Auckland Coal Action. Next Meeting: Saturday 4th May
Place: Quaker Meeting House: 113 Mt Eden Rd
Time: 1 00 – 4 00 pm
Agenda:
Follow up of letter to Fonterra – progress?
Contacting members prior to meetings.
Leaflet to residents of Waitoa and Te Awamutu?
Proposed: film screening of Thin Ice as a fundraiser in collaboration with 350.org
Green Party’s All Party Climate Change Conference June 7th. Should we be there?
T Shirts – progress?
Suggested: A review of the wording of bumper stickers. Would “Coal-Free New Zealand” ( a statement of commitment to make NZ Coal-Free) be stronger than “Proud to be Coal Free” (which is an individual’s claim about themselves). As we plan to share these across all NZ anti-coal groups – could we consult with other groups re the prefered wording?
Targeted communication re carbon bubble and the science that says we can’t burn 2/3rds of the reserves we have already – so why drill/mine for more?
From 2 00 pm onwards:
Mangatangi campaign in a wider context.
ACA involvement in Bathurst campaign
Mangatawhiri campaign matters:
The hearing: Our presence – what form will this take?
Sign-up of people to Coal-Free Mangatawhiri – progress?
Situation re billboards at Mangatangi.
Beyond the hearing: Planning future actions?
School boiler collaboration with Gen Zero – progress?
The relationship between this firm and the National Party has been a very rewarding one. Financially for us and in political terms for the National Party.
Our charges have been higher than the industry standard but this is because of the difficulty of the various assignments we have received. We were required to make Don Brash appear human and we nearly succeeded. We were then required to make a merchant banker whose wealth was directly related to the manipulation of the New Zealand dollar, whose memory is appalling and who has succeeded in politics only because he has psychopathic tendencies appeal to ordinary New Zealanders. And we were forced to make a party with misogynist, racist and homophobic tendencies attractive to women, Maori and homosexuals.
We have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. But we have a reputation to protect and so we are discontinuing our relationship with your party.
The reason is that there is no way we can repair the damage caused by Aaron Gilmour’s behaviour. We have spent huge resources creating the fiction that National MPs are ordinary people who are respectful of workers rather than overbearing arrogant toffs which they have traditionally been. We had persuaded enough people to believe that this reality was not true but in one drunken evening Mr Happy Gilmour has destroyed the work of many years and it is irreparable.
The firm’s directors cannot tolerate any further association with the group of self centred, arrogant, misguided mess that is the current National Party as the firm has a reputation to protect.
RNZ. Mr Key accepts Mr Gilmore’s word that he did not threaten the waiter with the PM office and sacking. And no complaint received from the hotel. Clearly the friend who was embarrassed by Mr Gilmore’s actions must have fabricated the story. Mr Gilmore earlier said that he could not remember what he had said but obviously he had been very polite and the others were rowdy.
And the Gilmore brain fade is OK as it fits the PM lead.
RNZ have forgotten how to be serious journalists and ask hard questions.
You’ll get tougher questioning from Sean Plunket and John Campbell than a lot of the timid ones presently claiming to be journalists at RNZ.
Give your example Paul. This is of interest, as we need to monitor, fairly, the effectiveness and devotion to their journalistic task of Radionz. If criticising, state the occasion and content so we can listen.
Aaron Gilmour sounds like quite a revolting character. In the Herald today, this from a fellow diner at the restaurant.
“We were sitting about 5m from them. Right from the beginning, pretty much [from] when he [Gilmore] walked in he was already being quite arrogant – whistling at the waiters and clicking his fingers to get them over there to give them more drinks and stuff like that,” Mr Rangi said.”It was quite awkward, the restaurant was nice and quiet.”
Right from the beginning….he was whistling at waiters and clicking his fingers to summon them.
So he did not need alcohol to turn himself into a boorish prat.
“So he did not need alcohol to turn himself into a boorish prat.”
No you’re correct – he’s just a natural born boor.
Think of of a trio of boors – arrogant, bogoted, born-to-rule, holier-than-thou, mean spirited, nouveau riche, arse licking future Nat careerists:
They hang together like flies sticking to shit. Think Aaron Gilmore, Simon Bridges and Todd McClay
That’s a UK company sending it’s employees here on a working holiday.
You can’t employ from outside NZ if the job can be filled by kiwis, but you can set up shop, pay no income taxes and be immune to employment laws.
karol
Like it, an employment option: within these time zones, where would you like to work for six months tours of duty? And not as a grunt type tour of duty, a foot soldier, but as a member of the cossetted class with your own nice air conditioned seat and office.
The Allen
The speaker did say something about getting NZs included, in passing. Surely anyone working within NZ is covered by our employment laws,. whatever they now are?
“Surely anyone working within NZ is covered by our employment laws,. whatever they now are?”
