Father was a long-time National MP for Miramar, brother-in-law is Mad Max Bradford (uber-Neo-Liberal end of the Bolger/Shipley Governments), sister Rosemary was a Wellington City Councillor (in the Prendergastian Right faction) a decade or so ago, while younger sister Nicola is a current Wellington City Councillor very much on the Thatcherite Right (recently penned a Dominion Post opinion piece on why the very idea of a living wage is abhorent. We don’t want those absolutely horrid little working class fellows getting above their station).
All this positivity in the portrayal of illness or disability may have helped the government with its welfare reforms. It feeds the notion that there is hardly any condition, no matter how severe, that can prevent a person from working, and the inference that those who aren’t working are using their illness to freeload off the taxpayer. We are now in the position that people with terminal cancer can be forced to do unpaid work or lose their benefits.
It’s about England and how the conservatives there are attacking welfare but we’re seeing the same things happening here.
“You put in a hard day’s work, you expect a fair day’s pay,” says Mr Te Amo. “If you don’t get paid, you jump up and down. I would not commit any of our subbies to come here and work for us if I didn’t think that I could get their money at the end of the day.”
Brand new car park ripped up.
The comments on this article and the Facebook link are generally supportive of this contractor standing up for his subs and himself after a dispute over costing with an developer in Christchurch. These disputes happen everyday and it seems the public are pretty aware that contractors and subbies are being shafted.
Ripping it up is the worst thing he could have done, he will get hammered for reinstatement.
The only thing you can do is get a letter drafted saying you will cease work until such time as all outstanding payments are up to date. Generally for Subbies at the end of a job the tactic is very effective as the threat of liquidated damages usually means payment is forthcoming.
Been there and done that with the recently demised nationwide main contractor got the ‘don’t expect to work for us again’ speech but got paid and as it turned out good riddance.
I do note it is interesting that it is a dispute over ‘how the job was costed.’ You have to hope he didn’t make a tendering error or similar and has painted himself into a corner. Having tendered a few projects for new countdown stores previously I do recall them having some interesting fine print and from memory at least one was a Gross Maximum Price tender where basically there is no going back for additional funds regardless.
Obviously the subcontractor agreement between the parties was less than black and white if there is a dispute of this nature as it seems more complex than outstanding progress claims..
Because there was no analysis of the reason for the dispute, I was more interested in the effect the dispute had on Mr Te Amo and the public reaction to it.
The reaction is bigger than the dispute, almost to the level of one of those little tipping points where public dissatisfaction spills over into something much more, and depending on how part 2 plays out on the tv, it may do just that.
No one likes when a small contractor gets beaten up by a bigger one and it happens all to often. Especially when it comes to withholding final payments and retentions for as long as absolutely possible while the money sits in a bank account gathering interest. Doubt outside of some internet outrage much will come of it and even that may dissipate depending on the nuts and bolts of the dispute.
What will happen is regardless of the dispute he is going to get hammered for reinstatement costs and any associated liquidated damages.
I would be in favour in a law that that required all payments, retentions etc being held in trust.
Once a claim has been made and approved by the client the trust pays the monies directly to the various parties rather than the current system which relies on the benevolence of the head contractor to pay subcontractors when due.
builders and designers now have a 10 year personal liability following any building they work opn. Developers dont.
So developers will continue to open a company, borrow money, draw salaries, build stuff, take the profit, close down and move on.”
Builders and designers can lose the house.
Change that law, make developers personally liable for ten years AND any trust they hold a beneficial interest in, and watch the cowboy developers drop like flies. leaving us with developers with well earned reputations for quality work and hiring.
So simple, but seemingly beyond the wit of our politicians… I wonder why (rhetorical)>
I won’t provide a link, but excuse my ignorance – who in hell is Jojo Maddren.
Should we know? Should we care?
But his/her political savvy appears to be non existent, yet she/he somehow gets opinion space on Stuff today … If you haven’t read it, don’t bother, – he/she is shallow as.
There now I hope I haven’t raised your curiosity – I probably shouldn’t have shared this.
On the other hand, if she/he is a captain of industry or someone who is believed to be of import, we should be concerned at the lack of intellect …
Yeah, spotted that, too, ffloyd. I presume this is a way of using a possessive adjective for one person whose sex is unknown, rather than ‘his/her’.
I would put quotation marks around the word ‘thoughts’ because there was not a high level of intellectual input in that reader’s remarks, especially in the over-blown praise of the PM.
At least it wasn’t a regular journo guilty of that hagiography of secular Saint John.
They refer to “the poor old Kiwi battler”.
I can’t say I’ve heard about the kiwi battler. Have heard about the “aussie battler”.
According to google and bing, “Jojo Maddren” exists nowhere in the internet but this article and talk about the article.
Which suggests to me the the article is an astroturfing construct by aussie marketing contractors. Which also suggests to me that it would have follow-up support in the comments as part of its release. So it’s quite possible that the few supporters of jjm are also paid marketers, and that the only real nzers offering their unpaid opinions think “jjm” is full of shit.
She may be a nonentity but oddly enough she puts her finger exactly on the argument Labour/Greens will have to counter in the upcoming election.
Meanwhile not getting many headlines is the fact that dairy prices have fallen 18% in 2 months, where dairy represents 30% of NZ’s exports. Here’s a link to this:
I agree that Labour needs a greater sense of urgency, especially since National already have it. National supporters are not complacent – they fear losing what they have gained under National, and lobby for them quite naturally. The older guy in the site shed, for instance, who has about five rentals and is thinking about taking an early retirement, saying authoritatively, “That bloody Cunliffe is useless.” Some of the South Auckland ministers who say they will go National, have quite possibly been treated to a deep-and-meaningful or two about how we must protect the morals of the young from the mad lefties, and so on.
While the policies Labour has released seem fine, we do not have anything so far that would give us that kind of immediate and direct leverage. I will hassle people to vote for them anyway, since I want to see the back of this government and I also think that the more members in caucus, the less traction there is for the Labour right. But it would be a whole lot easier if it was more obvious to people that their lives would be better under Labour – like the site shed guy in relation to National.
The man that shouted at Cunliffe yesterday was effectively saying “a plague on both your houses.” If Labour could convince people like that man – who are frightened and angry at what is happening to them under National – a big part of their job would be done.
The man that shouted at Cunliffe yesterday was effectively saying “a plague on both your houses.” If Labour could convince people like that man – who are frightened and angry at what is happening to them under National – a big part of their job would be done.
That man could probably be persuaded to vote for Mana or the Greens.
Someone like that man may not view the Greens or Mana as being able to do all that much to help – Labour is still seen by many as the party that is able to take effective action on behalf of beleaguered people. The big question is whether or not it has the will to do so, and to what degree. The young and the politically engaged seem more inclined, on the whole, to go for the Greens or Mana.
A passing observation. When I saw the TV1clip on TV last night my first impression was oh god… Waitakere Man having a red-neck moment. Then I watched the TV3 clip online and I saw a very hurt man – a man who perhaps has lost his job through no fault of his own and has been badly treated ever since. He’s at the end of his tether and I would like to see David Cunliffe approach him (if he can be identified) and listen to his story.
I haven’t seen either of the news clips of him but the Unemployment isn’t working was a jibe against Labour in the 1980s and that he also said that the “unions were dead and you killed them” (paraphrased) which makes me think he’s an old time Labour voter and he’s really, really pissed off.
And Cunliffe should extract a winning line (good luck) from T.I.N.A. Parker for the stupid policy of increasing the age for superannuation ….. the framing has been set by Natz already and is being disseminated by Tory Woteva:
“Raising the pension age has turned into a story about making hard-working Kiwis work longer so a Labour government can spend more of their hard-earned taxes, according to National’s narrative.”
Tried to interpret the “settings” logie. Seems to be a soapbox where anyone can say what would get their vote. The Jo Maddren piece is pointless really. No issue other than he/she will vote National.
Maybe they are students? Hence Assignments.
Are Kiwi women ‘lardos’? We want to hear your thoughts on the weight of New Zealand’s women.
Reading Jojo’s pfaff was one thing, then reading the comments, then reading that Stuff are basically sponsoring prejudice in NZ. Not a great start to the day.
Introducing Stuff Nation was a master stroke of the Stuff propaganda machine.
They say they are letting the public have an open voice in the MSM and everyone can contribute. Hard to argue with that and best to ignore the often right leaning regularity of published opinion because what makes the Stuff Nation contributions so interesting is they usually have comments open.
Over the 2 years (?) of this feature being active, the comments section on these pieces are often a lot more interesting and more well informed when compared to comments (and articles) elsewhere in the ‘newspaper’.
🙂 There does seem to be some similarities now you mention it.
… but does Slater know that many words?
I only ask because many of the comments are longer than Slater’s articles
A recent “The Economist” (The Economist Jan 18 2014) has an article on “Corporate Welfare” a peculiar type of aid to the movie and television business which consists of USA states making interest free loans and tax credits to production companies.
Louisiana for example have a 40% Tax Credit available, while New York has a budget of $420m dedicated to film making.
The problem is how do you calculate the benefit a dollar spent on film as opposed one spent on other normal state services e.g. roads.
