Looking forward to Labour and Mana campaigning vigorously on the issues in the Northland by-election, and their supporters serving the ‘national interest’ by voting for Winston Peters and taking Northland off National.
VOTE Winston Peters for Northland!
That’s the ‘common sense’ thing I’d do – were I a Northland voter ….
National will be legislatively ‘lame-ducked’ with only 59 MPs WHEN they lose Northland to Winston Peters.
Let’s do everything we can to help ensure that happens – if we’re genuine in our opposition to this John Key led National Government.
Well they do have other options, especially the farming community since National have chosen to ignore them and appointment a patsy candidate. I figure Peters and
ACT man Robin Goodgrief will attract their vote. And of course Willow Jean will get her share too.
Labour has the unenviable position of having their social and economic policies being STOLEN left, right and centre, by painful parasites, corrupt crooks and tricky thieves.
Little has said that the LP won’t be pulling Prime from the race, so Northlanders will certainly have the chance to vote for her. It’s whether they regard that choice as being in the best interests of the country that is the issue.
Consider that she can’t expect to pick up much of the Green vote at the moment. Best scenario would be if they voted for Peters, which would go a long way towards ensuring that the two parties could work together amicably in a future government. More likely is that they’ll stay away in droves.
Why not? Her particular world view and her beliefs would fit in well with green supporters. I am sure most of them are more concerned about having a progressive in Parliament than wondering about beltway issues.
I was a Green voter (until I got involved in the abortion that was the IMP alliance) and I would prefer to vote for Prime over Peters too (if I was enrolled in Northland). However that is not the choice.
The choice is between; NACT retaining a majority in the house with Osbourne, or their having to deal with either Dunne or the MP, and thus slightly curb their rapacity. Peters may be able to win the seat, Prime can not.
For the Greens to vote for a LP candidate after the spy committee debacle is like; the victim of domestic abuse running back to their partner because they can’t be bothered going the stress of a breakup anymore. Labour does not respect the GP, and never has; they’ve been fluttering their eyelashes at Peters for the last six years themselves.
At this point, the Greens would be better off; single and looking out for their own interests. Rather than continuing hoping Labour will change if they just try one more time.
That depends. If you believe that a slight lessening of NACT’s power over the next 2.5 years is the most important thing, then voting Peters makes sense. It’s a fair enough tactic because it’s likely that more and more pressure will go on National over DP and other fuck ups and there’s a slight chance that Dunne or the MP might get some actual ethics.
On the other hand, there’s the medium and long term view, which is that Peters is not left wing, he’s consistently opposed the formation of a govt that includes the GP, which essentially means that he is actively working against the left. Him having more power at this point is detrimental and undermines the mahi of shifting NZ left again.
“For the Greens to vote for a LP candidate after the spy committee debacle is like”
That’s an argument to not vote Labour, not an argument to vote Peters. If we’re talking about debacles, remember it’s Peters that essentially set the tone for MMP in NZ early on and we’ve never recovered from that. That tone is anti-democratic and has entrenched a power and control model that suits powermongers like Peters.
Further, there are many things about Labour that I object to as a GP voter. Should I then not support a Labour led govt in 2017? What is the alternative?
About all Labour have going for them these days is that they’re not as bad as National. You could just about trust them to manage the evacuation of a sinking ship after it’d run onto the rocks – wheras the Tories would be tearing up the decking for liferafts; to sell to the highest bidder (or really; to the lowest bidder who’d promised a lucrative consultancy once they’re back on dry land). Environment being the ship (and dry land gone forever).
But for those Green voters who can’t bring themselves to vote for either; NZF, or Labour at this time, there is one alternative to staying home on voting day:
…Norwegian company Statoil offers no jobs for Northland. In its home country of Norway 50% of all profits will go back to the Norwegian government. In New Zealand only 6% is awarded to the tax payer and not a cent of that money reaches Northland. The underlying issue here is that Northland is taking all the environmental risk and making no gains.
Rueben Taipari Porter is a fantastic candidate representing the Mana Movement and has displayed his leadership abilities in the Stop Statoil Hikoi. His campaign that will be setting the narrative on policy for this By-election while other party candidates will run their campaign based on party reputation or political experience.
+1 Pasupial
The only question here should be whether we can do something to slow NAct down for the rest of their term. I think Winnie can possibly win the seat. I don’t think he will drag Winston First over to the government benches this time, given the events in Northland that led up to this byelection. It’s a gamble, but voting for WJP is just throwing money away.
I note Little has already started saying Winnie is too old. Well, not too old to see the dangers of the Increase in Surveillance Bill and vote against it. I wish a few of the Labour team could have spines as old as Winnie’s.
Tactically a vote for Winnie is obvious for both Green and Labour voters. A Winnie win will stop reforms that will gut the RMA in their tracks for instance something the Greens would love.
But do Labour really care about the RMA?? Prove me wrong and vote tactically for Winnie please.
With any luck – but that’s only if you believe Dunne when he says that he is opposed to those; “reforms that will gut the RMA”. He might just settle for a cosmetic change in the legislation and a ministerial role.
I would far rather a ‘collective response’ Mickey. The Smart Greens have played their part by sitting this one out. It is a pity going down the throat cutting path. What slim hope of an upset win is pretty much gone now.
The way I see it at present micky is that Labour and Willow Jean Prime are in danger of coming in a distant third and being humiliated in the process. I hope it isn’t going to happen, but it’s possible given people cast their votes for different reasons in byelections. If the fancy takes them they could vote for Winston in large numbers to make some kind of statement, even though they would not dream of voting for him in a general election. That is why I suspect the ‘statistical’ figures are not much use in this byelection.
I don’t trust Winston Peters but he hates this current mob with a vengeance (and with good reason) and I can’t see him cuddling up to them in any shape or form – not any more. Also, his political career is coming to an end. At 70+, I can’t see a future ahead of him but I can imagine him wanting to indulge in a bit of utu before he finally hangs up his political hat.
The harder we can make it for this government to continue to play dirty – and emasculate the economy in the process – the sooner we can be rid of them. It has to be the top priority of the opposition parties at this point in time. Labour has no hope of ever retaining the treasury benches on it’s own. It must work as a team across the spectrum of opposition parties from left to centre-right, before there is any chance of it happening. This byelection was an opportunity to see a cooperative effort begin to emerge which would ultimately see a change of government, and set in train the desperately needed more progressive policies of Labour and the broad left.
I don’t think concessions should be one sided where there is something significant being given up. The GP aren’t really giving up much by not standing someone. Labour would be.
No-one knows what Peters will do. That’s the point.
My own thinking is that Peters will again actively work against the formation of a left wing govt and will try and either form a govt with Labour that excludes the GP and pulls Labour to centre, or National will clean house before 2017 and Peters will go with them. He sure as hell won’t say pre-election what he will do. Labour and the GP pre-election should make it clear that they are willing to work with NZF in coalition building, but that it’s NZF that is unwilling to let voters know their intentions before the electio.
Winston’s a social conservative. Now, having got that out of the way, his economic, employment and infrastructure policies are often well to the left of Labour’s.
So you’re a mind reader then? You know Peter’s intentions and plans? You might not like the man but that’s not the same thing as having insight into what his motivations are entering into this race.
Entering this debate late – having just come home from delivering a load of pamphlets for Willow-Jean (and getting caught up in the traffic jam caused by accident in Whangarei).
I don’t trust Winston either, Weka . He is too likely to be persuaded by the Nats – with a nice little bauble – to go with them and not the Opposition. This has happened in the past with Winston : he likes to play games, and tease, but underneath all that charm and smile – he is a basic National player.
And if any of you have read Andrew Little’s State of the Nation speech you will see that Labour is on the verge of change, and Willow Jean Prime will help bring about that change – for the good of the environment, the economy, the workers and people needing employment – so don’t write her off yet.
And don’t assume that Winston will do what he says he might do !!
“So you’re a mind reader then? You know Peter’s intentions and plans? You might not like the man but that’s not the same thing as having insight into what his motivations are entering into this race.”
That also doesn’t have anything to do with my comment. I haven’t said anything about Peters’ motivations (others have). I’ve talked about his behaviour to date and why I think it’s foolish to believe he is reliable.
It’s nothing to do with liking/not liking the man (like others, I find admirable things about him). It’s the cold hard fact that he will never let anyone know ahead of time what he will do. I’M not the one claiming I know his intentions, I’m saying that he never tells anyone what his intentions are. That’s one of the reasons he can’t be relied on.
Sure Labour and the GP need him as an ally. But the left should be honest about what that means, not engaging in fantasies of Peters’ being left wing. People can work/vote to increase his power, but let’s not pretend that we know what that means for the future. Let’s be honest about the risk.
+1 CR
And as a unionist I will add a couple of things I like about Peters. If there is an important industrial issue that I want raised in the House Peters will take the issue up “email me the details,” 48 hours time bingo. Where as over at camp workers party the wheels turn slow, a maybe a maybe not, a reply a no reply. Lets hope Little will sort this out. The Greens are good too and deliver, either leading questions or adding sups working with Peters in an attack. Don’t forget the opposition were woeful till Peters returned and gave some bite.
Peters was also a very good Minister when he was in Parliament…he treated senior public servants and advisers with respect and listened carefully to their research and advice….he did his background homework and asked intelligent questions…the implementation of policy was efficient and fast….I am told he was one of the best Ministers to work with
He also worked very well with Helen Clark and her Labour Government …and of late there has not been any conflict with the Greens
to b waghorn – Yep –
Labour IS giving it heaps here in the Northland electorate. We’re all out – we want to WJ to win – everyone is doing their bit for Willow-Jean – Labour MPs, Leader and activists – and none of it hits the media – but we’re going all out for W-J and Labour !
Ok, then. Any example of times where Winston has raised such issues. His previously unknown support for the workers can’t be just restricted to your industry, surely, so there must be heaps.
Well he did fight for the racing industry which was in serious trouble, 20,000 jobs there. Bit of a double edged sword tho.
You got to hand it to him, he knows how to campaign. I see tomorrow he is has his campaign bus tour from one end of the electorate to the other. He has targeted any soft votes in Willow Jeans home patch for his major launch.
Skinny, I don’t think anyone is arguing that Peters is not an astute and powerful politician. That’s not a good enough reason to vote for him in this situation.
Where as over at camp workers party the wheels turn slow, a maybe a maybe not, a reply a no reply.
Yep. I’ve known subject area experts quite trying to give Labour help and hints because too often Labour don’t give enough of a fuck to either recognise the value of what is being given to them on a plate, or can’t be organised enough to use it in anything resembling a timely manner.
Why should Winston stand down, and just leave it as Labour vs National?
I don’t think there is much reality of Labour winning Northland. It’s not that Willow Jean Prime isn’t an incredible candidate, she is. The problem is the electorate. Northland is a banjo twanging red neck Hicksville bled white from most Maori being on the Maori roll rather than the general roll. These people voted for a thick necked Police thug for Christ’s sake, book burning is recreational here.
Progress in Northland is people not burning witches when there’s an eclipse.
Bradbury works better as a humourist than a serious political commentator. But this line; regarding Labour putting in serious effort to win the seat rather than just using the byelection as a soapbox, does seem perceptive:
It’s a lot of money to spend to fight Winston who they are desperately trying to align with rather than the Greens.
I’m all for concessions, but they’re something that needs good faith on both sides. Peters doesn’t play well with others, and he can’t be trusted. It makes sense to me that Labour would want to get Prime out there, get her visible and having some more experience with electioneering etc.
btw, can anyone confirm with evidence that Peters winning would change the seat allocations in parliament?
If Winston wins the electorate, and then resigns his list seat, the next list member for NZFirst would enter Parliament.
This would bring National down to a permanent 59 seats (vs the 60 on election night). To get a majority of 61 they would therefore have to rely on 2 votes from Act, UF, Maori Party. At the moment they only need 1 vote from those parties, and Act pretty much pony up for anything required.
As useless as UF is, Dunne can sometimes extract meaningful concessions from National. Certainly National having 59 seats is 1 seat closer to having only 58 seats, where they would need to rely on Maori Party (or other party in Parliament) to pass all legislation, which will be significantly more difficult for them to achieve their right-wing agenda. They would also look a bit crass for calling an early election in such a case, because their confidence and supply agreement with MP protects them from dissolution until they get down to 55 seats – they would basically look like they were taking their toys and throwing a tantrum and refusing to operate under MMP.
Short answer: yes, if Winston wins, AND he resigns his seat, National are weaker. There would be no reason for Winston not to resign his seat, and it is perfectly and fully allowed within the rules, and has been done by other electorate winners in the past.
Thanks. That means that by-elections trump national elections, because according to the election calculator the proportion of MPs determined by the list vote at the general election remains unaffected by the scenario you describe. The only thing that changes is the number of list seats, not the number of overall seats. I guess the calculator could be wrong.
Graeme provides both a brief explanation – and a longer more detailed one in his post. The brief one is this: With the Northland by-election, we are temporarily getting a lesson in two of them:
That the rules we adopted for MMP mean the proportionality of the House of Representatives is only important after the general election, not to changes between elections.
That counter-intuitive things can happen a list MP wins a by-election (whether from the same party as the MP who has resigned, or a different one).
A full explanation follows, but the too long didn’t read for those of you here simply because someone provided you a link from twitter to clear up some confusion is:
If Winston Peters win the Northland by-election, he has the option of resigning as a New Zealand First list MP.
Any list MP who resigns is replaced by the next person on the list, In the case of New Zealand first, this is Ria Bond. Assuming Ms Bond is still a party member, and want the job, she would become a list MP, in addition to Winston becoming electorate MP for Northland.
If this happened, National’s number of MPs would stay at 59, down from the 60 they had after the election result was declared, and New Zealand First’s parliamentary strength would increase to 12.
There are good reason why we should do it another way, but there are also good reasons why it shouldn’t, and this is the way we’ve chosen to do it.
The longer explanation is also worth reading as are the comments as these raise various questions and answers which further clarify the possibilities etc.
I don’t think Winston has to resign his list seat. I believe it’s automatic, as it is in the general election. If it wasn’t automatic every MP in that position would have two votes in Parliament. What I’m not sure of is whether the next on the list has to come in. I recall the Greens had some grief around that a few years ago when they wanted to bring in someone else to fill a vacancy and the next guy on the list (Mike???) spat the dummy.
Re: the calculator, I don’t think it’s set up to take into account by-elections. What I’m pretty sure about is that the result of Winston or Willow-Jean winning is Nats less one vote, opposition one more. So to get a correct result in the calculator, you’d have to enter the Nats election night electorate number lower by one and increase the winning party’s by one (be it Lab or NZF).
“I believe it’s automatic, as it is in the general election”
It’s not automatic, but of course anyone would be stupid not to. This isn’t the general election; rules for by-election are different.
See Graeme Edgeler’s post linked to above.
“What I’m not sure of is whether the next on the list has to come in.”
The way it works, if they meet the requirements (still a party member, still meet other requirements for NZ parliament like not in prison, sane, still a citizen etc) is Parliament offers the list MP the option to take up the seat. They may say no, for example, if they’ve since gained a job they don’t want to give up, or have other family circumstances.
If they decline, it goes to the next person, so-on down the list until someone says yes, or the list is exhausted (causing the list seat to remain vacant in Parliament).
Theoretically, the party has no influence over whether the person takes the seat or not. In practice they of course do – being treated like a leper in Parliament can’t be fun.
Remember this all happened with Louisa Wall in 2011:
“After Darren Hughes resigned from Parliament in April 2011, and people higher on Labour’s list, such as Dave Hereora, Judith Tizard and Mark Burton, decided not to take up the list position, Wall was returned to Parliament as a Labour List MP serving in the 49th New Zealand Parliament.” (from Wikipedia).
“Re: the calculator, I don’t think it’s set up to take into account by-elections. What I’m pretty sure about is that the result of Winston or Willow-Jean winning is Nats less one vote, opposition one more. So to get a correct result in the calculator, you’d have to enter the Nats election night electorate number lower by one and increase the winning party’s by one (be it Lab or NZF).”
The calculator only does General Elections, not by-elections. Your suggestion wouldn’t work anyway, because it would mean (in the case where Willow won Northland at the GE) Labour would have 2 list seats instead of the current 3, and Andrew Little wouldn’t be in Parliament.
Cheers, Lanth. Graeme’s article is pretty comprehensive.