I don’t know about that. It’s not a NZ company and they’re not taxpayers, does employment law cover what tourists do on their holiday?
I know the poor seamen that regularly wash up abused on our shores are covered, but that’s probably quite a different thing.
another trawl of market failures.(many published sustainable seafood guides suggest consumers should avoid the species; anyway, bright red until they give up the ghost and too much consumption can have adverse effects on health).
if they’re working in NZ, they need work visas and are covered by NZ employment law.
And I’m sure the cleaners would be paid locally, so the call centre is still a workplace.
We won’t see it on TV or in the papers but maybe we will see it in Parliament next week?
( hint hint to the MP’s out there ) i suggest something effective, say in a billboard scale held aloft across the entire opposition benches.
In all seriousness though, this simple image deserves widespread public exposure and a very public statement from National saying how it’s all good and there is nothing to be concerned about. Then perhaps Simon Bridges can qualify how permits were given for this most fragile of regions. We must have it on the record now, for when the inevitable destruction occurs later the memory holes will be cavernous.
Plus the fact the nats are involved, of course. They’d discover that plugging a well built by the lowest bidder is not as simple as snapping your fingers and whistling.
Because it’s in a plate boundary area and I don’t care what fail-safe methods they say they have to prevent blowout in a mega-thrust quake they would probably be about as worthless as the failsafes at Deepwater Horizon and Fukushima (where nobody factored in their safety designs that the land would drop). We won’t have the capacity to manage a large earthquake, tsunami, and gigantic, gushing oil leak.
There is a big risk if Kiwibank was made a stand-alone entity away from NZPost, for governments with short-term views to sell it. (Disbelievers, there are such things!) It will soon be worth a billion, and be a nice boost to a government’s balance sheet. Jim Anderton was talking about this on Radionz this am, and he sounds like the Voice of Wisdom, really, after listening to the present conmen (he embraces she) in the present government.
And getting mail deliveries three days a week will work as well as milk delivery of three days a week, NOT for most. Some subsidy, through accepting less profitability by gummint, would be right behaviour with a five day delivery, suggestion to miss Monday when business letters would be low.
It could also be that more care for the company’s effectiveness and efficiency will bring costs down. What the Queenstown debacle revealed, when the curtains opened, should have been the main actors with guilty faces from top management down – some with egg on their faces, others pie, according to preference. Damn disgusting and it occurs to me that perhaps they have focussed too much of their attention and expertise on selling mail systems overseas, which they have done as an arm of the company. What effect this at home cesspit will do to their image of selling a modern styled process when learned by the distant customers, will likely be a stain on their trousers.
The Remuneration Authority, which sets the pay for city, district and regional councils, has increased the national pay pool by 8.9 per cent, meaning some councillors will pocket rises of up to $16,000 after this year’s elections.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if wage and salary earners were paid by the same standards used by the Authority? You would get what would be deserved like 8.9%.
Oh well be really grateful with your 1% increase you workers. Times are tough you know!
I referred to Zelda D’Aprano in Australia in a comment about International Workers Day and thought I’d look up Google to see what she has been up to – and find it much.
For women interested in those who worked hard for themselves and other women to gain fair treatment and have better lives, here is a link about this lady which is just one on a page full under her name. http://www.spinifexpress.com.au/Bookstore/author/id=61/
Food Poverty in the land of plenty, yet that’s OK, the government is going to fund researchers who have jobs and good starts in life to the tune of 73Million to find out why other children do not!
The ensuing comments would suggest many people in NZ would support Hone’s Feed the Kids bill. Let’s hope our government gives a damn…
Oh I forgot, these NACT folk see hungry poor people as wine waiters who should be at their beck and call and grovel in their midst.
Umm wouldn’t it be easier to just use said 73 million to sort out some of the problemsm instead of Paying some Joe 90 type who’s all theory and no practical!
Joyce defensively concludes the decline in postgrads
numbers isn’t due to the removal of support, but is
population decline. This immediately would have shown
up in previous years of undergraduate intakes, as of
course the declining numbers would have them flowed on.
So of course Joyce could do nothing about declining
undergraduate numbers because either they weren’t
declining or Joyce wasn’t worried that less graduates
were shrinking the skilled workforce, as growth
is just around the corner and we don’t need to be
ready for it, China will take up any slack. đ
We can’t afford it, we can’t afford that we benefit
when China could be.
“I’ve never ever had a problem getting into a public pool,” she said. “There is obviously a surge in demand during the holidays – it’s a peak time for them when they have larger than normal volumes, but this is the first time I have ever experienced an inability to get in, and not just at one pool but at all the other pools, too.” She said the entry fees should return.
“I thought the prices were trivial anyway, it’s a very affordable type of family entertainment … I’ve never heard anyone complain about the price of the pool or decide not to go because it was too expensive.”
