it reads as if it is an intro to a much longer, more detailed piece that got truncated becuase it was veering off the pre-set editorial highway and risked hitting a lightpole of reality.
Yes more of that ‘see look here we aren’t bias’ from granny. However this type of article should fill granny everyday as this corrupt nasty gov’t has plenty that could be written up about it.
It’s like they give it up for some limited balance on weekends then back come oshillivan, Johnny wannabe key Armstrong and daudrey etc weekdays to go with their radio equivalents of Leighton, larry, mikey, etc to keep that constant pro NACT push in the MSM.
My feeling that Joyce is not the man to run run Mobie because he has not the expertise with all of his money-making ability coming from building a web of commercial radio is strengthened the more I road here. We can’t get through to a really experienced businessman – we are fobbed off with someone who has managed to find a niche where he could attach his money IV bag to his veins. Yet he has so much gravitas. Is this justified? I think, looking at the results, we are being hornswggled.
It was run on a Sunday, but one of the questions here can give us an idea of the demographics of people who visit stuff, and therefore the type of people that vote on their online polls:
Which of these groups does your total household income come into. Please include the income before tax from everyone in your household, from all sources
7% – Up to 20,000 a year 385 a week
13% – 20,001 to 40,000 a year 386 to 770 a week
25% – 40,001 – 70,000 a year 771 to 1345 a week
20% – 70,001 – 100,000
34% – More than 100,000
An overwhelming majority living on more than half of all NZanders. What a surprise. Do you think they’ll mention the demographically skewed sample, and its effect on the reliability of the results, next time they publish one of their polls, now that they have conclusive proof?
And an indictment on the intelligence and/or taste of the better off in reading the most shallow of the main msm
The idea of household income is interesting as there are many families where adult children earning low incomes are still resident with parents. 6 adults living in one household all earning minimum wage are over that magic $100K as a household. No-one is well off individually but by pooling resources everyone is managing, just. It is too easy to make all kinds of assumptions without enough data and to just have the total figure without knowing how many people are contributing to it renders any conclusions meaningless.
Actually 6 adults on minimum wage pooling their money completely freely would be better off than 2 adults on higher wages earning the same amount, since the people on minimum wage would be paying quite a bit less tax.
This isn’t taking into account the realities of running a household: with 6 people there’d be more cooking, cleaning and general chores required than in a 2 person household, however if we’re assuming 40 hrs/week for each individual then I don’t think their homelife would really be worse off at all in terms of being able to get the chores done.
Actually I just realised how stupid that comment was, I really wasn’t thinking:
With 3x the number of people you need 3x the amount of food. You’d likely need to run at least 3 cars, probably more like 4-5 for everyone to work. You’d also likely use much more electricity than 2 people. So all of that would likely gobble up any tax savings.
There are inconveniences but you can divide up the chores and organising a bit better – more like communal living. What you can’t have is 6 people living as fully separate independent units because in that scenario you are correct, many costs just multiply.
Someone who is not working full time devotes a couple of hours a day looking after the vege patch. You only have one car between the entire household (less practical in Auckland admittedly).
Showers limited to 5 minutes wet time and group cooking holds power costs down signficantly. You can’t have each person heating up their own bedroom with a spaceheater.
An insight into Tory thinking – from the UK but I’m sure it’s equally relevant here:
“The defence secretary, Philip Hammond, has warned that he will resist further cuts to the armed forces in George Osborne’s forthcoming spending review.
He told the Daily Telegraph that other Tory cabinet ministers believed the greatest burden of any cuts should fall on the welfare budget.
[…]
Hammond said the “first priority” for the government should be “defending the country and maintaining law and order” and that further defence cuts were not possible while meeting stated security objectives.”
Apart from the obvious inanity as to exactly who he thinks the UK needs defending from – needing multi-billion pound nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers to do it with – and the rather sinister suggestion that ‘maintaining law and order’ is ultimately a matter for the military, the idea that a Government exists merely to defend the borders leaving the citizenry within them free to make their own provision for food, shelter, health, education &tc as best they can and the devil take the hindmost is pure Laissez-faire thinking any Eighteenth Century Government would have been comfortable with.
Mind you, I expect the dozen or so readers of the Torygraph he was addressing were all nodding happily in the leather arm-chairs of their London Clubs chumbling ‘hear-hear’ into their brandy-and-sodas.
Thumbs down to the NZDF for their enabling of anti gay culture in our military.
I note they refused to answer reporters questions such as, “As per the inquiry recommendation, has the NZDF reviewed its policies for providing support to homosexual personnel? What came out of that? “, but the NZDF refused to answer on privacy grounds.