I reckon there could be a case for minor reforms to make it automatic (after all if you’re standing in a by-election you’re clearly signalling you want to be an electorate MP) and secondly, to leave it up to the party to decide who a replacement list MP should be if the occasion arises. Seems daft to have to stick to the list used at the general election if the party wants someone else later on.
A bit luke-warm on the second. Seems kind of unfair that you agree to be a list MP and go out and do campaigning for the party but only narrowly miss out at the GE. You know that you’re the next person on the list, but then when the vacancy comes up, the party can officially (and easily) choose someone else instead of you.
I think much like an employment contract, it’s a two way street – the party and the list member are both in it together.
There is another reason not to diverge from the list that was announced at the General Election.
In theory the list tells voters who will be the MPs if you vote for this party. Thus if you look at the list and decide you like the top 20 candidates you can decide you’ll vote for them. If you think they are a universally deplorable set of drongos you won’t. After the election, if the party can change their selection of members to fill the list seats, you can then discover that the people you liked when you voted for them aren’t there any more and a completely different set have taken over.
There is a funny thing that can happen if members get in via an electorate candidate winning. Suppose the party gets 4% and wins an electorate. They will get 5 MPs.
Another party also gets 4% and comes second in the electorate. They get no seats.
Then, after the Parliament is settled there is an electoral petition (at least that is what I think it is called). The Judges then decide that there was fraud or such-like and reverses the electorate winner. The first party retains its other 4 MPs, who got there off the list. The second party only gets the one who is now the electorate MP.
Incidentally it was by means of an election petition that got Winston Peters into Parliament in 1978 in Hunua.
“So to get a correct result in the calculator, you’d have to enter the Nats election night electorate number lower by one and increase the winning party’s by one (be it Lab or NZF)”
Yes, that’s exactly what I did. See my second link. Graeme Edgeler’s explanation makes sense, and I think we can assume now that the calculator is useless in by-elections.
“and has been done by other electorate winners in the past.”
I am not aware of any occasion when a list MP won an electorate seat in a by-election. When did this happen?
Indeed the possibility of this happening and Judith Tizard returning to the house was supposedly a reason why a new candidate, David Shearer got the Labour nomination for Helen Clark’s old seat.
@ Pasupial.
It was good post until the last paragraph. He spoils it with an attempt to drive a wedge between Labour and the Greens by way of an unfortunate historical election outcome. Has Labour spurned him or failed to give him enough attention?
Northland also has a history of voting for 3rd parties when they’re annoyed with NAct. I can remember Social Credit getting in at one stage. They do not vote Labour.
An historical but interesting comparison.
The results of the East Coast Bays by-election in 1980.
Social Credit Gary Knapp – 8,061 – 43.31%
National Don Brash – 7,110 – 38.20%
Labour Wyn Hoadley – 3,296 – 17.71%
Values J S Moore – 144 – 0.7%
Majority – 951 – 5.11%
In 1980, East Coast Bays was a deeply conservative electorate (it still pretty much is) not unlike the deeply conservative electorate of Northland. The predominantly white population was very upset with then PM, Rob Muldoon. He had increased the ‘toll charges’ on the bridge, and his star was waning. ( He just managed to win the 81 election by politicising the Springbok tour of that year.) They went to the booths in droves and voted for Social Credit as a statement of their displeasure. These were people who had always voted National in the past and they returned to them in 1987.
I see some parallels with the two situations and I note Labour came a very distant third. It could easily happen again.
That would be complete humiliation for Labour. This is another soapbox opportunity for Winston First. He will replay his usual fodder from the last 20 years as some sort of highlight reel, he will get enough votes to come second, just ahead of Labour, and nAtional to retain by 7500 votes in a voter turnout of 60%-70%. National are well organised in a very large electorate, and have already got poeple on the ground doing the hard yards. However, a friend suggests all is not well up North with the Nats, the deliberate snubbing of Grant McCullum (again) has some poised to make a protest vote, hence Winnies havign a go.
Mc Cullum is very popular in the Northland farming community, getting bounced again has brassed a lot of them off. I hear the party people are worried the rural folks may give voting a miss or turn to ACT’s opportunist candidate Robin Grieves.
Another candidate who you would be aware of that got the cold shoulder is Ken Rintoul. He lead a rural nz party last election called Focus NZ. He got 1,600 votes in Northland last year. Now if he stood again, and I hear his rural followers are keen for him to do so, he could well be the protest vote.
I read a bit of Focus NZ stuff, enough to remember the name. I think it was Ken Rintoul and his thinking was quite good – appealed to my common sense side. He noted enough of the government failings and absurdities to strike a point in people’s minds.
Yes their known as break away Tories. I mean the common complaint is ( anothet editorial in the Northern Advocate today) why people vote National in Northland, they get nothing out of them for their loyality.
I don’t know … I was just listening to a doco on National Radio on the move to introduce a Maori ward seat on the New Plymouth council where Winston was attacking the plan which is supported by the mayor Andrew Judd. It reminded me of how unpleasant he can be.
You know all this pissing around and navel gazing would be reduced if we simply adopted Instant-runoff voting (aka Alternative Vote) in our electorate seats and required a majority rather than a plurality.
Then everyone can run, parties can campaign properly on their policies and the local issues and you can put your support behind an alternative if your first choice doesn’t make it.
I’m beginning to think a real secure border fence between the US and Mexico is a good idea – to keep the f&*king USA out of Mexico, Central and South America. 😈
…lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice, an effect mediated through the endorsement of right-wing ideologies (social conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism) and low levels of contact with out-groups.
Hodson & Busseri 2012
My bold: only ~25% of US ‘citizens’ even have a passport, let alone travel overseas.
“The cost of implementing a new child support system has rocketed to $163 million – a blowout that dwarfs the bill for fixing the controversial Novopay school payroll system.
What a mind numbing waste of money, just think of what impact those funds would have had if actually spent on child support itself rather than a fancy computer system.
As always no one will be held to account and the consultants will all be able to buy themselves new mercedes.
imo this interview with Allan Gibbs by Wallace Chapman is a shocker…it starts off ok with references to art…hobnobbing with the likes of Ralph Hotere , visits to Cuba with artists, flirtations with socialism, the life of hippies, wife swapping … and entrepreneurship, …. and critiques of economics degree youngsters running the public service ….and ends with a Ruth Richardson adoration piece and a diatribe thunder and brimstone from the pulpit …. Old Testament morality ….shades of old Salvation Army morality….not getting your girlfriend pregnant unless you are going to marry her !…..reminded me of the 1970s…(.what about contraception and aborton….and doesnt the woman have a say?….what about issues of education ,employment for women ?…all around the world where women are educated and have jobs and contraception and abortion there is no unwanted pregnancy or over population ) scary patriarchal Old Testament stuff .
basically GIbbs is just a crazy old man, with enough money for people to pay attention to what he says
The weird bit is, its not that hard to find old people ranting about some perceived injustice or whatever – i know, i do it myself 🙂 (and im not THAT old)
At first the interview with Gibbs seemed weak with a few mild questions and prompts from Wallace Chapman allowing Gibbs to pontificate.
Then it became apparent that Gibbs was being played like a fish with Chapman baiting him until the ranting reached near fever pitch.
A perfect example of a typical card carrying ACT member.. ‘intoxicated with his wealth and inebriated by the exuberance of his own verbosity. ‘ (Apologies to Disraeli)
Lots of things to watch. The Iraqi PM says its all sweeteness and light, and that the first priority is to not harm innocents, and that Sunni tribal fighters will be shown mercy if they surrender. Bit quioeter on what happens if they don;t surrender, and what surrending would actually mean.
The Badr guy largely running the Op is framing it as revenge for previous IS war summary executions of Shia soldiers.
Reports of attacks by the militia on Sunni civilians – including accusations of mass executions – have increased in recent weeks, as they battle to retake control of towns and villages that were under Isis control… some, like the large Badr Corps, say they want to avenge the Camp Speicher massacre in Tikrit last year, in which Isis reportedly killed more than 1,500 Iraqi armed forces cadets… the volunteer fighters, who are part of the Hashd al-Shaabi (“Popular Mobilisation”) were seeking greater political influence through a victory against Isis in Tikrit…
[T]he likely destruction of the city may benefit Isis in the long run.
“If pro-government militia succeed, it will probably be after the complete destruction of the city and it will be credited to Iranian-backed militia which will further alienate Sunnis and make Isis’s hold on larger cities in Iraq and Syria even firmer,” said Hassan. “It is clearly a chance for these militia to score points and project power, which the US should keep in mind if it plans to provide air cover for these forces.”
Look at the pic in that article, that is a; Shia militia parade, but all the soldiers are wearing balaclavas or other cloth masks. It looks like a group of people who are on their way to commit a righteous cleansing, to avenge the despicable massacre perpetrated by their enemies (who will be sure to reciprocate in due course).
Yeah. There’s a lot going on. This one, from a few days ago will be making people nervous about ‘surrendering’. Ad IS have rounded up hostages from and sent them to mosul in advance. All this talk is talk. Sectrian war is same as it ever was. Kill their local leaders, deprive them of their property, rule over those who won’t leave.
But on the pics, that’s just what militia look like. The balaclavas are tactical too, makes the face less of a target in house to house combat especially.
The Badr guy largely running the Op is framing it as revenge for previous IS war summary executions of Shia soldiers.
It’s not just Hadi al-Amiri (nominally the Iraqi Minister of Transport). He’s been joined by Qassem Suleimani aka “the Shadow Commander” (the Iranian Major-General and the commander of the Quds Force – the special forces division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard primarily responsible for extraterritorial operations since 1998 and who provide support and training for most of Iran’s proxies, from Hizbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, to the Houthis in Yemen). He’s been rebuilding and reinforcing the Shia militias for the past year.
The liberation of Tikrit is underway. The city, Saddam Hussein’s home town, is on the main road to Mosul and has both military and propaganda significance. As one of the larger cities under ISIS control, it will be interesting to learn after it’s freed just how much support ISIS actually have in their conquered territories or whether the local populations are just subdued by fear.
The Baghdad govt and it’s Iranian allies don’t give many fucks about the Pentagon’s timetable. It’s like they’ve got their own plan or something, the bastards.
And on that note, read this article from ARS technica about the future of the internet.
It’s not good news. Specifically, read the 2nd page listing the 5 internet futures.
+100 Sable…interesting ‘New Scientist’ is going to help define a new method for establishing “truth”…recently ‘New Scientist’ has carried some dubious articles itself imo….eg 6 September 2014…SPECIAL REPORT ‘END OF THE NATION – The Old world order is dying. What comes next?’….and another issue carried a large feature on Bill Gates special advanced education programme using computer learning instead of teachers….Bill Gates is investing heavily into privatised Charter Schools…taking education away from state and democratic control
…in other words ‘New Scientist’ is getting into promoting right wing corporate politics
“The search engine currently relies on a system that ranks websites based on how many times the page has been linked to – which means that even fake information has a way of making it up the chain of search results.
According to a New Scientist report, the new model developed by a Google research team would count the number of incorrect facts on each website to establish a Knowledge-Based Trust score for each site – an overall rating of trustworthiness”.
( personally i prefer the wisdom of crowds for debating/establishing “truth”….who wants to be spoon fed ‘truth’ from those who think they know it all?…and usually in the pay of corporate oligarchs and political /religious right wing patriarchal dictators)
One is to train our browsers to flag information that may be suspicious or disputed. Thus, every time a claim like “vaccination leads to autism” appears in our browser, that sentence would be marked in red—perhaps, also accompanied by a pop-up window advising us to check a more authoritative source. The trick here is to come up with a database of disputed claims that itself would correspond to the latest consensus in modern science—a challenging goal that projects like “Dispute Finder” are tackling head on.
The second—and not necessarily mutually exclusive—option is to nudge search engines to take more responsibility for their index and exercise a heavier curatorial control in presenting search results for issues like “global warming” or “vaccination.” Google already has a list of search queries that send most traffic to sites that trade in pseudoscience and conspiracy theories; why not treat them differently than normal queries? Thus, whenever users are presented with search results that are likely to send them to sites run by pseudoscientists or conspiracy theorists, Google may simply display a huge red banner asking users to exercise caution and check a previously generated list of authoritative resources before making up their minds
THE internet is stuffed with garbage. Anti-vaccination websites make the front page of Google, and fact-free “news” stories spread like wildfire. Google has devised a fix – rank websites according to their truthfulness.
Google’s search engine currently uses the number of incoming links to a web page as a proxy for quality, determining where it appears in search results. So pages that many other sites link to are ranked higher. This system has brought us the search engine as we know it today, but the downside is that websites full of misinformation can rise up the rankings, if enough people link to them.
A Google research team is adapting that model to measure the trustworthiness of a page, rather than its reputation across the web. Instead of counting incoming links, the system – which is not yet live – counts the number of incorrect facts within a page. “A source that has few false facts is considered to be trustworthy,” says the team (arxiv.org/abs/1502.03519v1). The score they compute for each page is its Knowledge-Based Trust score.
The software works by tapping into the Knowledge Vault, the vast store of facts that Google has pulled off the internet. Facts the web unanimously agrees on are considered a reasonable proxy for truth. Web pages that contain contradictory information are bumped down the rankings
GlaxoSmithKline PLC scoured parent sites with text analytics software to learn more on the concerns parents have about vaccines.
The U.K. pharmaceutical company used text analytics to analyze public discussion boards on BabyCenter.com and WhattoExpect.com, to learn what factors motivate parents to either go ahead or delay vaccinating their children for diseases like measles and mumps, said Dominic Hein, executive director of the company unit that plans new vaccines. The two month project, conducted last year, collected only anonymized excerpts and topics from posts, and no user identities, the company said
Neither parents nor administrators of these sites were aware that Glaxo was monitoring their conversations, but the pharmaceutical company says it needed to learn which concerns were causing parents to delay vaccinating their children – a key factor in the rise in incidences of these childhood diseases, it said. “When you go into the public forums, that’s where this conversation is taking place,” Mr. Hein said. “And by listening to what our customers say to each other we can better understand their needs.”
There is a certain logic to NZ involvement in Iraq.
This country’s ruling elite have always been aggressive little imperialists – in fact in the late 1800s NZ had a reputation as the “little Prussia of the South Pacific”.
Sad that Andrew Little the Labour Party leader also seems to be ignorant….wish I hadn’t voted for him now…and my Labour Party membership is as soft as a rotten marshmellow …thinking abut joining the Greens
“Labour’s mistake on US bombing in Iraq”
By Keith Locke / March 2, 2015
“If Andrew Little studied the history of US bombing missions in the Middle East he would have to admit that Dunne and Norman are right……”
In the last three decades, the FDA has become increasingly dependent for its continued functioning upon user fees paid by the very drug makers it’s meant to regulate. Meanwhile, a lack of government funding for research and development has made consumers entirely dependent upon private industry for new drugs — which means that safety and efficacy standards are perennially weighed against the demands of a corporation’s bottom line
Drug makers control the data derived from the efficacy and safety studies that they fund (making the suppression of unflattering data all too easy), and have, for well over a decade now, had a government-facilitated way to communicate directly — and, again, selectively — with the public through direct to consumer advertising. Not only is the United States all but alone in the world (along with New Zealand) in permitting direct marketing of prescription drugs to consumers, it actually encourages such commercially-biased public “education” through tax breaks.
I’m sure this complex highly monied system has patients and practitioners best interests at heart through the incorruptible virtues of science, why be so concerned? /sarc
Financial ratings companies rely on fees from financial institutions for thier existence while the regulatory agencies funding is cut and staffed with insiders
Q. What could posaibly go wrong with that model in healthcare ?
The reason we have peer review is because there is no such thing as incorruptible virtue. I note that GSK were fined for marketing drugs for “unapproved uses”. I further note that the case against them was the result of whistleblowers coming forward, and also relied heavily on scientific evidence.
You might as well blame corruption on the water in the swimming pool. After all, people swim in it!
The article only deals with the process of peer review as a guide to whether a paper is worthy of immediate publication.
It takes longer than that. Publication fosters debate, time degrades generational prejudice, bias and other corruptions. For example, Gravity Probe B supports the theory of general relativity, and a quantum eraser shows that Einstein was wrong to oppose Bohr.
Could be. If the placebo effect helps someone’s condition, then it is not something I shy from. Over half the effect of any medical drug can typically be ascribed to the “placebo effect” (whatever that actually is).
Do placebos normally make that much noise? Is it like Pavlov? A secret machine that makes a large cracking sound and that relaxes the piriformis muscle?
He’s right, whether you believe it or not. What do you understand by “the scientific method”?