The article noted that Pinewood once a home to major British productions is opening a 288 acre facility in Georgia USA, citing its “great crew base” One would imagine the great crew come at a cheaper rate than back home in UK . The article further states that independent research finds that tax credits for film makers, serves mainly to help film makers.
One study in Louisiana found that for every dollar the state received in revenue from film production it spent $7.29 on credits. Furthermore jobs created by productions do not last.
Asking why the schemes are so popular they opine that partly because politicians like having their photo being taking with films stars.
Interesting that Michigan thought that pouring money into film makers pockets would offset job losses in the car industry. It didn’t and the project has been scaled back.
One wonders about the NZ reports that lauded the pouring of money into Hollywood as being so good for NZ. Of course I accept that our Prime Minister would never be so facile as to want his photo taken with film stars – would he.
For those interested in The Louisiana study you can find it here. Well worth reading Film Funding
Ha ha I laughed when I read this in this mornings NZH, there will be a few MP’s noses outof joint. I would not be surprised if there were no chairs for people to lounge around in, typical Matt it’s all hands on deck. Big fan of McCarten I love it!
So what’s with The Standard these days? Over the last couple of weeks, most of the content seems to be syndicated from other blogs, with only Mickey coming along with the same laughably wrong analysis he helps Cunliffe with and karol over analysing everything as a neoliberal conspiracy.
I would have thought that in an election year, the standardistas would be lining up to try take the govt down. Instead… Silence. And linking to those actually with something to say.
Maybe the contributors here have to work unlike Slater and Farrar who one way or another are paid to blog?
Kind of a relfection of the views each blog represents. The Standard has people who have to work for a living and can only champion causes in spare time, while KB and WO are actually well financed organs of politically aligned well-heeled personages? Just a thought. It does mean Open Mike is well used, and general commenters can draw attention tot heir own stuff.
maybe at WO and KB it’s very important to keep feeding the info from the top so the readers know what to “think” each day?
The Standard has always survived on voluntary efforts from people with lives and jobs. If only the left had the same resources that Slater clearly enjoys …
Awww i love your blog envy Tracey or might i suggest infactuation the way you continue to bring up Slater, almost as amusing as your h ate filled John Key attacks
Yet you still find the time to drop by and regale us with your “witticisms” Baron… Scoot back off to blubber boy where the quantity and “variety” of articles is clearly more to your liking.
Stephanie Rodgers has written a number of post, and there have also been posts from Lynn, Bill, Bunji, Mike Smith and Geoff.
Some of the Notices and Features have been put up by ts authors as well, but it’s not as obvious as it used to be because the syndicated blogs are also put up under that login.
I’ve been enjoying the syndicated posts. Baron, not sure why you think that ts should be meeting your needs, but by all means keep on telling ts authors what they should be doing, esp Lynn.
Yes, well we don’t have the habit of KB and WO of simply quoting newspaper and other blogs with the off “indeed” interspersed. That appears to be the majority of their content
The posts on the site have always waxed and waned depending on who has time and capability to write. Over the past year, a number of previously active authors have been pulled into new roles where they don’t have time to write or where it is inadvisable for them to blog or where I consider that they have a conflict of interest. It takes time and effort to bring new authors on.
I’ve been busy. So has everyone else. Fortunately I have about 9 weeks of available holiday before september and Lyn is using most of hers up on film related stuff (that I avoid). My last projects is pretty well through both release and distribution. So that is probably going to change over the winter because I’m planning on taking most of it off to concentrate on this and a few other minor projects..
But as you say, we have a number of other sites that allow us to showcase their work. So we do in any area where none of our authors has covered the same issues or where it has been done from a different perspective. In the case of most of those sites, there are few or no comments normally. Are you saying that they shouldn’t be commented on here? That is what this site is for…
I have had a reply from the standards committee for media works over the complaint re the 5 March “3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. ”
Complaint was under fairness and accuracy.
They do go through the detail comprehensively.
They end up with:”The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint.”
Well they did consider the complaint and since they say that they had received complaints (plural) so maybe Paddy might be a bit more circumspect in the future. Maybe.
Thank you for your email outlining your concerns about a news story that screened on 5 March 2014 at 6pm.
The Standards Committee has investigated the footage in relation to your complaint and considered it under the standards you have nominated, Standard 5, Accuracy and Standard 6, Fairness.
In the introduction to the story it was said: 3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. The Labour leader initially tried to keep the trust off the official record but was forced to make a late change. Political editor Patrick Gower with this exclusive report”
Later in the body of the report it was clarified:
Voiceover: “MPs are required to declare all financial interests over $500, yesterday Cunliffe admitted to two trusts.
Cunliffe: “I’m beneficiary of the Bozzie Family Trust and a bare trust called ICSL which does savings investments.”
Voiceover: “But a check of the latest register of MP’s pecuniary interests shows only one of these two was actually declared on time. That’s the Bozzie Trust which owns his house, Cunliffe left out the ICSL trust, he was forced to correct the register by making a late declaration posted on the website.”
We have received a number of complaints about various aspects of this story and the Committee has responded to the specific concerns below. We consulted the reporting team and their comments follow an outline of the particular issue.
Standard 5 – Accuracy
We received complaints that it was incorrect to say that David Cunliffe was ‘forced’ to declare the ICSL trust and that he had ‘failed to declare’ the trust.
David Cunliffe did fail to declare a financial trust. The 2013 Pecuniary Interests Register returns were due by 28 February 2013 – a deadline he failed to meet forcing him to make a subsequent declaration on 16 July 2013. David Cunliffe was forced to correct the register. He sought advice from the Registrar himself – who told Cunliffe to declare it.
Standard 6 – Fairness
We received complaints that the statistics provided in the report
Patrick Gower correctly named David Cunliffe as one of 20,000 investors in the $8 billion fund. $8 billion evenly divided is $400,000. There was no suggestion the trust was evenly divided (we said “if”) – the figures were used to illustrate the size of the trust and level of investments.
The Committee notes that in a live cross Patrick Gower conveys the information that the investment is less than $100,000. Overall the Committee is satisfied that the report did not mislead and was fair to Mr Cunliffe in this respect as all relevant information was provided to the viewer.
Some complainants raised the issue that other National MPs had made supplementary declarations after the deadline and that these were not mentioned. The reporting team have said that the ICSL trust became an issue only after David Cunliffe’s problems with the TR Trust (the trust set up for his leadership campaign). They followed up on David Cunliffe’s comments in the stand-up on Tuesday and that’s how the story came about.
The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint. If you are not happy about this decision you have the right in accordance with Section 7(3) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 to refer your complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, (P.O. Box 9213, Wellington, http://www.bsa.govt.nz) for the purpose of an investigation and review. You have 20 working days after receipt of this email to exercise this right of referral.
(“Although the helicopter trust agreed to drop further legal battles, it hasn’t dropped its complaint to Controller and Auditor-General Lyn Provost asking her to investigate the operations of the funding board, going back to 2009.”)
Don’t hold your breath waiting for NZ Auditor-General Lyn Provost to do anything – that’s my experience and considered opinion:
That the House conduct an urgent inquiry into why New Zealand Auditor-General Lyn Provost did not disclose that she was a shareholder in Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd at the time she declined to conduct an urgent investigation into the failure of the Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand to carry out ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the New Zealand International Convention Centre (Bill) 2013.
Petition number: 2011/101
Presented by: Denis O’Rourke
Date presented: 12 March 2014
Referred to: Finance and Expenditure Committee
Why have there not been any MAN ON THE MOON headlines about this development – given that New Zealand is ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – (and all that garbage) ?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
This is how you deal with a conflict of interest… and note that even when you do it this way, it doesn’t look good… so imagine how it looks if you make no declaration
I see the National Party run media has completley crossed the line now.
National were not happy with the way Amy Adams clear conflict of interest was reported. So they have gone straight in for the kill and muzzled the media, to the extent of completley turning the story around.
This is the kind of stuff you would expect in North Korea. But not here in New Zealand.
If you care about press freedom and civil rights in New Zealand, you must vote Green in September.
Thank you for your email outlining your concerns about a news story that screened on 5 March 2014 at 6pm. The Standards Committee has investigated the footage in relation to your complaint and considered it under the standards you have nominated, Standard 5, Accuracy and Standard 6, Fairness.
In the introduction to the story it was said: 3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. The Labour leader initially tried to keep the trust off the official record but was forced to make a late change. Political editor Patrick Gower with this exclusive report”
Later in the body of the report it was clarified:
Voiceover: “MPs are required to declare all financial interests over $500, yesterday Cunliffe admitted to two trusts.
Cunliffe: “I’m beneficiary of the Bozzie Family Trust and a bare trust called ICSL which does savings investments.”
Voiceover: “But a check of the latest register of MP’s pecuniary interests shows only one of these two was actually declared on time. That’s the Bozzie Trust which owns his house, Cunliffe left out the ICSL trust, he was forced to correct the register by making a late declaration posted on the website.”
We have received a number of complaints about various aspects of this story and the Committee has responded to the specific concerns below. We consulted the reporting team and their comments follow an outline of the particular issue.
