in that treaty should STFU so that the rest of us can feel good about ourselves?
That’d be a pretty fucking ironic way to go about things.
Waitangi Day should be a day of commemoration of the Treaty and what it now means. That will mean debate and greivance in the forseeable future.
It would be good to also have a national day of celebration and pride. Maybe we need to create a day for that. Like a New Zealand Day?
Racist.
Vicious creep! Who gave you the right to decide he’s a racist? QoT?
No one’s stopping you having your big party platitude pete – go hard, crack a beer, tell a few jokes… meanwhile the people you slur will continue working towards equality and a fairer society for all.
I’m not the one trying to turn Waitangi Day at Waitangi into a slurfest.
Daveo – yes, some of those seeking media attention at Waitangi could be seen as rascist.
how is saying that waitangi should be a day of celebration,
and implying that those who disagree aren’t getting into the spirit of it
or what the fuck ever it is you are saying,
not trying to start a slur fest?
And check out the comments on this:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6359946/Mana-Key-set-for-hostile-Waitangi-reception?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Lovely.
No surprise that Mana want to talk up a hostile reception for Key.
It must be very frustrating for those trying to organise a “peaceful family-oriented celebration” at Waitangi to have all the media and protest addicts take all the attention.
My points are, should we accept that Waitangi Day is going to always be a focus of dissent and protest, and should we have an alternate day for all New Zealanders to enjoy? Or just not bother with some sort of collective celebration of our country?
Thing is Pete, Waitangi day could be the day you want it to be, but it can’t get there by pretending everything is peachy. Sort out the shit, and it won’t be shitty, and we’ll have aday that we can feel good about ouselves in a way that means something.
And can you honestly not see that complaining that Waitangi day isn’t treated as a celebratory love in congratulating pakeha on their awesomeness is actually pretty fucking offensive?
Does the blindness in that somehow slip past you?
I’m not trying to pretend anything. I’m pointing out that many people are fed up with the attention seeking protests at Waitangi each year.
“a celebratory love in congratulating pakeha on their awesomeness ”
Does the making stuff up in that somehow slip past you?
yes you are but you are not very good at it – judging others by how you see yourself methinks – all those lines about piss and shit – save it for your party when you’re reciting your tired jokes pete I’m sure you and your mate will have a big laugh at the expence of others
Why can’t the rich white straight men have just ONE day where they get to have THEIR say for a change?
I suppose they could if they wanted to, but they probably wouldn’t try it here.
Why can’t all New Zealand celebrate a day in common?
Anzac Day comes closest but it is not so much a celebration, it is in Remembrance of past sacrifices, which is important.
Queens ‘Birthday’ is a bit farcical. Labour Day is just Holiday Day. I think it would be good if we could have something here like Independence Day or Australia Day.
Maybe we’re just not mature enough as a country for that yet.
What’s mature about a rah rah meaningless pat yourself on the back?
I guess Pete uses “mature” in the same sense as he uses “sensible” and “centrist”.
I tend to agree with you Pete in terms of celebrating being a New Zealander.
Waitangi day is what it is and will remain that until Maori achieve equality with their treaty partners in law and in society.
I would do away with Queens Birthday and create Aotearoa Day. A day that we stop and celebrate being Kiwi. There are many things wrong with this country but they are far outweighed by all the things that are right. We never really reflect on that as a country. Surely for one day a year we can come together and forget about our differences and celebrate the one thing we all have in common. Living in a fucking great country.
Yes, it would be good if we could find something we can all come together and celebrate on. I’d be happy calling it Aotearoa Day but I suspect that wouldn’t be universally popular.
But realistically I’m not sure it could happen judging by the level of attacks here for daring suggest it.
Why don’t you take the 364 days that aren’t Waitangi day and use those to celebrate being wealthy and white and part of the power structure built on the very wrongs that the Waitangi protests are attempting to draw your dulled attention to?