A wild guess that her people that haven’t complained about the previous ‘trivial’ prices are not low income. And now it costs nothing and more kids come to swim so it should cost again so fewer kids swim, but the cost didn’t stop people in the first place? Hmmm, I think she might need to sort that logic out.
Todayâs [2/5/13] New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows a substantial gain in support for Prime Minister John Keyâs National Party to 46.5% (up 6% since April 1-14, 2013). Support for Keyâs Coalition partners remains low with the Maori Party 1.5% (down 0.5%), ACT NZ 0.5% (unchanged) and United Future 0.5% (unchanged).
Support for Labour is 31.5% (down 4%); Greens are 11% (down 2.5%), New Zealand First 4.5% (down 0.5%), Mana Party 1% (up 0.5%), Conservative Party of NZ 2% (up 0.5%) and Others 1% (up 0.5%).
From Scoop.
This poll was taken from the 15th to 28th of March. What makes 46.5% people vote for this hopeless bunch? What made 6% change their vote to National?
This is an atrocious government that looks after the top 1%, how the hell do they get nearly half the Nation voting for them?
McFlock thinks Shearer is just fine for the job; shearly 32% or so will win the Treasury benches (with a bit of help from the Greens and others), what more could one possibly want from the Labour Party?
Oh, I’d love it if the right choice of leader would simultaneously turn labour into the NZ Socialist Party with support boosted to 70% in the two weeks from one roy morgan to the next.
But relentlessly nagging about it for months on end would just end up alienating my political allies and making me look like an obsessive, delusional loser.
So I take a breath, get the fuck over it, and try to improve the real world rather than pining for a leftist rapture.
It isn’t solely about winning an election McFlock – it is also about containing the excesses of an existing government from the opposition benches. Think about Michael Cullen, who with a blistering verbal attack, embarrassed Ruth Richardson into amending a rule by which widows’ benefits would have been paid from the date of application rather than the date of the partner’s death.
In comparison, the National Government now have carte blanche in their attacks on the powerless. Jacinda and Darien certainly do what they can with what they’ve got, but you never get the sense that the full force of the party is behind them in their efforts, and John Key can cheerfully bring in anti-worker legislation on May Day while damning Shearer with faint praise. If Labour eventually do get the treasury benches under Shearer, with 30% + add-ons, they will not only be a minority government, they will inherit an entrenched tyranny, partly of their own making. The only spark of conviction I have seen from them has been pitted against the left of their own party, not the Tories.
Well, except for a few members who throw their toys around because they didn’t get the leader they want, yes.
I get the impression that caucus are settling into their roles in the house quite well. More effectively than the nats have been of late.
Must Read for all concerned with health care delivery, fair assessments and with WINZ decisions based on such by designated doctors:
Welcome to our truly “independent”, “fair” and “caring” HEALTH AND DISABILITY COMMISSIONER and his staff at their office.
As of recent, some bizarre “decisions” have been made upon complaints to the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner. A recent one was made by Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Theodora (Theo) Baker.
I looked up her background on LinkedIn, and by doing an online search, I found revealing info re her last job at “Capsticks LLB”, which is a kind of large, virtually “corporate” style law firm in the UK, which does do a lot of work for NHS, private health care providers, trusts, and organisations that work with health care providers there.
See these links for intersting information:
Theo Baker’s personal Linked In “profile” lists her background of having worked for the ‘Health and Disability Commissioner Office’ before – as “Director of Proceedings” from 2004 to 2009. Then she appears to have left that office for an “overseas experience stint” at ‘Capsticks LLB’ in the UK, presumably to get more “legal expertise” in the health sector there – see this:
Theo Baker returned to New Zealand and did in 2011 accept an appointment by Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, to take up a new job at the ‘Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner’ as DEPUTY HEALTH AND DISABILITY COMMISSIONER. She is according to online info and their staff chart responsible for “disputes resolution”! Anecdotal info about that “disputes resolution” is, that “resolution” appears to be more about “talking over matters” than investigating and holding medical practitioners and other health professionals accountable.
Now one wonders what motivated her to come back, and why National Party member and now Minister of Health Tony Ryall appointed her.
There was controversy about the appointment of Anthony Hill as new Commissioner before, which the Otago Daily Times wrote about here:
On reading that ODT article, one has to ponder on Dr Des Gorman again, head of a number of key health administrations (now ACC, so far Health Workforce NZ, National Health Board, Medical School of Auckland Uni, etc.), and apparently also a member of an international organisation called the ‘Medical Protection Society’! See this for VERY interesting information:
So Dr Gorman is a clear advocate for protecting the interests of medical professionals, and he was like other key stakeholders (government and other providers and so forth) tasked with appointing a new Health and Disability Commissioner, whom they chose Anthony Hill for.
Given this information, does anybody still show any surprise about the lack of “action” and investigations that have been taken and started under the present Commissioner and his “team”? Theo Baker appears to “blend in” well with the office staff, who now operate under a top Commissioner appointed by Tony Ryall.
