This article shows up a few interesting and pertinent points.
NZ is sadly pimping for Obama’s TPP.
What was promised at Hawaiian golf game?
Funny John Campbell wasn’t taken to the holiday house Key actually goes to each summer.
So this is what happens to Reserve Bank Governors? They work for the globalist agenda.
The TPP, despite the upbeat headline, isn’t going to happen.
Japan and Australia are ensuring this is not occurring, while we play lapdog to US corporate interests.
“A sticking point has been Japanese reluctance to open market access in the “sacred” agricultural sectors — rice, wheat, beef, pork, sugar and dairy products. The recent visit to Japan by US President Barack Obama failed to deliver a major breakthrough on that front..”
“It is possible a Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal will be thrashed out by the end of the month, says Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) executive director Alan Bollard.” The key word here is possible. Not probable or likely.
the fact that we are among the group for an ‘ambitious, high quality agreement.’ In other words a totally open global market for corporate predators to maximise their profits in.
“Bollard said another question was whether, if the TPP negotiations arrived at a “mediocre” outcome, New Zealand and some other TPP partners keen on an ambitious, high quality agreement would sign up to it anyway. “I wouldn’t know.”
Well I suppose it depends what the manifestations of ambition and high quality are, but the fact is (cf: Wikileaks) NZ’s negotiating stance has not been aligned with that of the US. Far from it.
Because neither of them are on their respective negotiating teams? Our negotiating team was established and briefed by the fifth Labour cabinet, by the way.
Not a party political point on my behalf.
Merely think that signing the TPP would impact badly in the country’s sovereignty as NAFTA did to Mexico, Canada and the US.
Yes and the whole deal will not be see till it’s signed.
So, no thanks. I prefer not to sign deals over which I have no oversight. Surely this allies to country’s citizens as well.
Or do you implicitly trust that our leaders have ordinary NZ citizens best interests at the top of their list?
The events of the 1984 – 1993 would suggest we would be wise not to trust that.
Um, the whole deal will not be seen until Parliament is required to ratify it.
That’s a consequence of the fact that it’s negotiated behind closed doors. Many people who don’t like that seem oblivious to the reason for it, namely that if we debate it in the open all the other parties will know what our bottom lines are, giving them an advantage over us.
As for free trade deals, Closer Economic Relations with Australia seems to be a good one. They say NAFTA is bad for Mexico, but they also say it’s good for Canada, and I think Mexico’s economy might be suffering more because of the, y’know, death squads than the free trade deals. I understand our FTA with China is helping cushion us from the GFC.
Nonetheless, I will be implacably opposed to any agreement that weakens Pharmac and I’ll be looking very cynically at anything that impacts internet freedom, such as it is.
The TPPA was on my list of things to do until Wikileaks proved that our negotiating team are trustworthy.
I think in matters involving other countries and matters that have of such long term consequences to people of the the country and agreements that cannot be easily stopped at will, a simple majority in parliament should not be enough. There should be at least a 67% (2/3) approval of MPs, in my opinion.
That sort of % should also apply for constitutional and other very important issues such as change of flag, legalising of cannabis,
becoming a republic etc for example.
The TPPA was on my list of things to do until Wikileaks proved that our negotiating team are trustworthy.
Please remind me – which Minister is the NZ negotiating team directed by? What has led you to place so much of your trust in this National Government Minister?
In your response to your comment saying NAFTA has benefited Canada.
“Canada has become a noticeably more unequal society in the free trade era. Real incomes declined for the large majority of Canadians in the 1990s; they increased only for the top fifth. Employment became more insecure and the social safety net frayed.
While productivity has grown—rapidly in some sectors—wages have not, a trend mirroring the de-linking that has taken place in the U.S. But the overall productivity gap with the U.S. has not narrowed as free trade proponents predicted; rather, it has widened recently.
Successive waves of corporate restructuring—bankruptcies, mergers, takeovers, and downsizing—have been accompanied by public sector restructuring—downsizing, deregulation, privatization, and offloading of state responsibilities. Public sector spending and employment have declined sharply, and publicly owned enterprises in strategic sectors such as energy and transportation have been transferred en masse to the private sector.”
“NAFTA has also been used to weaken Canada’s sovereignty and promote its economic assimilation by the United States. It has led to greater pressure on Canada and Mexico to conform to U.S. foreign policy objectives.”
“The experience of Canadian farmers clearly demonstrates that more trade does not necessarily translate into more prosperity. The National Farmers Union points out that, since 1988, agricultural exports have almost tripled, but net farm income (adjusted for inflation) has fallen by 24%. ”
I already answered that – I’m telling you what I think, Phil. This notion of yours that they’ll fold…what’s stopping them already?
It’s right there in plain(ish) English at Wikileaks – the USA vs. everybody else at the table including NZ.
The people who have serious skin in this game are importers and exporters. If anyone loses big it will be them. Farmers, for example.
The National Party’s support base, in other words.
Let’s look at this another way. If trade terms with the USA are shit then I can go hawk my wares in China instead. There’s absolutely no purpose in anyone selling anyone else out: it’s Underpants Gnomes stuff
Sell out.
???
Profit!
Perhaps you think the officials involved will all take a nice fat bribe? Shares in Oravida?
It comes down to one simple fact that nobody seems to understand – we don’t need the agreement. We don’t even need the FTAs and WTO that we’re presently signed up with. Not for trade.
Of course, as has been said time and time again – this really isn’t a FTA, it’s a free capitalism agreement. More about the easy movement of money across borders, the easy purchasing of land by anybody and the implementation of IP laws that will restrict innovation and prevent competition.
So, the fact that the IP proposals, like most of the other clauses, have two or more separate versions that differ markedly on the details is irrelevant?
Do you think Helen Clark sent our negotiating team in there with no bottom lines? Or do you think National have shifted our bottom lines?
Do you think that the CER with Australia is a bad idea too?
No, I’m not planning for some future scenario. I just think expecting our negotiators to betray us is the sort of behaviour that deserves betrayal, and I still want to read the eventual agreement they present to us to sign up to before I make my mind up about it.
And that’s the point. 600 corporates have had more oversight of the proposals than our elected representatives. The US government is controlled by corporate lobbyists ( sadly this pattern is beginning to emerge here…Collins, Williamson, Key)
The TPP not democratic and I can’t believe any progressive party would ever support it. If Labour support it, then they are still follow the neoliberal cult of unrestrained capitalism.
Clearly people should vote Mana or Green to ensure this does not happen.
So, the fact that the IP proposals, like most of the other clauses, have two or more separate versions that differ markedly on the details is irrelevant?
I believe that IP law needs significant overhaul and shouldn’t be entrenched before that overhaul happens and the TPPA will entrench them.
Do you think Helen Clark sent our negotiating team in there with no bottom lines? Or do you think National have shifted our bottom lines?
I’d say that National have changed the bottom lines – that’s generally what happens when a government is changed. That said, I don’t think that Labour should have started the negotiations either.
Do you think that the CER with Australia is a bad idea too?
Yes. All we need to do is to set up our own rules of trade and make sure that they are about trade. This free movement of money that we’ve got is destroying us but doing wonders for the already rich.
There’s a real manipulation of the Bollard quote by the NZ Herald article.
Headline:
TPP deal on cards this month: Bollard
Highlighted quote in big print in the middle of the article:
“What I see is the possibility that something gets initialled late May … and at that stage it is all out on the table.”
Alan Bollard, Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation executive director
Full quote, including an omitted part, in the article is much more ambivalent:
“What I see is the possibility that something gets initialled late May — I just don’t know if they will make it — and at that stage it is all out on the table,” he said.
Yes the Herald has turned the whole story round with the heading.
About 4 key factors mentioned in the detail of the story that will prevent it…US congress, China, Australia, Japan
Good to see the Japanese actually care about their citizens to protect key industries, so much so they see them as ‘sacred.’
Pity we don’t share the same attitude.
One of the reason that organised crime has taken such massive hold in some areas of Mexico is the unemployment and economic destruction of many farming and provincial areas resulting from NAFTA. Tens or hundreds of thousands of small and medium scale family type farms closed down or were bankrupted as subsidised big corporate US agricultural products flooded into Mexico.
It meant that there was a major vacuum which criminal organisations moved in and filled. Economic abandonment made it hard to resource law enforcement properly and made it easy for corruption of public servants and officials to take hold.
But you would have to know some historical context to understand that, which is not necessary if all you want to do is flip a quick, meaningless quip.
I’ll save the next quick quip for when I have a better understanding of the context, CV, but from your description it looks like the Mexicans got shafted.
As for the TPPA, if we ever see a document put up for ratification, I’ll be surprised and on the look-out for fishhooks. Although I am looking forward to DtB’s response too.
As for the TPPA, if we ever see a document put up for ratification
Well, the parts of it which need legislative chances will be put up under urgency as a fait accompli with no negotiable clauses, and the rest of it which doesn’t need to go through parliament (eg just requires regulatory changes) will have already been signed up to and be a done deal.
No, that’s not the problem with Oravida. The problem there is that Collins used her government position to improve her own family’s financial position.
..end the danse macabre…just decriminalise/regulate/tax the safest intoxicant of all..eh..?
..(and the misleading/lies about pot continue unabated..even a supposed ‘serious’ website like slate has published bullshit claiming you have ‘to smoke at least 15 grams’ to die from a cannabis overdose..(!?)
..bloody hell..!..that’s only a half an oz…!
..and were that true..myself (and many others) should be dead many times over..
..to become the first ever to die from smoking cannabis..
..and guess which corporate/access-media outlet has jumped to reprint this tripe..?
..yep..!..long that bastion of clear/accurate information on the cannabis-issue..
..you sneer at ‘the paper’ as being the only evidence produced..which it is not..
..and as for the findings of that ‘paper’..
..what do you disagree with here..?
“..“The core ideology of conservatism stresses resistance to change – and justification of inequality
and is motivated by needs that vary situationally and dispositionally to manage uncertainty and threat” –
Jost and his co-authors wrote in the abstract.
These are not merely American phenomena, –
-nor is there any reason to think they’re particularly modern. .”
Want to know what a major Wellington employer has done to a friend of mine?
This is second hand, so some minor details may be incorrect, but…
They are highly qualified, including having a relevant PhD in their area and has good performance reviews for seven years, but the employer has decided that casualising the workforce suits them in retaining “flexibility”. Consequently, this friend has had to reapply for their job every four months, sometimes not knowing if they have any until three days before work starts.