Standard 5 – Accuracy
We received complaints that it was incorrect to say that David Cunliffe was ‘forced’ to declare the ICSL trust and that he had ‘failed to declare’ the trust.
David Cunliffe did fail to declare a financial trust. The 2013 Pecuniary Interests Register returns were due by 28 February 2013 – a deadline he failed to meet forcing him to make a subsequent declaration on 16 July 2013. David Cunliffe was forced to correct the register. He sought advice from the Registrar himself – who told Cunliffe to declare it.
Standard 6 – Fairness
We received complaints that the statistics provided in the report
Patrick Gower correctly named David Cunliffe as one of 20,000 investors in the $8 billion fund. $8 billion evenly divided is $400,000. There was no suggestion the trust was evenly divided (we said “if”) – the figures were used to illustrate the size of the trust and level of investments.
The Committee notes that in a live cross Patrick Gower conveys the information that the investment is less than $100,000. Overall the Committee is satisfied that the report did not mislead and was fair to Mr Cunliffe in this respect as all relevant information was provided to the viewer.
Some complainants raised the issue that other National MPs had made supplementary declarations after the deadline and that these were not mentioned. The reporting team have said that the ICSL trust became an issue only after David Cunliffe’s problems with the TR Trust (the trust set up for his leadership campaign). They followed up on David Cunliffe’s comments in the stand-up on Tuesday and that’s how the story came about.
The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint. If you are not happy about this decision you have the right in accordance with Section 7(3) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 to refer your complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, (P.O. Box 9213, Wellington, http://www.bsa.govt.nz) for the purpose of an investigation and review. You have 20 working days after receipt of this email to exercise this right of referral.
That’s a really slippery standards check by TV3. Three significant bits, that really don’t address the ways the structure of the item, and the decision to make it newsworthy, are biased against Cunliffe in the way he will be seen by a large number of viewers:
1) dancing on a pin over the meaning/implication of the word “forced’
Standard 5 – Accuracy
We received complaints that it was incorrect to say that David Cunliffe was ‘forced’ to declare the ICSL trust and that he had ‘failed to declare’ the trust.
David Cunliffe did fail to declare a financial trust. The 2013 Pecuniary Interests Register returns were due by 28 February 2013 – a deadline he failed to meet forcing him to make a subsequent declaration on 16 July 2013. David Cunliffe was forced to correct the register. He sought advice from the Registrar himself – who told Cunliffe to declare it.
That’s totally misleading. It suggested someone focred Cunliffe to make the declaration when he didn’t want to – rather than chaning it himself when he became aware of the issues.
2)a) The use of the word “if” – how many viewers would take notice of its implications.
b) ommiting to tell viewers that the money wasn’t evenly divided is misleading the viewers:
Standard 6 – Fairness
We received complaints that the statistics provided in the report
Patrick Gower correctly named David Cunliffe as one of 20,000 investors in the $8 billion fund. $8 billion evenly divided is $400,000. There was no suggestion the trust was evenly divided (we said “if”) – the figures were used to illustrate the size of the trust and level of investments.
The Committee notes that in a live cross Patrick Gower conveys the information that the investment is less than $100,000.
3) failure to mention Nats missing the same deadline because Cunliffe’s Trusts issue had already become newsworthy – they fail to acknowledge that it was Gower’s (and others) previous news beat-ups that had led to this becoming “newsworthy”; they also fail to take into account that the two kinds of trusts (Cunliffe’s personal trusts, and the Labour leadership primaries trust), are two different things. They are misleading in connecting them.
Some complainants raised the issue that other National MPs had made supplementary declarations after the deadline and that these were not mentioned. The reporting team have said that the ICSL trust became an issue only after David Cunliffe’s problems with the TR Trust (the trust set up for his leadership campaign). They followed up on David Cunliffe’s comments in the stand-up on Tuesday and that’s how the story came about.
I will keep you updated re my complaints about The Herald.
I think it is worth doing this, i.e. complaining, even if the decision doesn’t go our way. It must be a pain for them to have to respond (even if the “win”). And at some level if they keep getting these complaints they will think twice, simply for the nuisance factor of being complained against.
My complaints to the Herald were not responded to, so I went to the Press Council and they were informed by the Herald my email was “overlooked”. They asked for the chance to respond and guess what, I have heard nothing. Another 10 days runs out today at 5pm, so back to the PC.
“I think it is worth doing this, i.e. complaining, even if the decision doesn’t go our way”
I completely agree. If they get enough complaints then they will take more notice. That those complaints are being published and talked about on social media should make them take notice too.
Every day we hear stories of how people can not live on the benefit. Today you’re hearing that literally thousands can not only live on it but can afford to travel overseas as well.
Can’t live on it, can’t actually afford to look for work on it for that matter. This would indicate that the people going overseas while on the benefit are probably getting their money from somewhere or someone else. Perhaps they won the trip in competition.
It certainly doesn’t, as Ms Bennett implies, mean that people living on the benefit are living high on the hog.
Yes relative of mine kept getting jobs and then contracts would run out and he would have to start the job hunt again. Another relative gave that person money to go and check things out in OZ.
They have had no trouble getting work over there.
Surely though are beneficiaries not allowed to go overseas? Have a break from looking for work. Most of us are allowed a holiday.
Many families now live in OZ and likely to pay for their down on their luck relative to have a break.
I personally think this thing of benefits cut for not notifying Winz etc, is against human rights.
It certainly doesn’t, as Ms Bennett implies, mean that people living on the benefit are living high on the hog.
This is simply a variation of Reagan’s classic “welfare Queens all drive Cadillacs” meme. Fucking Tories know the right buttons to push and keep pushing them.
I cannot believe the propaganda levels today. That Bennett travel story was in the Herald, on Stuff, on Prime, on TV3 – I did not check out TV1. TV3 obediently reiterated the claim that people insist they can’t live on benefits but still manage to travel, along with the alleged $10 mill being saved by cutting their benefits. Then there was the TV3 story that South Auckland is going National, based on three individuals who said they had switched. Meanwhile, Stuff tells us that we are the most progressive people in the whole wide world. Are we going to have to endure this right through to the election, for God’s sake?
TV One gave two sides to the issue. Comment from an Auckland Action Against poverty spokesperson saying it’s more beneficiary bashing. Comment from Metiria Turei saying they are allowed up to 28 days abroad for special circumstances.
TV one also reported that about 4,488 people got their benefits cancelled because they failed to notify WINZ they were back in the country – that that brings the total figure down to 1,500 – what else?
I will have to start turning to TV1 – that at least sounds somewhat balanced. At the same time I’d like to know why Bennett’s press releases so frequently become news – these beneficiary bashing “news” items seem to appear with clockwork regularity.
I have heard that an older woman wanting to travel to Oz to see children was refused permission as she should be here in NZ looking for work. This shows the hypocritical lying attitude of right wingers who are always baying about family being vital, fathers being included, and so on, yet really do not care at all about the strength of families and their supportive human interaction.
It’s just the money involved in government helping other people’s families not exclusively their own. It would be better spent on being invested in their own where it would ensure they would grow up well educated and schooled in all the arts of being socially impressive so they can be the new elite.
Could it be that a sizeable portion are…looking for work?
Some will also be going over for health reasons, or to visit family. Visiting family might not sound like a reasonable decision, but what if you were a refugee who was isolated in the community, suffering from PTSD, and dreadfully homesick?
The seething mass that used to be compassion in this country is a distant memory.
China’s Vice-Premier Wang Yang in May 2013 acknowledged that “uncivilised behaviour” by its citizens abroad was harming the country’s image. He cited “talking loudly in public places, jaywalking, spitting and wilfully carving characters on items in scenic zones”. Destination countries have been easing visa restrictions to attract more tourists from China, but reports have emerged of complaints about etiquette.
Global tourism is being driven by mainland visitors, their numbers surging annually by double-digit percentages. Chinese are expected to become the biggest outbound market this year, overtaking Americans and Germans with 95 million trips and US$110 billion in spending. But while they are being welcomed with open arms by governments, they are not always as warmly greeted by locals. As in Hong Kong, manners and habits are criticised most…..
a widely circulated video of a Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee member in Yunnan province smashing an airport check-in counter in a fit of rage, the internet is awash with postings of how poorly behaved mainlanders can be when travelling
New Zealand topped the rankings across a wide range of measures–according to the Social Progress Index 2014 which ranks 132 countries based on their social and environmental performance. The result was described as “exceptional” by Michael Green, Executive Directive of the Social Progress Imperative.
Key New Zealand findings:
Of the 54 indicators measured within each country to make up the overall Index ranking, New Zealand scores top spot in no less than 20, across a wide variety of different measures. These include tying in first place globally on measures of homicide (less than 2 per 100,000 people); levels of corruption and religious tolerance.
Strengths:
H New Zealand scores strongly on the ‘Access to Basic Knowledge’ component finishing 2nd globally. Included in this is secondary school enrollment on which New Zealand scores top.
H New Zealand also finishes top ranked on ‘Personal Freedom and Choice’, owing to impressive results on religious freedoms and freedom over life choices.