As always it’s a sad story when some dies in this way, a tragedy. I do have sympathy for the NZDF and the personnel involved, having faced a similar situation in a ‘normal’ workplace and how complex that was I would think that having it happen on a active forward patrol base in a war zone where you live 24 hours a day would be incredibly difficult for everyone.
Had Hughes not been singled out he may still be alive.
“… witch hunt…” is not going to bring him back. A healthy culture toward gay personnel is going to prevent a person from being bullied and treated with contempt.
I really love the way “witch hunt” has been appropriated by privileged groups to demonise any investigation of how their privilege harms other people. Because actual witch hunts were usually all about entrenched religious power structures maintaining their authority through fear and misogyny.
But I would say that as a neo-anarcho-Marxo-deconstructiono-fluffy-bunny-radical feminist-authoritarian-jiggery-pokery-noodle-head, wouldn’t I?
Herald declares welfare numbers “swell” under Bennett:
Quote:
When it comes to the worst DPB, sickness, and invalid
benefit numbers, these have all been since 2010 and under
Paula Bennett,” Ardern said. “Interestingly, the two highest
figures for the DPB were both after the introduction of
Bennett’s welfare reforms, which mostly targeted DPB
recipients by increasing their work obligations.”
Once her new welfare reforms go through, the benefit categories we have now will be reduced down to just three: supported living, job seeker, and sole-parent support. This will essentially make it impossible to compare the impact of the welfare reforms.
Ahhh, yes! The real reason to change computer systems, stationary (how many thousands is THAT going to cost?), and confuse the already befuddled frontline staff.
The story is a jack up by socialist Cindy http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/03/welfare_numbers.html
The moment I saw this story, I had a fair idea of what the actual data would show. Yes more people on those benefits between those two dates, but not a linear pattern. Of course Jan 2009 was as the GFC was in full force, and hence job losses occurring. Also the comparison stops 12 months ago. Why?
Letâs look at the actual data, in terms of increase or decrease each year. For DPB they are
⢠2008 +2,128
⢠2009 +9,007
⢠2010 +3,576
⢠2011 +1,365
⢠2012 -5,112
I think we now understand why Jacinda left the 2012 figures off. What I donât know if why the Herald on Sunday did.
Letâs do the same with Invalidâs Benefit numbers.
⢠2008 +3,419
⢠2009 +1,537
⢠2010 +67
⢠2011 -1,062
⢠2012 -472
And for those interested in the Unemployment Benefit.
⢠2008 +7,760
⢠2009 +35,820
⢠2010 +756
⢠2011 -7,120
⢠2012 -6,217
They all show the same thing. The increase in benefit numbers started in 2008 (under Labour) and worsened in 2009 as the Global Financial Crisis struck. Despite patchy economic growth since 2009, benefit numbers in all three categories have fallen in the last two years.
đ Ok, let me put it another way. It’s not the benefit numbers that bother me, it’s the size of the debt National has foisted on us all, which requires them to change the accounting to disguise the number of people who aren’t in full-time jobs.
Government stats are joke as an indicator of anything. Stats show crime is increasing. The number of police is increased. Stats then show overall crime has reduced. The number of police is cut. So…they want overall crime to go up again. Then they’ll increase the number of police again? Fark.
You choose to highlight 2 years out 5 years of figures, hardly smart,
DPB after 4 years of National Government = +10,864,
Invalids Benefit after 4 years of National = +4489,
Unemployment benefit after 4 years of National = +30,999,
After 4 years of this National Government just in those 3 category’s of Benefits it is +46,352 more reliant on just those 3 category’s of benefit,
Hardly a victory for National and when the Official information act request comes through you will find that all of those who these figures have shown to have moved off these 3 benefits are now either being paid the same amounts ‘to train’ or industry are being paid the same amounts to ’employ’ them,
In dollar terms for this National Government then NO difference in the expenditure what-so -ever, and simply using the figures by you to trey and tell the same sort of lie that Bennett has become accustomed to…
I knew that this was in the pipeline last year. I recommend that you take the time to read and understand what this means as it may be useful for you in your dealings with govt entities from this point.
a Complimentary Sunday Roast (with Wontons along-side stuffed mushrooms)
from the box-
-“razor-wire insurers”
-“tractor” drags down the taxpayer highway (now that’s funny)”
-mundane -atemporal –lapsarian = a -sensible -lunar -orbit so buckle up and get comfortable:
(Addison, The renal tourniquet Campaign is trifling)
listened to Laidlaw this am before sallying forth;
immediately after 3pm last Wed Garner announces on Radio Live (dead) that the Supreme Court decision has upheld maori claim followed truck and trailer đ by a Herald reporter squawking the same tune…
Hahahahahaha / Holey Herald on Sunday Batman, KaPow!