Science is not the people who do it. The people who do science are living in a fucked up society, just like everyone else. They have therefore thought up an imperfect framework to try and preserve science from their own baser instincts. Pharmaceutical company executives have done no such thing. They profit from giving free reign to their baser instincts and must be constrained by heavy regulation.
For those of you who want a fully linked and well documented post on the subject of NHBC and their criminal activities go to either my blog or too corp watch were I found the article on the subject.
Also I never suggested that John Key was up to his neck in this shit as I have no proof and don’t want to be taken to court for libel or other nasty stuff. Neither would I want to subject the Standard to any risks.
You at least accept you have no evidence linking John Key to this. Which I suppose is a start. However I am not seeing any link between tax evasion and derivatives either so the rest of your post is just as flimsy.
Key’s PR says he had nothing to do with it, even though he was in senior management, in the same office, at the same time as the wolves of wall street were pillaging Main St and plunging the world into the GFC
Key the man may not of been involved but key the trader or key the dodgy guy in the next office may of been it would depend on which hat he was wearing.
I do have proof that John Key was lying about his involvement with the attack on the NZ in October 1987 and was working with Andrew Krieger while doing so and that he was involved in the “new” financial products now collapsing the system. I saved the archives pieces and the paper trail proving these issues.
I send them to Eugene Bingham and the NZ Herald and called Eugene Bingham a liar and a disgrace to journalism. I hoped they would start a libel case on that bases but instead they removed all reference or five online pages of the “unauthorised” biography detailing his banking career. The attacks on currencies, being the boss of the department developing all those new products, him gallivanting around the world selling this shit to pension funds all the while knowing it would one day collapse. All gone from the mainstream media. I wonder why?
No, he threw the money changers out of the temple presinct.
Jerusalem was a major pilgrimage site (in fact this was the reason Jesus and his disciples were there for the passover). As a result there was a need for people to exchange various currencies. This is not the same as banking.
The temple presinct was a large space that was dedicated to religious tourism. Indeed it was one of the reasons Herod the Great massively expanded it. Only the temple itself and especially the holy of hollies was deemed completely sacred.
Usury was the basis for Jesus’s calling the money changers thieves: “The commerce of the world is conducted on principles as much at variance with the teachings of the master, as are the practices of a sneak thief or burglar. So the Master taught, as with whip of cords, he indignantly drove its representatives, from the sacred precincts of the Temple, denouncing them as thieves. Every well-informed mind knows that the money changers in the Temple, on that startling occasion, were at the very centre of the Jewish Banking system, and of the pitiless and grinding commerce of Palestine.”
I don’t think FJK pioneered derivatives. They have been around in various forms since ancient times. He may have been a pioneer of their misuse and giving bad advice. He’s more like a conman than a pioneer.
How does the Nactoid government make such enormous screwups?
By slashing “back office” staff who had the institutional knowledge to prevent these sort of disasters!
The same way their philosophy and policies led directly to Pike River deaths, Solid Energy failures, GFC disaster, leaky homes, the list is endless ………..
I think they all make the mistake of believing their own bullshit.
As commented above by tinfoilhat just think of what impact those funds would have had if actually spent on child support itself rather than a fancy computer system.
As always no one will be held to account and the consultants will all be able to buy themselves new mercedes.
Nactional has a real cultural problem of forcing through quick and dirty changes without proper consultation, planning or quality control. Witness Christchurch CBD, SkyCity/Nat HQ, jumping in to Iraq, and any number of their rushed half-arsed projects and obnoxious legislation.
Not to mention that one of the amendments to the Child support act and the calculators is to exclude mony in trusts and companies ( although they are included for such things as working for families) so that they do not go into the calculation. So wealthy people can continue to hide money from their kids in trust and companies and the rest of us wind up paying. I’d like to see that one voted down in parliament.
and the blow out is about 3 times the annual child support collected.
Former UK diplomat: western media propaganda over Nemtsov assassination
Dr William Mallinson PhD speaks to Russia Today:
RT: How come most of what we are hearing from Western media is directed against Vladimir Putin while the probe is barely two days old?
WM: Exactly, such headlines…can’t be credible. That is clear propagandistic bias. Then interviewing people like [former Georgian President Mikhail] Saakashvili who has been an international playboy now I think proves that. The most serious thing which I must say, I noticed that he [Nemtsov] doesn’t appear to have a bodyguard. He therefore did not consider his life to be under any serious threat and he was therefore a soft target. I haven’t seen that mentioned anywhere. Another thing I should mention is what I call a “Becket syndrome” when Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. That was by some enraged people who thought that they would please their boss Henry II. But in fact he was furious about it and made similar statements.
NB Russia Today is (well) funded by the Russian Government.
Funnily enough a correspondant on Morning Report today suggested something very similar in that he thought that Putin wasn’t behind the assasination as it didn’t suit him to get rid of this person in such a blatent manner. The correspondant agreed that he has encouraged a political environment where people are likely to take matters in to their own hands.
That’s about right; not only are murder rates the highest in Europe, corruption is rife in Russia and corrupt officials or jilted business associates could easily have been involved in the killing. The smooth audacity of it just outside the walls of the Kremlin leads one to think it was a professional hit. And the young woman he was walking with survived without a scratch. Very unusual.
And he was thinking of getting a taxi, but she wanted to walk across the bridge.
They shot him in the back so he never got to see the whites of their eyes, and neither did she. But what a convenient choice to perambulate, for the purpose eh? And an ambulance ride after.
She also said on Russian TV that she was walking in front of him and didn’t see anything about the shooting or the shooter.
I agree with your implication however – the killers knew that he was going to be at that location at that time. You don’t shoot someone just outside the Kremlin walls on happenchance.
I think western governments need to rapidly ramp up defence spending in light of the new ‘Russia threat’ and Putin’s “volatility”. Whoops answered your question.
Actually a pretty good summary of the basics of how it operates.
I don’t like the personal attacks because that is what drives authors from writing posts. It tends to be like doing a thesis or a program. If people have been having a go at you then any distraction will stop you. Sometimes you just give up.
But you can have a go at what they write. Generally that just encourages them to write more effectively next time.
You will note that when I have to intervene, I try to ensure that the commenter causing me the aggravation gets exactly the same kind of in your face unfair crap that they have been handing out. I find that this dissuades them from wanting to write that way again as well. Unfortunately they seldom seem to get the irony.
PG’s nactoid mates are over at YawnNZ helping to reinforce his confirmation bias and martyr complex.
“TS is teh suck bro!” “ya bro they is all rude and stuff” etc.
at least “redelusion” makes a slight effort to see what those mad Lefties are raving about (and share his/her dubious wisdom). PG’s cronies are too bigoted and lazy to make any effort whatsoever, or have an original thought.
It’s good to see Greypower behaving responsibly and giving thought and taking part in public policy discussion and action on matters affecting all NZs. This link is on getting better public transport around Auckland on the front desk and putting on the bac desk, autobans and flash new roads. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11410925
edited
Rachel Stewart asks whether Little and Labour will make the paradigm shift required to create jobs that work in a sustainable future.
What’s missing though is that the world is changing all around them, and us. The “economy and jobs” he purports to maintain are in dire need of a paradigm shift, and quickly.
Little’s union credentials are central to the conviction of maintaining jobs at any cost. That’s what unions are for. They do good work. We need them now more than ever. I don’t deviate on this point.
Where we do part company is in his refrain of keeping jobs at any cost. For example, is the ongoing employment prospects of oil riggers, miners, or anyone else involved in the extractivism field worth it given we know fossil fuels must be immediately ditched for our species to have any chance of survival?
What is his, and Labour’s, vision for a sustainable future? Is it really any different from National’s? Or is it just an outdated modus operandi that’s always worked for them in the past? I haven’t seen anything to get excited about yet.
All I know is the world’s changing fast, and in more ways than one.
The political climate needs to change as fast as the planet’s climate is.
I’m provisionally supportive as long as its applied to local body elections, and is accompanied by serious effort at education and outreach eg civics classes in schools, free civics classes for adults, much better access to how our political processes work etc. It would need to be promoted in ways that enabled people to engage where they want to, otherwise it’s just a stick.
I have a problem with compulsory voting. It generally means fines having to be paid by those that can least afford to pay them – the disaffected, the dispossessed, the disenchanted, and the disenfranchised. From my understanding of the Australian system, its mandatory to turn up to a polling booth but there is no requirement to actually vote.
The main argument for mandatory voting appears to be that it will increase the level of participation by the the disaffected, the dispossessed, the disenchanted, and the disenfranchised so that their views will filter through into policy decisions and make for a stronger democracy.
I have yet to see that happening in Australia which continues to have a significant minority of the disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised especially amongst aboriginal peoples. Australia is regarded as one of the most racist countries in the world so hardly a model of virtue for us to follow in terms of democracy.
Adele, bugger all Aussies get fined and the fines are small, from memory, $20-200 depending on the circ’s. Only a small percentage get prosecuted and it’s usually political activists with an axe to grind who have publicised their refusal to vote.
$20 is actually a lot to someone who doesn’t have any money. But regardless of the amount of the fine why do those who espouse a war on poverty readily endorse a punitive regime which just creates more crap for poor people to contend with.
We are also basically saying to the disaffected, the dispossessed, the disenchanted, and the disenfranchised that they are to blame for the failure of democracy. I rather think that democracy has failed them.
Seriously? In the modern world it is ridiculously easy to register and a matter of minutes to vote. It’s not a poverty issue. Should we also make registering cars optional? Dogs? Voting is no harder than those compulsory things and a lot cheaper.
Weird how you think democracy is just more crap. Should it be restricted to just the middle class and above?
I live in the Eastern Bay of Plenty which has a deprivation index of 10, alongside Northland. People live without power here, so getting “online” is a really big issue for some. They also drive warrant-less and unregistered cars, and have unregistered dogs.
And yes, people much like you, with no understanding of how the other half live, continue to view them as dysfunctional and stupid people. Do fines change behaviour? No, they simply extract $5 a week from a benefit.
There is a huge cohort of people that cannot engage with the modern world because the modern world is far too expensive, exclusive, white, and populated by the ignorant, arrogant and mean spirited.
My point is, if we want to improve voting, give them something to vote for. Don’t immediately resort to creating another law which will most likely punish only those at the sharp end of a sanctimonious rod.
What a load of pompous tosh, Adele. Your patronising attitude toward the poor, suggesting they are incapable of even getting registered let alone voting is hopelessly bourgeois. They actually have plenty of disadvantaged people in Oz too, y’know, but they’ve made it work.
But keep on telling yourself you know best. The poor can keep themselves protected from the chill this winter by snuggling up to the warm glow of your smugness.
The only pompous tosser in this conversation is you. I suppose your idea of a poor person is someone that can’t afford a holiday to Hawaii.
They actually have plenty of disadvantaged people in Oz too, y’know, but they’ve made it work.)
Yes, we have some of those people here too. Paula Bennett and John Key readily spring to mind.
You are such an ideologue that you’d happily piss on the dignity of the disaffected, the dispossessed, the disenchanted, and the disenfranchised – all for their own good, of course.
Its your type of thinking that is killing any good notion of democracy. Bashing the minority over the head with your moral rigidity and rectitude – all for their own good, of course.
I thoroughly recommend that you pack your rectitude in a leak proof nappy and visit firsthand how mandatory voting works for aboriginal peoples in Australia. Go to the back-blocks and preach to them how they can “make it work.”
Adele, you’re are talking absolute bollocks. Middle class know it alls like you are despised by the people you talk down to. People can and do make up their own mind about whether to vote no matter what pseudo intellectuals like you think their situation is and what their response should be.
As for Koori culture, I’ve lived it. I know a fair bit about it from having lived in their communities in both urban areas and the bush. That includes a relationship with someone most white Aussies wouldn’t even share a table with. That doesn’t mean I have a right to speak for them, but it sure as hell gives me more insight than you’ve shown on this thread.
Your ignorance is matched only by your superciliousness. Get your head out of your arse.
As for Koori culture, I’ve lived it. I know a fair bit about it from having lived in their communities in both urban areas and the bush. That includes a relationship with someone most white Aussies wouldn’t even share a table with.
I would have been more impressed if you had simply said, “I know what its like to be disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised as I regularly volunteer at the local soup kitchen once a month.”
Instead, you drag a relationship with an aboriginal woman into the limelight as a beacon of light onto your virtuous nature and innate understanding of their circumstances. That is hugely disrespectful to her.
And by doing so you are implying that your knowledge is tainted with expertise on aboriginal matters. A Tui moment..
That doesn’t mean I have a right to speak for them, but it sure as hell gives me more insight than you’ve shown on this thread.
It gives you no such insight as you still come across as profoundly ignorant. Within my worldview there are non-Maori who have lived amongst us mai rānō, yet they still remain as ignorant as Cook, on the day that he landed.
It also beggars belief that you can live amongst peoples so wounded by legislation and regulation and yet still say that “it works for them.”
Yeah, more middle class bullshit, Adele. You clearly haven’t got a clue what its like to be disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised, but you don’t mind being patronising about it. I guess you’re not going to take your head out of your arse because you admire the view.
Perhaps if we could include in the voting – a “None of the above” option. Those who are not represented can meet their civic requirement without having to officially support a party that is not representing them.
Like you, would not like to see the coercion of a between a rock and a hard place in terms of voting choices, or a punitive consequence for those already vulnerable and hurting.
Yeah, more middle class bullshit, Adele. You clearly haven’t got a clue what its like to be disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised, but you don’t mind being patronising about it. I guess you’re not going to take your head out of your arse because you admire the view.
Again, you are showing your profound ignorance. If I am middle class what does that make you? Landed gentry? However, I won’t resort to your tactic of pulling an aborigine out of a hat to prove that “I really do know what I am talking about”
By and large, Māori, predominantly, are the disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised minority in this society.
I am Ngāti Awa. We had our lands confiscated in 1866, something like 245,000 acres. The economic base that we had established for ourselves was completely destroyed due to land loss and deliberate destruction by Crown forces.
Our people were robbed and left landless, homeless and in poverty. Many still exist today in this oasis of bleakness. And everyday we bear witness to our disenfranchisement and dispossession when walking, driving, or being towed past, the flash homes built on stolen coast lands.
But by your reckoning mandatory voting will make everything sweet again. True democracy will reign supreme. Te Tiriti o Waitangi will drive legislative changes. Indefeasibility of Title will be overturned. And Stolen lands will be returned.
I would offer another Tui but the beers of choice here are Lion Red and Waikato. And my arse does in fact have a very nice view as it is sitting on the whenua of my whakapapa. I am indeed privileged in that respect.
Heart Foundation head of marketing Vanessa Winning said employees and volunteers were upset the billboard has been used for political protest.
“It’s really disappointing that a charity is being targeted to score political points,” she said.
“I find it unthinkable that someone would vandalise our billboard, and consequently mock a seriously crippling disease, just to make a political statement.”
The left back up to its usuall tricks again
[lprent: Haven’t I seen you in previous comments in years past complaining about the left’s “lack of humour” when those scallywags of the right attacked Helen, Cunliffe, Turei, and just about everyone else for things like signing paintings for charity.
Yet here you whine about something that is genuinely funny, probably pretty difficult to do, and you whining for what are transparently simple political motives.
Go figure. Just another hypocrite? Or have I confused you with someone else?
Why would they get fewer donations? I thought everyone in NZ loved John Key and therefore a billboard with his picture on it will surely result in more donations?
How do we know that it wasn’t Key himself who plastered his face up there?
This is free election advertising! Will Key stop at nothing to spread his personality cult!?
considering that Dear Leader cut funds for the Obesity Action Foundation in 2009 to 0 this billboard is actually very acurate.
Quote from our favority stenographers the Herald:
The Government has lopped another limb off Labour’s “bureaucratic” public health tree, ending state funding for the Obesity Action Coalition.
The coalition, created under Labour in 2003 to promote measures to reduce obesity, confirmed yesterday it would close within months of its state contract ending on June 30, unless it could find new sources of cash.
This follows National’s permission to schools in February to resume regular sales of unhealthy foods and drinks, overturning a rule introduced last year by Labour. The new Government is also scrapping the roles of district health board staff who helped schools and early childhood centres implement the healthy food and drink guidelines underpinning the Labour rule. Quote end.
Quote: The Health Ministry is the main source of income for the Obesity Action Coalition, which represents more than 70 organisations, including the National Heart Foundation and the Cancer Society. Quote end.