H On ‘Tolerance and Inclusion’ New Zealand scores fourth globally, thanks partly to its high tolerance for immigrants and religious tolerance.
H On the ‘Access to Information and Communications’ measure New Zealand scores 7th globally, which is a relatively strong result compared to countries of a similar GDP. The result owes partly to an exceptionally high rate of mobile telephone subscriptions (more than 110 for every 100 people) as well as ranking number one globally for press freedoms.
Other findings
According to the researchers New Zealand doesn’t have any specific weaknesses.
Maybe they didn’t look very closely in some of the political, and everything is relative, but this is a good pat on the back for the quality of life in New Zealand.
This is a new measure so it’s not possible to compare with previous years or centuries..
Social Progress Index launched to enable better understanding of worldwide progress and growth
The Social Progress Index, created by a team led by Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, is designed as a complement to GDP and other economic indicators to provide a more holistic understanding of countries’ overall performance. Measuring a country’s social progress outcomes the Index identifies a number of areas in which New Zealand is performing strongly compared to countries with a comparable GDP per capita, including on ‘Personal Rights’, ‘Water and Sanitation’ and ‘Personal Freedom and Choice’
The top five countries are:
1. New Zealand
2. Switzerland
3. Netherlands
4. Iceland
5. Norway
Of course every country could be going backwards and we’re just deteriorating less, but this has to be a very positive accolade for New Zealand.
Just a pity then that our economic policies are so regressive. But the Herald and you won’t focus on that.
Change some social policies, but ramp up the neoliberal doctrine so NZ is rapidly becoming one of the most unequal countries in the OECD.
For 30 years NZers have been encouraged to turn away from looking at what’s been happening in the economic sphere..look at how the nuclear stand off puffed up our chests so much we forgot to worry what Roger Douglas was doing to the country.
But the owners of the Herald and many others in the media have benefited from the looting of the country and so continue to provide the propaganda that NZ is wonderful country to live in.
It may be for you Pete….but it’s not for the 285 000 kids in poverty.
In a Stuff article, the Greens are reported to have pointed out some strengths and weaknesses of the Index, and NZ’s scores. For instance, they pointed out, there are some gaps in the data included in the Index
The result was particularly impressive in the context of New Zealand’s “relative economic weakness” compared to countries that finished much lower on the SPI, Green said.
“People always say it’s going to be the Scandinavians who come top, and they have done well,” Green said.
“But what’s striking about New Zealand’s result is that it has only the 25th GDP in the world. Per capita, that’s half of Norway’s. On half the income, NZ can show higher social progress than Norway.”
New Zealand did not have any specific weaknesses on the SPI, Green said, but its lowest scoring indicator – at 115th globally – was obesity.
New Zealand also ranked poorly in suicide – 76th globally.
Green said the project highlighted where there were data gaps, such as violence against women.
“One of the things we want to highlight as part of this report is that we’re using the best available data that’s globally comparable. But there are data gaps.”
SPI allowed individual countries to benchmark themselves against peer countries, both at the level of individual indicators as well as overall.
“If you want to be a successful country, it’s so much more than economic growth,” Green said.
“If we drive our world on GDP alone, we’re going to miss so much.”
And the last couple of sentences support some of the points I made in my Rogernomics post today.
There’s always weaknesses in indexes, and also in countries, but its worth striving to remain on top of the index.
I agree that all is not good, especially on all violence, not just violence against women, and the closely related issues of alcohol and drug overuse and abuse.
As Greens say (and I’m sure have said before) there are things as important as economic well being.
“I agree that all is not good, especially on all violence, not just violence against women, and the closely related issues of alcohol and drug overuse and abuse.”
I agree that violence must be addressed and it is all violence. The expression of violence is subtle and gross, obvious and hidden and should be intolerable in our society – but instead it is rampant and unrepentant. Once again we must look within ourselves to get to grips with that one.
Weaknesses: Basic needs, ranks 18th. (This includes affordable housing and electricity etc).
We can be grateful for our largely state-funded health and education system for a strong foundations of well-being score – the other top nations are similarly blessed with public provision. Our relatively progressively-minded population seems to account for the best score in the ‘Opportunity’ section, imo.
It’s also a problem creating checklists, without showing how things like (UN) affordable housing and power impact on people’s alility to take up opportunities in other areas of their lives.
Yes, It has no ranking for economic opportunity, from the looks of it. We also rank poorly on availability of affordable housing but high on private property rights – these affect people is quite different ways in terms of opportunities.
I also have a problem with the relative weighting of the variables. We don’t rank very well on ecosystem sustainability and the more I look into the health scores some are actually really poor. Life expectancy ranking probably pulls the score up.
He confirmed there had been nothing further from the department since the issues paper, adding that “it is being looked at; it is definitely on the radar”.
This does nothing to allay the suspicion that the Government is preparing to legislate to deny GST refunds to bodies corporate with leaky buildings.
But that would be tantamount to saying: “You were legally entitled to register and claim those refunds. As soon as we realised that we stopped you from doing so by administrative fiat and now we are changing the law so you can’t.”
Quite apart from that odious retrospectivity, it would raise difficult boundary issues.
No, I don’t normally read Brain Fallow but he’s got a point here – is National trying to put through a nasty bit of unannounced legislation to stop a few people from claiming back the GST that they’re entitled to?
Thanks Karol, missed it. You can’t blame me for being happy to live in the best country in the world. Least corrupt, most socially advanced, rock star economy. Wonderful.
I hope you realise that many of the ‘socially advanced’ aspects were courtesy of left-wing initiatives? (Homosexual law reform and gay marriage – Labour and Louisa Wall; access to ‘advanced education’ (i.e., interest free student loans and student allowances) – Labour; public health and education systems – Liberal/Labour; public sanitation and water provision – public sector/local government, etc., etc.).
The clue to just what aspects of our society put us on top is the company we keep up there – once again it’s the Scandinavian countries (+ Switzerland) with their – still – more social democratic policies than anywhere else in the ‘western’ world.
Are you appreciative of those social democratic policies or do you support their undermining, as is the general policy direction of the current government?
It’s very odd that right wingers are trumpeting this result given that most of the means for rising up the ranks amount to left wing policy prescriptions.
The areas we do poorly on (obesity, suicide, environmental sustainability) are where we have succumbed to the modern consumerist and exploitative world.
In a supreme irony, the one ‘right wing’ mantra (private property rights) which NZ scores high in, is currently being bulldozed in Christchurch.
The Social Progress Index, created by a team led by Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, is designed as a complement to GDP and other economic indicators to provide a more holistic understanding of countries’ overall performance
How amusing that this Porter fellow who had so much to do in helping us reach the top of the slide that we are now burning our bums on in our downwards direction should have designed this index and finds we come out so high. Which doesn’t fit with the observable signs around us or the statistics and known facts of our situation.
I wonder how Japan would rate if it had been studied before Fukushima, and now? Which couldn’t happen as it is all new. But it would be a test of reality. Our reality indicates that we are like a theme park for the visitors to exclaim about, while we all wear masks with smiles. The occasional attack or death of a tourist is hushed up, the facts can’t get in the way of the alluring myths.
Yep, I thought the same thing when I saw that article.
The index did not measure pesky little details like unemployment or income inequality. What a joke.
Meanwhile, the top 0.1% of Americans doubled their share of wealth since the 1960s to over 20%: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11231645
“The Green Party has launched legislation that will see a compulsory code of conduct brought in for New Zealand supermarkets and a fairer, more transparent system for New Zealand suppliers.”
Wow. Am about to have dinner and I think I like my greens even more 🙂
Funding is going to be lessened then withdrawn from long-term biosecurity research into the fruit fly etc. I think it has been going on too long for the government, which we know has a very instant gratification focus.
The facts are that scientists have made some breakthrough findings about fruit fly types (I’m not scientific but at least I do know that bio-s is important).
However they applied for funding and had their names on the wheel which was revolved and the pointer came down on someone else’s project. So these scientists are just bad losers and moaning on because they lost. Like they think they are important or something.
The Bio-Protection Research Centre, based at Lincoln University in Canterbury, has been told that it will receive no more money from the Tertiary Education Commission.
The grants are worth about $3.4 million a year to the research centre.
Bay of Plenty orchardist Chris Dunn says decisions like this are an example of the Government trying to give up responsibility for bio-security. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/240643/fruit-fly-'key-reason'-for-funding-research
Another fruit fly found at Whangarei. There is a big marina there, popular stopping place and presumably there will be attention to this possible site of incursion? http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/240634/labour-wants-some-fruit-from-australia-banned
Labour wants some fruit from Australia banned The male Queensland fruit fly was found on Tuesday in a surveillance trap in the harbour suburb of Parihaka. It was caught just 400 metres from where another was found in January this year….
Labour’s spokesman for primary industries Damien O’Connor said the latest incursion shows there is a pathway for the pest into Whangarei that has yet to be identified and the Government’s lack of action is putting the horticulture sector in grave danger.
I heard Sue Moroney on the radio trying to counter the story from Paula Bennett’s side regarding the people on benefits taking trips overseas and having their benefits suspended.