Several years ago they suffered bullying at another workplace which the employer realised was indefensible and decided not to contest, instead giving a large out-of court settlement on condition of anonymity.
Naturally this person has been diagnosed with stress-induced anxiety and is prone to triggering.
Early this year, they noticed tremors. Then they had a severe episode of illness, taking two days off work for the first time in seven years.
Then a few personal tragedies occurred – a sibling’s cancer returned and a close friend died suddenly. Then they were hit by a car while on a pedestrian crossing and concussed. The employer was informed of this, the anxiety and the triggering.
The employer decided that this was an excellent time for a performance review and so surveyed this person while they were still impaired by the effects of their concussion.
They also demanded meetings for Mondays on Friday afternoons, refusing to reveal the agenda, allowing my friend to stew over the weekend.
Eventually my friend’s Union extracted partial information, but the employer refused to reveal any true detail of some supposed “complaints” or the alleged complainants.
Not long after, my friend’s tremors became convulsions and they were hospitalised and spent a week being treated under sedation. They were warned that the convulsions could have become seizures in which they might have suffered harm or even death.
After leaving hospital and facing months of medication still to come, the employer informed them that they needn’t apply for any more work.
Also, they’re not the only one to have a generally similar experience with this employer.
This is a profession is stereotyped as one of the most progressive. It isn’t.
Computer programming I’d guess, the industry is sadly rife with dudebro’s, libertarians of the non-civil type and other such fun that causes issues if you have disabilities, are female or anything else the founder/owner/etc can’t understand or doesn’t like.
I’m being deliberately obscure bearing in mind lprent’s care about attracting the beady eyes of lawyers.
In any case, the exact profession or workplace is less important than the effects and abuse of casualisation. My friend’s exact experience may be unique, but the general quality of it is not.
I’m sorry to hear about your friend’s experiences and subsequent illness. How are they doing now, and where are they at ?- no need to answer if you don’t want to.
I am hoping that their Union, if taking a personal grievance against the employer will use the Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Act 2002, which requires the employer to take all practicable steps to prevent illness arising from stress and to reduce harm from stressors. This is my botched wording and not the wording from the Act. I’ve done a super quick google and can’t find the appropriate phrasing relevant to your friend’s case, only the epic length Act itself and I don’t have time to do a proper search right now, sorry. I might be able to come back to it later
Also I wonder did the employer offer your friend access to EAP: Employee Assistance Programmes? I’m guessing they didn’t but they should have.. Several large corporate employers do provide this service. There’s a couple of organisations in Wellington providing this service.
I once did an essay on the impact of of work on the well being of NZ workers. From my learnings I found that we are not as proactive as other comparable countries in preventing stress related illness. Sadly this seems to reflected in example after example of work stress related illness in real life (including my own when I had a breakdown in 2010 due to my work situation and ended up on meds to cope and help me recover).
All the best for your friend’s recovery. I hope they can find justice – they should never been put at such risk, especially as they had others stressors to cope with in their personal life.
However, my – and their – point that they want made known is just how bad casualisation has become and how cynically it is abused by employers. It affects older, qualified professionals as much as the 90-day rule affects younger, unqualified people.
My friend suspects that a standard regime change is happening – a new senior person has been appointed and a number of new faces are replacing familiar ones. Apparently it’s a move by him to get his own team, no matter how inexperienced, to take over.
The casualisation of the labour force is poisonous, insidious and being taken up all around the globe.
Just a local example, also Wellington, is of a not for profit organisation who I a short contract with last year. None of the positions are permanent, they are all fixed term. At the end of your term the job is re advertised and you re apply for it. They were also users of the 90 day Act. Quite amazing really, the hypocrisy, given their “social values” mission and presence in the community, and the otherwise good work they do.
As for the company your friend worked for, their short sighted approach may lead to a drop in standards of their service, (what ever their industry is) that they are delivering to their client. The would be manager may find the loss of skilled experienced staff will lead to the loss of quality work and to unhappy clients. I hope she or he see’s the errors in the end, but most likely won’t, those self advancing types usually don’t.
I would hope though, that your friend’s Union would be willing to pursue a personal grievance. Sounds to me like they have good grounds to.
@ Rhino
This sounds like a rerun of something that happened to a friend of mine in the tertiary education sector about 4 years ago … and in retrospect “it’s a move by him to get his own team, no matter how inexperienced, to take over” is exactly what it was all about – as well as enabling the ‘Joyce-ing’ of the entire sector.
Real partisan control-freak stuff!
Further evidence how how poor the NZ Herald is at framing a story.
The headline is ‘Cheaper power bills this winter., accompanied by a happy punter smiling by an electrical heater.
Given the breezy and cheerful headline, you might think that this was because the electrical companies haven’t stopped rotting NZers and declared a price freeze. You know something of be for to NZ citizens.
However, the detail in the story tells of something else.
Cheaper prices are down to climate change, not that you’d catch a paper that promotes Chris de Freitas ever using that term.
To quote the Herald rag…
“The cheerful outlook has been put down to sea surface temperatures being warmer for 16 consecutive months.”
Climate change …warming sea temperatures…cheerful
Apparently dozens of pro-Russian militia and pro-Russian civilians who had taken over a government building in Odessa died due to fire and smoke inhalation when Ukrainian forces attacked the offices.
Odessa is critical to Ukraine now as I understand that it is their last remaining major sea port.
The IMF has told the unelected Ukrainian “government” that their multi-billion dollar bail out deal will be reviewed if they lose control of the eastern side of the country = if you want your money, move your military in, now.
Consultants believe that major military action may cause Russia to cut off some or all oil exports to the EU, leading to a major oil price spike = global recession.
A NATO deputy head is quoted as saying that Russia is no longer acting as a partner of NATO and will have to now be treated more like an adversary.
To me it seems like the oligarchs in the west are deliberately poking away at a hornet’s nest.
A comment by Sanctuary made over at Dimpost that is very funny and deserves to be repeated.
““…Let me qualify that. It’s an impossible task this time around. Short of a miracle nothing Labour can do can win them this election…”
And yo, the Lord spake. And across kingdom of Maurice of Pakuranga a big, gay rainbow of corruption did shine. Thus the Lord looked at the raiments of corruption and smiled, for they were juicy and entangled the PM. And across the land the left did rejoice, and raise hosannas of praise to lord for his miracle of Maurice, and small things with raffia detail were put to one side, all the better to spread on the blogsphere the miraculous works of the Lord.”
“…The questions caused extraordinary contretemps within the department. To their shame, no one – Labour, the Greens or the media – had ever asked such questions before. The poor officials had to start from scratch. …”
Some of us have asked questions about ‘corporate welfare’ before – missed this Mathew?
Thursday, 3 November 2011, 5:28 pm
Press Release: Penny Bright
PRESS RELEASE: Independent Candidate for Epsom Penny Bright:
“How many billion$ of public monies could be saved by ‘CUTTING OUT THE CONTRACTORS’?
3 November 2011
Where’s National’s ‘corporate welfare’ reform?
Which of the maor political parties are pushing for ‘corporate welfare’ reform and shrinking the long-term dependency of the private sector on our public monies?
Where is the ‘devilish detail’ at both local and central government level – which shows EXACTLY where our public rates and taxes are being spent on private sector consultants and contractors?
Why aren’t the names of the consultant(s)/ contrators(s) – the scope, term and value of these contracts, published in Council or central government Annual Reports – so this information on the spending of OUR public monies is available for public scrutiny?
Where are the publicly-available ‘Registers of Interests’ for those local government elected representatives, and staff responsible for property and procurement, in order to help guard against possible ‘conflicts of interest’ between those who ‘give’ the contracts and those who ‘get’ the contracts?
When Auckland Council is not upholding the LAW (Public Records Act 2005 and Local Government Act 2002) and telling residents and ratepayer exactly where our public monies are being spent on consultants and private contractors, and when statutory ‘third party Public Watchdogs’ are NOT doing their jobs and holding them to account – what is a CITIZEN to do?
Meekly tug one’s forelock and become a mindless, compliant ‘ca$h cow’ ?
Sorry – WRONG woman.
I’m making a stand which is upholding YOUR lawful rights to ‘open, transparent and democratically-accountable’ local government.
One day – you’ll get it.
Hopefully sooner rather than later?
Actually rates revolts are not unheard of in the Auckland region.
Have some of you had an effective frontal lobotomy and forgotten the 2003 rates revolt against the ARC, which thousands of Aucklanders joined?
Maybe these ‘brain fades’ which are currently very fashionable at the highest levels of government are contagious?
This market cult you belong to fascinates me, SSLands. Has it ever made a mistake?
What you remind me of more than anything is a young member of a Moscow aligned Communist Party, many years ago. A member of a more Beijing aligned Communist Party asked him what were the procedures if the leaders headed off down the wrong path and made some revisionist deviation or other. He was unable to accept that this could actually ever happen.
I much preferred him to you. Subjectively at least, he stood against privilege, poverty, corruption, and racism. He was human.
Yes srylands belongs to a ciult alright and unlike those utopian ones ..it appears not to care not one jot about anyone else but the individual.
Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’ offers a grim vision when put along the ideas of Rosa Luxembourg.
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, or the baker, that we expect dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.
The bizarre thing here is that, at the time Smith was writing, this simply wasn’t true. Most English shopkeepers were still carrying out the main part of their business on credit, which meant that customers appealed to their benevolence all the time. Smith could hardly be unaware of this. Rather, he is drawing a utopian picture.
Debt: The first 5000 years by David Graeber
So, yeah, it is a utopian view just one that’s rather nasty and removes all human contact.
Draco, you’re as bad as the free marketeers in ignoring Smiths other famous book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) in which the philosopher explicitly sets out the individual’s responsibilities to their community.
The problem with that critique is that modern society isn’t based around Smith’s previous work. In fact, we seem to have a tendency to ignore philosophers unless they allow the sociopaths to accumulate wealth and to rule.
And yes, I’m also quite aware that srylands and redbaiter would be calling Smith a dirty stinking commy for his attitude towards the poor despite the fact that their attitude is based upon his work.
Is that why he has been so silent on the Williamson story?
“Liu hired consultancy group Exceltium, run by political consultant Matthew Hooton, to lobby the Government over the business immigration rules.”
Well I guess the person who wrote this must be reeeaaalllly cynical:
Led by Managing Director Matthew Hooton, Exceltium uses its combination of intellect, experience and networks to design strategy-led communications programmes that shift opinions and policies to support the business plans of our clients.