so mind the Kaitangata Twitch, go Beyond The Occult, Wilson, sail after The Celestine Prophecy to God and The Evolving Universe, James (it’s The Power of Diversity, Barbara, or else)
God gave you style and gave you grace, now, put a smile on your face đ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnzXIYqkqS0
One Big Love (Tyndale was an Outlaw) Wycliffe a translator
and some desert from 1 3 17
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has not pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? (does anybody here remember vera Lynn? how she said that we would meet again some sunny day…) Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue đ but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything (seed has to evolve somewhere). Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask (like the new Southern Star cycle he provided today, O Tautau’s the place to see) because we obey his commands (love the big G and your neighbour as yourself) and attempt to do what pleases him…
And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gives us (and the free lunch, very enjoyable thanks Majors).
-from the Padua of both Anthonys; Tempted? to see Pigs on The Wing! 10 Million crickets can’t be wrong by Jiminy.
There is ALWAYS a Redemption Song. I Remember You: Sebastian Bach.
Press Release from: Westmere Heritage Protection Association
Every wondered why Auckland house prices are going crazy or why you can’t even afford to buy in?
Here is the Real Oil.
I have just spoken to my contacts in the banking system and most of the properties in the (Auckland) including the Western Bays areas Ponsonby, St Mary’s Bay, Westmere, Grey Lynn and Point Chevalier are being purchased at inflated prices by two specific groups
1) Queen Street Speculators / Investors, land banking and renting the properties at high rates waiting for intensification to be instigated by the govt or council.
2) Asian Nationals (Chinese) on work or holiday permits!
What is skewing the lack of affordability of our inner city suburbs is that both these groups are buying Cash Up Front!
Ordinary home owner can not compete.
This in turn means that these people will want to capitialise on their investments and start to build multi story buildings or units to maximise their profits.
Tight controls are needed to:
To stop this sort of speculative behaviour we need to pass laws NOW to:
a) Ensure that people are NZ citizens before they can buy (which is the law in Australia see below)
b) Your first home is exempt from any tax, all other properties are subject to capitial gains and property taxes etc.
c) The law is changed so that Heritage Protection makes our inner suburbs unattractive for Developers to decimate.
We as a group are not against intensification in Brown-Fields areas, in fact we suggest it is the best way to restore our city ruined by uncontrolled industrial sprawl.
The reason we insist that the law is changed and action taken immediately is that The National government is under the influenced of the Speculator & Developer lobby and the RMA is being changed to benefit them, making the Council impotent to protect to our neighbourhoods
We encourage the Auckland Council to take the lead and curbing inappropriate develop, protect heritage and stop council officer making decisions that benefit the Speculators & Developers lobby. Re introduce the Character coalition proposal as part of the Unitary Plan.
The Australian have strict rules around who can buy a house and where and for what purpose! why don’t we?
Does anyone know of website for dealing with common right wing arguments?
Something that takes an approach like http://www.skepticalscience.com/ does for climate change.
I just had a look at the ACT party website and took a gander at their ‘principles’. If you didn’t know anything about them you’d almost think it sounded like a nice party! Here it is…
Principles
The principal object of the ACT Party is to promote an open, progressive and benevolent society in which individual New Zealanders are free to achieve their full potential.
To this end the ACT Party upholds the following principles:
that individuals are the rightful owners of their own lives and therefore have inherent rights and responsibilities; and
that the proper purpose of government is to protect such rights and not to assume such responsibilities.
According to our constitution, the ACT Party shall promote, develop and pursue policies and proposals which:
encourage individual choice and responsibility and the pursuit of excellence in all fields of human endeavour;
enhance living standards for all New Zealanders through sustainable economic growth and international competitiveness;
enhance choice and diversity, and raise standards of achievement in education;
ensure that all New Zealanders have access to quality health care and have security in retirement;
maintain social and economic support for those unable to help themselves and who are in genuine need of assistance;
provide for the nationâs security and the protection of individual lives and property;
explore and implement practical and innovative ways to protect the natural environment;
maintain sound economic management, including (but not limited to) a balanced government budget, price stability and a free and open market economy; and
limit the involvement of central and local government to those areas where collective action is a practical necessity.
Just in case it’s important LPrent, the timing on this site is wrong at the moment. Commenters are commenting later than the actual time, according to the time stated on the comments.
As an example – the comment above says 9.23pm. It is 9.08pm right now.
Ummm. That is a problem. The time is taken off the server time at time of insertion in the database and adjusted to timezone.