That is a marked drop from what former, more effective and committed Commissioner Ron Paterson did in the way of investigations and decisions upon complaints.
So one may wonder, does NO “medical misadventure” or other “mistake” or failing happen in the medical and treatment professions in New Zealand these days? Well, it seems like with “welfare” suddenly figures “improve” under a slash, burn and “off-loading burdens” kind of government, and the “commissioners” and other office holders they have appointed.
Any person who has had reason to make a complaint to the H+D Commissioner (numbers are rather unchanged or even up with these), and who wonders, why no satisfactory action is taken, just needs to draw their conclusions from reading and studying the info found under links show above!
Fairness, reasonableness, objectivity and accountability no longer appear to be a priority for many office holders in such key institutions in New Zealand, I am afraid, if they ever were, really!
Do not be surprised, if you are getting fobbed off, off-loaded, treated with little respect, little dignity and honesty, be this by ACC, WINZ or any health professional, acting under stress, pressures, and demands to perform responsibilities in a cost saving environment. Time to worry, really!
Strangely one recent “decision” was about a WINZ designated doctor, who is well known to be a much used and preferred “assessor” for MSD and WINZ. The HDC Commissioner appears to have let him off the hook for extremely biased and questionable conduct and unfounded diagnosis and “recommendations”. The “assessment” just happened to be “too long ago”, and his statement “contradicted the one of the complainant”, was the simple conclusion, while an abundance of evidence was apparently not considered worth looking at.
So the matter was considered to not be worth “investigating further”.
Add the dots together. New Zealand is NOT the transparent, accountable and fair place that many still think it is.
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We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commissionâs 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the governmentâs official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:Â we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition  NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamarikiâs statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. âThere are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a âfirst strikeâ (that is, a âstage-1 convictionâ under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a âsecond strikeâ. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesnât normally happen in politics. Thatâs refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to âsaveâ the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Governmentâs official website – arrived in Point of Orderâs email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive  Melissa Lee â as may be discerned from the screenshot above â has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. Â ...
Todayâs Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and itâs only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. âThis is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. âThe government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicineâ, said Ayesha Verrall âThis is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoonâs interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour childrenâs spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te PÄti MÄori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veteransâ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veteransâ affairs spokesperson Greg OâConnor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxonâs management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonightâs court decision to overturn the summons of the Childrenâs Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about MÄori without evidence, says Te PÄti MÄori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. âThe judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last yearâs severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labourâs environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our countryâs most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Governmentâs Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a âget out of jail freeâ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te PÄti MÄori Justice Spokesperson, TÄkuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, MÄori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealandâs good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National governmentâs lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te PÄti MÄori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. âThis act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.â Said Te PÄti MÄori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for TÄmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te PÄti MÄori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mĆ TÄmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with MÄori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Governmentâs democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. âCreating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northlandâs marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. âThis is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the countryâs total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. âThe beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ć-RÄkau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mĆ Ć-RÄkau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ć-RÄkau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Governmentâs plan to supercharge New Zealandâs EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four â and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Governmentâs plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. âI have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People â Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Governmentâs plan to restore law and order. âSpeaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealandâs human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). âNew Zealandâs goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. âIâm putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure âone stop shopâ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. âThe NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
WhÄnau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. âGiving these whÄnau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Governmentâs goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave OâSullivan (OBE). âOur sympathies are with the OâSullivan family with the sad news of Dave OâSullivanâs recent passing,â Mr Peters says. âHis contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmacâs largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff.  âAccess to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwisâ lives. Weâve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,â says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. âWe know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,â Dr Reti says. âEvery day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikoheâs new $14.7 million sports complex. âThe completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,â Mr Jones says. âThis facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Petersâ engagements in TĂŒrkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges.  âReturning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,â Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen â good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood â a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - Â It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Â Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Â Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. âOur Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealandâs hydrogen future, with the opening of the countryâs first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. âI want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealandâs own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealandâs energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. âThe report shows that New Zealandâs emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,â Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where heâll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Governmentâs work to restore law and order. âAttending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealandâs human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the worldâs largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. âThe reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealandâs wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin  NgÄ mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho  Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today.  I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. âOur Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealandâs overseas missions.  âOur diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealandâs interests around the world,â Mr Peters says.  âI am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. Â âOver 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. âIt is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. âOur coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
âChina remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,â Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says.  Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judgesâ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayersâ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: âIn what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australiaâs First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the MÄori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Governmentâs decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield â demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workersâ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Governmentâs blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? â W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Letâs explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, itâs not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last Novemberâs 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoaâs booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request youâve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boyâs ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Shermanâs hyperbolic presentation of this weekâs ânightmareâ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they donât care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didnât give a âratâs derriereâ about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report NgÄti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealandâs Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous MÄori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a âceasefire in Palestineâ, reports Te Ao MÄori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te OtÄne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby âWe want grants and not concessional loans,â is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: Whatâs worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are âheartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year â why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi TĆ« discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealandâs media industry. The principalâs key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Governmentâs spending cuts are again targeting support for MÄori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on MÄori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industryâs ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? Thatâs how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons â the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland A bright Eta Aquariid meteor photobombed this photo of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in May 2020.Jonti Horner Meteors â commonly known as shooting stars â can be seen on any night of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (COâ) in Earthâs atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But COâ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoffâs morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition governmentâs ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
Hospitals around the country are not allowed to make a single hiring decision without the approval of Te Whatu Ora's head office, including for cleaners and administration staff. ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leaderâs time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shawâs trademark wit ...