If the RW trials are going to be so prevalent with their predictably self-centred, self-advancing views then time can be better spent on reading people who do attempt thought rather than different way of parrotting I’m OK – You’re Not OK and you and your opinion and your needs and wants are of no importance.
Joe 90 and others are great at giving links.
This is one that was supplied here. Chris Trotter on David Parker’s newly announced economic ideas. These will be game changers for us having untold advantages as Chris puts it. http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/
And Brian Easton on Distribution and poor people struggling and sliding down the plughole,
and on data stats in Been Counter. Seeing that many journalists don’t understand the figures they very artfully quote, perhaps the rest of us who haven’t studied stats etc. should bring our knowledge up to speed to bridge the ignorance gap. http://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/2014/03/been-counters/
Thank you Tracey your regular comments are informative.
I think that Bryan Gould makes some important points about the difficulties our exporters have and these should be repeated here.
Exporting successfully is an expensive business. Unless margins are good enough to make possible the spending needed to cover all the additional costs, such as freight and commissions, to develop the overseas market through promotion and after-sales service, and to provide the re-investment needed for product development so as to keep pace with foreign competition, it is not worth the effort.
No wonder so many of our potential exporters don’t try or give up quickly.
Even our most successful exporters pay a price for the dollar’s overvaluation – ask our dairy farmers. Export profits are lower than they would be if the dollar was at a more competitive level. Even our best firms – let alone those who are struggling at the margin – are therefore less able in the long run to keep pace with foreign competitors who don’t have to face the same currency headwind.
At the same time, we prepare to enjoy the consumer and import boom that accompanies the huge volume of bank-created credit that is fuelling the rise in house prices in Auckland in particular.
Glad to see that getting an airing in the MSM.
And from Brian Easton:
So while the revision does not change my views, it confirms that New Zealand is in the top half of the OECD for inequality, whereas three decades ago we were in the bottom half.
Yep, three decades of neo-liberalism has left us worse off.
It’s not all bad news. After all if you are in the top 5% to 10% you are noticeably better off, and if you are in the elite top 0.1%, you are winning the world with tens of millions of gains. The peasants, well, they can eat cake and buy their PS3s on hire purchase.
Serious questions over money and influence in National
Thursday, 1 May 2014, 2:12 pm
Press Release: Green Party
In my considered opinion, as an ‘Anti-corruption Public Watchdog’ – Minister of Justice Judith Collins is CORRUPT – has misled both the House and the NZ public over her role in promoting the interests of her friends’ and husband’s private company Oravida, and must be stood down as a Minister – FORTHWITH.
I predict that this may happen on Monday 5 May 2014 – if not before ………..
I would love to be a fly on the wall of the National Auckland Regional Convention which is taking place in Auckland this weekend. No doubt Williamson – and Collins – will be hot topics for discussion …..
Was thinking that too veutoviper and was wondering if there would be a piece on the 6pm news, “Collins resigns!”. She really is holding on by her fingernails, super strong glossily painted shellac fingernails.
Last night I saw TV3’s ‘on the street’ piece and maybe it was just the editing, but it looked decidedly like many in his electorate were turning away from Williamson now, regardless of how well they thought he had done in the past.
An article supporting something you said the other day phillip, along the lines of animal testing on synthetics only being part of a very large problem, just in NZ alone. On the front page of the Dom Post today:
Yes, I recall you mentioned something about that once phillip, the SPCA’s involvement in supply of animals to labs. That information, is that inside information or is there documented evidence of it happening or having once happened?
And a question I had the other day to you, that you may not have seen, was regarding Massey University’s (Palmy) animal testing. I had heard somewhere that they were the largest animal testing facility in NZ, testing commercial domestic products such as cleaners and cosmetics as well as medical research as they might be expected to undertake. Is this your understanding, that they are the largest?
Labs who do any significant experimental or chemical trial work on animals usually need several, to several dozen, of the exact same species and age of animal.
So no, I’d say that the SPCA would not be where they go for their test subjects (in the main).
The murder of Sarwen Lata occurred on 25th November 2013, a street away from where I live. The story of her relationship with her husband is very sad and even sadder because she is one of many women who have been killed by partners or ex partners who they protection orders against. Sarwen was killed the day after white ribbon day.
The one thing that has stayed in my mind that is particularly upsetting was that in the last hours of her life no body helped her. The one call to 111 came from her. Although neighbours heard screaming, the only call that was made came from the victim:
You can see in the video above that Sarwen’s house is very close to other houses, all around. Her particular house is plaster clad, as all the houses around her are too, they were all built at the same time. The walls are thin and none of those houses are double glazed in that part of the development. Why on earth did no one pick up the phone? When Singh broke the ranch slider glass surely that would have woken people and they should have been on to 111 straight away. For the record this is the most unfriendly neighbourhood I have lived in but surely the instinct to help when someone’s life is in danger would take over any social indifference? What the fuck is wrong with people?
Tragic. He was a classic high risk for murder-suicide and it’s very difficult to protect partners from men like him. Not sure what the answer is – protection orders won’t work with people who are intent on killing and then taking their own life. If we had effective mental health services it might help but in the absence of effective therapy for potential killers, the only way to be reasonably sure of protecting women is to relocate them – maybe with new identities.
Yes, it is so tragic because her death could have quite possibly been prevented if effective mental health intervention was available to Singh combined with or at least greater safety options being provided by the state to victims of domestic violence, as you suggest.
Socially, I wondering why her neighbours didn’t keep an eye out for her and why weren’t they there for her? Why didn’t they call 111 when given the nature of the tight cluster of thinned walled homes they would have clearly heard what was going on?
Rosie
I suggest that the reason why neighbours didn’t come forward was just because they are so tightly packed and with thin walls. The only way you can have privacy, personal space and peace of living in that case, is to ignore the constant noises and talking around you.
It is a defence mechanism necessary for everyone who would otherwise be vicariously living in other people’s ups and downs. Usually if becoming involved they would end up being soundly cursed by both or all participants who they will be continuing to live beside, and need to be on equable terms with.
There is a big strain on people who are really strangers trying to live in badly designed housing in close confines..
Rosie
This would have been a good point that remained in archived under domestic violence if you had put it in the thread about williamson and domestic violence. Comments like this with links are useful for later reference.
We’ve been taught, over generations, that other peoples business isn’t our business. The last thirty years of neo-liberalism has pretty much cemented that home.
The John Key-led National Ltd™ government’s blitzkrieg against the New Zealand environment is beginning to pay off for at least one mining company with close connections to it.
The so-called Environmental Protection Authority has just given the go ahead to foreign-owned Trans Pacific Resources to commence the first stage of a massive sea-bed mining operation right smack in the middle of a Maui dolphin habitat and migatory route for blue whales. Of the 4850 submissions to the EPA on the application, 4842 were opposed including those from local Iwi, environmenal groups, and fishing companies. In effect, the EPA rules governing the application for the mining consent prevent adequate input and usurp democracy while also ensuring that scientific evidence, tangata whenua concerns, and public opinion are secondary considerations to spreadsheet fantasies cooked up by unaccountable corporates.
Having made the rules to support their corporate masters, National Ltd™ further tilted the field in favour of Trans Tasman Resources when Environment Minister Amy Adams denied legal aid to small, volunteer organisations with a stake in the outcome. At the same time, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment handed the mining compnay a $25 million “innovation” grant.
The current consent, also granted by MoBIE, covers some 22 to 36 kilometres off the coast of Patea, in the Exclusive Economic Zone. It is the first stage of a much larger operation being planned by Trans Tasman Resources which is seeking to mine an additional 66 kilometres in the area. The larger application is currently going through a marine consent process being handled by a Board of Inquiry appointed by the EPA. The public notice of the application had to be re-issued because the original notice – surprise surprise – did not have all the required documentation. This delay has squeezed all the timelines for consideration of the application but – suprise surprise – Trans Tasman Resources’ timetable for commencing the raising of capital is still set for June 2014.
While it touts itself as a “New Zealand Company”, Trans Tasman Resources’ Board of Directors is the usual gaggle of international industrial henchmen one might expect, but there is a New Zealander there: none other than former National Ltd™ Prime Minister Jenny Shipley.
The New Zealand companies office record of shareholders shows that 58 percent of Trans Tasman Resources is owned by two Dutch investment companies. The largest New Zealand shareholders appear to be Benjamin Clarke Langdon and Gregor John Barclay who, between them, hold 4.88% – but not in their own names. Their Trans Tasman Resources shares are held by Minvest Securities (New Zealand) Limited which, in turn, is owned by Claymore Trustees Ltd which, in turn, is owned by Sheet Investments Ltd in which Langdon and Barclay hold 50% each. Seems legit . . . doesn’t it? Fuck knows what corporate veils have been pulled over the other Trans Tasman Resources’ shareholding entities in order to protect investors for any form or any accountability should it be required.
Jenny Shipley
You can read a lot into her dealings since 2005.
From wiki
“In 2007, Shipley joined the financial services firm Source Sentinel.
Shipley also has business interests in China and is currently on the board of the China Construction Bank.
According to Companies Office records, Jack Chen, Jenny Shipley and another investor founded a business together in 2004 called New Zealand Pure & Natural. Mr Chen quit as a director a year later but only quit his shareholding in 2010. Mr Chen was instrumental in promoting the ‘Chinese Business Roundtable Council’ in NZ, and set up a new political party in NZ, before being forced to resign due to fraud and corruption charges being laid in Hong Kong.
In 2010 the China Construction Bank agreed to help finance a proposal by May Wang [also known as Hao May] and Jack Chen [also known as Chen Keen] to invest in the New Zealand dairy industry by taking over the Crafar Farms.
Since 2009, Shipley has chaired the Genesis Energy Limited board.
In December 2012 Shipley resigned from the board of directors of Mainzeal Property & Construction which later went into receivership on 6 February 2013. At mid-day on 5 February 2013 she was one of four independent directors who resigned from the board of Mainzeal Group Limited. Both Mainzeal Property & Construction (MPCL), and Mainzeal Group Limited are part of the Richina group, controlled and majority owned by Yan Ci Lang (Richard Yan). “
In effect, the EPA rules governing the application for the mining consent prevent adequate input and usurp democracy…
Which, of course, is what the function of the EPA always was. Its name is the exact opposite of its purpose and that purpose is to fast track business.