I haven’t set up a NTP client so it picks the time of a timer server. So the real time clock at the server is drifting too far. I will fix tomorrow night.
Lolz, 9.32pm to be precise, noticed that reading the post on welfare, bit of a head-scratch, check the time on the phone, wonder if it isn’t the end of daylight saving,
Hmmm them computers are messin with our time now, pretty soon they will make it feel like we don’t know what day it is,
Hekia Parata and John Key.
I watched the movie “Game Change” which follows John McCain’s2008 Presisential campaign from his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate to his ultimate defeat by Obama. A great movie.
Pailin and the McCain/Palin relationship have many parallels with Parata and her relationship with Key.
This morning on Radio NZ this USA woman was interesting. She has been thoughtful and politically aware since a young age. She said that she considers the USA to be a pluralism of wealthy groups not a democracy.
10-11am: Feature interview – Cisco Systems co-founder and Jane Austen expert Sandy Lerner
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
âFollow the moneyâ is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left  Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes –Â I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes –Â Parliamentâs speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes â The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline âSenior Kingâs Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.:Â âMany of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] eachâ, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands arenât ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
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There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliamentâs speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of MÄori Land) Amendment Bill (HĹŤhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing MÄori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
 Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion âinvestmentâ in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes –Â Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and appliedâŚÂ Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliamentâs Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECDâs chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changesâintroducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
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Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, Â “Oranga Tamarikiâs governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealandâs foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealandâs foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
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Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
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Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech:Â AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This weekâs announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House â but itâs not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand:Â The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasuryâs forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when â during an interview on RNZâs Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? âIt's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their âfutureâ amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected â and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers â as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP â critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori âstrenuouslyâ objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to âtheirâ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – âAn SEP,â he said, âis something that we canât see, or donât see, or our brain doesnât let us see, because we think that itâs somebody elseâs problem. Thatâs what SEP means. Somebody Elseâs Problem. The brain just edits it out, itâs like a ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Councilâs District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion âThis House Believes British Museums are not Very Britishâ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP HĹŤhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of MÄori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of MÄori land. ...
A senior, highly respected Kingâs Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga MÄori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealandâs growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesnât know or care about the frontline cuts sheâs making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. Â ...
Todayâs Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and itâs only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. âThis is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. âThe government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicineâ, said Ayesha Verrall âThis is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoonâs interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour childrenâs spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te PÄti MÄori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veteransâ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veteransâ affairs spokesperson Greg OâConnor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxonâs management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonightâs court decision to overturn the summons of the Childrenâs Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about MÄori without evidence, says Te PÄti MÄori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. âThe judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last yearâs severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labourâs environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our countryâs most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Governmentâs Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a âget out of jail freeâ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te PÄti MÄori Justice Spokesperson, TÄkuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, MÄori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealandâs good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National governmentâs lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. âWellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. âWith 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. âWe are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayersâ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in TairÄwhiti and Hawkeâs Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealandâs engagement with the region.  The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu.  âNew Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealandersâ security and wellbeing. âCongratulations to this yearâs recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealandâs defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealandâs digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. Â âThe immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Governmentâs school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealandâs next Ambassador to the United States of America.  âOur relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,â Mr Peters says.  âNew Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. âNew Zealand was built on gold, itâs in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is âan Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhereâ and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. âThis is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASAâs Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. âOur Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECDâs latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its membersâ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli.  ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Councilâs Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today.  "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Councilâs Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today.  Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. âThese reforms are long overdue. New Zealandâs insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. âThree years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. âBeing able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canadaâs refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ânext moveâ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Childrenâs Commissioner. âThe Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.    âThe coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. âOur Governmentâs thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening â  Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealandâs foreign policy, weâd like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. âCreating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northlandâs marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. âThis is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the countryâs total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. âThe beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ĺ-RÄkau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mĹ Ĺ-RÄkau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ĺ-RÄkau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Governmentâs plan to supercharge New Zealandâs EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four â and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Governmentâs plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. âI have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People â Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Governmentâs plan to restore law and order. âSpeaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealandâs human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australiaâs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash Weâve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guineaâs deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of âreckless economic managementâ that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape âmust stop lying to the people of Papua New Guineaâ, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoaâs booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish Iâd writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. âFollow the moneyâ is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a âcatastrophic humanitarian situationâ. Rafah was âsignificantâ because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. Itâs 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canadaâs largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayersâ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayersâ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Ministerâs office. Taxpayersâ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. Itâs power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, thereâs the rich list and the powerful âc-suiteâ list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeerâs phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gaddâs story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didnât have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail â those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Whatâs all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boyâs body was found the day he died. Lachieâs body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucyâs brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where âhe had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didnât get inâ. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Aucklandâs water woes. This is how itâll work. New Zealandâs pipes are munted. Theyâre cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. Itâs a big, ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: âAs time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.â This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate â and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and sheâs having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, itâs not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Womenâs International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the âcruel and barbaric use of forceâ in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The leagueâs open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australiaâs resources industry. The project will fund âthe first comprehensive map of whatâs ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their studentsâ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to ârepair colonial violenceâ and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year â and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. Thatâs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the governmentâs legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. Theyâre busy restoring Australiaâs native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? âAsher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, letâs embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last yearâs election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
Bernard Hickey nails “the Government’s lack of consistency and adherence to coherent strategy and its bias for doing deals with mates.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10868783
it reads as if it is an intro to a much longer, more detailed piece that got truncated becuase it was veering off the pre-set editorial highway and risked hitting a lightpole of reality.