Starts tomorrow – be amazed, be proud, be there – if you can
Te Matatini Kapa Haka Aotearoa and Waitaha rohe are proud to present Te Matatini 2015 – Christchurch.
Every two years, Te Matatini organises the Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival, where top kapa haka teams from New Zealand and Australia compete for the honour of being crowned the best of the best. The festival started in 1972 and is now the world’s largest celebration of Māori traditional performing arts, attracting over 30,000 performers, supporters and visitors.
The festival is a whānau friendly, smoke, alcohol and drug free event. It is an opportunity for all people, regardless of culture, background or age to come together, to share and celebrate the richness of Māori culture.
Over four days audiences can witness the best kapa haka in the world, taste Māori and local southern delicacies, shop for Māori arts and crafts and experience cultural exhibitions and workshops.
We invite you to come celebrate the 22nd Te Matatini festival and experience the power and grace of kapa haka.
Wimpo Key does it again from guts and glory to “I dont think tourists should have their Keys taken by another driver” he forgot to qualify his position that the incident was directed by the police for it to be done
How you going to slip out of that one Key? whose fault is it now? got you
Well, there’s a process to go through, but there does seem to be a pretty good case that he had absolutely nothing to do with it (and that between unrecorded conversations,, 14th-hour “confessions”, and paid witness testimony, he should never even have been charged). That, and the actual murderer was found, usually acted alone, and was in an opposing gang so they were hardly likely to be buddies.
Great. I don’t see how they could have done anything else. This episode shows that we still need the Privy Council because we can’t get over our own systemic racism.
In a just world, the cops who I believe fitted him up should go to jail. I know he made it easy for them, but the prevailing attitude at the Otahuhu Station was that two people getting done for a one man crime was better than only one getting done, and three would be even better. They would have creamed their knickers when they saw how suggestible he was. They played him like a fiddle.
As for Malcolm Rewa, my understanding is that he was a police informant and not a lot of effort was put into trying to apprehend him as long as he kept informing on his mates. I suspect that more than a few women got raped and Susan Burdett was raped and killed because a free Rewa was useful to the police. This was negligence of the first order and heads should roll. In fact, I think we need a Royal Commission into how so many unsafe convictions were entered in the last 30 years.
I also think we should have a prosecutions service independent of the police and our magistrates should be inquisitorial rather than just choosing between two sets of lies. We need to do a lot better, especially when we look at what some cops and ex cops have been getting up to.
Kia kaha, Teina Pora. May we stop such injustice from happening again.
Good to see the incompetent and complete waste of time training Iraqi army with pro Sunni tribes and Shia militias working together to thow isis nut jobs out of tikrit. Only a week ago on this site this would never happen and training and supporting Iraq to free themselves of this inhuman cult was a complete waste of time to the so enlightened on this site. Boy I am glad you guys can get your rocks off here in virtual reality and are nobodies in the real world
You little stupid chicken hawk chicken shit head, you just defeated your own point. If What you are saying is true then clearly NZ is not needed in the area to defeat ISIS, we are being lied to, so why the fuck are we going.
I am glad you have the guts to save us Redelusion. Have you seen American Sniper yet? It will be so cool to go back to Iraq and blow away the ragheads!! Rah rah #teamkey we want drones, bombs, and blood spatters all over the Middle East.
Iran took a leading role in the Iraqi military’s largest offensive yet to reclaim territory from Islamic State, throwing drones, heavy weaponry and ground forces into the battle while the U.S. remained on the sidelines.
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The 119th Congress comes with a price tag. The oil and gas industry gave about $24 million in campaign contributions to the members of the U.S. House and Senate expected to be sworn in January 3, 2025, according to a ...
Early morning, the shadows still long, but you can already feel the warmth building. Our motel was across the road from the historic homestead where Henry Williams' family lived. The evening before, we wandered around the gardens, reading the plaques and enjoying the close proximity to the history of the ...
Thanks folks for your feedback, votes and comments this week. I’ll be making the changes soon. Appreciate all your emails, comments and subscriptions too. I know your time is valuable - muchas gracias.A lot is happening both here and around the world - so I want to provide a snippets ...
Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 ...
The December labour market statistics have been released, showing yet another increase in unemployment. There are now 156,000 unemployed - 34,000 more than when National took office. And having thrown all these people out of work, National is doubling down on cruelty. Because being vicious will somehow magically create the ...
Boarded up homes in Kilbirnie, where work on a planned development was halted. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 5 are;Housing Minister Chris Bishop yesterday announcedKāinga Ora would be stripped of ...
This week Kiwirail and Auckland Transport were celebrating the completion of the summer rail works that had the network shut or for over a month and the start of electric trains to Pukekohe. First up, here’s parts of the press release about the shutdown works. Passengers boarding trains in Auckland ...
Through its austerity measures, the coalition government has engineered a rise in unemployment in order to reduce inflation while – simultaneously – cracking down harder and harder on the people thrown out of work by its own policies. To that end, Social Development Minister Louise Upston this week added two ...
This year, we've seen a radical, white supremacist government ignoring its Tiriti obligations, refusing to consult with Māori, and even trying to legislatively abrogate te Tiriti o Waitangi. When it was criticised by the Waitangi Tribunal, the government sabotaged that body, replacing its legal and historical experts with corporate shills, ...
Poor old democracy, it really is in a sorry state. It would be easy to put all the blame on the vandals and tyrants presently trashing the White House, but this has been years in the making. It begins with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and the spirit of Gordon ...
The new school lunches came in this week, and they were absolutely scrumptious.I had some, and even though Connor said his tasted like “stodge” and gave him a sore tummy, I myself loved it!Look at the photos - I knew Mr Seymour wouldn’t lie when he told us last year:"It ...
The tighter sanctions are modelled on ones used in Britain, which did push people off ‘the dole’, but didn’t increase the number of workers, and which evidence has repeatedly shown don’t work. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, ...
Catching you up on the morning’s global news and a quick look at the parallels -GLOBALTariffs are backSharemarkets in the US, UK and Europe have “plunged” in response to Trump’s tariffs. And while Mexico has won a one month reprieve, Canada and China will see their respective 25% and 10% ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission. Gondolas are often in the news, with manufacturers of ropeway systems proposing them as a modern option for mass transit systems in New Zealand. However, like every next big thing in transport, it’s hard ...
This is a re-post from The Climate BrinkBoth 2023 and 2024 were exceptionally warm years, at just below and above 1.5C relative to preindustrial in the WMO composite of surface temperature records, respectively. While we are still working to assess the full set of drivers of this warmth, it is clear that ...
Hi,I woke up feeling nervous this morning, realising that this weekend Flightless Bird is going to do it’s first ever live show. We’re heading to a sold out (!) show in Seattle to test the format out in front of an audience. If it works, we’ll do more. I want ...
From the United-For-Now States of America comes the thrilling news that a New Zealander may be at the very heart of the current coup. Punching above our weight on the world stage once more! Wait, you may be asking, what New Zealander? I speak of Peter Thiel, made street legal ...
Even Stevens: Over the 33 years between 1990 and 2023 (and allowing for the aberrant 2020 result) the average level of support enjoyed by the Left and Right blocs, at roughly 44.5 percent each, turns out to be, as near as dammit, identical.WORLDWIDE, THE PARTIES of the Left are presented ...
Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
The PSA have released a survey of 4000 public service workers showing that budget cuts are taking a toll on the wellbeing of public servants and risking the delivery of essential services to New Zealanders. Economists predict that figures released this week will show continued increases in unemployment, potentially reaching ...
The Prime Minister’s speech 10 days or so ago kicked off a flurry of commentary. No one much anywhere near the mainstream (ie excluding Greens supporters) questioned the rhetoric. New Zealand has done woefully poorly on productivity for a long time and we really need better outcomes, and the sorts ...
President Trump on the day he announced tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China, unleashing a shock to supply chains globally that is expected to slow economic growth and increase inflation for most large economies. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 9 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 3Politics: New Zealand Government cabinet meeting usually held early afternoon with post-cabinet news conference possible at 4 pm, although they have not been ...
Trump being Trump, it won’t come as a shock to find that he regards a strong US currency (bolstered by high tariffs on everything made by foreigners) as a sign of America’s virility, and its ability to kick sand in the face of the world. Reality is a tad more ...
A listing of 24 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, January 26, 2025 thru Sat, February 1, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
What seems to be the common theme in the US, NZ, Argentina and places like Italy under their respective rightwing governments is what I think of as “the politics of cruelty.” Hate-mongering, callous indifference in social policy-making, corporate toadying, political bullying, intimidation and punching down on the most vulnerable with ...
If you are confused, check with the sunCarry a compass to help you alongYour feet are going to be on the groundYour head is there to move you aroundSo, stand in the place where you liveSongwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck.Hot in the CityYesterday, ...
Shane Jones announced today he would be contracting out his thinking to a smarter younger person.Reclining on his chaise longue with a mouth full of oysters and Kina he told reporters:Clearly I have become a has-been, a palimpsest, an epigone, a bloviating fossil. I find myself saying such things as: ...
Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By A J Brown, Professor of Public Policy & Law, Centre for Governance & Public Policy, Griffith University Australia has turned the corner on its decade-long slide on Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), once again ranking in the top ten least ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Bridges, Senior Lecturer in Public Relations and Director of Academic Program – Communication, Creative Industries, Screen Media, Western Sydney University Stock Rocket/Shutterstock For new parents struggling with challenges such as breastfeeding and sleep deprivation, social media can be a great ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Scott French, Senior Lecturer in Economics, UNSW Sydney US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have stated an exemption for Australia from Trump’s executive order placing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imported into the US is “under consideration”. ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon's attempts to turn the tables back on the Opposition at Question Time today went down like a lead balloon, Jo Moir writes. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenton Griffin, Casual Lecturer and Tutor in History, Indigenous Studies, and Politics, Flinders University American Primeval/Netflix On January 24, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormon Church, penned a statement condemning the ...
It comes as Whangārei District Council is under fire from the Director General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati after it voted in December against adding fluoridation to the water. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Strangio, Emeritus Professor of Politics, Monash University Is history repeating itself in Labor’s fortress state of Victoria? At the 1990 federal election, Bob Hawke’s Labor government had a near-death experience when it lost nine seats in Victoria. A furious Hawke laid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nissen, HERA Program Director – Health Workforce Optimisation Centre for the Business & Economics of Health, The University of Queensland Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock If you’ve tried to get an appointment to see a GP or specialist recently, you will likely have felt ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peta Ashworth, Professor and Director, Curtin Institute for Energy Transition, Curtin University Large power grids are among the most complicated machines humans have ever devised. Different generators produce power at various times and at various costs. A generator might fail and another ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Orr, Veterinarian, Southern Cross University Mitchell Orr/Unsplash Late last year, rumours swirled online that HomeSafeID, a private Australian pet microchip registry, had stopped operating. On Feburary 5 2025, a notice appeared on the HomeSafeID website, ostensibly from the site’s ...
The government is taking far too long to allocate the 1500 social homes it announced nine months ago and the hold up is stalling desperately-needed homes, says a community housing provider. ...
The agency is setting a 12-week limit on how much rent debt a tenant can accumulate as part of a change in approach that will also see almost half of the outstanding dept wiped away. ...
The media is rife with headlines about people killing animals for kicks. Please don’t.In memory of an Auckland swan, a Bay of Plenty octopus and a Taranaki striped marlin.Imagine this. It’s 7.15am. You’re paddling around on a serene lake with your sweetheart. It seems likely that she’ll give ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra US President Donald Trump has agreed to “consider” exempting Australia from the 25% tariff he has imposed on imports of steel and aluminium to the US. Trump gave the undertaking during a wide-ranging 40-minute ...
Pacific Media Watch Israeli police have confiscated hundreds of books with Palestinian titles or flags without understanding their contents in a draconian raid on a Palestinian educational bookshop in occupied East Jerusalem, say eyewitnesses. More details have emerged on the Israeli police raid on a popular bookstore in occupied East ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist China and the Cook Islands’ relationship “should not be disrupted or restrained by any third party”, says Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, as opposition leaders in Rarotonga express a loss of confidence in Prime Minister Mark Brown. In response to questions from the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Ogden, Associate Professor in Global Studies, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Donald Trump is moving rapidly to change the contours of contemporary international affairs, with the old US-dominated world order breaking down into a multipolar one with many centres of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Data Analytics, The University of Western Australia In the recent Border-Gavaskar series against India, Steve Smith agonisingly missed out reaching 10,000 Test runs in front of his home crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground, falling short by ...
In a brand new documentary series for The Spinoff, comedians and best friends Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester embark on a cross-country quest to find love. Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club is a brand new documentary series for The Spinoff following award-winning comedians and friends Brynley Stent and ...
🚐 Bryn and Ku pack their bags and swap the bleak dating scene of Tāmaki Makaurau for some meet and mingle events in Ōtautahi that will take them out of their comfort zone. ❣️ Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club follows comedians Brynley Stent and Kura Forrester as they head out ...
"The relationship between China and the Cook Islands does not target any third party," the Chinese Foreign Ministry says, as opposition leaders in Rarotonga plan protest. ...
From tradwives to ‘petite blonde’ preferences, this season feels like a throwback for all the wrong reasons, writes Alex Casey. First of all: I know. Complaining about bad stuff on Married at First Sight Australia is like complaining that water is wet. But I’ve been bobbing around in these waters ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a public servant who’s ‘trying to get better’ explains her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female. Age: 24. Ethnicity: Pākehā and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zena Assaad, Senior Lecturer, School of Engineering, Australian National University Ziv Lavi/Shutterstock Last week, Google quietly abandoned a long-standing commitment to not use artificial intelligence (AI) technology in weapons or surveillance. In an update to its AI principles, which were first ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brenainn Simpson, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Florian Nimsdorf / Shutterstock About 400 kilometres northwest of Sydney, just south of Dubbo, lies a large and interesting body of rock formed around 215 million years ago by erupting volcanoes. Known as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mareike Riedel, Senior lecturer in law, Macquarie University The dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents has dominated headlines in Australia in recent months, with calls for urgent action to address what many are calling a crisis. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane McAdam, Scientia Professor and ARC Laureate Fellow, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney For a long time, it seemed refugee law had little relevance to people fleeing the impacts of climate change and disasters. Nearly 30 years ago, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maggie Kirkman, Senior Research Fellow, Global and Women’s Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock You’ve heard of the gender pay gap. What about the gap in medical care? Cardiovascular diseases – which can lead to heart ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Iain White, Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato Getty Images Urban planning has a long history of promoting visionary ideas that advocate for particular futures. The most recent is the concept of the 15-minute city, which has gained traction globally. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Associate Professor in Climate Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, The University of Melbourne Earth is crossing the threshold of 1.5°C of global warming, according to two major global studies which together suggest the planet’s climate has ...
As support for the coalition dips, the PM and his soon-to-be-deputy have engaged in a public war of words. Stewart Sowman-Lund has the details in today’s edition of The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Support slips If there was ever a political honeymoon, or ...
Looking forward to Labour and Mana campaigning vigorously on the issues in the Northland by-election, and their supporters serving the ‘national interest’ by voting for Winston Peters and taking Northland off National.
VOTE Winston Peters for Northland!
That’s the ‘common sense’ thing I’d do – were I a Northland voter ….
National will be legislatively ‘lame-ducked’ with only 59 MPs WHEN they lose Northland to Winston Peters.
Let’s do everything we can to help ensure that happens – if we’re genuine in our opposition to this John Key led National Government.
Who is the MAIN political ‘enemy’ here?
Penny Bright
Do Northlanders get to vote for a non-awful politician at all? Like Willow-Jean Prime?
Well they do have other options, especially the farming community since National have chosen to ignore them and appointment a patsy candidate. I figure Peters and
ACT man Robin Goodgrief will attract their vote. And of course Willow Jean will get her share too.
Labour has the unenviable position of having their social and economic policies being STOLEN left, right and centre, by painful parasites, corrupt crooks and tricky thieves.
DPG
Little has said that the LP won’t be pulling Prime from the race, so Northlanders will certainly have the chance to vote for her. It’s whether they regard that choice as being in the best interests of the country that is the issue.
Consider that she can’t expect to pick up much of the Green vote at the moment. Best scenario would be if they voted for Peters, which would go a long way towards ensuring that the two parties could work together amicably in a future government. More likely is that they’ll stay away in droves.
Why not? Her particular world view and her beliefs would fit in well with green supporters. I am sure most of them are more concerned about having a progressive in Parliament than wondering about beltway issues.