“I’d be happy calling it Aotearoa Day but I suspect that wouldn’t be universally popular.”
why wouldnt it be popular? Is it because its a maori word?
I haven’t seen an attack on you for wanting an ‘Aotearoa’ Day. Just leave us Waitangi Day please. It may annoy you that there is protest there but there is nothing to stop tauiwi protesting there as far as I know.
Pay no attention to the concern troll. Waitangi Day is already awesome, there is gonna be a big party up North just like last year. But the only thing you will see on the news is protests and scary looking brown dudes
Oh yeah Pete Australia Day is a fantastic day for the Aborigines too. Yes its great to have a day where the colonialists celebrate all the damage past and present inflicted upon the indigenous people.
So what you are saying Pete is that no matter what the rich and powerful inflict upon you, steal from you etc. you should just forget it and join in with a fake celebration. Get real PG, I actually thought there was a few more brains in your head than you have shown us today.
Pompous Git until Maori hold high place in their homeland instead of being at the bottom of the heap protests will go on simple something you tiny brain should be able to figure out .Your so much like your leader stating the obvious reeling out boring old arguments that NZ will never move on until idiots like you read the real hisTory of new Zealand.
I don’t go a bomb on what PG has to say, but the way you’re all ganging up on him is making me sicker than I already am (and according to the neurologist at Auckland City I am actually not all that crash hot)…
It reminds me of the gang beatings I have had in the past, and that made me despise this place. There are some people, in some groups that it just is not safe to offend or upset. Never has anonymity seemed so valuable! 🙁
I agree it’s unfair.
When are the rich white straight men going to catch a break in this world?
You tell me, when will you? Wailing on here won’t do it for you.
I think pete likes offending and upsetting people – but not all people, just ‘some’ people.
Waitangi protestors, the target of pete today, also direct their actions to ‘some’ people, but the difference is that they are working to make our society better, fairer and more equal.
BTW I hope your health improves.
I admit I don’t… (but then QoT has already labelled me a racist, and as we all know, there’s no defence against that accusation. *)
Years back, in the 1970s, protestors shouted “F*** the Treaty, it’s a fraud, we want nothing to do with it!”
Years later, in the 80s and beyond, the protestors said the exact opposite – “Honour the Treaty, we love it and we want it”.
I am just a stupid evil White bitch, (or so I’ve been told.) I know nothing.
* For his/her benefit – the evil-ex (Maori, but the point s/he missed it he’d have been evil regardless of race – he was an alcoholic) died about 7 weeks back.
I remember the catchcry “the treaty is a fraud” too. What do you think was meant by that?
Pompous Git for an odd person
Every country must have a starting point, and like it or not, I guess the signing of that Treaty was that starting point.
Though I am concerned about how we are in such a hurry to settle old greivances, we are creating new ones, with the systematic shifting of conservation land into iwi hands, for them to restrict access. And lets not forget Tuhoe’s desire to get their hands on Te Uruwera National Park, which will almost see New Zealanders having to pay big bucks to enjoy something that everyone should be able to enjoy.
Old age kicking in Pete – Or are you just being deliberately fucken idiotic!
I for one applaud the protestors, and given the past weeks actions by government, would expect this year to be heated.
What have we really got to celebrate Pete, the rape of the country by ancestors of dick heads like you!
There is nothing to celebrate about being a New Zealander? Nothing?
Celebrating being a New Zealander is something I do every day but I don’t see Waitangi Day as a day on which one celebrates Te Tiriti but rather a day to commemorate and reflect on what might have been and what still may come to pass. Then again, that is just me
Classic , now Muzza is accusing Pete of rape and tortue, you can’t make this shit up.
Speaking for myself, I commemorate, not celebrate.
Until The Crown (Her Majesty’s NZ Government) not only settle old grievances in a meaningful manner, then stick to the contracts that have been negotiated as part of those settlements as well as honouring the original Treaty, I have no reason to celebrate.
I seem to remember someone calculating that it took less than a week for the Crown to breach the Ngai Tahu Settlement
Iwi are just as bad at breaking settlement terms.