Yes more of that ‘see look here we aren’t bias’ from granny. However this type of article should fill granny everyday as this corrupt nasty gov’t has plenty that could be written up about it.
It’s like they give it up for some limited balance on weekends then back come oshillivan, Johnny wannabe key Armstrong and daudrey etc weekdays to go with their radio equivalents of Leighton, larry, mikey, etc to keep that constant pro NACT push in the MSM.
My feeling that Joyce is not the man to run run Mobie because he has not the expertise with all of his money-making ability coming from building a web of commercial radio is strengthened the more I road here. We can’t get through to a really experienced businessman – we are fobbed off with someone who has managed to find a niche where he could attach his money IV bag to his veins. Yet he has so much gravitas. Is this justified? I think, looking at the results, we are being hornswggled.
This ‘alternative census’ run on Stuff last week has the results published:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8373937/Alternative-census-what-you-told-us
It was run on a Sunday, but one of the questions here can give us an idea of the demographics of people who visit stuff, and therefore the type of people that vote on their online polls:
Ta Lanthanide.
An overwhelming majority living on more than half of all NZanders. What a surprise. Do you think they’ll mention the demographically skewed sample, and its effect on the reliability of the results, next time they publish one of their polls, now that they have conclusive proof?
And an indictment on the intelligence and/or taste of the better off in reading the most shallow of the main msm
Note – the question said “household income”. The median household income in NZ is currently in the low $60K pa range IIRC
Is there an embarrassed tag?
Will pay more attention in future.
Well it’s still true, since its’ 54% over $70k, so if the median is $60k something then it’s still higher than that.
The idea of household income is interesting as there are many families where adult children earning low incomes are still resident with parents. 6 adults living in one household all earning minimum wage are over that magic $100K as a household. No-one is well off individually but by pooling resources everyone is managing, just. It is too easy to make all kinds of assumptions without enough data and to just have the total figure without knowing how many people are contributing to it renders any conclusions meaningless.
Actually 6 adults on minimum wage pooling their money completely freely would be better off than 2 adults on higher wages earning the same amount, since the people on minimum wage would be paying quite a bit less tax.
This isn’t taking into account the realities of running a household: with 6 people there’d be more cooking, cleaning and general chores required than in a 2 person household, however if we’re assuming 40 hrs/week for each individual then I don’t think their homelife would really be worse off at all in terms of being able to get the chores done.
Actually I just realised how stupid that comment was, I really wasn’t thinking:
With 3x the number of people you need 3x the amount of food. You’d likely need to run at least 3 cars, probably more like 4-5 for everyone to work. You’d also likely use much more electricity than 2 people. So all of that would likely gobble up any tax savings.
There are inconveniences but you can divide up the chores and organising a bit better – more like communal living. What you can’t have is 6 people living as fully separate independent units because in that scenario you are correct, many costs just multiply.
Someone who is not working full time devotes a couple of hours a day looking after the vege patch. You only have one car between the entire household (less practical in Auckland admittedly).
Showers limited to 5 minutes wet time and group cooking holds power costs down signficantly. You can’t have each person heating up their own bedroom with a spaceheater.
And everyone puts in $10/week to run the still…
đ
An insight into Tory thinking – from the UK but I’m sure it’s equally relevant here:
“The defence secretary, Philip Hammond, has warned that he will resist further cuts to the armed forces in George Osborne’s forthcoming spending review.
He told the Daily Telegraph that other Tory cabinet ministers believed the greatest burden of any cuts should fall on the welfare budget.