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 1 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Auckland Coal Action. Next Meeting: Saturday 4th May
Place: Quaker Meeting House: 113 Mt Eden Rd
Time: 1 00 – 4 00 pm
Agenda:
Follow up of letter to Fonterra – progress?
Contacting members prior to meetings.
Leaflet to residents of Waitoa and Te Awamutu?
Proposed: film screening of Thin Ice as a fundraiser in collaboration with 350.org
Green Party’s All Party Climate Change Conference June 7th. Should we be there?
T Shirts – progress?
Suggested: A review of the wording of bumper stickers. Would “Coal-Free New Zealand” ( a statement of commitment to make NZ Coal-Free) be stronger than “Proud to be Coal Free” (which is an individual’s claim about themselves). As we plan to share these across all NZ anti-coal groups – could we consult with other groups re the prefered wording?
Targeted communication re carbon bubble and the science that says we can’t burn 2/3rds of the reserves we have already – so why drill/mine for more?
From 2 00 pm onwards:
Mangatangi campaign in a wider context.
ACA involvement in Bathurst campaign
Mangatawhiri campaign matters:
The hearing: Our presence – what form will this take?
Sign-up of people to Coal-Free Mangatawhiri – progress?
Situation re billboards at Mangatangi.
Beyond the hearing: Planning future actions?
School boiler collaboration with Gen Zero – progress?
Divestment as a strategy
Celebrating 20 years of the World Wide Web, the first web page has been recreated.
Memo from Crosby Textor
To John Key
Subject: So long …
The relationship between this firm and the National Party has been a very rewarding one. Financially for us and in political terms for the National Party.
Our charges have been higher than the industry standard but this is because of the difficulty of the various assignments we have received. We were required to make Don Brash appear human and we nearly succeeded. We were then required to make a merchant banker whose wealth was directly related to the manipulation of the New Zealand dollar, whose memory is appalling and who has succeeded in politics only because he has psychopathic tendencies appeal to ordinary New Zealanders. And we were forced to make a party with misogynist, racist and homophobic tendencies attractive to women, Maori and homosexuals.
We have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. But we have a reputation to protect and so we are discontinuing our relationship with your party.
The reason is that there is no way we can repair the damage caused by Aaron Gilmour’s behaviour. We have spent huge resources creating the fiction that National MPs are ordinary people who are respectful of workers rather than overbearing arrogant toffs which they have traditionally been. We had persuaded enough people to believe that this reality was not true but in one drunken evening Mr Happy Gilmour has destroyed the work of many years and it is irreparable.
The firm’s directors cannot tolerate any further association with the group of self centred, arrogant, misguided mess that is the current National Party as the firm has a reputation to protect.
So long and thanks for all the money …
RNZ. Mr Key accepts Mr Gilmore’s word that he did not threaten the waiter with the PM office and sacking. And no complaint received from the hotel. Clearly the friend who was embarrassed by Mr Gilmore’s actions must have fabricated the story. Mr Gilmore earlier said that he could not remember what he had said but obviously he had been very polite and the others were rowdy.
And the Gilmore brain fade is OK as it fits the PM lead.
RNZ have forgotten how to be serious journalists and ask hard questions.
You’ll get tougher questioning from Sean Plunket and John Campbell than a lot of the timid ones presently claiming to be journalists at RNZ.
Give your example Paul. This is of interest, as we need to monitor, fairly, the effectiveness and devotion to their journalistic task of Radionz. If criticising, state the occasion and content so we can listen.
O.K. I’ll record time etc next time..
Aaron Gilmour sounds like quite a revolting character. In the Herald today, this from a fellow diner at the restaurant.
“We were sitting about 5m from them. Right from the beginning, pretty much [from] when he [Gilmore] walked in he was already being quite arrogant – whistling at the waiters and clicking his fingers to get them over there to give them more drinks and stuff like that,” Mr Rangi said.”It was quite awkward, the restaurant was nice and quiet.”
Right from the beginning….he was whistling at waiters and clicking his fingers to summon them.
So he did not need alcohol to turn himself into a boorish prat.