Most conservation land that is handed back to iwi comes with strict conditions around public access, however, iwi have known to wait for a few months and then block it off. The Port Nicholson Block Settlement is an example, where access to several lagoons have been restricted.
Go away – please PG and never come back!
Is Pete George supposed to be raising a valid issue? Or has he just become entrenched as an attention-seeking linkwhore?
Does Pete George fill you with patriotic pride?
Or do you roll your eyes and wonder when he will actually say or do something that matters a damn?
The second one.
No
Yes, all the time
How money corrupts the US Congress
Scary, scary, stuff. And these very established practices and globalised methods are coming here.
http://fora.tv/2012/01/17/How_Money_Corrupts_Congress_and_a_Plan_to_Stop_It
Yes CV. We do have a limit to the length of the Election. And we nearly have transparency about funding. But it does appear that the few very rich control the direction of decision making.
Maybe the case is waiting to be made for a Public Funding, so that Government is not corrupted (any more.)
A long listen but some parallels with NZ. All for Root Hacking rather than Partisan arguments.
Do you think that in all this is a cause for Voter Apathy in NZ?
I think that there are a few factors leading to citizen apathy (voter apathy being only a symptom of citizen apathy).
Time and information poverty for the majority is an issue. Pervasive framing by the Right Wing that business is the solution and government is the problem is an issue. A lack of civics education is an issue. A distant complex self serving bureaucracy is an issue. The ideology of individualism and not understanding how broader societal and economic structures affect personal income and lifestyles is an issue. A set of politicians who seem to all sound and look the same is an issue.
EDIT a lack of perspective of 20th century NZ history, especially of social and worker struggles, is also an issue.
Joyce is trying to lead a debate to gain greater acceptance of foreign investmen
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10783089
Perhaps they feel stung by public reaction? By the way how will the Crafar sale be an investment in NZ rather than a payment to Wespac?
There aren’t any. We have the resources here to do whatever we want and the only thing that’s holding us back is a socio-economic system that accumulates the control of the wealth into the hands of the few. Money, a non-resource, from over seas won’t change that.
By having a non-policy policy? And at every opportunity show how sniviling and cowtowing Keys govt is?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/6358098/New-IRD-system-costs-1b
Lets see, tax cuts for rich people or spend a small fraction of that money on ensuring we can properly collect taxes in the future?
Fuck me:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/6358791/Stolen-frozen-foetus-sparks-gang-brawl
Only in NZ….
BTW, on the links on the side was this little gem that the Greens may want to note.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/6358786/Hydraulic-fracturing-is-safe-energy-boss
sorry but you are already f*cked.
get over it.
Still not found the reply button, I see, randal.
RIP another NZ business owing $11 million. In business since 1964, employing 180 people.
from stuff business – business and KordaMentha
Receivers KordaMentha were called into Auckland-based Criterion Group and its New Zealand and Australian subsidiaries on Tuesday. About 180 staff are affected.
Their appointment followed a “serious decline in trading” for the group, the receivers said.
It exports around 70 per cent of its production to North America, South America, Europe, Singapore and the Pacific Islands.
I don’t think that the politicians and economic advisors and company directors understand about the business of making things, and how important it is. They quote the stats about the myriad of small businesses forming the important other sector with earnings not arising from the land.
The lawyers, financial advisors, even the managerial class are service providers only making a good living out of a thriving economy (except recently where a business gains ‘face’ by paying top cash to the top people, and then to avoid losing ‘face’ pay more cash when those top people lead the business into a decline.)
ha ha PG. I have a friend who’s worst insult is to call someone ‘banal’. Card carrying lefty too. I reckon we should keep Waitangi Day, get rid of the Queen’s Birthday and have a New Zealand day. Or have an extra public holiday.
You’s guys gonna take the fight to Hekia?
http://nowoccupy.blogspot.com/2012/02/good-luck-luv-youll-be-needing-it.html
You a gamer PG? Check out my profile.