[…]
Hammond said the “first priority” for the government should be “defending the country and maintaining law and order” and that further defence cuts were not possible while meeting stated security objectives.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/02/defence-secretary-resist-cuts
Apart from the obvious inanity as to exactly who he thinks the UK needs defending from – needing multi-billion pound nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers to do it with – and the rather sinister suggestion that ‘maintaining law and order’ is ultimately a matter for the military, the idea that a Government exists merely to defend the borders leaving the citizenry within them free to make their own provision for food, shelter, health, education &tc as best they can and the devil take the hindmost is pure Laissez-faire thinking any Eighteenth Century Government would have been comfortable with.
Mind you, I expect the dozen or so readers of the Torygraph he was addressing were all nodding happily in the leather arm-chairs of their London Clubs chumbling ‘hear-hear’ into their brandy-and-sodas.
Ah well. Leopards and spots.
Thumbs down to the NZDF for their enabling of anti gay culture in our military.
I note they refused to answer reporters questions such as, “As per the inquiry recommendation, has the NZDF reviewed its policies for providing support to homosexual personnel? What came out of that? “, but the NZDF refused to answer on privacy grounds.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8374534/Gay-war-heros-tragic-death
Ironic that the Oz defence forces made history yesterday by challenging anti-gay prejudice in a very, very public way:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/after-35-years-mardi-gras-still-breaks-down-barriers-20130302-2fd2y.html
As always it’s a sad story when some dies in this way, a tragedy. I do have sympathy for the NZDF and the personnel involved, having faced a similar situation in a ‘normal’ workplace and how complex that was I would think that having it happen on a active forward patrol base in a war zone where you live 24 hours a day would be incredibly difficult for everyone.
Being vulnerable in an environment which has a negative culture toward gay personnel makes those in charge culpable.
The witch hunt has started…
Had Hughes not been singled out he may still be alive.
“… witch hunt…” is not going to bring him back. A healthy culture toward gay personnel is going to prevent a person from being bullied and treated with contempt.
I applaud the way the SST reported it. They gave it front page and handled it fairly responsibly and sensitively.
Albi you’re mirror
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albigensian_Crusade
I really love the way “witch hunt” has been appropriated by privileged groups to demonise any investigation of how their privilege harms other people. Because actual witch hunts were usually all about entrenched religious power structures maintaining their authority through fear and misogyny.
But I would say that as a neo-anarcho-Marxo-deconstructiono-fluffy-bunny-radical feminist-authoritarian-jiggery-pokery-noodle-head, wouldn’t I?
philologists are you’re friend ’til The Birth of Tragedy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gay_Science
Herald declares welfare numbers “swell” under Bennett:
Quote:
When it comes to the worst DPB, sickness, and invalid
benefit numbers, these have all been since 2010 and under
Paula Bennett,” Ardern said. “Interestingly, the two highest
figures for the DPB were both after the introduction of
Bennett’s welfare reforms, which mostly targeted DPB
recipients by increasing their work obligations.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10868816
Quote:
Once her new welfare reforms go through, the benefit categories we have now will be reduced down to just three: supported living, job seeker, and sole-parent support. This will essentially make it impossible to compare the impact of the welfare reforms.
Ahhh, yes! The real reason to change computer systems, stationary (how many thousands is THAT going to cost?), and confuse the already befuddled frontline staff.
The story is a jack up by socialist Cindy
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/03/welfare_numbers.html
The moment I saw this story, I had a fair idea of what the actual data would show. Yes more people on those benefits between those two dates, but not a linear pattern. Of course Jan 2009 was as the GFC was in full force, and hence job losses occurring. Also the comparison stops 12 months ago. Why?
Letâs look at the actual data, in terms of increase or decrease each year. For DPB they are
⢠2008 +2,128
⢠2009 +9,007
⢠2010 +3,576
⢠2011 +1,365
⢠2012 -5,112
I think we now understand why Jacinda left the 2012 figures off. What I donât know if why the Herald on Sunday did.
Letâs do the same with Invalidâs Benefit numbers.
⢠2008 +3,419
⢠2009 +1,537
⢠2010 +67
⢠2011 -1,062
⢠2012 -472
And for those interested in the Unemployment Benefit.
⢠2008 +7,760
⢠2009 +35,820
⢠2010 +756
⢠2011 -7,120
⢠2012 -6,217
They all show the same thing. The increase in benefit numbers started in 2008 (under Labour) and worsened in 2009 as the Global Financial Crisis struck. Despite patchy economic growth since 2009, benefit numbers in all three categories have fallen in the last two years.
It’s not the benefit numbers that bother me it’s the size of the debt National has foisted on us all.
People who work an hour a week are clearly not unemployed though, right?