I had a couple of concerns
1) Her talking to the issue gave the issue legs. The radio was making a story of how Labour had responded to it
2) Labour was clearly on the wrong side of that issue in terms of public opinion unless it was willing to come out and go “We’d hit them harder!”. Defending Beneficiaries rights to have their trips overseas paid for by relatives is something the Greens can do, but Labour has too many current or potential working class supporters who haven’t been overseas for years because they can’t afford it.
3) She had a bit of difficulty staying on message in her response to the story. It is a tricky one because this is a straight forward trap set by the National strategy team – but you have to be prepared.
Regarding the social progress story I think claiming it as Labour’s is an OK way to go – it is also a good point in that these things are not things you turn on a dime – they are the result of decades of policies and other factors.
A more subtle way to do that is to highlight how NZ and the more socialist Nordic countries always top these studies instead of the USA etc.
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New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
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The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11230900
This off the Dim Post. Audrey Y at it (writing Key’s press releases) again.
I feel a complaint to the Press Council coming on.
Why dont you post audrey a wet bus ticket and save time.
Audrey’s from an impeccably Tory family.
Father was a long-time National MP for Miramar, brother-in-law is Mad Max Bradford (uber-Neo-Liberal end of the Bolger/Shipley Governments), sister Rosemary was a Wellington City Councillor (in the Prendergastian Right faction) a decade or so ago, while younger sister Nicola is a current Wellington City Councillor very much on the Thatcherite Right (recently penned a Dominion Post opinion piece on why the very idea of a living wage is abhorent. We don’t want those absolutely horrid little working class fellows getting above their station).
Audrey’s as Blue as a New Tatoo.
The collusion of charities in the dismantling of the welfare state
It’s about England and how the conservatives there are attacking welfare but we’re seeing the same things happening here.
Brand new car park ripped up.
The comments on this article and the Facebook link are generally supportive of this contractor standing up for his subs and himself after a dispute over costing with an developer in Christchurch. These disputes happen everyday and it seems the public are pretty aware that contractors and subbies are being shafted.
Ripping it up is the worst thing he could have done, he will get hammered for reinstatement.
The only thing you can do is get a letter drafted saying you will cease work until such time as all outstanding payments are up to date. Generally for Subbies at the end of a job the tactic is very effective as the threat of liquidated damages usually means payment is forthcoming.
Been there and done that with the recently demised nationwide main contractor got the ‘don’t expect to work for us again’ speech but got paid and as it turned out good riddance.
I do note it is interesting that it is a dispute over ‘how the job was costed.’ You have to hope he didn’t make a tendering error or similar and has painted himself into a corner. Having tendered a few projects for new countdown stores previously I do recall them having some interesting fine print and from memory at least one was a Gross Maximum Price tender where basically there is no going back for additional funds regardless.
Obviously the subcontractor agreement between the parties was less than black and white if there is a dispute of this nature as it seems more complex than outstanding progress claims..
Yeah I get the feeling he’s fucked up his quote.
Dumb and irrational move by that individual, all he’s done is kick himself in the nuts.
Because there was no analysis of the reason for the dispute, I was more interested in the effect the dispute had on Mr Te Amo and the public reaction to it.
The reaction is bigger than the dispute, almost to the level of one of those little tipping points where public dissatisfaction spills over into something much more, and depending on how part 2 plays out on the tv, it may do just that.
No one likes when a small contractor gets beaten up by a bigger one and it happens all to often. Especially when it comes to withholding final payments and retentions for as long as absolutely possible while the money sits in a bank account gathering interest. Doubt outside of some internet outrage much will come of it and even that may dissipate depending on the nuts and bolts of the dispute.
What will happen is regardless of the dispute he is going to get hammered for reinstatement costs and any associated liquidated damages.
It was probably the wrong thing for him to do but I suspect he’s going to get a lot of moral support over it.
The laws need to be changed so that contractors don’t get screwed over the way that they do now.
I would be in favour in a law that that required all payments, retentions etc being held in trust.
Once a claim has been made and approved by the client the trust pays the monies directly to the various parties rather than the current system which relies on the benevolence of the head contractor to pay subcontractors when due.
builders and designers now have a 10 year personal liability following any building they work opn. Developers dont.
So developers will continue to open a company, borrow money, draw salaries, build stuff, take the profit, close down and move on.”
Builders and designers can lose the house.
Change that law, make developers personally liable for ten years AND any trust they hold a beneficial interest in, and watch the cowboy developers drop like flies. leaving us with developers with well earned reputations for quality work and hiring.
So simple, but seemingly beyond the wit of our politicians… I wonder why (rhetorical)>
I think architects are off the hook too.
not sure. architects and engineers who are registered are regarded as licensed building practitioners
I won’t provide a link, but excuse my ignorance – who in hell is Jojo Maddren.
Should we know? Should we care?
But his/her political savvy appears to be non existent, yet she/he somehow gets opinion space on Stuff today … If you haven’t read it, don’t bother, – he/she is shallow as.
There now I hope I haven’t raised your curiosity – I probably shouldn’t have shared this.
On the other hand, if she/he is a captain of industry or someone who is believed to be of import, we should be concerned at the lack of intellect …
Okay here’s the link (have your bucket ready)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/what-issues-will-get-your-vote/9896499/Election-issues-National-have-my-vote
M
Jojo madden shares ‘their’ thoughts?
Yeah, spotted that, too, ffloyd. I presume this is a way of using a possessive adjective for one person whose sex is unknown, rather than ‘his/her’.
I would put quotation marks around the word ‘thoughts’ because there was not a high level of intellectual input in that reader’s remarks, especially in the over-blown praise of the PM.
At least it wasn’t a regular journo guilty of that hagiography of secular Saint John.
They refer to “the poor old Kiwi battler”.
I can’t say I’ve heard about the kiwi battler. Have heard about the “aussie battler”.
According to google and bing, “Jojo Maddren” exists nowhere in the internet but this article and talk about the article.
Which suggests to me the the article is an astroturfing construct by aussie marketing contractors. Which also suggests to me that it would have follow-up support in the comments as part of its release. So it’s quite possible that the few supporters of jjm are also paid marketers, and that the only real nzers offering their unpaid opinions think “jjm” is full of shit.
We can but hope 🙂
I use the term Kiwi battlers sometimes. Influenced by my time living in Aus.
Yep, quite a few kiwi journalists use the term. Usually in a fairly condescending way.
John Banks has been using it for years.
She may be a nonentity but oddly enough she puts her finger exactly on the argument Labour/Greens will have to counter in the upcoming election.
Meanwhile not getting many headlines is the fact that dairy prices have fallen 18% in 2 months, where dairy represents 30% of NZ’s exports. Here’s a link to this:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11231079
And here’s the same argument again.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/9898795/Labour-needs-sense-of-urgency
I agree that Labour needs a greater sense of urgency, especially since National already have it. National supporters are not complacent – they fear losing what they have gained under National, and lobby for them quite naturally. The older guy in the site shed, for instance, who has about five rentals and is thinking about taking an early retirement, saying authoritatively, “That bloody Cunliffe is useless.” Some of the South Auckland ministers who say they will go National, have quite possibly been treated to a deep-and-meaningful or two about how we must protect the morals of the young from the mad lefties, and so on.
While the policies Labour has released seem fine, we do not have anything so far that would give us that kind of immediate and direct leverage. I will hassle people to vote for them anyway, since I want to see the back of this government and I also think that the more members in caucus, the less traction there is for the Labour right. But it would be a whole lot easier if it was more obvious to people that their lives would be better under Labour – like the site shed guy in relation to National.
The man that shouted at Cunliffe yesterday was effectively saying “a plague on both your houses.” If Labour could convince people like that man – who are frightened and angry at what is happening to them under National – a big part of their job would be done.
That man could probably be persuaded to vote for Mana or the Greens.
Someone like that man may not view the Greens or Mana as being able to do all that much to help – Labour is still seen by many as the party that is able to take effective action on behalf of beleaguered people. The big question is whether or not it has the will to do so, and to what degree. The young and the politically engaged seem more inclined, on the whole, to go for the Greens or Mana.
I get the impression that he’s upset enough to take another look if someone points him in the right direction.
A passing observation. When I saw the TV1clip on TV last night my first impression was oh god… Waitakere Man having a red-neck moment. Then I watched the TV3 clip online and I saw a very hurt man – a man who perhaps has lost his job through no fault of his own and has been badly treated ever since. He’s at the end of his tether and I would like to see David Cunliffe approach him (if he can be identified) and listen to his story.
I haven’t seen either of the news clips of him but the Unemployment isn’t working was a jibe against Labour in the 1980s and that he also said that the “unions were dead and you killed them” (paraphrased) which makes me think he’s an old time Labour voter and he’s really, really pissed off.
DC was very wrong in his reaction there.
And Cunliffe should extract a winning line (good luck) from T.I.N.A. Parker for the stupid policy of increasing the age for superannuation ….. the framing has been set by Natz already and is being disseminated by Tory Woteva:
“Raising the pension age has turned into a story about making hard-working Kiwis work longer so a Labour government can spend more of their hard-earned taxes, according to National’s narrative.”
A schoolkid, I’m guessing, logie. Or maybe a a uni first year?