Youre a pretty nasty person Monique. I have a feeling that you are of these women who sit in a cafe and run down all and sundry while being all nice to their faces.
You give me that vibe. Youre a nasty nasty bitchy woman. I can tell.
Pot. Kettle. I can tell.
Who yanked your chain?
Hmmm, Monique has a contempt for the poor, and appears both socially conservative and politically naive. An ideal United Future candidate, perhaps? Maybe you could have a chat to The Hair, Pete. If he remembers who you are, that is.
She’s already a big United Future fan, according to her twitter profile pic: http://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/1559047278/302395_10150396943355522_671390521_10080692_2092190889_n.jpg
Figures.
A whole 2 people support UF. A guy who tends to do nothing else than sit on the internet all day, and a manicured slumlord who really really needs to get some – perhaps she needs to realise that slagging off those on benefits/her tenants is really a big turn off.
Well, that explains the lawful-evil types she works with.
Millsy: Advocating the hanging of people who disagree with you (/treachery/comment-page-1/#comment-429671) tends to undermine your position as the arbiter of nastiness.
Come on mate, if you’re going to attribute some nastiness to Millsy do try and get it right.
So you’d agree that he has been nasty in the past then felix?
Is this a new game? How do we play?
Nice [No speculation in identity please – r0b], big words for such a little man.
Hey mods, that seems to be speculation on a poster’s identity.
Hope that doesn’t make me a comment Nazi.
[actioned, thanks – r0b]
The only gaming I do is on blogs. I won’t try to describe my roles as I’d just be struck down by opposing Forces of Banality.
One of my games is wordplay. It was interesting that IB introduced the word ‘banal’ – that comes from Old French banel – ‘pertaining to a ban’.
Another definition is ‘ pertaining to compulsory feudal service ‘. While not compulsory one can get the impression of attempts at imposing serfdom here by the overlords. At least banal doesn’t seem to be banned.
Or a definition more relevant to you: fucking pointless, boring, unimaginative and insubstantive.
my concise oxford has a good definition – ‘trite, feeble’ and interestingly it sits between ban and banana – nice universe humour in the context of this discussion
Should that be:
You a lamer PG? Check out my profile ?
I can’t edit my previous comment, straight after I have put it up. The stats of the numbers of small businesses are quoted and we know they are so important, yet they are abandoned whenever the government chooses to make changes. One example of abandonment is after the Christchurch earthquake. There seemed little co-operation with the businesses affected, with explanation of the known and unknown risks in daily briefings in a venue large enough to cater for all and whiteboards where info could be presented even if there was no electricity.
And these are the wealth creators, that phrase which comes to the lips of politicians so often, spoken of but too small to be able to offer quid pro quo, or tit for tat, no doubt.
No, small businesses aren’t the “wealth creators” that the politicians speak of. The “wealth creators” that politicians speak of are the rich parasites and the name is pure misdirection.
SME’s better get it into their little heads that NAT is here to represent the corporates and the multimillionaires, and if you are a small enterprise they are quite happy to leave you twisting in the wind.
Happy hunting for Zionist fundamentalists or why I will keep on speaking up against the “apartheid” state of Israel
If this doesn’t get you seriously pissed off I don’t know what will!
When I press Home to refresh my page it seems to take me back some time not bring me up to date. The index shows at the top lprent POAL sleeze each time I press Home – if that’s helpful to know.
Usually that is a problem with the local browser’s cache. For instance I get that type of issue when I use the back button on safari on my iPad (and bloody annoying it is as well). You could look at turning off the browser cache to test if it is just that. The site sends instructions about what should be cached and what should not. But some of the browsers ignore or misinterpret…
I just tried reproducing your diagnostic on linux with chrome and firefox and didn’t get it. Give me some more details – OS / Browser.