I agree. I’m a Green voter and I’d vote Prime over Peters.
Weka
I was a Green voter (until I got involved in the abortion that was the IMP alliance) and I would prefer to vote for Prime over Peters too (if I was enrolled in Northland). However that is not the choice.
The choice is between; NACT retaining a majority in the house with Osbourne, or their having to deal with either Dunne or the MP, and thus slightly curb their rapacity. Peters may be able to win the seat, Prime can not.
For the Greens to vote for a LP candidate after the spy committee debacle is like; the victim of domestic abuse running back to their partner because they can’t be bothered going the stress of a breakup anymore. Labour does not respect the GP, and never has; they’ve been fluttering their eyelashes at Peters for the last six years themselves.
At this point, the Greens would be better off; single and looking out for their own interests. Rather than continuing hoping Labour will change if they just try one more time.
“However that is not the choice”
That depends. If you believe that a slight lessening of NACT’s power over the next 2.5 years is the most important thing, then voting Peters makes sense. It’s a fair enough tactic because it’s likely that more and more pressure will go on National over DP and other fuck ups and there’s a slight chance that Dunne or the MP might get some actual ethics.
On the other hand, there’s the medium and long term view, which is that Peters is not left wing, he’s consistently opposed the formation of a govt that includes the GP, which essentially means that he is actively working against the left. Him having more power at this point is detrimental and undermines the mahi of shifting NZ left again.
“For the Greens to vote for a LP candidate after the spy committee debacle is like”
That’s an argument to not vote Labour, not an argument to vote Peters. If we’re talking about debacles, remember it’s Peters that essentially set the tone for MMP in NZ early on and we’ve never recovered from that. That tone is anti-democratic and has entrenched a power and control model that suits powermongers like Peters.
Further, there are many things about Labour that I object to as a GP voter. Should I then not support a Labour led govt in 2017? What is the alternative?
Weka
About all Labour have going for them these days is that they’re not as bad as National. You could just about trust them to manage the evacuation of a sinking ship after it’d run onto the rocks – wheras the Tories would be tearing up the decking for liferafts; to sell to the highest bidder (or really; to the lowest bidder who’d promised a lucrative consultancy once they’re back on dry land). Environment being the ship (and dry land gone forever).
But for those Green voters who can’t bring themselves to vote for either; NZF, or Labour at this time, there is one alternative to staying home on voting day:
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/03/03/guest-blog-joe-trinder-porter-confirmed-as-candidate-for-by-election/#sthash.pEhr62WM.dpuf
If what you say is true, how is a strong Peters going to help in 2017?
“Rueben Taipari Porter is a fantastic candidate representing the Mana Movement”
But a wasted vote nevertheless in reality and indirectly helping the Nats although in a small way!
“a slight chance that Dunne or the MP might get some actual ethics”
Forget that. Power, position, ego, money and baubles are as powerful, if not more powerful, than sex.
It takes people of courage, honour and integrity to to be ‘true to themselves’ and do ‘the right thing’.
At the moment, I can only think of Marilyn Waring, Jim Anderton and Winston Peters in that honourable club of guts.
+1 Pasupial
The only question here should be whether we can do something to slow NAct down for the rest of their term. I think Winnie can possibly win the seat. I don’t think he will drag Winston First over to the government benches this time, given the events in Northland that led up to this byelection. It’s a gamble, but voting for WJP is just throwing money away.
I note Little has already started saying Winnie is too old. Well, not too old to see the dangers of the Increase in Surveillance Bill and vote against it. I wish a few of the Labour team could have spines as old as Winnie’s.
Tactically a vote for Winnie is obvious for both Green and Labour voters. A Winnie win will stop reforms that will gut the RMA in their tracks for instance something the Greens would love.
But do Labour really care about the RMA?? Prove me wrong and vote tactically for Winnie please.
With any luck – but that’s only if you believe Dunne when he says that he is opposed to those; “reforms that will gut the RMA”. He might just settle for a cosmetic change in the legislation and a ministerial role.
Very good look at the voters position in the Vote for Northland lets hope everyone reads it
I would far rather a ‘collective response’ Mickey. The Smart Greens have played their part by sitting this one out. It is a pity going down the throat cutting path. What slim hope of an upset win is pretty much gone now.
Im not too sure about WJP’s left wing credentials? What was her record on the FNDC? Anyone know?
The way I see it at present micky is that Labour and Willow Jean Prime are in danger of coming in a distant third and being humiliated in the process. I hope it isn’t going to happen, but it’s possible given people cast their votes for different reasons in byelections. If the fancy takes them they could vote for Winston in large numbers to make some kind of statement, even though they would not dream of voting for him in a general election. That is why I suspect the ‘statistical’ figures are not much use in this byelection.
I don’t trust Winston Peters but he hates this current mob with a vengeance (and with good reason) and I can’t see him cuddling up to them in any shape or form – not any more. Also, his political career is coming to an end. At 70+, I can’t see a future ahead of him but I can imagine him wanting to indulge in a bit of utu before he finally hangs up his political hat.
The harder we can make it for this government to continue to play dirty – and emasculate the economy in the process – the sooner we can be rid of them. It has to be the top priority of the opposition parties at this point in time. Labour has no hope of ever retaining the treasury benches on it’s own. It must work as a team across the spectrum of opposition parties from left to centre-right, before there is any chance of it happening. This byelection was an opportunity to see a cooperative effort begin to emerge which would ultimately see a change of government, and set in train the desperately needed more progressive policies of Labour and the broad left.
That’s the way I see it anyway.
I don’t think concessions should be one sided where there is something significant being given up. The GP aren’t really giving up much by not standing someone. Labour would be.
No-one knows what Peters will do. That’s the point.
My own thinking is that Peters will again actively work against the formation of a left wing govt and will try and either form a govt with Labour that excludes the GP and pulls Labour to centre, or National will clean house before 2017 and Peters will go with them. He sure as hell won’t say pre-election what he will do. Labour and the GP pre-election should make it clear that they are willing to work with NZF in coalition building, but that it’s NZF that is unwilling to let voters know their intentions before the electio.
Winston’s a social conservative. Now, having got that out of the way, his economic, employment and infrastructure policies are often well to the left of Labour’s.
So? My comment wasn’t about Peters’ politics (although I’d guess you are talking about NZF policy), it was about his behaviour.
So you’re a mind reader then? You know Peter’s intentions and plans? You might not like the man but that’s not the same thing as having insight into what his motivations are entering into this race.
Entering this debate late – having just come home from delivering a load of pamphlets for Willow-Jean (and getting caught up in the traffic jam caused by accident in Whangarei).
I don’t trust Winston either, Weka . He is too likely to be persuaded by the Nats – with a nice little bauble – to go with them and not the Opposition. This has happened in the past with Winston : he likes to play games, and tease, but underneath all that charm and smile – he is a basic National player.
And if any of you have read Andrew Little’s State of the Nation speech you will see that Labour is on the verge of change, and Willow Jean Prime will help bring about that change – for the good of the environment, the economy, the workers and people needing employment – so don’t write her off yet.
And don’t assume that Winston will do what he says he might do !!
@ j kirk I don’t trust Winny either give heaps up north ,people are sick of political games labour needs to play it straight and go for the win.
“So you’re a mind reader then? You know Peter’s intentions and plans? You might not like the man but that’s not the same thing as having insight into what his motivations are entering into this race.”
That also doesn’t have anything to do with my comment. I haven’t said anything about Peters’ motivations (others have). I’ve talked about his behaviour to date and why I think it’s foolish to believe he is reliable.
It’s nothing to do with liking/not liking the man (like others, I find admirable things about him). It’s the cold hard fact that he will never let anyone know ahead of time what he will do. I’M not the one claiming I know his intentions, I’m saying that he never tells anyone what his intentions are. That’s one of the reasons he can’t be relied on.
Sure Labour and the GP need him as an ally. But the left should be honest about what that means, not engaging in fantasies of Peters’ being left wing. People can work/vote to increase his power, but let’s not pretend that we know what that means for the future. Let’s be honest about the risk.
thanks Jenny. I don’t hold a huge amount of hope, but am still willing to give Little and Labour the benefit of the doubt that they can change.
+1 CR
And as a unionist I will add a couple of things I like about Peters. If there is an important industrial issue that I want raised in the House Peters will take the issue up “email me the details,” 48 hours time bingo. Where as over at camp workers party the wheels turn slow, a maybe a maybe not, a reply a no reply. Lets hope Little will sort this out. The Greens are good too and deliver, either leading questions or adding sups working with Peters in an attack. Don’t forget the opposition were woeful till Peters returned and gave some bite.
Peters was also a very good Minister when he was in Parliament…he treated senior public servants and advisers with respect and listened carefully to their research and advice….he did his background homework and asked intelligent questions…the implementation of policy was efficient and fast….I am told he was one of the best Ministers to work with
He also worked very well with Helen Clark and her Labour Government …and of late there has not been any conflict with the Greens
to b waghorn – Yep –
Labour IS giving it heaps here in the Northland electorate. We’re all out – we want to WJ to win – everyone is doing their bit for Willow-Jean – Labour MPs, Leader and activists – and none of it hits the media – but we’re going all out for W-J and Labour !
Hmmm, excuse my cynicism, but can you give us some examples of Peters raising industrial issues in the house on your behalf, Skinny?
+ 100% te reo putake
* how rude of me, on behalf of the membership and public/taxpayer.
Due to events currently unfolding where Winston’s assistance will be required, it would be totally inappropriate to potentially reveal his source.
Ok, then. Any example of times where Winston has raised such issues. His previously unknown support for the workers can’t be just restricted to your industry, surely, so there must be heaps.
Well he did fight for the racing industry which was in serious trouble, 20,000 jobs there. Bit of a double edged sword tho.
You got to hand it to him, he knows how to campaign. I see tomorrow he is has his campaign bus tour from one end of the electorate to the other. He has targeted any soft votes in Willow Jeans home patch for his major launch.
Skinny, I don’t think anyone is arguing that Peters is not an astute and powerful politician. That’s not a good enough reason to vote for him in this situation.
Yep. I’ve known subject area experts quite trying to give Labour help and hints because too often Labour don’t give enough of a fuck to either recognise the value of what is being given to them on a plate, or can’t be organised enough to use it in anything resembling a timely manner.
The Greens get the expert help instead, now.
If wishes are horses, we (Labour) would have won and in government now.
On this matter, your “common sense” ain’t mine. Winston is a disgruntled tory and is not to be trusted with the balance of power.
Why can’t Winston stand down, and just leave it as Labour vs National?
La
Why should Winston stand down, and just leave it as Labour vs National?
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/03/02/why-national-might-lose-northland-and-why-labour-cant-win/#sthash.FbyerITR.dpuf
Bradbury works better as a humourist than a serious political commentator. But this line; regarding Labour putting in serious effort to win the seat rather than just using the byelection as a soapbox, does seem perceptive:
I’m all for concessions, but they’re something that needs good faith on both sides. Peters doesn’t play well with others, and he can’t be trusted. It makes sense to me that Labour would want to get Prime out there, get her visible and having some more experience with electioneering etc.
btw, can anyone confirm with evidence that Peters winning would change the seat allocations in parliament?
If Winston wins the electorate, and then resigns his list seat, the next list member for NZFirst would enter Parliament.
This would bring National down to a permanent 59 seats (vs the 60 on election night). To get a majority of 61 they would therefore have to rely on 2 votes from Act, UF, Maori Party. At the moment they only need 1 vote from those parties, and Act pretty much pony up for anything required.
As useless as UF is, Dunne can sometimes extract meaningful concessions from National. Certainly National having 59 seats is 1 seat closer to having only 58 seats, where they would need to rely on Maori Party (or other party in Parliament) to pass all legislation, which will be significantly more difficult for them to achieve their right-wing agenda. They would also look a bit crass for calling an early election in such a case, because their confidence and supply agreement with MP protects them from dissolution until they get down to 55 seats – they would basically look like they were taking their toys and throwing a tantrum and refusing to operate under MMP.
Short answer: yes, if Winston wins, AND he resigns his seat, National are weaker. There would be no reason for Winston not to resign his seat, and it is perfectly and fully allowed within the rules, and has been done by other electorate winners in the past.
Thanks. That means that by-elections trump national elections, because according to the election calculator the proportion of MPs determined by the list vote at the general election remains unaffected by the scenario you describe. The only thing that changes is the number of list seats, not the number of overall seats. I guess the calculator could be wrong.
2014 results,
http://www.elections.org.nz/voting-system/mmp-voting-system/mmp-seat-allocation-calculator?asPercentage=1&partyName_0=ACT+New+Zealand&partyVote_0=0.69&electorateSeats_0=1&partyName_1=Aotearoa+Legalise+Cannabis+Party&partyVote_1=0.46&electorateSeats_1=0&partyName_2=Ban1080&partyVote_2=0.21&electorateSeats_2=0&partyName_3=Conservative&partyVote_3=3.97&electorateSeats_3=0&partyName_4=Democrats+for+Social+Credit&partyVote_4=0.07&electorateSeats_4=0&partyName_5=Focus+New+Zealand&partyVote_5=0.03&electorateSeats_5=0&partyName_6=Green+Party&partyVote_6=10.7&electorateSeats_6=0&partyName_7=Internet+MANA&partyVote_7=1.42&electorateSeats_7=0&partyName_8=Labour+Party&partyVote_8=25.13&electorateSeats_8=27&partyName_9=M%C4%81ori+Party&partyVote_9=1.32&electorateSeats_9=1&partyName_10=National+Party&partyVote_10=47.4&electorateSeats_10=41&partyName_11=New+Zealand+First+Party&partyVote_11=8.66&electorateSeats_11=0&partyName_12=NZ+Independent+Coalition&partyVote_12=0.04&electorateSeats_12=0&partyName_13=The+Civilian+Party&partyVote_13=0.05&electorateSeats_13=0&partyName_14=United+Future&partyVote_14=0.22&electorateSeats_14=1&partyName_opt_0=Other+Party&partyVote_opt_0=0&electorateSeats_opt_0=0&partyName_opt_1=Other+Party&partyVote_opt_1=0&electorateSeats_opt_1=0&partyName_opt_2=Other+Party&partyVote_opt_2=0&electorateSeats_opt_2=0&partyCount=15&optPartyCount=3&action=Calculate+parliamentary+seats
Same results but taking one electorate seat of National and giving one electoral seat to NZF,
http://www.elections.org.nz/voting-system/mmp-voting-system/mmp-seat-allocation-calculator?asPercentage=1&partyName_0=ACT+New+Zealand&partyVote_0=0.69&electorateSeats_0=1&partyName_1=Aotearoa+Legalise+Cannabis+Party&partyVote_1=0.46&electorateSeats_1=0&partyName_2=Ban1080&partyVote_2=0.21&electorateSeats_2=0&partyName_3=Conservative&partyVote_3=3.97&electorateSeats_3=0&partyName_4=Democrats+for+Social+Credit&partyVote_4=0.07&electorateSeats_4=0&partyName_5=Focus+New+Zealand&partyVote_5=0.03&electorateSeats_5=0&partyName_6=Green+Party&partyVote_6=10.7&electorateSeats_6=0&partyName_7=Internet+MANA&partyVote_7=1.42&electorateSeats_7=0&partyName_8=Labour+Party&partyVote_8=25.13&electorateSeats_8=27&partyName_9=M%C4%81ori+Party&partyVote_9=1.32&electorateSeats_9=1&partyName_10=National+Party&partyVote_10=47.4&electorateSeats_10=41&partyName_11=New+Zealand+First+Party&partyVote_11=8.66&electorateSeats_11=0&partyName_12=NZ+Independent+Coalition&partyVote_12=0.04&electorateSeats_12=0&partyName_13=The+Civilian+Party&partyVote_13=0.05&electorateSeats_13=0&partyName_14=United+Future&partyVote_14=0.22&electorateSeats_14=1&partyName_opt_0=Other+Party&partyVote_opt_0=0&electorateSeats_opt_0=0&partyName_opt_1=Other+Party&partyVote_opt_1=0&electorateSeats_opt_1=0&partyName_opt_2=Other+Party&partyVote_opt_2=0&electorateSeats_opt_2=0&partyCount=15&optPartyCount=3&action=Calculate+parliamentary+seats
Weka, Graeme Edgeler has provided a good legal analysis of the ramifications of the situation if Winston Peters wins at the Public Address blog here
http://publicaddress.net/legalbeagle/the-northland-by-election-or-the-so-called/
Graeme provides both a brief explanation – and a longer more detailed one in his post. The brief one is this:
With the Northland by-election, we are temporarily getting a lesson in two of them:
That the rules we adopted for MMP mean the proportionality of the House of Representatives is only important after the general election, not to changes between elections.