Tried to interpret the “settings” logie. Seems to be a soapbox where anyone can say what would get their vote. The Jo Maddren piece is pointless really. No issue other than he/she will vote National.
Maybe they are students? Hence Assignments.
It’s part of “Stuff Nation” – its a space for the public to make (unpaid) contributions to Stuff’s online presence.
What issues will get your vote is in the “assignments section.”
People need to register to participate.
The top of that list is currently this
Reading Jojo’s pfaff was one thing, then reading the comments, then reading that Stuff are basically sponsoring prejudice in NZ. Not a great start to the day.
Introducing Stuff Nation was a master stroke of the Stuff propaganda machine.
They say they are letting the public have an open voice in the MSM and everyone can contribute. Hard to argue with that and best to ignore the often right leaning regularity of published opinion because what makes the Stuff Nation contributions so interesting is they usually have comments open.
Over the 2 years (?) of this feature being active, the comments section on these pieces are often a lot more interesting and more well informed when compared to comments (and articles) elsewhere in the ‘newspaper’.
I wonder how many aliases Slater has used?
🙂 There does seem to be some similarities now you mention it.
… but does Slater know that many words?
I only ask because many of the comments are longer than Slater’s articles
hehehehe. I don’t think it would be a big stretch for him to pretend to be a student…
Doesn’t someone else write his copy?
Well, I know that BM copies his write (sic)…
It seems to be part of Stuff’s citizen journalist campaign.
Yeah but getting spanking in the feedback for the ‘in her mind’ drivel.
When I saw the title “National have my vote” I decided to not waste my time.
Film Tax Credits – Costly Giveaway to Hollywood
A recent “The Economist” (The Economist Jan 18 2014) has an article on “Corporate Welfare” a peculiar type of aid to the movie and television business which consists of USA states making interest free loans and tax credits to production companies.
Louisiana for example have a 40% Tax Credit available, while New York has a budget of $420m dedicated to film making.
The problem is how do you calculate the benefit a dollar spent on film as opposed one spent on other normal state services e.g. roads.
The article noted that Pinewood once a home to major British productions is opening a 288 acre facility in Georgia USA, citing its “great crew base” One would imagine the great crew come at a cheaper rate than back home in UK . The article further states that independent research finds that tax credits for film makers, serves mainly to help film makers.
One study in Louisiana found that for every dollar the state received in revenue from film production it spent $7.29 on credits. Furthermore jobs created by productions do not last.
Asking why the schemes are so popular they opine that partly because politicians like having their photo being taking with films stars.
Interesting that Michigan thought that pouring money into film makers pockets would offset job losses in the car industry. It didn’t and the project has been scaled back.
One wonders about the NZ reports that lauded the pouring of money into Hollywood as being so good for NZ. Of course I accept that our Prime Minister would never be so facile as to want his photo taken with film stars – would he.
For those interested in The Louisiana study you can find it here. Well worth reading
Film Funding
Interesting Matt McCarten innovation: Labour Caucus “war room”
Will be watching to see if this makes an impact.
Ha ha I laughed when I read this in this mornings NZH, there will be a few MP’s noses outof joint. I would not be surprised if there were no chairs for people to lounge around in, typical Matt it’s all hands on deck. Big fan of McCarten I love it!
So what’s with The Standard these days? Over the last couple of weeks, most of the content seems to be syndicated from other blogs, with only Mickey coming along with the same laughably wrong analysis he helps Cunliffe with and karol over analysing everything as a neoliberal conspiracy.
I would have thought that in an election year, the standardistas would be lining up to try take the govt down. Instead… Silence. And linking to those actually with something to say.
Seems like you’re giving up already, Lynn et al.
Maybe the contributors here have to work unlike Slater and Farrar who one way or another are paid to blog?
Kind of a relfection of the views each blog represents. The Standard has people who have to work for a living and can only champion causes in spare time, while KB and WO are actually well financed organs of politically aligned well-heeled personages? Just a thought. It does mean Open Mike is well used, and general commenters can draw attention tot heir own stuff.
maybe at WO and KB it’s very important to keep feeding the info from the top so the readers know what to “think” each day?
Aye Tracey.
The Standard has always survived on voluntary efforts from people with lives and jobs. If only the left had the same resources that Slater clearly enjoys …
Awww i love your blog envy Tracey or might i suggest infactuation the way you continue to bring up Slater, almost as amusing as your h ate filled John Key attacks
Actually many of us have joined the I am In campaign and working our buts off at the Coal face to get Labour (Green/Mana) elected.
Yet you still find the time to drop by and regale us with your “witticisms” Baron… Scoot back off to blubber boy where the quantity and “variety” of articles is clearly more to your liking.
“Over the last couple of weeks”
Stephanie Rodgers has written a number of post, and there have also been posts from Lynn, Bill, Bunji, Mike Smith and Geoff.
Some of the Notices and Features have been put up by ts authors as well, but it’s not as obvious as it used to be because the syndicated blogs are also put up under that login.
I’ve been enjoying the syndicated posts. Baron, not sure why you think that ts should be meeting your needs, but by all means keep on telling ts authors what they should be doing, esp Lynn.
Indeed weka, i was going to suggest that ‘the Borer’ arrived here at the Standard this morning with the bowl out begging for ‘a ticket to ride’…
“keep on telling ts authors what they should be doing, esp Lynn.” ROFL
Yes, well we don’t have the habit of KB and WO of simply quoting newspaper and other blogs with the off “indeed” interspersed. That appears to be the majority of their content
The posts on the site have always waxed and waned depending on who has time and capability to write. Over the past year, a number of previously active authors have been pulled into new roles where they don’t have time to write or where it is inadvisable for them to blog or where I consider that they have a conflict of interest. It takes time and effort to bring new authors on.
I’ve been busy. So has everyone else. Fortunately I have about 9 weeks of available holiday before september and Lyn is using most of hers up on film related stuff (that I avoid). My last projects is pretty well through both release and distribution. So that is probably going to change over the winter because I’m planning on taking most of it off to concentrate on this and a few other minor projects..
But as you say, we have a number of other sites that allow us to showcase their work. So we do in any area where none of our authors has covered the same issues or where it has been done from a different perspective. In the case of most of those sites, there are few or no comments normally. Are you saying that they shouldn’t be commented on here? That is what this site is for…
Stealing lines from Wayne now?
I have had a reply from the standards committee for media works over the complaint re the 5 March “3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. ”
Complaint was under fairness and accuracy.
They do go through the detail comprehensively.
They end up with:”The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint.”
Well they did consider the complaint and since they say that they had received complaints (plural) so maybe Paddy might be a bit more circumspect in the future. Maybe.
Did they give you their reasoning behind the decision?
thanks karol
FYI
(My comment – yet to be published).
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/auckland-rescue-helicopter-trust-loses-court-battle-funding-board-sf-154157
(“Although the helicopter trust agreed to drop further legal battles, it hasn’t dropped its complaint to Controller and Auditor-General Lyn Provost asking her to investigate the operations of the funding board, going back to 2009.”)
Don’t hold your breath waiting for NZ Auditor-General Lyn Provost to do anything – that’s my experience and considered opinion:
Seen this?
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/presented/petitions/50DBHOH_PET3196_1/petition-of-penelope-mary-bright-and-13-others-that-the
Petition of Penelope Mary Bright and 13 others
That the House conduct an urgent inquiry into why New Zealand Auditor-General Lyn Provost did not disclose that she was a shareholder in Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd at the time she declined to conduct an urgent investigation into the failure of the Organised and Financial Crime Agency of New Zealand to carry out ‘due diligence’ on the increased risk of money-laundering arising from the New Zealand International Convention Centre (Bill) 2013.
Petition number: 2011/101
Presented by: Denis O’Rourke
Date presented: 12 March 2014
Referred to: Finance and Expenditure Committee
Why have there not been any MAN ON THE MOON headlines about this development – given that New Zealand is ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – (and all that garbage) ?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
Note to Judith Collins…
This is how you deal with a conflict of interest… and note that even when you do it this way, it doesn’t look good… so imagine how it looks if you make no declaration
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11231136
I see the National Party run media has completley crossed the line now.
National were not happy with the way Amy Adams clear conflict of interest was reported. So they have gone straight in for the kill and muzzled the media, to the extent of completley turning the story around.
This is the kind of stuff you would expect in North Korea. But not here in New Zealand.
If you care about press freedom and civil rights in New Zealand, you must vote Green in September.
An email reply I just received re Patrick Gower’s reporting on Cunliffe:
Standards Committee standardscommittee@mediaworks.co.nz
10:20 AM (1 hour ago)
to me, Jodie
Dear Richard
Thank you for your email outlining your concerns about a news story that screened on 5 March 2014 at 6pm. The Standards Committee has investigated the footage in relation to your complaint and considered it under the standards you have nominated, Standard 5, Accuracy and Standard 6, Fairness.
In the introduction to the story it was said: 3 News can reveal David Cunliffe failed to declare a financial trust as MPs are required to do with investments. The Labour leader initially tried to keep the trust off the official record but was forced to make a late change. Political editor Patrick Gower with this exclusive report”
Later in the body of the report it was clarified:
Voiceover: “MPs are required to declare all financial interests over $500, yesterday Cunliffe admitted to two trusts.