While it touts itself as a “New Zealand Company”, Trans Tasman Resources’ Board of Directors is the usual gaggle of international industrial henchmen one might expect, but there is a New Zealander there: none other than former National Ltd™ Prime Minister Jenny Shipley.
Cronyism runs deep in National.
Their Trans Tasman Resources shares are held by Minvest Securities (New Zealand) Limited which, in turn, is owned by Claymore Trustees Ltd which, in turn, is owned by Sheet Investments Ltd in which Langdon and Barclay hold 50% each. Seems legit . . . doesn’t it?
It’s probably many things. First it would hide and protect the owners and, most likely, it’s also a tax dodge.
What mechanism are you suggesting is employed as a “tax dodge”.
Just a hunch. We keep hearing about these people who have lots of nested companies which seem to pay very little tax. And I’m sure you’ve heard of the Loss Attributing Qualifying Company – A company specifically set up to run at a loss that can be written off against other income.
What is not sensible about that?
Sounds good but they don’t seem to be protecting the environment.
MBIE’s New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals have just given Trans Tasman Resources a twenty year permit to extract ironsand off the coast of Patea. This is before the EPA hearings have even concluded, which just goes to show how much they don’t care about the consultation process. That’s how assured of a pro-industry decision from the EPA they are as well. New Zealands EPA is pretty much copied from the United States’ EPA, which is well known for making many decisions which have had a negative impact on the environment and people’s health.
Is there any way that long-term and irreversible damage to the seabed, and the consequences of turbidity pollution from ironsand dredging can be made as visible to the NZ public as say the breach of a toxic tailings dam or marine oil spill?
Am I wrong to have a gut feeling that this is sanctioning of environmental vandalism?
I think you’re right. Kiwis Against Seabed Mining has some good resources on their webpages. It’s a high volume, low value operation that shifts a lot of sand, but where it can’t be seen. There are studies showing that dunes, beaches, waves, and river mouths near the mining areas can be drastically changed. None of this seems to matter to NAct at all, as long as someone makes a buck.
While all facts are facts, it is sometimes useful to know exactly what they are. It can be easier to build a local movement to protect a beach if you can point to something slightly more detailed than “organised death and destruction”. When I learned how to give lectures and seminars, I was advised to spend the first five or ten minutes telling the audience stuff they were familiar with. The conclusion comes at the end.
You know what really boggles my mind?
“What’s that?”
Well I’ll tell you.
The amount of posters at places like Kiwiblog who call The Greens “Luddites” for being anti deep-sea drilling and the like. It boggles the mind because developing new technologies for energy is the complete opposite of being a Luddite whereas the continued embrace of old world technology is pure Ludditism.
Er, actually I think the point is that while the Greens may be in favour of new forms of energy, they are also very much in favour of reducing energy consumption as a whole, which can be classed as ludditism.
A safe renewable low cost energy source will see energy use skyrocket Lanthanide, that is the end goal of any alternative to fossil fuels and their derivations.
Just another indication of the different planet on which National operates. This from the DomPost today:
“Post-Budget speech requires big budget
It might be called the Budget, but there is nothing budget about the price of tickets to Prime Minister John Key’s May 16 post-Budget speech at Auckland’s SkyCity Convention Centre.
A seat at the event, organised by the Trans-Tasman Business Circle together with AUT University, QBE Insurance and Westpac, will require a looser fiscal policy than Finance Minister Bill English is planning.
They cost a taxing $375+GST for members, and $550+GST for non-members.”
When I saw that today I looked for information of a dollar destination nature, but found nothing.
Does any one know where the ticket returns, actually go ?
It’s not like the PM gets an appearance fee or anything.
It’s unlikely SkyCity would be charging much for the room.
In this day and age, does any one know why these post-budget speeches are not broadcast to a national audience?
Very good questions. SkyCity for a post-budget speech at a fairly high cost? More of the infiltration of business, especially big money, into government.
That is fucking bullshit – Michael Cullen always gave post budget speeches to a business audience in each of the main centres, and sometimes in Sydney or Melbourne – do you think they were free?
yes shitlands, they were either free or had only some minimal charge, after all Finance Ministers/DPMs already get very well paid to explain their Budgets to the public.
As for getting a grip, you need to stop gripping yours.
As you obviously have no answers to some very simple and fair questions, you choose to throw around irrelevancies. Is that all you have for your contributions?
Karol’s comment is clearly not making mention of any party, neither is mine. Both are general observations of the reality at hand. Some people are actually capable of isolating their political allegiances from their due consideration of the long term situation and how it relates to the ever changing society we inhabit.
I accept that you struggle with that concept.
And if you read what I wrote srylands, there is no judgement made or opinion given other than an interest in where a sizeable bundle of topical cash ends up, and maybe it is time speeches like this were streamed to the people who pay the PM’s salary. In a post budget environment, especially in an election year, many people would like to see what the Prime Minister says if his performance is worth 500 bucks a ticket.
$375 for an event like this is bog standard. You pay $500 to send one of your staff to any kind of half-day professional seminar. A two day conference at sky city (or any conference centre in wellington or auckland is typically $3,000 + GST.
Why do you think the price is high? If there is any profit it will simply cross subsidise the other TTBC events.
To paraphrase Helen Clark – I am amazed that you are amazed.
$500 for any kind of half day professional seminar?
Not for lots of stuff in the health sector.
Not for lots of stuff in IT.
Not for lots of foreign policy/IR stuff.
Have heard some really good stories about NetHui sessions. Can you imagine srylands trying to wrap his head around the dialogues on collaborative thinking that are generated at NetHui ?
even this single line from their promotional material is probably enough to fry his cerebellum
” It’s a collaborative, multistakeholder gathering where we all set the agenda.”
$500 clams for a seat at a government speech? Sounds like normal business to me…but then I heard from right wing peeps that govts shouldn’t be in the business of doing business.
Yet this govt seems to do a lot of “business”, especially behind closed doors.
Blogger and political consultant ‘Bomber’ Bradbury denies exclusion of pro-marijuana party from poll was his call.
A blogger and political consultant to Mana and the Internet Party has warned he will not support closer ties with the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.
This comes after ALCP leaders questioned Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury’s editing of The Daily Blog platform, and his links to the legal highs organisation the Star Trust.
Campaigners for legalisation of natural marijuana believe they have been getting a bad deal.
Bradbury is a longtime supporter of real cannabis, but lately has written several posts sympathetic to the synthetic highs industry.
Other liberal campaigners and blogs such as Public Address have supported a legal foundation for the legal highs industry, and lamented the decision to amend the Psychoactive Substances Act that will force 41 legal high products off the market, pending safety tests. But Bradbury is different because as well as having a high media profile, where he promotes himself as champion of the common man, other media have revealed he is also a political consultant to both the Mana Party and the Internet Party.
The danger is the commercial roles might become enmeshed.
Dak v dak
ALCP deputy leader Abe Gray – a botany lecturer at Otago University – says Bradbury has cut comment in The Daily Blog and excluded the party from a poll on the site.
Bradbury acknowledges bad vibes between himself and the ALCP, but says its exclusion from the Daily Blog poll was not decided by him.
Friction with the left wing blogger appears to reflect a rift between the natural cannabis people and the well-resourced legal highs industry.
………………………..
‘Dirty, filthy’
Star Trust director Grant Hall confirms Bradbury’s comment that he does not have a commercial relationship with the trust. “The reason you may have heard this rumour is because he interviewed some of the guest speakers [at a Star Trust conference in March], researched the questions for the political debate and hosted the political panel on the day.
“Beyond that he has no role with the trust and does no work for us currently.”
Bradbury was unhappy when asked about his ties to the legal highs industry, and sent a terse letter to ALCP leader Julian Crawford for talking to the Herald.
He said: “I worked for the Star Trust as the convener of their recent conference, my association with them has nothing whatsoever to do with your none [sic] inclusion in the poll. We only have parties on that poll with a chance of entering Parliament. The ALCP has no chance of entering Parliament.
“This type of deceitful smearing has helped make up my mind in terms of any advice to the IP and Mana in terms of broadening their alliance to include ALCP,” he said. Bradbury criticised Crawford for “dirty, filthy tactics”.
……………………
Wonder how much ‘Star Trust’ paid Martyn Bradbury to ‘convene’ their recent conference?
Did Martyn Bradbury ever do any (paid) work for Star Trust?
I’d ask Bradbury directly these questions on HIS ‘Daily Blog’ – but he blocked me – when I refused to back down as an Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Beware folks!
Follow the dollar…..?
In my considered opinion there are a lot of PHONIES out there …..
Paula Bennett says the problems faced by Writehanded.org blogger Sarah Wilson are an “isolated incident” and there is no need to change the policies or procedures at Work and Income (WINZ).
She goes on to suggest that Sarah Wilson has a “distorted perception of reality” ie Sarah Wilson and others who complain have a mental illness that makes her delusional due to the stress of her situation. (FYI minister assuming someone has a disability is a little known form of discrimination but it still fits the criteria of human rights abuse – check the handy HRC website).
“We work with some people that are at the most challenging and distressing times in their lives and their perception of how they’re dealt with can sometimes be not perhaps the reality if they were in a different frame of mind.”
With 295,000 people on welfare, she had much more to think about than Wilson, she said, and she saw no need to make changes as a result of what Wilson had said. ”
Olivia and Noah and Hana are going to the library!It is fun to go to the library. It has books and songs and mat time and people who smile at you and say, Hello Olivia, what have you been doing this morning?The library is more fun than the mall. At ...
New World Orders: The challenge facing Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins is how to keep their small and vulnerable nation safe and stable in a world whose economic and political climate the forty-seventh American president is changing so profoundly.IT IS, SURELY, the ultimate Millennial revenge fantasy. Calling senior Baby-Boomer and Gen-X ...
“This might surprise you, Laurie, but I reckon Trump’s putting on a bloody impressive performance.”“GOODNESS ME, HANNAH, just look at all those Valentine’s Day cards!”“Occupational hazard, Laurie, the more beer I serve, the more my customers declare their undying love!”“Crikey! I had no idea business was so good.” Laurie squinted ...
In 2005, Labour repealed the long-standing principle of birthright citizenship in Aotearoa. Why? As with everything else Labour does, it all came down to austerity: "foreign mothers" were supposedly "coming to this country to give birth", and this was "put[ting] pressure on hospitals". Then-Immigration Minister George Hawkins explicitly gave this ...