That counter-intuitive things can happen a list MP wins a by-election (whether from the same party as the MP who has resigned, or a different one).
A full explanation follows, but the too long didn’t read for those of you here simply because someone provided you a link from twitter to clear up some confusion is:
If Winston Peters win the Northland by-election, he has the option of resigning as a New Zealand First list MP.
Any list MP who resigns is replaced by the next person on the list, In the case of New Zealand first, this is Ria Bond. Assuming Ms Bond is still a party member, and want the job, she would become a list MP, in addition to Winston becoming electorate MP for Northland.
If this happened, National’s number of MPs would stay at 59, down from the 60 they had after the election result was declared, and New Zealand First’s parliamentary strength would increase to 12.
There are good reason why we should do it another way, but there are also good reasons why it shouldn’t, and this is the way we’ve chosen to do it.
The longer explanation is also worth reading as are the comments as these raise various questions and answers which further clarify the possibilities etc.
Thanks!
I don’t think Winston has to resign his list seat. I believe it’s automatic, as it is in the general election. If it wasn’t automatic every MP in that position would have two votes in Parliament. What I’m not sure of is whether the next on the list has to come in. I recall the Greens had some grief around that a few years ago when they wanted to bring in someone else to fill a vacancy and the next guy on the list (Mike???) spat the dummy.
Re: the calculator, I don’t think it’s set up to take into account by-elections. What I’m pretty sure about is that the result of Winston or Willow-Jean winning is Nats less one vote, opposition one more. So to get a correct result in the calculator, you’d have to enter the Nats election night electorate number lower by one and increase the winning party’s by one (be it Lab or NZF).
“I believe it’s automatic, as it is in the general election”
It’s not automatic, but of course anyone would be stupid not to. This isn’t the general election; rules for by-election are different.
See Graeme Edgeler’s post linked to above.
“What I’m not sure of is whether the next on the list has to come in.”
The way it works, if they meet the requirements (still a party member, still meet other requirements for NZ parliament like not in prison, sane, still a citizen etc) is Parliament offers the list MP the option to take up the seat. They may say no, for example, if they’ve since gained a job they don’t want to give up, or have other family circumstances.
If they decline, it goes to the next person, so-on down the list until someone says yes, or the list is exhausted (causing the list seat to remain vacant in Parliament).
Theoretically, the party has no influence over whether the person takes the seat or not. In practice they of course do – being treated like a leper in Parliament can’t be fun.
Remember this all happened with Louisa Wall in 2011:
“After Darren Hughes resigned from Parliament in April 2011, and people higher on Labour’s list, such as Dave Hereora, Judith Tizard and Mark Burton, decided not to take up the list position, Wall was returned to Parliament as a Labour List MP serving in the 49th New Zealand Parliament.” (from Wikipedia).
“Re: the calculator, I don’t think it’s set up to take into account by-elections. What I’m pretty sure about is that the result of Winston or Willow-Jean winning is Nats less one vote, opposition one more. So to get a correct result in the calculator, you’d have to enter the Nats election night electorate number lower by one and increase the winning party’s by one (be it Lab or NZF).”
The calculator only does General Elections, not by-elections. Your suggestion wouldn’t work anyway, because it would mean (in the case where Willow won Northland at the GE) Labour would have 2 list seats instead of the current 3, and Andrew Little wouldn’t be in Parliament.
Cheers, Lanth. Graeme’s article is pretty comprehensive.
I reckon there could be a case for minor reforms to make it automatic (after all if you’re standing in a by-election you’re clearly signalling you want to be an electorate MP) and secondly, to leave it up to the party to decide who a replacement list MP should be if the occasion arises. Seems daft to have to stick to the list used at the general election if the party wants someone else later on.
Agree on the former.
A bit luke-warm on the second. Seems kind of unfair that you agree to be a list MP and go out and do campaigning for the party but only narrowly miss out at the GE. You know that you’re the next person on the list, but then when the vacancy comes up, the party can officially (and easily) choose someone else instead of you.
I think much like an employment contract, it’s a two way street – the party and the list member are both in it together.
There is another reason not to diverge from the list that was announced at the General Election.
In theory the list tells voters who will be the MPs if you vote for this party. Thus if you look at the list and decide you like the top 20 candidates you can decide you’ll vote for them. If you think they are a universally deplorable set of drongos you won’t. After the election, if the party can change their selection of members to fill the list seats, you can then discover that the people you liked when you voted for them aren’t there any more and a completely different set have taken over.
There is a funny thing that can happen if members get in via an electorate candidate winning. Suppose the party gets 4% and wins an electorate. They will get 5 MPs.
Another party also gets 4% and comes second in the electorate. They get no seats.
Then, after the Parliament is settled there is an electoral petition (at least that is what I think it is called). The Judges then decide that there was fraud or such-like and reverses the electorate winner. The first party retains its other 4 MPs, who got there off the list. The second party only gets the one who is now the electorate MP.
Incidentally it was by means of an election petition that got Winston Peters into Parliament in 1978 in Hunua.
“So to get a correct result in the calculator, you’d have to enter the Nats election night electorate number lower by one and increase the winning party’s by one (be it Lab or NZF)”
Yes, that’s exactly what I did. See my second link. Graeme Edgeler’s explanation makes sense, and I think we can assume now that the calculator is useless in by-elections.
Yes, the calculator is useless for by-elections.
“and has been done by other electorate winners in the past.”
I am not aware of any occasion when a list MP won an electorate seat in a by-election. When did this happen?
Indeed the possibility of this happening and Judith Tizard returning to the house was supposedly a reason why a new candidate, David Shearer got the Labour nomination for Helen Clark’s old seat.
You’re correct, this has not actually happened, merely been discussed.
@ Pasupial.
It was good post until the last paragraph. He spoils it with an attempt to drive a wedge between Labour and the Greens by way of an unfortunate historical election outcome. Has Labour spurned him or failed to give him enough attention?
Northland also has a history of voting for 3rd parties when they’re annoyed with NAct. I can remember Social Credit getting in at one stage. They do not vote Labour.
An historical but interesting comparison.
The results of the East Coast Bays by-election in 1980.
Social Credit Gary Knapp – 8,061 – 43.31%
National Don Brash – 7,110 – 38.20%
Labour Wyn Hoadley – 3,296 – 17.71%
Values J S Moore – 144 – 0.7%
Majority – 951 – 5.11%
In 1980, East Coast Bays was a deeply conservative electorate (it still pretty much is) not unlike the deeply conservative electorate of Northland. The predominantly white population was very upset with then PM, Rob Muldoon. He had increased the ‘toll charges’ on the bridge, and his star was waning. ( He just managed to win the 81 election by politicising the Springbok tour of that year.) They went to the booths in droves and voted for Social Credit as a statement of their displeasure. These were people who had always voted National in the past and they returned to them in 1987.
I see some parallels with the two situations and I note Labour came a very distant third. It could easily happen again.
That would be complete humiliation for Labour. This is another soapbox opportunity for Winston First. He will replay his usual fodder from the last 20 years as some sort of highlight reel, he will get enough votes to come second, just ahead of Labour, and nAtional to retain by 7500 votes in a voter turnout of 60%-70%. National are well organised in a very large electorate, and have already got poeple on the ground doing the hard yards. However, a friend suggests all is not well up North with the Nats, the deliberate snubbing of Grant McCullum (again) has some poised to make a protest vote, hence Winnies havign a go.
Mc Cullum is very popular in the Northland farming community, getting bounced again has brassed a lot of them off. I hear the party people are worried the rural folks may give voting a miss or turn to ACT’s opportunist candidate Robin Grieves.
Exactly what I am hearing.
Another candidate who you would be aware of that got the cold shoulder is Ken Rintoul. He lead a rural nz party last election called Focus NZ. He got 1,600 votes in Northland last year. Now if he stood again, and I hear his rural followers are keen for him to do so, he could well be the protest vote.
I read a bit of Focus NZ stuff, enough to remember the name. I think it was Ken Rintoul and his thinking was quite good – appealed to my common sense side. He noted enough of the government failings and absurdities to strike a point in people’s minds.
Yes their known as break away Tories. I mean the common complaint is ( anothet editorial in the Northern Advocate today) why people vote National in Northland, they get nothing out of them for their loyality.
I suspect racism. Northland pakeha on the whole are very racist. Titford was not much of an aberration.
I don’t know … I was just listening to a doco on National Radio on the move to introduce a Maori ward seat on the New Plymouth council where Winston was attacking the plan which is supported by the mayor Andrew Judd. It reminded me of how unpleasant he can be.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20169021
+100 Penny…Winston Peters, MP for Northland !
You know all this pissing around and navel gazing would be reduced if we simply adopted Instant-runoff voting (aka Alternative Vote) in our electorate seats and required a majority rather than a plurality.
Then everyone can run, parties can campaign properly on their policies and the local issues and you can put your support behind an alternative if your first choice doesn’t make it.
Sheesh! 😡
Yesterday’s discussion on roading infrastructure in Venezuela was interesting, but I find I’m particularly taken with the user-pays road repairs in Honduras (amongst other things) in this politically innovative Central American country.
fascinating.
If you have the stomach, SOA stories from Honduras.
http://www.soaw.org/about-us/equipo-sur/263-stories-from-honduras
Jeez joe,
Chile (or is that Colombia?) MkII. Another wasted decade and terrorised population in another American country the US got involved in.
I’m beginning to think a real secure border fence between the US and Mexico is a good idea – to keep the f&*king USA out of Mexico, Central and South America. 😈
Why would you do that?
…lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice, an effect mediated through the endorsement of right-wing ideologies (social conservatism, right-wing authoritarianism) and low levels of contact with out-groups.
Hodson & Busseri 2012
My bold: only ~25% of US ‘citizens’ even have a passport, let alone travel overseas.
Travelling out of state is a life time achievement for many…
Your not usually so dense OAB – is your sarcasm scanner off line? 😈
😳
“I’m beginning to think a real secure border fence between the US and Mexico is a good idea”
This has some merit – if it were a financial fence that kept greedy randist republicans out of Latin America’s infrastructure & businesses.
Apparently the US officially backs the ousted president.
“The cost of implementing a new child support system has rocketed to $163 million – a blowout that dwarfs the bill for fixing the controversial Novopay school payroll system.
The new figure has been described as “gobsmacking” by a former top Government executive who was in office when the cost was originally put at $30 million.”
What a clumsy fellow Joyce is?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11410615
@Ianmac
What a mind numbing waste of money, just think of what impact those funds would have had if actually spent on child support itself rather than a fancy computer system.
As always no one will be held to account and the consultants will all be able to buy themselves new mercedes.
imo this interview with Allan Gibbs by Wallace Chapman is a shocker…it starts off ok with references to art…hobnobbing with the likes of Ralph Hotere , visits to Cuba with artists, flirtations with socialism, the life of hippies, wife swapping … and entrepreneurship, …. and critiques of economics degree youngsters running the public service ….and ends with a Ruth Richardson adoration piece and a diatribe thunder and brimstone from the pulpit …. Old Testament morality ….shades of old Salvation Army morality….not getting your girlfriend pregnant unless you are going to marry her !…..reminded me of the 1970s…(.what about contraception and aborton….and doesnt the woman have a say?….what about issues of education ,employment for women ?…all around the world where women are educated and have jobs and contraception and abortion there is no unwanted pregnancy or over population ) scary patriarchal Old Testament stuff .
Great interview by Wallace Chapman!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/20169129/alan-gibbs-life-and-influences
basically GIbbs is just a crazy old man, with enough money for people to pay attention to what he says
The weird bit is, its not that hard to find old people ranting about some perceived injustice or whatever – i know, i do it myself 🙂 (and im not THAT old)
At first the interview with Gibbs seemed weak with a few mild questions and prompts from Wallace Chapman allowing Gibbs to pontificate.
Then it became apparent that Gibbs was being played like a fish with Chapman baiting him until the ranting reached near fever pitch.
A perfect example of a typical card carrying ACT member.. ‘intoxicated with his wealth and inebriated by the exuberance of his own verbosity. ‘ (Apologies to Disraeli)
Well done Wallace- but where ‘s Wayne Brittenden?
First big test of the anti-IS plan in Tikrit is unfolding
https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=tikrit&hl=en-NZ&gbv=2&tbm=nws&prmd=ivnsm&source=lnt&tbs=qdr:d&sa=X&ei=6MP0VN7ZGYjU8gWowYDoCQ&ved=0CA4QpwU
Lots of things to watch. The Iraqi PM says its all sweeteness and light, and that the first priority is to not harm innocents, and that Sunni tribal fighters will be shown mercy if they surrender. Bit quioeter on what happens if they don;t surrender, and what surrending would actually mean.
The Badr guy largely running the Op is framing it as revenge for previous IS war summary executions of Shia soldiers.
PB
I wouldn’t be too optimistic on that mercy:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/02/iraq-assault-islamic-state-strongholds-baghdad
Look at the pic in that article, that is a; Shia militia parade, but all the soldiers are wearing balaclavas or other cloth masks. It looks like a group of people who are on their way to commit a righteous cleansing, to avenge the despicable massacre perpetrated by their enemies (who will be sure to reciprocate in due course).
Yeah. There’s a lot going on. This one, from a few days ago will be making people nervous about ‘surrendering’. Ad IS have rounded up hostages from and sent them to mosul in advance. All this talk is talk. Sectrian war is same as it ever was. Kill their local leaders, deprive them of their property, rule over those who won’t leave.
http://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/father-and-five-sons-found-murdered-in-baghdad/ar-BBi2UT8
But on the pics, that’s just what militia look like. The balaclavas are tactical too, makes the face less of a target in house to house combat especially.
https://twitter.com/MemlikPasha/status/572486241947672577
Nice pic here of a howitzer flying a hezbollah flag. ‘ho ho ho, now I haz an artillery gun’
That guy’s twitter is worth looking at in total too
https://twitter.com/MemlikPasha
Great place for Kiwi troops to dive right into
It’s not just Hadi al-Amiri (nominally the Iraqi Minister of Transport). He’s been joined by Qassem Suleimani aka “the Shadow Commander” (the Iranian Major-General and the commander of the Quds Force – the special forces division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard primarily responsible for extraterritorial operations since 1998 and who provide support and training for most of Iran’s proxies, from Hizbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, to the Houthis in Yemen). He’s been rebuilding and reinforcing the Shia militias for the past year.
Great that our troops have picked a side (had a side picked for them) in the Iraqi sectarian civil war. This is going to go well.
But CR – we must do something. We must. John said so (and so did Tony & Barrack). And sending troops – it’s our only option. It is, really! 😥
The liberation of Tikrit is underway. The city, Saddam Hussein’s home town, is on the main road to Mosul and has both military and propaganda significance. As one of the larger cities under ISIS control, it will be interesting to learn after it’s freed just how much support ISIS actually have in their conquered territories or whether the local populations are just subdued by fear.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31699632
This article is a good background to the current Pentagon plan. Big emphasis on training the locals.
http://time.com/3722740/isis-islamic-state-military/
Edit: Snap, P’s B!
Thanks for the propaganda line.
That Time piece is pretty hilarious in light of today’s events;
https://t.co/aR5IsgKEFH
The Baghdad govt and it’s Iranian allies don’t give many fucks about the Pentagon’s timetable. It’s like they’ve got their own plan or something, the bastards.
Censorship anyone. Googles plans to “define” the “truth”:
http://rt.com/news/236681-google-truth-algorithm-search/
And on that note, read this article from ARS technica about the future of the internet.
It’s not good news. Specifically, read the 2nd page listing the 5 internet futures.
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/02/fear-in-the-digital-city-why-the-internet-has-never-been-more-dangerous/
+100 Sable…interesting ‘New Scientist’ is going to help define a new method for establishing “truth”…recently ‘New Scientist’ has carried some dubious articles itself imo….eg 6 September 2014…SPECIAL REPORT ‘END OF THE NATION – The Old world order is dying. What comes next?’….and another issue carried a large feature on Bill Gates special advanced education programme using computer learning instead of teachers….Bill Gates is investing heavily into privatised Charter Schools…taking education away from state and democratic control
…in other words ‘New Scientist’ is getting into promoting right wing corporate politics
“The search engine currently relies on a system that ranks websites based on how many times the page has been linked to – which means that even fake information has a way of making it up the chain of search results.