However we’re currently running on an apache2 mode that I have never used before after the outage on wednesday. I have no idea what effect it has on the cache modules that are also loaded at the server side. I will be testing my way back to my usual configuration this weekend.
it’s bouncing around like gossy trying not to answer a question
Thanks lprent I will get my technical expert – son – to look at that.
I had the same problem as Prism this morning but it seems to have sorted itself.
http://www.thepoliticalscientist.org/
Key losing control.
Well worth reading – puddleglum’s latest (above)
Raises interesting questions…
What a train wreck flogging off power assets are proving to be and already there appears to be a blow out in the cost, (potential litigation of treaty rights and rightly so). I seem to recall the figure of 100 million to sell money earning power assets and what will they sell for?
2012 is going to be the year when all the figures do not add up. Bring on the budget I say.
You mean this one? Just linking to the blog home page fails to indicate which article you’re talking about.
When I click your link Draco, and when I click mine, they take me to exactly the same place – the beginning of the particular blog I’m mentioning.
Where does clicking my link take you?
Maybe this is a browser thing, you’ve made the same comment before, and I’ve clicked both links and ‘snap’. How do you go about linking to a blog or story from somewhere else? If there is a quick *F-key* shortcut I’d be glad to learn it.
Nope. Draco’s one takes you to the post – if you scroll down you’ll find you can add comments.
Your one takes to the front page – which just happens to look the same right now. However as soon as they put in a new post (tonight?), noone will have any idea what you were talking about when they click the link.
So Blinglish refused to front on breakfast TV to talk about the latest treasury report. Normal service has resumed.
Funny that!
Ahem!
http://tiny.cc/v83a0
And this from a right wing rag.
Trust them, they know what they are doing…yeah right!
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/more-tui-announcements-for-education.html
Bernard Hickey recent tweets
bernardchickey
Oh and by the way. Record net migration to Australia of 36,900 in 2011 (100/day) bit.ly/xYlWQd NZ economic policy not working
19 minutes ago
bernardchickey
Is this the path to greatness for NZ? Foreign debt funded property boom for the wealthiest? That pushes up NZ$? Just nuts.
24 minutes ago
bernardchickey
Govt borrows money from China, hands it to wealthiest via tax cuts, who then borrow more and buy bigger houses bit.ly/zDJRKw
25 minutes ago
Labour cracks 30% despite doing nothing except losing Goff.
Two months too late that one.
Here’s the kicker though: “However, support for the full National-led Government has dipped to 49% (down 0.5%), trailing the Opposition Parties (51%, up 0.5%).”
How close was that election, eh? A couple of points would have done it. Still, the good news is the Tories and their support poodles are on the wrong side of the ledger for the first time in 4 years and David Shearer is looking good to be PM sooner rather than later.
Can we have a snap election, please John? Hawaii’s nice this time of year.
Couple of points assuming Peters would’ve gone with Labour which is a big assumption.
Being in opposition doesn’t automatically mean that they would’ve formed a government
Tru ‘nuf, Chris. But Labour does have experience running minority Gov’ts and Winston isn’t going to forget that National condemned him to 3 years in the wilderness. He’d be odds on for a C&S agreement of some kind just to be able to stick it to the Nats, but if he is going to make good on his election promises, realistically, he has to come to an arrangement with Labour and the Greens.
Or he might just stick two fingers up again and offer to take over from the Maori Party as John’s new BFF. He’s got form in that area already, so who knows?
Either way, seems the tide is going out on Key.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/chris-trotter/6356378/Our-hands-were-tied-over-the-Crafar-farms-sale
So roll up and call Trotter a traitor for speaking the truth just like Fran o’Sullivan.
Who the hell thinks trotter is a paragon of the left wing anymore? He might have a slightly leftist emplyment policy, but his blogs on “identity politics” and how women and anyone else with an issue should toe the line and not endanger the Labour vote put him squarely in the camp of social conservatives.
Yeah he’s probably got more in common with your lot these days Fisi.
call you an idiot for mangling the oranges and the apples.