And I just hope that you can forgive usBut everything must goAnd if you need an explanation, nationThen everything must goSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Today, I’d like to talk about a couple of things that happened over the weekend:Brian Tamaki’s Library Invasion and ...
New reporting highlights how Brooke van Velden refuses to meet with the CTU but is happy to meet with fringe Australian-based unions. Van Velden is pursuing reckless changes to undermine the personal grievance system against the advice of her own officials. Engineering New Zealand are saying that hundreds of engineers ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill. This Bill represents a positive step towards addressing serious issues around unlawful disparities in pay by protecting workers’ rights to discuss their pay and conditions. This Bill also provides welcome support for helping tackle the prevalent gender and ...
Years of hard work finally paid off last week as the country’s biggest and most important transport project, the City Rail Link reached a major milestone with the first test train making its way slowly though the tunnels for the first time. This is a fantastic achievement and it is ...
Engineers are pleading for the Government to free up funds to restart stalled projects. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, February 17 are:Engineering New Zealand CEO Richard Templer said yesterday hundreds of ...
It’s one of New Zealand’s great sustaining myths: the spirit of ANZAC, our mates across the ditch, the spirit of Earl’s Court, Antipodeans united against the world. It is also a myth; it is not reality. That much was clear from a series of speakers, including a former Australian Prime ...
Many people have been unsatisfied for years that things have not improved for them, some as individuals, many more however because their families are clearly putting in more work, for less money – and certainly far less purchase on society. This general discontent has grown exponentially since the GFC. ...
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 9, 2025 thru Sat, February 15, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report shows worsening food poverty and housing shortages mean more than 400,000 people now need welfare support, the highest level since the 1990s. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and ...
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
The Forum has raised concerns regarding the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill and the Regulatory Standards Bill, which, if enacted, will radically undermine existing human rights protections, Indigenous rights, and constitutional safeguards ...
The passage of time hasn’t been kind to Ngāi Tahu.When its High Court hearing over wai māori (freshwater) commenced last week, 52 months after the claim was filed, the tribe mourned the loss of two named first plaintiffs – Bishop Richard Wallace, of Makaawhio, and Theo Bunker, of Wairewa – ...
Margie Apa, Nicholas Jones, Diana Sarfati, the board of Health New Zealand … and will Lester Levy be next?The biggest names in our health service are tumbling like dominos.It’s been called a bloodbath and a crisis.What’s going on?Every day there’s a new story about shortages, patients having to wait for ...
Opinion: The coalition Government’s recent revisions to the business investor visa, officially the Active Investor Plus but commonly known as the ‘golden visa’, has put pay-for-residency back in the headlines. While many object to the commodification of citizenship implicit in this policy, questions should be asked about its potential as ...
One Christmas, to thank him for helping me hugely with my writing (on a mentor scheme), I sent Michael King a dark blue cashmere scarf. I chose it with the awful knowledge that he was battling cancer, and I somehow thought it might keep him warm and make him feel ...
Comment: Readers may recall the commentaries from academics that appeared on these pages as well as on many media outlets, alarmed and appalled by the disbanding of the Marsden panels for humanities and the social sciences.The Marsden Fund is a “blue skies” initiative established by Simon Upton in the 1990s. ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard seven hours of submissions. Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.An “insult to every one of our tīpuna” was the first advice the Justice Committee heard on the Treaty principles bill ...
The same councillors who decry excessive spending on pet projects just voted to pump millions of dollars into a greenhouse for flowers. On Thursday last week, Wellington City Council voted to consult on repairing Begonia House, the greenhouse for exotic flowers in Wellington Botanic Garden. The options for repairs range ...
It’s important to respect people’s right to free speech and peaceful assembly, but how much political deference is due when it isn’t peaceful? Commenting on Destiny Church members storming a children’s event at the Te Atatū library and community centre on Saturday, prime minister Christopher Luxon said it’s important to ...
Comment: US is capitulating to Moscow’s demands before negotiations over Ukraine even begin The post The day the West died appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('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, Tuesday 18 February appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Two Palestinian resistance groups have condemned “the brutal assault” on prisoners at Ofer Prison, saying it was “barbaric criminal behaviour that reflects the fascist and terrorist nature of” Israel. In the joint statement, Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) called the attack a “miserable attempt” by Israel ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist in Avarua, Rarotonga Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown hopes to have “an opportunity to talk” with the New Zealand government to “heal some of the rift”. Brown returned to Avarua on Sunday afternoon (Cook Islands Time) following his week-long state visit to China, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sonia R. Grover, Clinical Professor of Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne Polina Zimmerman/Pexels Menstruation, or a period, is the bleeding that occurs about monthly in healthy people born with a uterus, from puberty to menopause. This happens when the endometrium, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ella Barclay, Senior Lecturer, School of Art and Design, Australian National University Despite the perceived outrage at Khaled Sabsabi’s depiction of Hassan Nasrallah in his 2007 work You, Australian art has long made subjects of outlaws and questionable figures. And it is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Pryke, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia “It’s an old song”, Hermes (Christine Anu) sings at the opening of Hadestown, but “we’re gonna sing it again and again”. Based on a ...
An additional $13 million will be invested in tourism infrastructure, including upgrading huts and resolving the backlog in Milford Sound concessions. ...
The reality is that we have no obligation to tolerate the intolerant. They are using violence to shut down and silence others. The result of tolerating intolerant views is the loss of everyone’s freedom of speech except for the one who most effectively ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Davis, Associate Professor in Conservation, Edith Cowan University Adwo/Shutterstock Humans have been poisoning rodents for centuries. But fast-breeding rats and mice have evolved resistance to earlier poisons. In response, manufacturers have produced second generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as bromadiolone, widely ...
Alex Casey unearths Simon Court’s full sales pitch for how menstrual cups could end poverty. On Friday last week, Act MP Simon Court was accused of “mansplaining” during a parliamentary committee hearing about benefit sanctions. After submitter Rachel Dibble shared her concerns about period poverty and the impact that sanctions ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato It’s an unfortunate fact that bad people sometimes want guns. And while laws are designed to prevent guns falling into the wrong hands, the determined criminal can be highly resourceful. There are three main ...
Asia Pacific Report Two independent Jewish Voices groups in Aotearoa New Zealand have written an open letter to the government condemning the Zionist “colonisation” project leading to genocide and criticising the role of the NZ Jewish Council for its “unelected” and “uncritical support” for Israel. The groups, Alternative Jewish Voices ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Newspoll, conducted February 10–14 from a sample of 1,244, gave the Coalition a 51–49 lead, unchanged from the previous Newspoll, ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you enjoy whip-smart satire: The White Lotus (Neon, February 17) HBO’s award-winning The White Lotus is back for what critics are calling “an absolutely exquisite third ...
NZPF called for a slowdown of the curriculum change, asking for one subject at a time, so that teachers and principals could be fully trained and feel confident and competent to implement the changes, New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) President ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Indonesia’s TVOne launched an AI news presenter in 2023.T.J. Thomson Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has taken off at lightning speed in the past couple of years, creating disruption in ...
Many of the young vapers interviewed by a team of public health researchers said they felt unable to resist the pro-vaping environment that surrounded them. New Zealand’s smokefree law was hailed around the world for creating a smokefree generation that would have lifelong protection from smoking’s harms. The smokefree ...
Analysis: While most Wellingtonians enjoyed a rare but unbeatable sunny day on Saturday, some New Zealand diplomats will have been briefly shocked by a screenshot making the rounds on social media showing US President Donald Trump calling us a “third world country”.The image, it appears, was a fake – certainly a ...
ActionStation Director, Kassie Hartendorp says that the Treaty Principles Bill has galvanised the biggest movement in support of Te Tiriti in modern history. ...
This article shows up a few interesting and pertinent points.
NZ is sadly pimping for Obama’s TPP.
What was promised at Hawaiian golf game?
Funny John Campbell wasn’t taken to the holiday house Key actually goes to each summer.
So this is what happens to Reserve Bank Governors? They work for the globalist agenda.
The TPP, despite the upbeat headline, isn’t going to happen.
Japan and Australia are ensuring this is not occurring, while we play lapdog to US corporate interests.
“A sticking point has been Japanese reluctance to open market access in the “sacred” agricultural sectors — rice, wheat, beef, pork, sugar and dairy products. The recent visit to Japan by US President Barack Obama failed to deliver a major breakthrough on that front..”
“It is possible a Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal will be thrashed out by the end of the month, says Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) executive director Alan Bollard.” The key word here is possible. Not probable or likely.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11248586
Just as a sidebar, it depresses me to see what neo-liberal zealots we have become in the world.
how can we not be seen as ‘the bad guys’..?
..given as we help america spy on the rest of the world..
..and are eager spear-carriers/suppliers of mercenaries.. for their forays into third world countries..
..their extended program of ‘regime-change’…
..of course we will eagerly offer to sell out all our interests/sovereignty to the americans..
..our political leaders are whores…
..(and it may be timely to repeat the warnings of/from former tory prime minister of australia..malcom fraser..
..who has urged his country to break all those implicating-ties with america..)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article38031.htm
Paul, can you quote the part that shows we’re pimping for the US TPP?
“A sticking point…” Not the only sticking point.
The docs available at Wikileaks tell a different story. Unless I’m missing something.
the fact that we are among the group for an ‘ambitious, high quality agreement.’ In other words a totally open global market for corporate predators to maximise their profits in.
“Bollard said another question was whether, if the TPP negotiations arrived at a “mediocre” outcome, New Zealand and some other TPP partners keen on an ambitious, high quality agreement would sign up to it anyway. “I wouldn’t know.”
Well I suppose it depends what the manifestations of ambition and high quality are, but the fact is (cf: Wikileaks) NZ’s negotiating stance has not been aligned with that of the US. Far from it.
Flatly opposed would be a better description.
In which case why does Obama delegate leadership of the TPP to Key when he couldn’t make it?
Because neither of them are on their respective negotiating teams? Our negotiating team was established and briefed by the fifth Labour cabinet, by the way.
Not a party political point on my behalf.
Merely think that signing the TPP would impact badly in the country’s sovereignty as NAFTA did to Mexico, Canada and the US.
Depends what the final version looks like. I don’t see any value in going all Chicken Little over something we haven’t seen.
Yes and the whole deal will not be see till it’s signed.
So, no thanks. I prefer not to sign deals over which I have no oversight. Surely this allies to country’s citizens as well.