According to a New Scientist report, the new model developed by a Google research team would count the number of incorrect facts on each website to establish a Knowledge-Based Trust score for each site – an overall rating of trustworthiness”.
http://rt.com/news/236681-google-truth-algorithm-search/
( personally i prefer the wisdom of crowds for debating/establishing “truth”….who wants to be spoon fed ‘truth’ from those who think they know it all?…and usually in the pay of corporate oligarchs and political /religious right wing patriarchal dictators)
Indeed Sable – This from a few years ago
Q. Does the internet need a Ministry of Truth ?
One is to train our browsers to flag information that may be suspicious or disputed. Thus, every time a claim like “vaccination leads to autism” appears in our browser, that sentence would be marked in red—perhaps, also accompanied by a pop-up window advising us to check a more authoritative source. The trick here is to come up with a database of disputed claims that itself would correspond to the latest consensus in modern science—a challenging goal that projects like “Dispute Finder” are tackling head on.
The second—and not necessarily mutually exclusive—option is to nudge search engines to take more responsibility for their index and exercise a heavier curatorial control in presenting search results for issues like “global warming” or “vaccination.” Google already has a list of search queries that send most traffic to sites that trade in pseudoscience and conspiracy theories; why not treat them differently than normal queries? Thus, whenever users are presented with search results that are likely to send them to sites run by pseudoscientists or conspiracy theorists, Google may simply display a huge red banner asking users to exercise caution and check a previously generated list of authoritative resources before making up their minds
Q. Is Google the Ministry of Truth ?
THE internet is stuffed with garbage. Anti-vaccination websites make the front page of Google, and fact-free “news” stories spread like wildfire. Google has devised a fix – rank websites according to their truthfulness.
Google’s search engine currently uses the number of incoming links to a web page as a proxy for quality, determining where it appears in search results. So pages that many other sites link to are ranked higher. This system has brought us the search engine as we know it today, but the downside is that websites full of misinformation can rise up the rankings, if enough people link to them.
A Google research team is adapting that model to measure the trustworthiness of a page, rather than its reputation across the web. Instead of counting incoming links, the system – which is not yet live – counts the number of incorrect facts within a page. “A source that has few false facts is considered to be trustworthy,” says the team (arxiv.org/abs/1502.03519v1). The score they compute for each page is its Knowledge-Based Trust score.
The software works by tapping into the Knowledge Vault, the vast store of facts that Google has pulled off the internet. Facts the web unanimously agrees on are considered a reasonable proxy for truth. Web pages that contain contradictory information are bumped down the rankings
Q. GSK mined discussion boards for more sales revenue ?
GlaxoSmithKline PLC scoured parent sites with text analytics software to learn more on the concerns parents have about vaccines.
The U.K. pharmaceutical company used text analytics to analyze public discussion boards on BabyCenter.com and WhattoExpect.com, to learn what factors motivate parents to either go ahead or delay vaccinating their children for diseases like measles and mumps, said Dominic Hein, executive director of the company unit that plans new vaccines. The two month project, conducted last year, collected only anonymized excerpts and topics from posts, and no user identities, the company said
Neither parents nor administrators of these sites were aware that Glaxo was monitoring their conversations, but the pharmaceutical company says it needed to learn which concerns were causing parents to delay vaccinating their children – a key factor in the rise in incidences of these childhood diseases, it said. “When you go into the public forums, that’s where this conversation is taking place,” Mr. Hein said. “And by listening to what our customers say to each other we can better understand their needs.”
Throughout it’s entire history as a country, dating from 1776, the US has been at war all but 21 years.
Quite an impressive achievement.
Make war, not love!
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/make-war-not-love-in-its-whole-history-usa-only-not-at-war-for-21-years/
Just had a quick look at a link off the bottom of that piece – loonwatch.com. Could be one worth keeping an eye on.
From the US anthem -Star Spangled Banner
“And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,”
A thanksgiving prayer:
There is a certain logic to NZ involvement in Iraq.
This country’s ruling elite have always been aggressive little imperialists – in fact in the late 1800s NZ had a reputation as the “little Prussia of the South Pacific”.
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/27/no-to-all-western-military-intervention-in-the-middle-east/
Phil
Sad that Andrew Little the Labour Party leader also seems to be ignorant….wish I hadn’t voted for him now…and my Labour Party membership is as soft as a rotten marshmellow …thinking abut joining the Greens
“Labour’s mistake on US bombing in Iraq”
By Keith Locke / March 2, 2015
“If Andrew Little studied the history of US bombing missions in the Middle East he would have to admit that Dunne and Norman are right……”
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/03/02/labours-mistake-on-us-bombing-in-iraq/
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/03/03/anything-key-can-bomb-little-can-bomb-better-labour-can-bomb-better-than-you/
It’s highly unfortunate.
Excellent left economist Michael Roberts examines the state of the world economy and suggests it’s not going to get better:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/11106/
In New Zealand, this seems the ‘best’ that is on offer: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/low-pay-longer-hours-and-less-social-mobility/
Phil
Drug makers control the data derived from the efficacy and safety studies that they fund
In the last three decades, the FDA has become increasingly dependent for its continued functioning upon user fees paid by the very drug makers it’s meant to regulate. Meanwhile, a lack of government funding for research and development has made consumers entirely dependent upon private industry for new drugs — which means that safety and efficacy standards are perennially weighed against the demands of a corporation’s bottom line
Drug makers control the data derived from the efficacy and safety studies that they fund (making the suppression of unflattering data all too easy), and have, for well over a decade now, had a government-facilitated way to communicate directly — and, again, selectively — with the public through direct to consumer advertising. Not only is the United States all but alone in the world (along with New Zealand) in permitting direct marketing of prescription drugs to consumers, it actually encourages such commercially-biased public “education” through tax breaks.
I’m sure this complex highly monied system has patients and practitioners best interests at heart through the incorruptible virtues of science, why be so concerned? /sarc
Financial ratings companies rely on fees from financial institutions for thier existence while the regulatory agencies funding is cut and staffed with insiders
Q. What could posaibly go wrong with that model in healthcare ?
AAA+
Still humping that strawman?
None so blind as the truly faithful.
🙄
The reason we have peer review is because there is no such thing as incorruptible virtue. I note that GSK were fined for marketing drugs for “unapproved uses”. I further note that the case against them was the result of whistleblowers coming forward, and also relied heavily on scientific evidence.
You might as well blame corruption on the water in the swimming pool. After all, people swim in it!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1420798/
Peer review: a flawed process at the heart of science and journals
The article only deals with the process of peer review as a guide to whether a paper is worthy of immediate publication.
It takes longer than that. Publication fosters debate, time degrades generational prejudice, bias and other corruptions. For example, Gravity Probe B supports the theory of general relativity, and a quantum eraser shows that Einstein was wrong to oppose Bohr.
Hold the faith, hold the faith, hold the faith
BTW physics is an actual science; medicine is largely commercially applied for-profit technology. World of difference.
Whatever.
I’ve experienced good results from Chiropractic treatment. Your drivel makes me wonder if it was all the placebo effect.
Could be. If the placebo effect helps someone’s condition, then it is not something I shy from. Over half the effect of any medical drug can typically be ascribed to the “placebo effect” (whatever that actually is).
Do placebos normally make that much noise? Is it like Pavlov? A secret machine that makes a large cracking sound and that relaxes the piriformis muscle?
even if that were true, it’s the other half that doesn’t depend entirely on faith. That’s what the placebo does.
It’s buggerall to do with science. It’s corporate behaviour and the corruption of political representatives.
Are you suggesting that scientists are more virtuous than other groups of humans?
The scientific method is an attempt to counter the fact that they aren’t.
I don’t believe that and I’d be surprised if you do.
Let me be clear: scientists are no more virtuous than other people.
The requirements that they propose falsifiable hypotheses and must be able to produce replicable results, are an attempt to counter that fact.
cf. Pauli, Popper.
PS: why be surprised? It would only indicate that I am ignorant. A condition we all share, etc etc.
He’s right, whether you believe it or not. What do you understand by “the scientific method”?
Science is not the people who do it. The people who do science are living in a fucked up society, just like everyone else. They have therefore thought up an imperfect framework to try and preserve science from their own baser instincts. Pharmaceutical company executives have done no such thing. They profit from giving free reign to their baser instincts and must be constrained by heavy regulation.
Tom Englehart has a post worth reading on alternet.org:
10 Things America Must Do To Stop Ruining the World.
John Key’s banking history is a gift that keeps on giving!
Merrill Lynch And HSBC Have Been Advising On Derivatives, Pioneered By John Key, Since 2000. Yep, While He Was Still A Banker with Merrill Lynch!
And what is wrong with advising on derivatives?
Jesus Christ had something to say about that
vto 😆 yep! Read the article cowboy hat boy!
I did. Despite it being quite impeneratable as far as I can tell it made no link to derivatives and tax evasion or John Key.
For those of you who want a fully linked and well documented post on the subject of NHBC and their criminal activities go to either my blog or too corp watch were I found the article on the subject.
Also I never suggested that John Key was up to his neck in this shit as I have no proof and don’t want to be taken to court for libel or other nasty stuff. Neither would I want to subject the Standard to any risks.
[lprent: Thank you.]
You at least accept you have no evidence linking John Key to this. Which I suppose is a start. However I am not seeing any link between tax evasion and derivatives either so the rest of your post is just as flimsy.
Key’s PR says he had nothing to do with it, even though he was in senior management, in the same office, at the same time as the wolves of wall street were pillaging Main St and plunging the world into the GFC
It isn’t Key’s fault: his invisible ethics are the reason he was promoted.
Key the man may not of been involved but key the trader or key the dodgy guy in the next office may of been it would depend on which hat he was wearing.
I do have proof that John Key was lying about his involvement with the attack on the NZ in October 1987 and was working with Andrew Krieger while doing so and that he was involved in the “new” financial products now collapsing the system. I saved the archives pieces and the paper trail proving these issues.
I send them to Eugene Bingham and the NZ Herald and called Eugene Bingham a liar and a disgrace to journalism. I hoped they would start a libel case on that bases but instead they removed all reference or five online pages of the “unauthorised” biography detailing his banking career. The attacks on currencies, being the boss of the department developing all those new products, him gallivanting around the world selling this shit to pension funds all the while knowing it would one day collapse. All gone from the mainstream media. I wonder why?
Here is the article I wrote in December 2008 detailing his banking career in a real unauthorised fashion
That is full of conjecture and outright fantasy on your part.
No he didn’t.
Yes, he did. He threw the bankers out of the temple and a week later they crucified him!
I’m sure that derivative traders would have been kinder than the money lenders /sarc
No, he threw the money changers out of the temple presinct.
Jerusalem was a major pilgrimage site (in fact this was the reason Jesus and his disciples were there for the passover). As a result there was a need for people to exchange various currencies. This is not the same as banking.
The temple presinct was a large space that was dedicated to religious tourism. Indeed it was one of the reasons Herod the Great massively expanded it. Only the temple itself and especially the holy of hollies was deemed completely sacred.
Oh my God, You’re an Hasbara shill!
Usury was the basis for Jesus’s calling the money changers thieves: “The commerce of the world is conducted on principles as much at variance with the teachings of the master, as are the practices of a sneak thief or burglar. So the Master taught, as with whip of cords, he indignantly drove its representatives, from the sacred precincts of the Temple, denouncing them as thieves. Every well-informed mind knows that the money changers in the Temple, on that startling occasion, were at the very centre of the Jewish Banking system, and of the pitiless and grinding commerce of Palestine.”
I don’t think FJK pioneered derivatives. They have been around in various forms since ancient times. He may have been a pioneer of their misuse and giving bad advice. He’s more like a conman than a pioneer.
See my response to Cowboy hat boy above!
Good news for IT contractors in Wellington
New child support scheme blows out to $163 million
This dwarfs Novopay, INCIS, Auckland Supercity.
How does the Nactoid government make such enormous screwups?
By slashing “back office” staff who had the institutional knowledge to prevent these sort of disasters!
PS: More mismanagement at the Commerce Commission, screwing us again
The same way their philosophy and policies led directly to Pike River deaths, Solid Energy failures, GFC disaster, leaky homes, the list is endless ………..
I think they all make the mistake of believing their own bullshit.
As commented above by tinfoilhat
just think of what impact those funds would have had if actually spent on child support itself rather than a fancy computer system.
As always no one will be held to account and the consultants will all be able to buy themselves new mercedes.
Nactional has a real cultural problem of forcing through quick and dirty changes without proper consultation, planning or quality control. Witness Christchurch CBD, SkyCity/Nat HQ, jumping in to Iraq, and any number of their rushed half-arsed projects and obnoxious legislation.
See also:
http://thestandard.org.nz/nationals-ict-failures/
As the saying goes: There’s always a simple answer that’s wrong.
National always goes for that simple answer.
and we are supposed to trust them with a TPPA and RMA reform … ha bloody ha ha.
Not to mention that one of the amendments to the Child support act and the calculators is to exclude mony in trusts and companies ( although they are included for such things as working for families) so that they do not go into the calculation. So wealthy people can continue to hide money from their kids in trust and companies and the rest of us wind up paying. I’d like to see that one voted down in parliament.
and the blow out is about 3 times the annual child support collected.
Former UK diplomat: western media propaganda over Nemtsov assassination
Dr William Mallinson PhD speaks to Russia Today:
NB Russia Today is (well) funded by the Russian Government.
http://rt.com/op-edge/236749-nemtsov-murder-west-media-provocation/
Funnily enough a correspondant on Morning Report today suggested something very similar in that he thought that Putin wasn’t behind the assasination as it didn’t suit him to get rid of this person in such a blatent manner. The correspondant agreed that he has encouraged a political environment where people are likely to take matters in to their own hands.
That’s about right; not only are murder rates the highest in Europe, corruption is rife in Russia and corrupt officials or jilted business associates could easily have been involved in the killing. The smooth audacity of it just outside the walls of the Kremlin leads one to think it was a professional hit. And the young woman he was walking with survived without a scratch. Very unusual.
And he was thinking of getting a taxi, but she wanted to walk across the bridge.
They shot him in the back so he never got to see the whites of their eyes, and neither did she. But what a convenient choice to perambulate, for the purpose eh? And an ambulance ride after.
She also said on Russian TV that she was walking in front of him and didn’t see anything about the shooting or the shooter.
I agree with your implication however – the killers knew that he was going to be at that location at that time. You don’t shoot someone just outside the Kremlin walls on happenchance.
Who would benefit from seeing Putin portrayed as he is being portrayed over this murder? …. that be the direction to go in ….
+100…my thoughts too ….and Putin has plenty of enemies ….some of whom want Russia’s oil corporatised by Western companies
I think western governments need to rapidly ramp up defence spending in light of the new ‘Russia threat’ and Putin’s “volatility”. Whoops answered your question.
We need to send troops to Ukraine. It’d be gutless not to. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing.
and John key has the most guts of all
my forehead is getting sore from the head-desking
Shame on you. You should be more concerned about what it is doing to your neck.
😈
physician heal thy self!!! 😛
This forum is so much more rewarding without PG Tips. thank you.
Wow,time for a change. I’ve been wanting to try Fairtrade – tea.
+1 Sacha. We should try and do some good with the month.
Seems to be happening already. Marvellous.
What happened to his royal greyness?
Banned for a month for giving TRP shit as an author. Would have gotten a longer ban but TRP was winding him up.
I must remember to only give TRP shit as a warmongering lackey of imperialism. As an author, he is beyond reproach.
Actually a pretty good summary of the basics of how it operates.
I don’t like the personal attacks because that is what drives authors from writing posts. It tends to be like doing a thesis or a program. If people have been having a go at you then any distraction will stop you. Sometimes you just give up.
But you can have a go at what they write. Generally that just encourages them to write more effectively next time.
You will note that when I have to intervene, I try to ensure that the commenter causing me the aggravation gets exactly the same kind of in your face unfair crap that they have been handing out. I find that this dissuades them from wanting to write that way again as well. Unfortunately they seldom seem to get the irony.
I love the Russian saying that every joke has a grain of joke in it.
Ha! Get a haircut, hippy 😉
To be fair to PG, he hasn’t overreacted to the ban. Just the three posts on the matter so far today over on YawnNZ.
PG’s nactoid mates are over at YawnNZ helping to reinforce his confirmation bias and martyr complex.