đ Ok, let me put it another way. It’s not the benefit numbers that bother me, it’s the size of the debt National has foisted on us all, which requires them to change the accounting to disguise the number of people who aren’t in full-time jobs.
Government stats are joke as an indicator of anything. Stats show crime is increasing. The number of police is increased. Stats then show overall crime has reduced. The number of police is cut. So…they want overall crime to go up again. Then they’ll increase the number of police again? Fark.
You choose to highlight 2 years out 5 years of figures, hardly smart,
DPB after 4 years of National Government = +10,864,
Invalids Benefit after 4 years of National = +4489,
Unemployment benefit after 4 years of National = +30,999,
After 4 years of this National Government just in those 3 category’s of Benefits it is +46,352 more reliant on just those 3 category’s of benefit,
Hardly a victory for National and when the Official information act request comes through you will find that all of those who these figures have shown to have moved off these 3 benefits are now either being paid the same amounts ‘to train’ or industry are being paid the same amounts to ’employ’ them,
In dollar terms for this National Government then NO difference in the expenditure what-so -ever, and simply using the figures by you to trey and tell the same sort of lie that Bennett has become accustomed to…
Is Jacinda saying that she’d be better at denying people benefits than Paula has been? I wish she’d learn to think before Mallard opens her mouth.
Can some sort of legal review be held on the grounds that “… coroner Gordon Matenga declined to open an inquest into the death.”
I would like to know what policy is in place for those who are on a deployment when there is a risk of self harm?
The sergeant was not medically quailified and the fact that the soidier was checked for a weapon tells me that the soldier was known to be upset.
I knew that this was in the pipeline last year. I recommend that you take the time to read and understand what this means as it may be useful for you in your dealings with govt entities from this point.
http://wakeup-world.com/2013/02/18/all-corporations-banks-and-governments-lawfully-foreclosed-by-oppt/
You are now essentially at the start of the path to freedom and a better world.
thats an interesting PP
All talk, no commitment! http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/breaking-promises-to-children.html
a Complimentary Sunday Roast (with Wontons along-side stuffed mushrooms)
from the box-
-“razor-wire insurers”
-“tractor” drags down the taxpayer highway (now that’s funny)”
-mundane -atemporal –lapsarian = a -sensible -lunar -orbit so buckle up and get comfortable:
(Addison, The renal tourniquet Campaign is trifling)
listened to Laidlaw this am before sallying forth;
immediately after 3pm last Wed Garner announces on Radio Live (dead) that the Supreme Court decision has upheld maori claim followed truck and trailer đ by a Herald reporter squawking the same tune…
Hahahahahaha / Holey Herald on Sunday Batman, KaPow!
so mind the Kaitangata Twitch, go Beyond The Occult, Wilson, sail after The Celestine Prophecy to God and The Evolving Universe, James (it’s The Power of Diversity, Barbara, or else)
God gave you style and gave you grace, now, put a smile on your face đ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnzXIYqkqS0
One Big Love (Tyndale was an Outlaw) Wycliffe a translator
and some desert from 1 3 17
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has not pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? (does anybody here remember vera Lynn? how she said that we would meet again some sunny day…) Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue đ but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything (seed has to evolve somewhere). Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask (like the new Southern Star cycle he provided today, O Tautau’s the place to see) because we obey his commands (love the big G and your neighbour as yourself) and attempt to do what pleases him…
And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gives us (and the free lunch, very enjoyable thanks Majors).
-from the Padua of both Anthonys; Tempted? to see Pigs on The Wing! 10 Million crickets can’t be wrong by Jiminy.
There is ALWAYS a Redemption Song. I Remember You: Sebastian Bach.
Somethings going on that you know RT. Would someone plse assess?
3 March 2013
Press Release from: Westmere Heritage Protection Association
Every wondered why Auckland house prices are going crazy or why you can’t even afford to buy in?
Here is the Real Oil.
I have just spoken to my contacts in the banking system and most of the properties in the (Auckland) including the Western Bays areas Ponsonby, St Mary’s Bay, Westmere, Grey Lynn and Point Chevalier are being purchased at inflated prices by two specific groups
1) Queen Street Speculators / Investors, land banking and renting the properties at high rates waiting for intensification to be instigated by the govt or council.
2) Asian Nationals (Chinese) on work or holiday permits!
What is skewing the lack of affordability of our inner city suburbs is that both these groups are buying Cash Up Front!
Ordinary home owner can not compete.
This in turn means that these people will want to capitialise on their investments and start to build multi story buildings or units to maximise their profits.