Or do you implicitly trust that our leaders have ordinary NZ citizens best interests at the top of their list?
The events of the 1984 – 1993 would suggest we would be wise not to trust that.
Um, the whole deal will not be seen until Parliament is required to ratify it.
That’s a consequence of the fact that it’s negotiated behind closed doors. Many people who don’t like that seem oblivious to the reason for it, namely that if we debate it in the open all the other parties will know what our bottom lines are, giving them an advantage over us.
As for free trade deals, Closer Economic Relations with Australia seems to be a good one. They say NAFTA is bad for Mexico, but they also say it’s good for Canada, and I think Mexico’s economy might be suffering more because of the, y’know, death squads than the free trade deals. I understand our FTA with China is helping cushion us from the GFC.
Nonetheless, I will be implacably opposed to any agreement that weakens Pharmac and I’ll be looking very cynically at anything that impacts internet freedom, such as it is.
The TPPA was on my list of things to do until Wikileaks proved that our negotiating team are trustworthy.
I think in matters involving other countries and matters that have of such long term consequences to people of the the country and agreements that cannot be easily stopped at will, a simple majority in parliament should not be enough. There should be at least a 67% (2/3) approval of MPs, in my opinion.
That sort of % should also apply for constitutional and other very important issues such as change of flag, legalising of cannabis,
becoming a republic etc for example.
Please remind me – which Minister is the NZ negotiating team directed by? What has led you to place so much of your trust in this National Government Minister?
are you seriously advocating a ‘let’s wait to see what it contains’..?
..given this tory govt wd ram it thru under urgency faster that you can say ‘ye sir!’..?
..are you serious..?
oh..!..hang on..!..that’s the labour policy..eh..?
..to wait and see..
..so i guess you must be following that line..?
Nope. Not following anyone’s “line” – I just thought about it for a while. I’ve outlayed some of my reasoning above.
i read yr ‘reasons’..
..gonna save yr/any regrets for post-deal..eh..?
No, for pre-ratification. Is that even a word?
If parliament were significantly split over it I can’t see it surviving an election.
Both Labour and National MPs will vote for it.
In your response to your comment saying NAFTA has benefited Canada.
“Canada has become a noticeably more unequal society in the free trade era. Real incomes declined for the large majority of Canadians in the 1990s; they increased only for the top fifth. Employment became more insecure and the social safety net frayed.
While productivity has grown—rapidly in some sectors—wages have not, a trend mirroring the de-linking that has taken place in the U.S. But the overall productivity gap with the U.S. has not narrowed as free trade proponents predicted; rather, it has widened recently.
Successive waves of corporate restructuring—bankruptcies, mergers, takeovers, and downsizing—have been accompanied by public sector restructuring—downsizing, deregulation, privatization, and offloading of state responsibilities. Public sector spending and employment have declined sharply, and publicly owned enterprises in strategic sectors such as energy and transportation have been transferred en masse to the private sector.”
“NAFTA has also been used to weaken Canada’s sovereignty and promote its economic assimilation by the United States. It has led to greater pressure on Canada and Mexico to conform to U.S. foreign policy objectives.”
“The experience of Canadian farmers clearly demonstrates that more trade does not necessarily translate into more prosperity. The National Farmers Union points out that, since 1988, agricultural exports have almost tripled, but net farm income (adjusted for inflation) has fallen by 24%. ”
http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/NAFTA@7/ca.html
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National_Office_Pubs/lessons_from_nafta.pdf
Sounds horribly familiar, doesn’t it?
NAFTA has benefited the Canadian elite. FIFY
+1
‘flatly opposed’..?
..in words/posturing only..
..but ready and willing to bend like a reed in the wind..
..and to sell us all down the river..
Well that’s the fear, isn’t it. Just that when we got a look at the secret papers they showed that our team is on our side.
bullshit..!..oan..
words/postures are cheap/easy to strike..
..when push comes to shove..
..they’ll fold like an origami-class..
(can i ask..are you involved in the labour party..?..
..you are so pushing the official party line..
..it begs the question..)
I already answered that – I’m telling you what I think, Phil. This notion of yours that they’ll fold…what’s stopping them already?
It’s right there in plain(ish) English at Wikileaks – the USA vs. everybody else at the table including NZ.
The people who have serious skin in this game are importers and exporters. If anyone loses big it will be them. Farmers, for example.
The National Party’s support base, in other words.
Let’s look at this another way. If trade terms with the USA are shit then I can go hawk my wares in China instead. There’s absolutely no purpose in anyone selling anyone else out: it’s Underpants Gnomes stuff
Sell out.
???
Profit!
Perhaps you think the officials involved will all take a nice fat bribe? Shares in Oravida?
no..it’s ideological..
..that neolib/rand-ite free-trade bullshit…
..that they believe in so fervently..key..and all of them..
..rewarding those who ‘deserve’ it..ie..rich/corporates..
..those who have ‘skin in the game’…
..national barriers/priorities don’t matter to these pricks..
..just rewarding the ‘deserving’..and punishing/taking away from the ‘undeserving/the parasites’..
..just business as usual for these pricks..
..but anyway..
..the upcoming environmental/climate-change shitstorm will flush all of that away..
..and tho i cd say if u don’t want a tpp..vote this govt out..
..but the official labour line is pretty much in sync with what you argue..eh..?
..so little/not much hope to be had from that quarter..?
..and i am/yr answer was unclear…did you confirm that you are not part of the labour party..?
I’m not a member of any party. My views align mostly with Labour. And Mana. And The Greens. Depends which policy.
And Phil, yes as I said I share your concerns and yet the secret documents tend to allay rather than support them.
It comes down to one simple fact that nobody seems to understand – we don’t need the agreement. We don’t even need the FTAs and WTO that we’re presently signed up with. Not for trade.
Of course, as has been said time and time again – this really isn’t a FTA, it’s a free capitalism agreement. More about the easy movement of money across borders, the easy purchasing of land by anybody and the implementation of IP laws that will restrict innovation and prevent competition.
So, the fact that the IP proposals, like most of the other clauses, have two or more separate versions that differ markedly on the details is irrelevant?
Do you think Helen Clark sent our negotiating team in there with no bottom lines? Or do you think National have shifted our bottom lines?
Do you think that the CER with Australia is a bad idea too?
Genuine questions.
CER was a free trade agreement. The TPPA is not. It is a US corporate rights agreement.
The TPPA isn’t a single coherent document yet so pronouncements about what it is or isn’t are premature.
So you think that the TPPA is primarily a free trade agreement in the same vein as CER, then? I use that example because you brought it up.
I presume you are soft-backing the TPPA because you think that Labour will eventually vote for it.
No, I’m not planning for some future scenario. I just think expecting our negotiators to betray us is the sort of behaviour that deserves betrayal, and I still want to read the eventual agreement they present to us to sign up to before I make my mind up about it.
And that’s the point. 600 corporates have had more oversight of the proposals than our elected representatives. The US government is controlled by corporate lobbyists ( sadly this pattern is beginning to emerge here…Collins, Williamson, Key)
The TPP not democratic and I can’t believe any progressive party would ever support it. If Labour support it, then they are still follow the neoliberal cult of unrestrained capitalism.
Clearly people should vote Mana or Green to ensure this does not happen.
I believe that IP law needs significant overhaul and shouldn’t be entrenched before that overhaul happens and the TPPA will entrench them.
I’d say that National have changed the bottom lines – that’s generally what happens when a government is changed. That said, I don’t think that Labour should have started the negotiations either.
Yes. All we need to do is to set up our own rules of trade and make sure that they are about trade. This free movement of money that we’ve got is destroying us but doing wonders for the already rich.
Gonna digest that for a while 🙂
There’s a real manipulation of the Bollard quote by the NZ Herald article.
Headline:
Highlighted quote in big print in the middle of the article:
Full quote, including an omitted part, in the article is much more ambivalent:
Yes the Herald has turned the whole story round with the heading.
About 4 key factors mentioned in the detail of the story that will prevent it…US congress, China, Australia, Japan
Good to see the Japanese actually care about their citizens to protect key industries, so much so they see them as ‘sacred.’
Pity we don’t share the same attitude.
Dreadful newspaper.
You missed another factor: NZ’s opposition to among other things, US demands around patents and copyright.
Oh, and I don’t know about protecting industries – isn’t that the problem with Oravida – but we’re not offering to dismantle Pharmac any time soon.
Ask Mexico’s farmers about ‘free trade’ agreements.
… or the Mexican government about their dealings with Metalclad.
Yeah, and for god’s sake don’t mention the cartels. People get murdered for less.
One of the reason that organised crime has taken such massive hold in some areas of Mexico is the unemployment and economic destruction of many farming and provincial areas resulting from NAFTA. Tens or hundreds of thousands of small and medium scale family type farms closed down or were bankrupted as subsidised big corporate US agricultural products flooded into Mexico.
It meant that there was a major vacuum which criminal organisations moved in and filled. Economic abandonment made it hard to resource law enforcement properly and made it easy for corruption of public servants and officials to take hold.
But you would have to know some historical context to understand that, which is not necessary if all you want to do is flip a quick, meaningless quip.
I’ll save the next quick quip for when I have a better understanding of the context, CV, but from your description it looks like the Mexicans got shafted.
As for the TPPA, if we ever see a document put up for ratification, I’ll be surprised and on the look-out for fishhooks. Although I am looking forward to DtB’s response too.
Well, the parts of it which need legislative chances will be put up under urgency as a fait accompli with no negotiable clauses, and the rest of it which doesn’t need to go through parliament (eg just requires regulatory changes) will have already been signed up to and be a done deal.
No, that’s not the problem with Oravida. The problem there is that Collins used her government position to improve her own family’s financial position.
Just my little joke: the party of the free market selling favours to individual companies.
the organisers of some british music festivals have banded together to warn young people about the dangers of legal-highs…
“..Experts from the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths said that in 2012 there were 68 deaths relating to legal highs..”
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/02/music-festivals-website-blackout-highlight-risks-legal-high-drugs
..end the danse macabre…just decriminalise/regulate/tax the safest intoxicant of all..eh..?
..(and the misleading/lies about pot continue unabated..even a supposed ‘serious’ website like slate has published bullshit claiming you have ‘to smoke at least 15 grams’ to die from a cannabis overdose..(!?)
..bloody hell..!..that’s only a half an oz…!
..and were that true..myself (and many others) should be dead many times over..
..to become the first ever to die from smoking cannabis..