“TS is teh suck bro!” “ya bro they is all rude and stuff” etc.
reddelusion comments at the beige corner? I never knew…
at least “redelusion” makes a slight effort to see what those mad Lefties are raving about (and share his/her dubious wisdom). PG’s cronies are too bigoted and lazy to make any effort whatsoever, or have an original thought.
At least PG is sane enough not to buy into the left/right puppet theater like you do.
At the end of the day they all swear or affirm allegiance to a foreign Commander in Chief.
“PG is sane enough…” – say what?!
yeah maybe I am a sucker for thinking democracy might actually work. whereas (judging by your link) you seem to prefer theocracy?
newsflash: your ideology failed 600 years ago, thank Voltaire.
Weirdly, weka, PG, who claims to be not the least bit bothered by the ban, has written a fourth post on it. In it he writes:
“TRP wasn’t winding me up.”
Given that admission, I guess Lprent’s generous decision to make it only a month instead of a year should probably be reconsidered 😉
Thanks te reo putake – best giggle of the day
““TRP wasn’t winding me up.”
Given that admission, I guess Lprent’s generous decision to make it only a month instead of a year should probably be reconsidered 😉 “
😀
I think the dim loser may get to double figures on this series of pathetic posts – really pete is so useless only pity can help him. onya TRP 🙂
“his royal greyness”
beige, please 🙂
He’s like the blue dress.
the opposite of golden
It’s good to see Greypower behaving responsibly and giving thought and taking part in public policy discussion and action on matters affecting all NZs. This link is on getting better public transport around Auckland on the front desk and putting on the bac desk, autobans and flash new roads.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11410925
edited
Rachel Stewart asks whether Little and Labour will make the paradigm shift required to create jobs that work in a sustainable future.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/opinion/66820649/Worlds-changing-fast-MPs-need-to-get-on-board
What does everyone think of compulsory voting in NZ like Aussie has?
I’d prefer it if voters had to pass some sort of test to prove they were competent.
Yep. How about a historically proven tried and true test for ‘electoral competence’.
1) White.
2) Male.
3) Christian.
4) Owns at least an acre of property.
I was more hoping “people that are smart enough not to vote against their own best interests”.
so none of the national voters get to play next time around? Same counts for
Act and the those that voted for Peter fukcn Dunne?
i am cool with that.
I’m provisionally supportive as long as its applied to local body elections, and is accompanied by serious effort at education and outreach eg civics classes in schools, free civics classes for adults, much better access to how our political processes work etc. It would need to be promoted in ways that enabled people to engage where they want to, otherwise it’s just a stick.
Kiaora Michael
I have a problem with compulsory voting. It generally means fines having to be paid by those that can least afford to pay them – the disaffected, the dispossessed, the disenchanted, and the disenfranchised. From my understanding of the Australian system, its mandatory to turn up to a polling booth but there is no requirement to actually vote.
The main argument for mandatory voting appears to be that it will increase the level of participation by the the disaffected, the dispossessed, the disenchanted, and the disenfranchised so that their views will filter through into policy decisions and make for a stronger democracy.
I have yet to see that happening in Australia which continues to have a significant minority of the disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised especially amongst aboriginal peoples. Australia is regarded as one of the most racist countries in the world so hardly a model of virtue for us to follow in terms of democracy.
Yes and you can see daylight thru Key on that one
Adele, bugger all Aussies get fined and the fines are small, from memory, $20-200 depending on the circ’s. Only a small percentage get prosecuted and it’s usually political activists with an axe to grind who have publicised their refusal to vote.
Kiaora, Te Reo Putake
$20 is actually a lot to someone who doesn’t have any money. But regardless of the amount of the fine why do those who espouse a war on poverty readily endorse a punitive regime which just creates more crap for poor people to contend with.
We are also basically saying to the disaffected, the dispossessed, the disenchanted, and the disenfranchised that they are to blame for the failure of democracy. I rather think that democracy has failed them.
Seriously? In the modern world it is ridiculously easy to register and a matter of minutes to vote. It’s not a poverty issue. Should we also make registering cars optional? Dogs? Voting is no harder than those compulsory things and a lot cheaper.
Weird how you think democracy is just more crap. Should it be restricted to just the middle class and above?
Kiaora, Te Reo Putake
Yes, seriously.
I live in the Eastern Bay of Plenty which has a deprivation index of 10, alongside Northland. People live without power here, so getting “online” is a really big issue for some. They also drive warrant-less and unregistered cars, and have unregistered dogs.
And yes, people much like you, with no understanding of how the other half live, continue to view them as dysfunctional and stupid people. Do fines change behaviour? No, they simply extract $5 a week from a benefit.
There is a huge cohort of people that cannot engage with the modern world because the modern world is far too expensive, exclusive, white, and populated by the ignorant, arrogant and mean spirited.
My point is, if we want to improve voting, give them something to vote for. Don’t immediately resort to creating another law which will most likely punish only those at the sharp end of a sanctimonious rod.
What a load of pompous tosh, Adele. Your patronising attitude toward the poor, suggesting they are incapable of even getting registered let alone voting is hopelessly bourgeois. They actually have plenty of disadvantaged people in Oz too, y’know, but they’ve made it work.
But keep on telling yourself you know best. The poor can keep themselves protected from the chill this winter by snuggling up to the warm glow of your smugness.
Kiaora Te Reo Putake
The only pompous tosser in this conversation is you. I suppose your idea of a poor person is someone that can’t afford a holiday to Hawaii.
They actually have plenty of disadvantaged people in Oz too, y’know, but they’ve made it work.)
Yes, we have some of those people here too. Paula Bennett and John Key readily spring to mind.
You are such an ideologue that you’d happily piss on the dignity of the disaffected, the dispossessed, the disenchanted, and the disenfranchised – all for their own good, of course.
Its your type of thinking that is killing any good notion of democracy. Bashing the minority over the head with your moral rigidity and rectitude – all for their own good, of course.
I thoroughly recommend that you pack your rectitude in a leak proof nappy and visit firsthand how mandatory voting works for aboriginal peoples in Australia. Go to the back-blocks and preach to them how they can “make it work.”
Adele, you’re are talking absolute bollocks. Middle class know it alls like you are despised by the people you talk down to. People can and do make up their own mind about whether to vote no matter what pseudo intellectuals like you think their situation is and what their response should be.
As for Koori culture, I’ve lived it. I know a fair bit about it from having lived in their communities in both urban areas and the bush. That includes a relationship with someone most white Aussies wouldn’t even share a table with. That doesn’t mean I have a right to speak for them, but it sure as hell gives me more insight than you’ve shown on this thread.
Your ignorance is matched only by your superciliousness. Get your head out of your arse.
Kiaora Te Reo Putake
As for Koori culture, I’ve lived it. I know a fair bit about it from having lived in their communities in both urban areas and the bush. That includes a relationship with someone most white Aussies wouldn’t even share a table with.
I would have been more impressed if you had simply said, “I know what its like to be disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised as I regularly volunteer at the local soup kitchen once a month.”
Instead, you drag a relationship with an aboriginal woman into the limelight as a beacon of light onto your virtuous nature and innate understanding of their circumstances. That is hugely disrespectful to her.
And by doing so you are implying that your knowledge is tainted with expertise on aboriginal matters. A Tui moment..
That doesn’t mean I have a right to speak for them, but it sure as hell gives me more insight than you’ve shown on this thread.
It gives you no such insight as you still come across as profoundly ignorant. Within my worldview there are non-Maori who have lived amongst us mai rānō, yet they still remain as ignorant as Cook, on the day that he landed.
It also beggars belief that you can live amongst peoples so wounded by legislation and regulation and yet still say that “it works for them.”
Yeah, more middle class bullshit, Adele. You clearly haven’t got a clue what its like to be disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised, but you don’t mind being patronising about it. I guess you’re not going to take your head out of your arse because you admire the view.
Perhaps if we could include in the voting – a “None of the above” option. Those who are not represented can meet their civic requirement without having to officially support a party that is not representing them.
Like you, would not like to see the coercion of a between a rock and a hard place in terms of voting choices, or a punitive consequence for those already vulnerable and hurting.
Kiaora Te Reo Putake
Yeah, more middle class bullshit, Adele. You clearly haven’t got a clue what its like to be disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised, but you don’t mind being patronising about it. I guess you’re not going to take your head out of your arse because you admire the view.
Again, you are showing your profound ignorance. If I am middle class what does that make you? Landed gentry? However, I won’t resort to your tactic of pulling an aborigine out of a hat to prove that “I really do know what I am talking about”
By and large, Māori, predominantly, are the disaffected, dispossessed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised minority in this society.
I am Ngāti Awa. We had our lands confiscated in 1866, something like 245,000 acres. The economic base that we had established for ourselves was completely destroyed due to land loss and deliberate destruction by Crown forces.
Our people were robbed and left landless, homeless and in poverty. Many still exist today in this oasis of bleakness. And everyday we bear witness to our disenfranchisement and dispossession when walking, driving, or being towed past, the flash homes built on stolen coast lands.
But by your reckoning mandatory voting will make everything sweet again. True democracy will reign supreme. Te Tiriti o Waitangi will drive legislative changes. Indefeasibility of Title will be overturned. And Stolen lands will be returned.
I would offer another Tui but the beers of choice here are Lion Red and Waikato. And my arse does in fact have a very nice view as it is sitting on the whenua of my whakapapa. I am indeed privileged in that respect.
I won’t comment further on this matter.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/66869632/new-zealands-biggest-killer-billboard-replaced-with-john-key-sketch
Heart Foundation head of marketing Vanessa Winning said employees and volunteers were upset the billboard has been used for political protest.
“It’s really disappointing that a charity is being targeted to score political points,” she said.
“I find it unthinkable that someone would vandalise our billboard, and consequently mock a seriously crippling disease, just to make a political statement.”
The left back up to its usuall tricks again
[lprent: Haven’t I seen you in previous comments in years past complaining about the left’s “lack of humour” when those scallywags of the right attacked Helen, Cunliffe, Turei, and just about everyone else for things like signing paintings for charity.
Yet here you whine about something that is genuinely funny, probably pretty difficult to do, and you whining for what are transparently simple political motives.
Go figure. Just another hypocrite? Or have I confused you with someone else?
But I will put the image up…]
You think its funny, I don’t and thats cool but in this instance don’t you think its a bit shitty to do this to a charities billboard?
Or is it ok they may get less donations as long as it attacks John Key?
lol…biggest laugh i have had all day!….and I support the Heart Foundation…i am sure this won’t hurt them !
laughter is good exercise for the heart
+100
What makes you think it will get less donations?
They might get more donations. I feel inspired by the poster.
Me too 🙂 Possibly not the intended reaction but well worth a few dollars for the chuckle alone
If the Heart Foundation intended on being apolitical, they wouldn’t have put up a 2m tall picture of John Key.
Why would they get fewer donations? I thought everyone in NZ loved John Key and therefore a billboard with his picture on it will surely result in more donations?
How do we know that it wasn’t Key himself who plastered his face up there?
This is free election advertising! Will Key stop at nothing to spread his personality cult!?
The left back up to its usuall tricks again.
Oh the irony… Dirty Politics anyone?
Totally agree, Pukish. ACT on Campus really need to stop their childish pranks. It’s not big and it’s not funny.
bwahahahahahahahah
the truth shall set ye free
considering that Dear Leader cut funds for the Obesity Action Foundation in 2009 to 0 this billboard is actually very acurate.
Quote from our favority stenographers the Herald:
The Government has lopped another limb off Labour’s “bureaucratic” public health tree, ending state funding for the Obesity Action Coalition.
The coalition, created under Labour in 2003 to promote measures to reduce obesity, confirmed yesterday it would close within months of its state contract ending on June 30, unless it could find new sources of cash.
This follows National’s permission to schools in February to resume regular sales of unhealthy foods and drinks, overturning a rule introduced last year by Labour. The new Government is also scrapping the roles of district health board staff who helped schools and early childhood centres implement the healthy food and drink guidelines underpinning the Labour rule. Quote end.
Quote: The Health Ministry is the main source of income for the Obesity Action Coalition, which represents more than 70 organisations, including the National Heart Foundation and the Cancer Society. Quote end.
actions and consequences…..:)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10574539
Puckish Rogue.
Light hearted humour.
This has probably given the heart foundation a lot more free publicity no doubt Key will benefit as well.
It could be made better. Lots of reasons why it’s not, including long standing denial from the science heads.
Starts tomorrow – be amazed, be proud, be there – if you can
http://www.tematatini.co.nz/
This is us – the real Aotearoa, the people, the place and the history – this is the real us.
I am hoping to be there for at least part of it, Marty but some child related issues may nix it.
Kia kaha Otautahi, me nga roopu no Te Wai Pounamu hoki. Karawhuia 🙂
Wimpo Key does it again from guts and glory to “I dont think tourists should have their Keys taken by another driver” he forgot to qualify his position that the incident was directed by the police for it to be done
How you going to slip out of that one Key? whose fault is it now? got you
Can someone please remove the Key from government?
It is driving NZ the wrong way, too fast, and off a cliff.
A sore nose would also be well deserved.
Just saw this and thought I’d shear a very funny trademe listing.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=853742747
So body will complain and have it taken down soon – but worth a good giggle – the title anyway.
lol…looks like a good game to play with kids or after a party (instead of scrabble or monopoly)
‘
Teina Pora’s conviction has just been quashed by the Privvy Council.
Just saw that. Good news to end the day with.
Hope his compensation process is dealt with speedily and compassionately.
Well, there’s a process to go through, but there does seem to be a pretty good case that he had absolutely nothing to do with it (and that between unrecorded conversations,, 14th-hour “confessions”, and paid witness testimony, he should never even have been charged). That, and the actual murderer was found, usually acted alone, and was in an opposing gang so they were hardly likely to be buddies.
Thanks for that BLiP. There’s some good news there. But so many years of life wasted.
Great. I don’t see how they could have done anything else. This episode shows that we still need the Privy Council because we can’t get over our own systemic racism.
In a just world, the cops who I believe fitted him up should go to jail. I know he made it easy for them, but the prevailing attitude at the Otahuhu Station was that two people getting done for a one man crime was better than only one getting done, and three would be even better. They would have creamed their knickers when they saw how suggestible he was. They played him like a fiddle.
As for Malcolm Rewa, my understanding is that he was a police informant and not a lot of effort was put into trying to apprehend him as long as he kept informing on his mates. I suspect that more than a few women got raped and Susan Burdett was raped and killed because a free Rewa was useful to the police. This was negligence of the first order and heads should roll. In fact, I think we need a Royal Commission into how so many unsafe convictions were entered in the last 30 years.
I also think we should have a prosecutions service independent of the police and our magistrates should be inquisitorial rather than just choosing between two sets of lies. We need to do a lot better, especially when we look at what some cops and ex cops have been getting up to.
Kia kaha, Teina Pora. May we stop such injustice from happening again.
Good to see the incompetent and complete waste of time training Iraqi army with pro Sunni tribes and Shia militias working together to thow isis nut jobs out of tikrit. Only a week ago on this site this would never happen and training and supporting Iraq to free themselves of this inhuman cult was a complete waste of time to the so enlightened on this site. Boy I am glad you guys can get your rocks off here in virtual reality and are nobodies in the real world
You little stupid chicken hawk chicken shit head, you just defeated your own point. If What you are saying is true then clearly NZ is not needed in the area to defeat ISIS, we are being lied to, so why the fuck are we going.
lol I’m glad you could figure out what rd’s point was – to me it just seemed to be a pastiche of random rabies-froth.
I had to turn off 3/4 of my brain and contort what was left of it back to front in order to do so; am glad you appreciated the effort.
We seriously need better wingnuts.
I am glad you have the guts to save us Redelusion. Have you seen American Sniper yet? It will be so cool to go back to Iraq and blow away the ragheads!! Rah rah #teamkey we want drones, bombs, and blood spatters all over the Middle East.
You’re a fucken hero Red.
(/sarc, fyi)
PS: If anyone’s getting their rocks off it is morally retarded warmongering dickheads like you, who think going to war is an XBox game.
You left out the Iranians, Reddelusion.
Iran took a leading role in the Iraqi military’s largest offensive yet to reclaim territory from Islamic State, throwing drones, heavy weaponry and ground forces into the battle while the U.S. remained on the sidelines.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/iraqs-military-begins-campaign-to-reclaim-tikrit-1425287398