Cunliffe: “I’m beneficiary of the Bozzie Family Trust and a bare trust called ICSL which does savings investments.”
Voiceover: “But a check of the latest register of MP’s pecuniary interests shows only one of these two was actually declared on time. That’s the Bozzie Trust which owns his house, Cunliffe left out the ICSL trust, he was forced to correct the register by making a late declaration posted on the website.”
We have received a number of complaints about various aspects of this story and the Committee has responded to the specific concerns below. We consulted the reporting team and their comments follow an outline of the particular issue.
Standard 5 – Accuracy
We received complaints that it was incorrect to say that David Cunliffe was ‘forced’ to declare the ICSL trust and that he had ‘failed to declare’ the trust.
David Cunliffe did fail to declare a financial trust. The 2013 Pecuniary Interests Register returns were due by 28 February 2013 – a deadline he failed to meet forcing him to make a subsequent declaration on 16 July 2013. David Cunliffe was forced to correct the register. He sought advice from the Registrar himself – who told Cunliffe to declare it.
Standard 6 – Fairness
We received complaints that the statistics provided in the report
Patrick Gower correctly named David Cunliffe as one of 20,000 investors in the $8 billion fund. $8 billion evenly divided is $400,000. There was no suggestion the trust was evenly divided (we said “if”) – the figures were used to illustrate the size of the trust and level of investments.
The Committee notes that in a live cross Patrick Gower conveys the information that the investment is less than $100,000. Overall the Committee is satisfied that the report did not mislead and was fair to Mr Cunliffe in this respect as all relevant information was provided to the viewer.
Some complainants raised the issue that other National MPs had made supplementary declarations after the deadline and that these were not mentioned. The reporting team have said that the ICSL trust became an issue only after David Cunliffe’s problems with the TR Trust (the trust set up for his leadership campaign). They followed up on David Cunliffe’s comments in the stand-up on Tuesday and that’s how the story came about.
The Standards Committee has not identified any breach of the relevant standards and accordingly declines to uphold your complaint. If you are not happy about this decision you have the right in accordance with Section 7(3) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 to refer your complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority, (P.O. Box 9213, Wellington, http://www.bsa.govt.nz) for the purpose of an investigation and review. You have 20 working days after receipt of this email to exercise this right of referral.
That’s a really slippery standards check by TV3. Three significant bits, that really don’t address the ways the structure of the item, and the decision to make it newsworthy, are biased against Cunliffe in the way he will be seen by a large number of viewers:
1) dancing on a pin over the meaning/implication of the word “forced’
That’s totally misleading. It suggested someone focred Cunliffe to make the declaration when he didn’t want to – rather than chaning it himself when he became aware of the issues.
2)a) The use of the word “if” – how many viewers would take notice of its implications.
b) ommiting to tell viewers that the money wasn’t evenly divided is misleading the viewers:
3) failure to mention Nats missing the same deadline because Cunliffe’s Trusts issue had already become newsworthy – they fail to acknowledge that it was Gower’s (and others) previous news beat-ups that had led to this becoming “newsworthy”; they also fail to take into account that the two kinds of trusts (Cunliffe’s personal trusts, and the Labour leadership primaries trust), are two different things. They are misleading in connecting them.
I will keep you updated re my complaints about The Herald.
I think it is worth doing this, i.e. complaining, even if the decision doesn’t go our way. It must be a pain for them to have to respond (even if the “win”). And at some level if they keep getting these complaints they will think twice, simply for the nuisance factor of being complained against.
My complaints to the Herald were not responded to, so I went to the Press Council and they were informed by the Herald my email was “overlooked”. They asked for the chance to respond and guess what, I have heard nothing. Another 10 days runs out today at 5pm, so back to the PC.
“I think it is worth doing this, i.e. complaining, even if the decision doesn’t go our way”
I completely agree. If they get enough complaints then they will take more notice. That those complaints are being published and talked about on social media should make them take notice too.
Malicious. How can one get access to the reasons why people on benefits travelled overseas?
People looking for work in Aussie? People who had good reasons for travelling but failed to get approval fromWINZ?
21,000 people have benefit cut for travelling overseas.
Can’t live on it, can’t actually afford to look for work on it for that matter. This would indicate that the people going overseas while on the benefit are probably getting their money from somewhere or someone else. Perhaps they won the trip in competition.
It certainly doesn’t, as Ms Bennett implies, mean that people living on the benefit are living high on the hog.
Yes relative of mine kept getting jobs and then contracts would run out and he would have to start the job hunt again. Another relative gave that person money to go and check things out in OZ.
They have had no trouble getting work over there.
Surely though are beneficiaries not allowed to go overseas? Have a break from looking for work. Most of us are allowed a holiday.
Many families now live in OZ and likely to pay for their down on their luck relative to have a break.
I personally think this thing of benefits cut for not notifying Winz etc, is against human rights.
This is simply a variation of Reagan’s classic “welfare Queens all drive Cadillacs” meme. Fucking Tories know the right buttons to push and keep pushing them.
Yep, it’s been a staple of beneficiary bashing by the RWNJs for decades now.
So true draco and cv – they have a limited playbook but it works mostly
Yep, and – most importantly – a sizeable section of the public just keep on lapping it up.
I cannot believe the propaganda levels today. That Bennett travel story was in the Herald, on Stuff, on Prime, on TV3 – I did not check out TV1. TV3 obediently reiterated the claim that people insist they can’t live on benefits but still manage to travel, along with the alleged $10 mill being saved by cutting their benefits. Then there was the TV3 story that South Auckland is going National, based on three individuals who said they had switched. Meanwhile, Stuff tells us that we are the most progressive people in the whole wide world. Are we going to have to endure this right through to the election, for God’s sake?
More than likely.
TV One gave two sides to the issue. Comment from an Auckland Action Against poverty spokesperson saying it’s more beneficiary bashing. Comment from Metiria Turei saying they are allowed up to 28 days abroad for special circumstances.
TV one also reported that about 4,488 people got their benefits cancelled because they failed to notify WINZ they were back in the country – that that brings the total figure down to 1,500 – what else?
I will have to start turning to TV1 – that at least sounds somewhat balanced. At the same time I’d like to know why Bennett’s press releases so frequently become news – these beneficiary bashing “news” items seem to appear with clockwork regularity.
I have heard that an older woman wanting to travel to Oz to see children was refused permission as she should be here in NZ looking for work. This shows the hypocritical lying attitude of right wingers who are always baying about family being vital, fathers being included, and so on, yet really do not care at all about the strength of families and their supportive human interaction.
It’s just the money involved in government helping other people’s families not exclusively their own. It would be better spent on being invested in their own where it would ensure they would grow up well educated and schooled in all the arts of being socially impressive so they can be the new elite.
Could it be that a sizeable portion are…looking for work?
Some will also be going over for health reasons, or to visit family. Visiting family might not sound like a reasonable decision, but what if you were a refugee who was isolated in the community, suffering from PTSD, and dreadfully homesick?
The seething mass that used to be compassion in this country is a distant memory.
Interesting stats on Chinese tourism from South China Morning Post of 2013. And on the rush of blood from being the tops, which was once the motivation for autocratic USA behaviour.
http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1187272/forbearance-rude-mainland-chinese-travellers
China’s Vice-Premier Wang Yang in May 2013 acknowledged that “uncivilised behaviour” by its citizens abroad was harming the country’s image. He cited “talking loudly in public places, jaywalking, spitting and wilfully carving characters on items in scenic zones”. Destination countries have been easing visa restrictions to attract more tourists from China, but reports have emerged of complaints about etiquette.
Global tourism is being driven by mainland visitors, their numbers surging annually by double-digit percentages. Chinese are expected to become the biggest outbound market this year, overtaking Americans and Germans with 95 million trips and US$110 billion in spending. But while they are being welcomed with open arms by governments, they are not always as warmly greeted by locals. As in Hong Kong, manners and habits are criticised most…..
a widely circulated video of a Chinese People’s Political Consultative Committee member in Yunnan province smashing an airport check-in counter in a fit of rage, the internet is awash with postings of how poorly behaved mainlanders can be when travelling
Those who think New Zealand is going to hell in a handbasket should instead be proud of our greatness.
Maybe they didn’t look very closely in some of the political, and everything is relative, but this is a good pat on the back for the quality of life in New Zealand.
did key get back to you on where he got his ece calculations yesterday.
No. If you get anything from ministers it can be weeks rather than days, if ever.
do you know where we were ranked 6′ 12, 18 years ago?
This is a new measure so it’s not possible to compare with previous years or centuries..
The top five countries are:
1. New Zealand
2. Switzerland
3. Netherlands
4. Iceland
5. Norway
Of course every country could be going backwards and we’re just deteriorating less, but this has to be a very positive accolade for New Zealand.
Just a pity then that our economic policies are so regressive. But the Herald and you won’t focus on that.
Change some social policies, but ramp up the neoliberal doctrine so NZ is rapidly becoming one of the most unequal countries in the OECD.