..and guess which corporate/access-media outlet has jumped to reprint this tripe..?
..yep..!..long that bastion of clear/accurate information on the cannabis-issue..
..the nz herald..
(no real surprises there..eh..?..)
It’s clearly destroyed the syntax, grammar, and linguistic structural parts of your brain forever.
nah..!..university did that..
..cured me of my slavery to your model of ‘syntax, grammar, and linguistic structural’ etc..etc..
..universities will do that..
..not ‘destroyed’ there..ad..just different..
..eh..?
..(and..hic..!..what’s yr poison..?..
..i’ll betcha my drug causes less brain-damage than yr drug..eh..?..)
..and after decades of smoking more than you can poke a stick at..
..i went to university..and got a masters degree..with hons..
..now..had i spent decades drinking more booze than you can poke a stick at..
..i’d be kinda drooling about now..
..so..y’know..!
..yr talking absolute shite..eh..?
That’s just the drugs talking.
what’s yr favourite drug..there..ad..?
..is it a ‘legal-high’..?
..old skool..?..or nu skool..?
The problem with using different language to everyone else, as has been pointed out to you, is that no one else understands you.
no..i am actually using the same language..
..and if the absence of capital letters/commas/paragraphs renders english into a foreign language for you..
.you clearly have some comprehension-issues going on..
..did you understand that..?
Capitals, commas and paragraphs are part of the language. By leaving them out you change the language.
Agreed.
no they aren’t..they are punctuation/formatting..
..they change the language not a jot..
..you had may as well say a hubcap is a car..
Masters degree, with honours? Yawn. Who hasn’t?
[Big Bang Theory – one of the best lines]
Joyce?
[Monty Python – One of the best spinners]
“..Conservatives – Evil – and Psychopathy: Science Makes the Link!
You knew it was true.
Now research proves it!..”
http://www.alternet.org/conservatives-evil-and-psychopathy-science-makes-link
Unpublished conference papers are many things, and “proof” isn’t one of them.
We don’t need science to tell us that right wing authoritarian and social dominance philosophies are evil though.
slightly ‘bendy’ of you there..
..you sneer at ‘the paper’ as being the only evidence produced..which it is not..
..and as for the findings of that ‘paper’..
..what do you disagree with here..?
“..“The core ideology of conservatism stresses resistance to change – and justification of inequality
and is motivated by needs that vary situationally and dispositionally to manage uncertainty and threat” –
Jost and his co-authors wrote in the abstract.
These are not merely American phenomena, –
-nor is there any reason to think they’re particularly modern. .”
..what is there to sneer at in that..?
..what is the reason/logic behind yr plaint..?
Not sneering. I read the article. The answers to your questions are in my comment at 3.1
Want to know what a major Wellington employer has done to a friend of mine?
This is second hand, so some minor details may be incorrect, but…
They are highly qualified, including having a relevant PhD in their area and has good performance reviews for seven years, but the employer has decided that casualising the workforce suits them in retaining “flexibility”. Consequently, this friend has had to reapply for their job every four months, sometimes not knowing if they have any until three days before work starts.
Several years ago they suffered bullying at another workplace which the employer realised was indefensible and decided not to contest, instead giving a large out-of court settlement on condition of anonymity.
Naturally this person has been diagnosed with stress-induced anxiety and is prone to triggering.
Early this year, they noticed tremors. Then they had a severe episode of illness, taking two days off work for the first time in seven years.
Then a few personal tragedies occurred – a sibling’s cancer returned and a close friend died suddenly. Then they were hit by a car while on a pedestrian crossing and concussed. The employer was informed of this, the anxiety and the triggering.
The employer decided that this was an excellent time for a performance review and so surveyed this person while they were still impaired by the effects of their concussion.
They also demanded meetings for Mondays on Friday afternoons, refusing to reveal the agenda, allowing my friend to stew over the weekend.
Eventually my friend’s Union extracted partial information, but the employer refused to reveal any true detail of some supposed “complaints” or the alleged complainants.
Not long after, my friend’s tremors became convulsions and they were hospitalised and spent a week being treated under sedation. They were warned that the convulsions could have become seizures in which they might have suffered harm or even death.
After leaving hospital and facing months of medication still to come, the employer informed them that they needn’t apply for any more work.
Also, they’re not the only one to have a generally similar experience with this employer.
This is a profession is stereotyped as one of the most progressive. It isn’t.
THAT is what it means to be in the precariat.
What profession?
Computer programming I’d guess, the industry is sadly rife with dudebro’s, libertarians of the non-civil type and other such fun that causes issues if you have disabilities, are female or anything else the founder/owner/etc can’t understand or doesn’t like.
Not IT.
I’m being deliberately obscure bearing in mind lprent’s care about attracting the beady eyes of lawyers.
In any case, the exact profession or workplace is less important than the effects and abuse of casualisation. My friend’s exact experience may be unique, but the general quality of it is not.
That friend sounds like he needs a whole lot of love and care and rest.
🙂 +1
+1
Hi rhinocrates.
I’m sorry to hear about your friend’s experiences and subsequent illness. How are they doing now, and where are they at ?- no need to answer if you don’t want to.
I am hoping that their Union, if taking a personal grievance against the employer will use the Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Act 2002, which requires the employer to take all practicable steps to prevent illness arising from stress and to reduce harm from stressors. This is my botched wording and not the wording from the Act. I’ve done a super quick google and can’t find the appropriate phrasing relevant to your friend’s case, only the epic length Act itself and I don’t have time to do a proper search right now, sorry. I might be able to come back to it later
Also I wonder did the employer offer your friend access to EAP: Employee Assistance Programmes? I’m guessing they didn’t but they should have.. Several large corporate employers do provide this service. There’s a couple of organisations in Wellington providing this service.
This is one of them:
http://www.vitae.co.nz/Vitae-employee-assistance-programme-home/
I once did an essay on the impact of of work on the well being of NZ workers. From my learnings I found that we are not as proactive as other comparable countries in preventing stress related illness. Sadly this seems to reflected in example after example of work stress related illness in real life (including my own when I had a breakdown in 2010 due to my work situation and ended up on meds to cope and help me recover).
All the best for your friend’s recovery. I hope they can find justice – they should never been put at such risk, especially as they had others stressors to cope with in their personal life.
Thank you Rosie, I’ll pass that on.
However, my – and their – point that they want made known is just how bad casualisation has become and how cynically it is abused by employers. It affects older, qualified professionals as much as the 90-day rule affects younger, unqualified people.
My friend suspects that a standard regime change is happening – a new senior person has been appointed and a number of new faces are replacing familiar ones. Apparently it’s a move by him to get his own team, no matter how inexperienced, to take over.
The casualisation of the labour force is poisonous, insidious and being taken up all around the globe.
Just a local example, also Wellington, is of a not for profit organisation who I a short contract with last year. None of the positions are permanent, they are all fixed term. At the end of your term the job is re advertised and you re apply for it. They were also users of the 90 day Act. Quite amazing really, the hypocrisy, given their “social values” mission and presence in the community, and the otherwise good work they do.
As for the company your friend worked for, their short sighted approach may lead to a drop in standards of their service, (what ever their industry is) that they are delivering to their client. The would be manager may find the loss of skilled experienced staff will lead to the loss of quality work and to unhappy clients. I hope she or he see’s the errors in the end, but most likely won’t, those self advancing types usually don’t.
I would hope though, that your friend’s Union would be willing to pursue a personal grievance. Sounds to me like they have good grounds to.
And people wonder why NZ managers are some of the worst in the world.
@ Rhino
This sounds like a rerun of something that happened to a friend of mine in the tertiary education sector about 4 years ago … and in retrospect “it’s a move by him to get his own team, no matter how inexperienced, to take over” is exactly what it was all about – as well as enabling the ‘Joyce-ing’ of the entire sector.
Real partisan control-freak stuff!
Workplace bullying: what it is, how to recognise it, myths, facts, costs, and why me?
http://www.bullyonline.org/
Your friend could wall paper a wall at work with the info on this link. Very empowering and every type of bullying is discussed.
An excellent link. Tim Field (who passed away some years ago) was a real pioneer in this area.
And he was very approachable. I had reason to have an email exchange and he was most helpful. His material is authentic and accurate.
Further evidence how how poor the NZ Herald is at framing a story.
The headline is ‘Cheaper power bills this winter., accompanied by a happy punter smiling by an electrical heater.
Given the breezy and cheerful headline, you might think that this was because the electrical companies haven’t stopped rotting NZers and declared a price freeze. You know something of be for to NZ citizens.
However, the detail in the story tells of something else.
Cheaper prices are down to climate change, not that you’d catch a paper that promotes Chris de Freitas ever using that term.
To quote the Herald rag…
“The cheerful outlook has been put down to sea surface temperatures being warmer for 16 consecutive months.”
Climate change …warming sea temperatures…cheerful
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11248655
Sigh, NZ Herald. Thanks for the banner story of a wealthy family having a squabble, but can we get it decently edited please.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11248684
The editor of the Herald thinks it’s more important than the events in the Ukraine.
Embarrassing.
Apparently dozens of pro-Russian militia and pro-Russian civilians who had taken over a government building in Odessa died due to fire and smoke inhalation when Ukrainian forces attacked the offices.
Odessa is critical to Ukraine now as I understand that it is their last remaining major sea port.
The IMF has told the unelected Ukrainian “government” that their multi-billion dollar bail out deal will be reviewed if they lose control of the eastern side of the country = if you want your money, move your military in, now.
Consultants believe that major military action may cause Russia to cut off some or all oil exports to the EU, leading to a major oil price spike = global recession.
A NATO deputy head is quoted as saying that Russia is no longer acting as a partner of NATO and will have to now be treated more like an adversary.
To me it seems like the oligarchs in the west are deliberately poking away at a hornet’s nest.
Odessa is also quite to the west of Ukraine. Close to Moldovan border.
+1
They want a war to distract from irritating things like this.
cuckoo
If you don’t believe wars are used by governments to distract people from serious domestic issues, you really do need to read up on a bit of history.
Actually, I think that’s El nino. Of course, it’s possible that it’s been exaggerated by Climate Change.
Some people call me Maurice
Love that. Although it will never be the same again…
lolololol
A comment by Sanctuary made over at Dimpost that is very funny and deserves to be repeated.