Tight controls are needed to:
To stop this sort of speculative behaviour we need to pass laws NOW to:
a) Ensure that people are NZ citizens before they can buy (which is the law in Australia see below)
b) Your first home is exempt from any tax, all other properties are subject to capitial gains and property taxes etc.
c) The law is changed so that Heritage Protection makes our inner suburbs unattractive for Developers to decimate.
We as a group are not against intensification in Brown-Fields areas, in fact we suggest it is the best way to restore our city ruined by uncontrolled industrial sprawl.
The reason we insist that the law is changed and action taken immediately is that The National government is under the influenced of the Speculator & Developer lobby and the RMA is being changed to benefit them, making the Council impotent to protect to our neighbourhoods
We encourage the Auckland Council to take the lead and curbing inappropriate develop, protect heritage and stop council officer making decisions that benefit the Speculators & Developers lobby. Re introduce the Character coalition proposal as part of the Unitary Plan.
The Australian have strict rules around who can buy a house and where and for what purpose! why don’t we?
http://www.firb.gov.au/content/publications/buying_a_home.pdf
Regards
Lisa Prager
Co-ordinator
Westmere Heritage Protection Association
_____________________________________________________________________________
Forwarded in the public interest by Penny Bright.
So you are not against intensification unless it is in your inner-city suburb. There’s a word for that.
Not citizens penny. Permanent residents are enough. Even if you don’t meet that criteria you can still apply to purchase and it’s otter granted.
Does anyone know of website for dealing with common right wing arguments?
Something that takes an approach like http://www.skepticalscience.com/ does for climate change.
Try the Act Party website if they still have one.
I just had a look at the ACT party website and took a gander at their ‘principles’. If you didn’t know anything about them you’d almost think it sounded like a nice party! Here it is…
Principles
The principal object of the ACT Party is to promote an open, progressive and benevolent society in which individual New Zealanders are free to achieve their full potential.
To this end the ACT Party upholds the following principles:
that individuals are the rightful owners of their own lives and therefore have inherent rights and responsibilities; and
that the proper purpose of government is to protect such rights and not to assume such responsibilities.
According to our constitution, the ACT Party shall promote, develop and pursue policies and proposals which:
encourage individual choice and responsibility and the pursuit of excellence in all fields of human endeavour;
enhance living standards for all New Zealanders through sustainable economic growth and international competitiveness;
enhance choice and diversity, and raise standards of achievement in education;
ensure that all New Zealanders have access to quality health care and have security in retirement;
maintain social and economic support for those unable to help themselves and who are in genuine need of assistance;
provide for the nationâs security and the protection of individual lives and property;
explore and implement practical and innovative ways to protect the natural environment;
maintain sound economic management, including (but not limited to) a balanced government budget, price stability and a free and open market economy; and
limit the involvement of central and local government to those areas where collective action is a practical necessity.
These guys sound great!
Lol I to looked at the site to see what a party to the right had to say. I really don’t know what right wing and left wing is anymore.
You may already have seen this but here ya go:
http://deepclimate.org/2009/08/01/meet-alan-gibbs-builder-of-amphibious-humvees-and-climate-science-coalitions/
No I haven’t seen that before. It’s always nice to get fresh info on the particulars of ACT’s crookedness. Thanks, Jim.
Just in case it’s important LPrent, the timing on this site is wrong at the moment. Commenters are commenting later than the actual time, according to the time stated on the comments.
As an example – the comment above says 9.23pm. It is 9.08pm right now.
Ummm. That is a problem. The time is taken off the server time at time of insertion in the database and adjusted to timezone.
I haven’t set up a NTP client so it picks the time of a timer server. So the real time clock at the server is drifting too far. I will fix tomorrow night.
Lolz, 9.32pm to be precise, noticed that reading the post on welfare, bit of a head-scratch, check the time on the phone, wonder if it isn’t the end of daylight saving,
Hmmm them computers are messin with our time now, pretty soon they will make it feel like we don’t know what day it is,
i tho have a cunning plan, i don’t…
http://www.hbo.com/movies/game-change/index.html
Hekia Parata and John Key.
I watched the movie “Game Change” which follows John McCain’s2008 Presisential campaign from his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate to his ultimate defeat by Obama. A great movie.
Pailin and the McCain/Palin relationship have many parallels with Parata and her relationship with Key.
This morning on Radio NZ this USA woman was interesting. She has been thoughtful and politically aware since a young age. She said that she considers the USA to be a pluralism of wealthy groups not a democracy.
10-11am: Feature interview – Cisco Systems co-founder and Jane Austen expert Sandy Lerner
on the rise
Auckland house prices
Aussie climate on “steroids”