I see that Farrer in Dominion today the polls give the balance of power to Winston Peters.
Nats dropped and Labour up and with other lefties are only one seat behind Nat/Coalition, giving Winston the baubles if an election were held today. How big will his baubles be I wonder – huge, remember he is very selfish, so perhaps Finance, although Norman has bagged that, Foreign Affairs, and he has a few of those.
Makes you wonder – with continued great shit stirring out of Waitangi, Christchurch in revolt, seems a good time to let Key know he’s on his way out.
A cat is purchased, and trained, the trainer is not the owner
and the trainer becomes an attraction in their own right, and
becomes wealthy. The cats need to be trained extensively and
can not be easily replaced, yet are also an attraction in their
own right. The act performed is highly dangerous and has already
caused the death of one keeper, and there is some doubt over
whether the entry into the enclosure should even be allowed.
Due to family bonds some dispute over ownership of the cats
have arisen. Are the cats family pets? Are they trained animals? Or
are they as it looks like an attraction of a zoo primarily?
Should the cats be split up, those that have not be strongly
trained remain at the park as a going concern, and the trainer
take some of the cats and passes onwership of the land back over
as a consideration for past financial investment?
Or should government step in and appoint an independant manager,
ban any member of this disfunctional family from ever having
any access to these wild animals? For if they are an asset of
the businesses of either party then surely the businesses can
fire the employees and hire new staff who can carry out their
function.
Maybe government could even speak to the highly dangerous
‘circus act’ of entering the cage? Since at the core its
the personal affections of the protagonists to the cats
that ellicts all the destruction of value in the brands.
The Lion park and the Lion Man.
But on a personal note, who owns the family pet? The
unpaided person who attends to its needs, or the business
owner who sells tickets to see both do a dangerous
circus act? If I buy a Bear, get someone to train it to
wear a dress and shit on command, and the trainer makes
a name for themselves, does the Bear become their property,
even where it clearly states at the entrance to the ‘Bear’ Park.
I’m having a bit of trouble deciding if Bowalley Road should be included in the Leftwing Blog… because old trots seems decidedly right wing these days… Slater keeps quoting him for one thing. Trotter used to be leftist when he wrote for the Listener back in the day, but he has soured over the years. So should he stay or should he go?
Stay – if you think any common sense fits in on the left.
Considering your track record there Pete George, I think I ‘d better count that as a vote against old Trots.
So, I see that Trotter has joined the hate list… why?
Because…
And even worse, Whale oil agreed with him, so that makes him another enemy of the day.
Nah, it happened a good couple of years ago now. When he started arguing that the “left” should bend over and be more cooperative with tories, and on no account should women, homosexuals, or Maori put that relationship at risk by being all activisty and uppity.
He’s been the tories’ token “lefty” for ages, getting wheeled out for a nice unchallenging “left perspective”.
Just another thing you know fuck-all about,pete.
You have to love Chris Trotters comments on the Crafar farm sales .How it reeks of hypocrisy for David Shearer to now be crticising it. Prediction as soon as Shearer starts debating in the house he is going to get eaten alive by the National front bench comments from trotter below
In 2008, this country ratified a free-trade agreement with the People’s Republic of China. It was hailed as the most important foreign policy and trade achievement of the 1999-2008 Helen Clark-led government. Not only was it the first such agreement to be signed between China and a Western-style democracy, but it also offered New Zealand businesses immense economic opportunities. …
It was all the more perplexing, then, to hear Opposition leader David Shearer declaring his and the Labour Party’s opposition to the sale. It’s simply inconceivable that Mr Shearer is unaware of the MFN prohibition against denying China the same right to buy land as the nations that bought upwards of 650,000 hectares of our national patrimony exercised when Helen Clark was Prime Minister, and Mr Shearer’s friend (and former boss) Phil Goff was the Minister of Trade.
The Chinese under the FTA must be treated equally with all others and not disadvantaged in a deal compared with others. But this means if all land sales to foreigners were banned then Chinese would not be treated any differently. Ban all sales to nonresidents above a certain size.