“So he did not need alcohol to turn himself into a boorish prat.”
No you’re correct – he’s just a natural born boor.
Think of of a trio of boors – arrogant, bogoted, born-to-rule, holier-than-thou, mean spirited, nouveau riche, arse licking future Nat careerists:
They hang together like flies sticking to shit. Think Aaron Gilmore, Simon Bridges and Todd McClay
đ đ
Well done.
a scarlet letter mickey
“Wrexham call centre staff fly to New Zealand to cover night shifts”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-22370334
That’s a UK company sending it’s employees here on a working holiday.
You can’t employ from outside NZ if the job can be filled by kiwis, but you can set up shop, pay no income taxes and be immune to employment laws.
What’s in it for us?
Maybe NZ employers should follow suit – send NZ call centre staff to the Mediterranean to cover NZ nights?
karol
Like it, an employment option: within these time zones, where would you like to work for six months tours of duty? And not as a grunt type tour of duty, a foot soldier, but as a member of the cossetted class with your own nice air conditioned seat and office.
The Allen
The speaker did say something about getting NZs included, in passing. Surely anyone working within NZ is covered by our employment laws,. whatever they now are?
“Surely anyone working within NZ is covered by our employment laws,. whatever they now are?”
I don’t know about that. It’s not a NZ company and they’re not taxpayers, does employment law cover what tourists do on their holiday?
I know the poor seamen that regularly wash up abused on our shores are covered, but that’s probably quite a different thing.
still asking the fishy, hard questions then.
As cod is my witness
a pointedly red piece then.
‘
Dolphinitely.
you guys play roughy
another trawl of market failures.(many published sustainable seafood guides suggest consumers should avoid the species; anyway, bright red until they give up the ghost and too much consumption can have adverse effects on health).
Only way to get a squidward in egdeways
as long as no Krusty Krabs are served beneath Sandy Cheeked Bikinis at all.
Nah, just a load of old Pollocks !!.
Wood leave quite an abstract splash.
if they’re working in NZ, they need work visas and are covered by NZ employment law.
And I’m sure the cleaners would be paid locally, so the call centre is still a workplace.
Something to ponder
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/480201_558461730865261_613173355_n.jpg
Oh dear – brilliant graphic; not so brilliant Anadarko.
We won’t see it on TV or in the papers but maybe we will see it in Parliament next week?
( hint hint to the MP’s out there ) i suggest something effective, say in a billboard scale held aloft across the entire opposition benches.
In all seriousness though, this simple image deserves widespread public exposure and a very public statement from National saying how it’s all good and there is nothing to be concerned about. Then perhaps Simon Bridges can qualify how permits were given for this most fragile of regions. We must have it on the record now, for when the inevitable destruction occurs later the memory holes will be cavernous.
hat tip to Trillion for the image btw
An oil platform in the Pegasus zone will be an ecological disaster waiting to happen.
Why?
Because some breathless hippy says so
Unlike some moronic Monkey?
Hey! Wotcha!
probability over time
Plus the fact the nats are involved, of course. They’d discover that plugging a well built by the lowest bidder is not as simple as snapping your fingers and whistling.
Because it’s in a plate boundary area and I don’t care what fail-safe methods they say they have to prevent blowout in a mega-thrust quake they would probably be about as worthless as the failsafes at Deepwater Horizon and Fukushima (where nobody factored in their safety designs that the land would drop). We won’t have the capacity to manage a large earthquake, tsunami, and gigantic, gushing oil leak.
There is a big risk if Kiwibank was made a stand-alone entity away from NZPost, for governments with short-term views to sell it. (Disbelievers, there are such things!) It will soon be worth a billion, and be a nice boost to a government’s balance sheet. Jim Anderton was talking about this on Radionz this am, and he sounds like the Voice of Wisdom, really, after listening to the present conmen (he embraces she) in the present government.
And getting mail deliveries three days a week will work as well as milk delivery of three days a week, NOT for most. Some subsidy, through accepting less profitability by gummint, would be right behaviour with a five day delivery, suggestion to miss Monday when business letters would be low.
It could also be that more care for the company’s effectiveness and efficiency will bring costs down. What the Queenstown debacle revealed, when the curtains opened, should have been the main actors with guilty faces from top management down – some with egg on their faces, others pie, according to preference. Damn disgusting and it occurs to me that perhaps they have focussed too much of their attention and expertise on selling mail systems overseas, which they have done as an arm of the company. What effect this at home cesspit will do to their image of selling a modern styled process when learned by the distant customers, will likely be a stain on their trousers.
The Remuneration Authority, which sets the pay for city, district and regional councils, has increased the national pay pool by 8.9 per cent, meaning some councillors will pocket rises of up to $16,000 after this year’s elections.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if wage and salary earners were paid by the same standards used by the Authority? You would get what would be deserved like 8.9%.