For 30 years NZers have been encouraged to turn away from looking at what’s been happening in the economic sphere..look at how the nuclear stand off puffed up our chests so much we forgot to worry what Roger Douglas was doing to the country.
But the owners of the Herald and many others in the media have benefited from the looting of the country and so continue to provide the propaganda that NZ is wonderful country to live in.
It may be for you Pete….but it’s not for the 285 000 kids in poverty.
In a Stuff article, the Greens are reported to have pointed out some strengths and weaknesses of the Index, and NZ’s scores. For instance, they pointed out, there are some gaps in the data included in the Index
And the last couple of sentences support some of the points I made in my Rogernomics post today.
There’s always weaknesses in indexes, and also in countries, but its worth striving to remain on top of the index.
I agree that all is not good, especially on all violence, not just violence against women, and the closely related issues of alcohol and drug overuse and abuse.
As Greens say (and I’m sure have said before) there are things as important as economic well being.
“I agree that all is not good, especially on all violence, not just violence against women, and the closely related issues of alcohol and drug overuse and abuse.”
I agree that violence must be addressed and it is all violence. The expression of violence is subtle and gross, obvious and hidden and should be intolerable in our society – but instead it is rampant and unrepentant. Once again we must look within ourselves to get to grips with that one.
Weaknesses: Basic needs, ranks 18th. (This includes affordable housing and electricity etc).
We can be grateful for our largely state-funded health and education system for a strong foundations of well-being score – the other top nations are similarly blessed with public provision. Our relatively progressively-minded population seems to account for the best score in the ‘Opportunity’ section, imo.
http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/data/spi#data_table/countries/spi/dim1,dim2,dim3
It’s also a problem creating checklists, without showing how things like (UN) affordable housing and power impact on people’s alility to take up opportunities in other areas of their lives.
Yes, It has no ranking for economic opportunity, from the looks of it. We also rank poorly on availability of affordable housing but high on private property rights – these affect people is quite different ways in terms of opportunities.
I also have a problem with the relative weighting of the variables. We don’t rank very well on ecosystem sustainability and the more I look into the health scores some are actually really poor. Life expectancy ranking probably pulls the score up.
Brian Fallow: Tax by backdoor an odious trick
No, I don’t normally read Brain Fallow but he’s got a point here – is National trying to put through a nasty bit of unannounced legislation to stop a few people from claiming back the GST that they’re entitled to?
This is a good news day:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1404/S00059/nz-ranked-worlds-most-socially-advanced-country.htm
Hope that puts a smile on your dial. Cue negative spin in 3…2…1…
Keep up, Blue. It’s already been discussed above.
Thanks Karol, missed it. You can’t blame me for being happy to live in the best country in the world. Least corrupt, most socially advanced, rock star economy. Wonderful.
Ask the people in that motor camp in Ranui if they are living in the best country in the world. They will have a different answer.
Hi Blue,
I hope you realise that many of the ‘socially advanced’ aspects were courtesy of left-wing initiatives? (Homosexual law reform and gay marriage – Labour and Louisa Wall; access to ‘advanced education’ (i.e., interest free student loans and student allowances) – Labour; public health and education systems – Liberal/Labour; public sanitation and water provision – public sector/local government, etc., etc.).
The clue to just what aspects of our society put us on top is the company we keep up there – once again it’s the Scandinavian countries (+ Switzerland) with their – still – more social democratic policies than anywhere else in the ‘western’ world.
Are you appreciative of those social democratic policies or do you support their undermining, as is the general policy direction of the current government?
It’s very odd that right wingers are trumpeting this result given that most of the means for rising up the ranks amount to left wing policy prescriptions.
The areas we do poorly on (obesity, suicide, environmental sustainability) are where we have succumbed to the modern consumerist and exploitative world.
In a supreme irony, the one ‘right wing’ mantra (private property rights) which NZ scores high in, is currently being bulldozed in Christchurch.
The Social Progress Index, created by a team led by Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, is designed as a complement to GDP and other economic indicators to provide a more holistic understanding of countries’ overall performance
How amusing that this Porter fellow who had so much to do in helping us reach the top of the slide that we are now burning our bums on in our downwards direction should have designed this index and finds we come out so high. Which doesn’t fit with the observable signs around us or the statistics and known facts of our situation.
I wonder how Japan would rate if it had been studied before Fukushima, and now? Which couldn’t happen as it is all new. But it would be a test of reality. Our reality indicates that we are like a theme park for the visitors to exclaim about, while we all wear masks with smiles. The occasional attack or death of a tourist is hushed up, the facts can’t get in the way of the alluring myths.
Yep, I thought the same thing when I saw that article.
The index did not measure pesky little details like unemployment or income inequality. What a joke.
Meanwhile, the top 0.1% of Americans doubled their share of wealth since the 1960s to over 20%:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11231645
Must be a rogue poll, eh? Being constantly ignored by the media.
Labour/ Greens (45%) regain lead over National (43%) for first time since January while Mana Party & Internet Party discuss alliance
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5519-new-zealand-voting-intention-201404030447?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=5519
Yep Amirite and National down 2.5% to 43% means Hope still twinkles.
Greens on supermarket code of conduct:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1404/S00068/greens-compulsory-code-of-conduct-bill-for-supermarkets.htm
“The Green Party has launched legislation that will see a compulsory code of conduct brought in for New Zealand supermarkets and a fairer, more transparent system for New Zealand suppliers.”
Wow. Am about to have dinner and I think I like my greens even more 🙂
Funding is going to be lessened then withdrawn from long-term biosecurity research into the fruit fly etc. I think it has been going on too long for the government, which we know has a very instant gratification focus.
The facts are that scientists have made some breakthrough findings about fruit fly types (I’m not scientific but at least I do know that bio-s is important).
However they applied for funding and had their names on the wheel which was revolved and the pointer came down on someone else’s project. So these scientists are just bad losers and moaning on because they lost. Like they think they are important or something.
The Bio-Protection Research Centre, based at Lincoln University in Canterbury, has been told that it will receive no more money from the Tertiary Education Commission.
The grants are worth about $3.4 million a year to the research centre.
Bay of Plenty orchardist Chris Dunn says decisions like this are an example of the Government trying to give up responsibility for bio-security.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/240643/fruit-fly-'key-reason'-for-funding-research
Another fruit fly found at Whangarei. There is a big marina there, popular stopping place and presumably there will be attention to this possible site of incursion?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/240634/labour-wants-some-fruit-from-australia-banned
Labour wants some fruit from Australia banned
The male Queensland fruit fly was found on Tuesday in a surveillance trap in the harbour suburb of Parihaka. It was caught just 400 metres from where another was found in January this year….
Labour’s spokesman for primary industries Damien O’Connor said the latest incursion shows there is a pathway for the pest into Whangarei that has yet to be identified and the Government’s lack of action is putting the horticulture sector in grave danger.
I notice that my Mozilla Firefox is still saying Hello World.
Refresh
Hit shift + F5.
No nothing happens. I can’t get into TS – only on Opera.
I heard Sue Moroney on the radio trying to counter the story from Paula Bennett’s side regarding the people on benefits taking trips overseas and having their benefits suspended.
I had a couple of concerns
1) Her talking to the issue gave the issue legs. The radio was making a story of how Labour had responded to it
2) Labour was clearly on the wrong side of that issue in terms of public opinion unless it was willing to come out and go “We’d hit them harder!”. Defending Beneficiaries rights to have their trips overseas paid for by relatives is something the Greens can do, but Labour has too many current or potential working class supporters who haven’t been overseas for years because they can’t afford it.
3) She had a bit of difficulty staying on message in her response to the story. It is a tricky one because this is a straight forward trap set by the National strategy team – but you have to be prepared.
Regarding the social progress story I think claiming it as Labour’s is an OK way to go – it is also a good point in that these things are not things you turn on a dime – they are the result of decades of policies and other factors.
A more subtle way to do that is to highlight how NZ and the more socialist Nordic countries always top these studies instead of the USA etc.
The latest Roy Morgan poll:
Labour/ Greens (45%) regain lead over National (43%) for first time since January
National………..43 per cent (down 2.5),
Labour………….32 (up 0.5),
Green…………..13 per cent (down 1),
NZ First…………5.5 (up 2),
Cons. Party…….2.5 (up 1),
Maori Party…….1.5 (down 0.5),
Act………………..0.5 (no change),
United Future….0.5 (unchanged),
Mana……………..0.5 (up 0.5),
Internet…………0.5 (up 0.5).
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5519-new-zealand-voting-intention-201404030447
This is also significant:
“Of all electors surveyed 5.5% (up 1.5%) didn’t name a party.”
And government confidence is down…
There could possibly be something in this. Or not. But I live in eternal hope…
It is the worm. The turning worm I think.
Hopefully, people are beginning to see through National’s evil policies, lies and bullshit.
Here…http://sub-sub-zpolitics.blogspot.co.nz/
Here…http://s-zpolitics.blogspot.co.nz/
Here…http://sub-z-p.blogspot.co.nz/
Here…http://subzpsubzp.blogspot.co.nz/
Heree…….http://sub-zero-politics.blogspot.co.nz/