At some point we must say “Enough! No more land sales.”
Hope it is by then not too late?
They do have the same right and we have the same right to tell them to stuff off. Just because the OIO has been pretty much a rubber stamp process for the last few years doesn’t mean that it has to stay that way.
so what clause is it that contains the free trade in land?
Fisi and James111, if either of you had the reading and comprehension ability of a preschooler and the wit to understand what Trotter wrote, you would come very quickly to the conclusion that he is calling a spade a spade. He is a leftist accusing his side of playing on the right for to long. Labour and its supporters don’t need RWNJs like yourselves to point out in some faux triumphalist bullshit way that the wounds are self inflicted.
Trotter by comparison is pointing out that for Labour it is too late to cry wolf when they signed the deals, and that we as a collective electorate allowed this to happen so we too have no right to complain. What I think he is driving at is that without repudiating their prior stance before the electorate Labour should shut up.
Bored I totally agree with you and Trotter but you have to question Shearers naievity in even talking about it
Question bollocks, Shearer is Johnny Come Lately and as such bears no personal responsibility. Unlike that fuckwit Key who allows his mates onshore and offshore to have their snouts in NZs trough on a permanent basis.
I find it amusing how you james 111 drop in, spout shit and then disappear when you are presented with a rational response (see /wanted-more-news-like-this/ as an example)
You must be part of this mob…..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2095549/Right-wingers-intelligent-left-wingers-says-controversial-study–conservative-politics-lead-people-racist.html
Not exactly rocket surgery, innit?
It’s kind of halarious the way the right are trotting out the xenophobic line against the left. Truth is, they are insulting the 80% of Kiwis who didnt want those farms sold for good reason – there still hasnt been a single argument as to why selling a chunk of the golden goose to the biggest consumer of golden eggs is a good idea . I mean unless you accept Steven Joyces laughingly lame attempt today suggesting Chinese investment will help local communties and create jobs. Okay Stephen, OIO found only two jobs will be created from the Crafar Sale, but PGG Wrightsons may sell more farm supplies. Of course we also know also they are now majority Chinese owned. Abysmally, there no analysis on the impact of competition against our own dairy industry.
What’s also ironic, is that the claims of xenophobia are sprouting either from resource sucking baby boomers such as the analytic devoid business commentator Fran O’Sullivan, or the politically senile Chris Trotter. But perhaps what is most interesting, is that this accusation has originated from a goverment who have just referrred to our Treaty as largely Symbolic , whose Muldoon supporting leader was pro-springbok , and who sees no issue public making racist and discrimatory jokes about Maori
But what’s partuclarly telling, is John Key’s supposedly unambigous announcement today regarding Chinese investment in New Zealand, has been now been quickly palmed off to Stephen Joyce . Anyone listening to the interview on RNZ this evening will understand why.
Ian thanks for that wonderful story believe it was written by a left winger in drag. So I guess you have all bases covered then LMFAO
james 111 is just waleshit in another incarnation.
he got multiple multiple personality disorder but he like a friendly idiot.
every now and then you have to give him a booot.
But with Jturd you don’t want to give him a boot cause you end up covered in his excrement.
Bennett’s bungled numbers
Despite the introduction of Future Focus, whereby beneficiaries have to adhere to strict conditions or loose their entitlements, people on the unemployment benefit grew by 2158 last month. In a press release today, Bene bashing Bennett does her best to spin the numbers so they don’t look bad, but information attained through the Official Information Act shows the truth of the matter…
John Key – Asshole of the Week
Clearly John Key is trying to provoke a spectacle on Waitangi day that will take the focus off National’s plans to privatise state owned assets. National can then claim that the Maori’s are all radicals and therefore not give their concerns the attention they deserve…
Seen on facebook recently:
A special message for the Tea Party : http://is.gd/7A0Imi
You might be a Socialist!! : http://is.gd/pYNapA
🙂