Oh well be really grateful with your 1% increase you workers. Times are tough you know!
I referred to Zelda D’Aprano in Australia in a comment about International Workers Day and thought I’d look up Google to see what she has been up to – and find it much.
For women interested in those who worked hard for themselves and other women to gain fair treatment and have better lives, here is a link about this lady which is just one on a page full under her name.
http://www.spinifexpress.com.au/Bookstore/author/id=61/
Food Poverty in the land of plenty, yet that’s OK, the government is going to fund researchers who have jobs and good starts in life to the tune of 73Million to find out why other children do not!
The ensuing comments would suggest many people in NZ would support Hone’s Feed the Kids bill. Let’s hope our government gives a damn…
Oh I forgot, these NACT folk see hungry poor people as wine waiters who should be at their beck and call and grovel in their midst.
Possibly because the roots of the problem are serious, deep, systemic, and require a bit more thrown at it than just money.
Umm wouldn’t it be easier to just use said 73 million to sort out some of the problemsm instead of Paying some Joe 90 type who’s all theory and no practical!
73.5Million Actually
speaking of hungry
Joyce defensively concludes the decline in postgrads
numbers isn’t due to the removal of support, but is
population decline. This immediately would have shown
up in previous years of undergraduate intakes, as of
course the declining numbers would have them flowed on.
So of course Joyce could do nothing about declining
undergraduate numbers because either they weren’t
declining or Joyce wasn’t worried that less graduates
were shrinking the skilled workforce, as growth
is just around the corner and we don’t need to be
ready for it, China will take up any slack. đ
We can’t afford it, we can’t afford that we benefit
when China could be.
Lecture on Press freedom now streaming online from AUT:
http://ondemand.aut.ac.nz/Mediasite/Play/7952ba4a329d4ad09420e725cbbed4f31d
Prof Pearson.
World Press Freedom Day
According to a visitor from North Shore swimming pools charges for kids should return
A wild guess that her people that haven’t complained about the previous ‘trivial’ prices are not low income. And now it costs nothing and more kids come to swim so it should cost again so fewer kids swim, but the cost didn’t stop people in the first place? Hmmm, I think she might need to sort that logic out.
Todayâs [2/5/13] New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll shows a substantial gain in support for Prime Minister John Keyâs National Party to 46.5% (up 6% since April 1-14, 2013). Support for Keyâs Coalition partners remains low with the Maori Party 1.5% (down 0.5%), ACT NZ 0.5% (unchanged) and United Future 0.5% (unchanged).
Support for Labour is 31.5% (down 4%); Greens are 11% (down 2.5%), New Zealand First 4.5% (down 0.5%), Mana Party 1% (up 0.5%), Conservative Party of NZ 2% (up 0.5%) and Others 1% (up 0.5%).
From Scoop.
This poll was taken from the 15th to 28th of March. What makes 46.5% people vote for this hopeless bunch? What made 6% change their vote to National?
This is an atrocious government that looks after the top 1%, how the hell do they get nearly half the Nation voting for them?
This Natz government is so blessed with a really appropriate Labour leader. And then there is the deputy who thinks he is really smart.
McFlock thinks Shearer is just fine for the job; shearly 32% or so will win the Treasury benches (with a bit of help from the Greens and others), what more could one possibly want from the Labour Party?
Oh, I’d love it if the right choice of leader would simultaneously turn labour into the NZ Socialist Party with support boosted to 70% in the two weeks from one roy morgan to the next.
But relentlessly nagging about it for months on end would just end up alienating my political allies and making me look like an obsessive, delusional loser.
So I take a breath, get the fuck over it, and try to improve the real world rather than pining for a leftist rapture.
It isn’t solely about winning an election McFlock – it is also about containing the excesses of an existing government from the opposition benches. Think about Michael Cullen, who with a blistering verbal attack, embarrassed Ruth Richardson into amending a rule by which widows’ benefits would have been paid from the date of application rather than the date of the partner’s death.
In comparison, the National Government now have carte blanche in their attacks on the powerless. Jacinda and Darien certainly do what they can with what they’ve got, but you never get the sense that the full force of the party is behind them in their efforts, and John Key can cheerfully bring in anti-worker legislation on May Day while damning Shearer with faint praise. If Labour eventually do get the treasury benches under Shearer, with 30% + add-ons, they will not only be a minority government, they will inherit an entrenched tyranny, partly of their own making. The only spark of conviction I have seen from them has been pitted against the left of their own party, not the Tories.
No, you don’t get the sense that the full force of the party is behind them.
But you do?
Well, except for a few members who throw their toys around because they didn’t get the leader they want, yes.
I get the impression that caucus are settling into their roles in the house quite well. More effectively than the nats have been of late.
At least you lot arent doing a ‘victory lap’ because a left government is a mathematical possibility.
Must Read for all concerned with health care delivery, fair assessments and with WINZ decisions based on such by designated doctors:
Welcome to our truly “independent”, “fair” and “caring” HEALTH AND DISABILITY COMMISSIONER and his staff at their office.
As of recent, some bizarre “decisions” have been made upon complaints to the Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner. A recent one was made by Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Theodora (Theo) Baker.
I looked up her background on LinkedIn, and by doing an online search, I found revealing info re her last job at “Capsticks LLB”, which is a kind of large, virtually “corporate” style law firm in the UK, which does do a lot of work for NHS, private health care providers, trusts, and organisations that work with health care providers there.
See these links for intersting information:
Theo Baker’s personal Linked In “profile” lists her background of having worked for the ‘Health and Disability Commissioner Office’ before – as “Director of Proceedings” from 2004 to 2009. Then she appears to have left that office for an “overseas experience stint” at ‘Capsticks LLB’ in the UK, presumably to get more “legal expertise” in the health sector there – see this:
http://nz.linkedin.com/pub/theo-baker/61/301/b64
See ‘Capsticks LLB’:
http://www.capsticks.com/business-areas.php
http://www.capsticks.com/risk-management-and-litigation.php
(see comment re good record for “defending” “clinical negligence cases”!!!)
http://www.capsticks.com/regulatory.php
http://www.capsticks.com/careers.php
That corporate law firm has even entered the “social housing” business now:
http://www.capsticks.com/social-housing.php
Theo Baker returned to New Zealand and did in 2011 accept an appointment by Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, to take up a new job at the ‘Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner’ as DEPUTY HEALTH AND DISABILITY COMMISSIONER. She is according to online info and their staff chart responsible for “disputes resolution”! Anecdotal info about that “disputes resolution” is, that “resolution” appears to be more about “talking over matters” than investigating and holding medical practitioners and other health professionals accountable.
Now one wonders what motivated her to come back, and why National Party member and now Minister of Health Tony Ryall appointed her.
There was controversy about the appointment of Anthony Hill as new Commissioner before, which the Otago Daily Times wrote about here:
http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/191661/independence-commissioner-paramount
(by the way, the author of that article, Stuart McLennan, was a former staff member of that HDC Office himself, as Complaints Assessor!)
On reading that ODT article, one has to ponder on Dr Des Gorman again, head of a number of key health administrations (now ACC, so far Health Workforce NZ, National Health Board, Medical School of Auckland Uni, etc.), and apparently also a member of an international organisation called the ‘Medical Protection Society’! See this for VERY interesting information:
http://www.medicalprotection.org/
http://www.medicalprotection.org/newzealand/
So Dr Gorman is a clear advocate for protecting the interests of medical professionals, and he was like other key stakeholders (government and other providers and so forth) tasked with appointing a new Health and Disability Commissioner, whom they chose Anthony Hill for.
Given this information, does anybody still show any surprise about the lack of “action” and investigations that have been taken and started under the present Commissioner and his “team”? Theo Baker appears to “blend in” well with the office staff, who now operate under a top Commissioner appointed by Tony Ryall.
Until this day, the 4th of May 2013, only 7 cases have been decided on in this year, which involved proper investigation and an official, publicised statement by that office:
http://www.hdc.org.nz/decisions–case-notes/commissioner%27s-decisions/2013
That is a marked drop from what former, more effective and committed Commissioner Ron Paterson did in the way of investigations and decisions upon complaints.
So one may wonder, does NO “medical misadventure” or other “mistake” or failing happen in the medical and treatment professions in New Zealand these days? Well, it seems like with “welfare” suddenly figures “improve” under a slash, burn and “off-loading burdens” kind of government, and the “commissioners” and other office holders they have appointed.
Any person who has had reason to make a complaint to the H+D Commissioner (numbers are rather unchanged or even up with these), and who wonders, why no satisfactory action is taken, just needs to draw their conclusions from reading and studying the info found under links show above!
Fairness, reasonableness, objectivity and accountability no longer appear to be a priority for many office holders in such key institutions in New Zealand, I am afraid, if they ever were, really!
Do not be surprised, if you are getting fobbed off, off-loaded, treated with little respect, little dignity and honesty, be this by ACC, WINZ or any health professional, acting under stress, pressures, and demands to perform responsibilities in a cost saving environment. Time to worry, really!
Strangely one recent “decision” was about a WINZ designated doctor, who is well known to be a much used and preferred “assessor” for MSD and WINZ. The HDC Commissioner appears to have let him off the hook for extremely biased and questionable conduct and unfounded diagnosis and “recommendations”. The “assessment” just happened to be “too long ago”, and his statement “contradicted the one of the complainant”, was the simple conclusion, while an abundance of evidence was apparently not considered worth looking at.
So the matter was considered to not be worth “investigating further”.
Add the dots together. New Zealand is NOT the transparent, accountable and fair place that many still think it is.
X