““…Let me qualify that. It’s an impossible task this time around. Short of a miracle nothing Labour can do can win them this election…”
And yo, the Lord spake. And across kingdom of Maurice of Pakuranga a big, gay rainbow of corruption did shine. Thus the Lord looked at the raiments of corruption and smiled, for they were juicy and entangled the PM. And across the land the left did rejoice, and raise hosannas of praise to lord for his miracle of Maurice, and small things with raffia detail were put to one side, all the better to spread on the blogsphere the miraculous works of the Lord.”
Lets hope that big gay rainbow of nact corruption illiminates the sheeple.
Granny and the rest will continue to spin faster then one of those turbines they flogged to their backers.
Maurice, john, judith, pansy, blinky, richard, dullards like jamie lee and slimy bridges as the next generation.
Focus in execution and keeping it simple should see these puppetts turfed off the teasury benches.
gold!
the nation has done an excellent piece on the need to tackle obesity..
..starting with a tax on sugary-drinks…
..let’s hope this becomes an election-issue here…
..(mana is shown to have the strongest anti-sugar policies..
..national and act oppose them..
..labour is sitting on the fence..)
and phillip mills is hanging this govt out to dry..
..over their climate-change denial/inaction..
(sigh..!..but he is a dairy-pimp..)
..and lisa owen gets political-question of the week..
..when she asks mills just how green/different from national..
..labour are..
..(given labour are for drilling/mining/fracking..etc..etc..)
one quarter of all nzers will have diabetes in 15 yrs..
..(with the rise in just the last ten yrs kinda mindboggling..)
..(with the rates much higher amongst maori/p.i…)
..and of course..one of the first things nact/dunne/maori party did when coming to power..
..was to open the floodgates for junk/unhealthy-food/sugar-laden drinks to be sold from school tuckshops..
..something to do with ‘freedom/individual choice’..as i seem to remember them arguing it..
..at the time..
(and i should repeat..this is an excellent piece of journalism from the nation..
..no ‘face’ fronting it..just a tight voiced-over mini-doco..laying out all the facts..
..they should enter it in the annual media awards..it is that good..)
Joyce blocks answers on corporate welfare
Matthew Hooton | WEEKEND REVIEW
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/joyce-blocks-answers-corporate-welfare-bd-155317
“…The questions caused extraordinary contretemps within the department. To their shame, no one – Labour, the Greens or the media – had ever asked such questions before. The poor officials had to start from scratch. …”
Some of us have asked questions about ‘corporate welfare’ before – missed this Mathew?
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1111/S00095/wheres-nationals-corporate-welfare-reform.htm
‘Where’s National’s ‘corporate welfare’ reform?
Thursday, 3 November 2011, 5:28 pm
Press Release: Penny Bright
PRESS RELEASE: Independent Candidate for Epsom Penny Bright:
“How many billion$ of public monies could be saved by ‘CUTTING OUT THE CONTRACTORS’?
3 November 2011
Where’s National’s ‘corporate welfare’ reform?
Which of the maor political parties are pushing for ‘corporate welfare’ reform and shrinking the long-term dependency of the private sector on our public monies?
Where is the ‘devilish detail’ at both local and central government level – which shows EXACTLY where our public rates and taxes are being spent on private sector consultants and contractors?
Why aren’t the names of the consultant(s)/ contrators(s) – the scope, term and value of these contracts, published in Council or central government Annual Reports – so this information on the spending of OUR public monies is available for public scrutiny?
Where are the publicly-available ‘Registers of Interests’ for those local government elected representatives, and staff responsible for property and procurement, in order to help guard against possible ‘conflicts of interest’ between those who ‘give’ the contracts and those who ‘get’ the contracts?
Where’s the ‘transparency’?
……”
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
Penny – markets will determine whether consultants give value for money. Also it is a bit rich you complaining about value from rates.
Why is that?
I am a CITIZEN not a SLAVE.
When Auckland Council is not upholding the LAW (Public Records Act 2005 and Local Government Act 2002) and telling residents and ratepayer exactly where our public monies are being spent on consultants and private contractors, and when statutory ‘third party Public Watchdogs’ are NOT doing their jobs and holding them to account – what is a CITIZEN to do?
Meekly tug one’s forelock and become a mindless, compliant ‘ca$h cow’ ?
Sorry – WRONG woman.
I’m making a stand which is upholding YOUR lawful rights to ‘open, transparent and democratically-accountable’ local government.
One day – you’ll get it.
Hopefully sooner rather than later?
Actually rates revolts are not unheard of in the Auckland region.
Have some of you had an effective frontal lobotomy and forgotten the 2003 rates revolt against the ARC, which thousands of Aucklanders joined?
Maybe these ‘brain fades’ which are currently very fashionable at the highest levels of government are contagious?
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Yeah well maybe you have made your point, and it is time to fold. Just saying. But it is your call.
Penny, on Planet SSLands, everyone is a slave to the markets!
Ignore him and keep up the good work 🙂
It really is so sad that you still believe this delusion.
This market cult you belong to fascinates me, SSLands. Has it ever made a mistake?
What you remind me of more than anything is a young member of a Moscow aligned Communist Party, many years ago. A member of a more Beijing aligned Communist Party asked him what were the procedures if the leaders headed off down the wrong path and made some revisionist deviation or other. He was unable to accept that this could actually ever happen.
I much preferred him to you. Subjectively at least, he stood against privilege, poverty, corruption, and racism. He was human.
A human with independent thought; not a careerist cult member.
Yes srylands belongs to a ciult alright and unlike those utopian ones ..it appears not to care not one jot about anyone else but the individual.
Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’ offers a grim vision when put along the ideas of Rosa Luxembourg.
Debt: The first 5000 years by David Graeber
So, yeah, it is a utopian view just one that’s rather nasty and removes all human contact.
Draco, you’re as bad as the free marketeers in ignoring Smiths other famous book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) in which the philosopher explicitly sets out the individual’s responsibilities to their community.
The problem with that critique is that modern society isn’t based around Smith’s previous work. In fact, we seem to have a tendency to ignore philosophers unless they allow the sociopaths to accumulate wealth and to rule.
And yes, I’m also quite aware that srylands and redbaiter would be calling Smith a dirty stinking commy for his attitude towards the poor despite the fact that their attitude is based upon his work.
Curiously enough, only those economic and philosophical ideas which are helpful to the goals of the 0.1% power elite get any airtime and sponsorship.
One question….Why has Matthew Hooton attacked Steven Joyce?
Is Matthew in the Judith Collins faction?
Matthew speaks on behalf of whomever pays for his services.
Is that why he has been so silent on the Williamson story?
“Liu hired consultancy group Exceltium, run by political consultant Matthew Hooton, to lobby the Government over the business immigration rules.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11224055
I think that is really cynical. He always strikes me as balanced, fair commentator. The media could do with more like him.
“.. He always strikes me as balanced, fair commentator..”
go on..!..yr having a laff..!..eh..?
..you joker..!
“.. He always strikes me as balanced, fair commentator..”
Bahahaha PMSL you’re so funny
Well I guess the person who wrote this must be reeeaaalllly cynical:
No fair Felix, bringing facts into it. Now S Rylands will have to go and read The Fountainhead again.
Says a lot.
Somebody is getting the pink slips ready for the National party at this very moment.
If the RW trials are going to be so prevalent with their predictably self-centred, self-advancing views then time can be better spent on reading people who do attempt thought rather than different way of parrotting I’m OK – You’re Not OK and you and your opinion and your needs and wants are of no importance.
Joe 90 and others are great at giving links.
This is one that was supplied here. Chris Trotter on David Parker’s newly announced economic ideas. These will be game changers for us having untold advantages as Chris puts it. http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/
Bryan Gould on our economy and Reserve Bank.
Bryan Gould: Reserve Bank fiddling as exchange rate burns exporters
9:30 AM Friday Apr 4, 2014
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bryan-gould/news/article.cfm?a_id=804&objectid=11231702
And Brian Easton on Distribution and poor people struggling and sliding down the plughole,
and on data stats in Been Counter. Seeing that many journalists don’t understand the figures they very artfully quote, perhaps the rest of us who haven’t studied stats etc. should bring our knowledge up to speed to bridge the ignorance gap.
http://www.eastonbh.ac.nz/2014/03/been-counters/
thanks greyw
Thank you Tracey your regular comments are informative.
I think that Bryan Gould makes some important points about the difficulties our exporters have and these should be repeated here.
Exporting successfully is an expensive business. Unless margins are good enough to make possible the spending needed to cover all the additional costs, such as freight and commissions, to develop the overseas market through promotion and after-sales service, and to provide the re-investment needed for product development so as to keep pace with foreign competition, it is not worth the effort.
No wonder so many of our potential exporters don’t try or give up quickly.
Even our most successful exporters pay a price for the dollar’s overvaluation – ask our dairy farmers. Export profits are lower than they would be if the dollar was at a more competitive level. Even our best firms – let alone those who are struggling at the margin – are therefore less able in the long run to keep pace with foreign competitors who don’t have to face the same currency headwind.
Quoting Bryan Gould:
Glad to see that getting an airing in the MSM.
And from Brian Easton:
Yep, three decades of neo-liberalism has left us worse off.
It’s not all bad news. After all if you are in the top 5% to 10% you are noticeably better off, and if you are in the elite top 0.1%, you are winning the world with tens of millions of gains. The peasants, well, they can eat cake and buy their PS3s on hire purchase.
Looks like Judith Collins is cruising for a political BRUISING when Parliament sits again Tuesday 6 May 2014?
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1405/S00039/emerging-evidence-has-justice-minister-in-deeper-mire.htm
Emerging Evidence Has Justice Minister in Deeper Mire
Friday, 2 May 2014, 5:05 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1405/S00034/judith-collins-briefing-request-the-final-straw.htm
Judith Collins briefing request the final straw
Friday, 2 May 2014, 3:12 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1405/S00012/serious-questions-over-money-and-influence-in-national.htm
Serious questions over money and influence in National
Thursday, 1 May 2014, 2:12 pm
Press Release: Green Party
In my considered opinion, as an ‘Anti-corruption Public Watchdog’ – Minister of Justice Judith Collins is CORRUPT – has misled both the House and the NZ public over her role in promoting the interests of her friends’ and husband’s private company Oravida, and must be stood down as a Minister – FORTHWITH.
I predict that this may happen on Monday 5 May 2014 – if not before ………..
Penny Bright
I would love to be a fly on the wall of the National Auckland Regional Convention which is taking place in Auckland this weekend. No doubt Williamson – and Collins – will be hot topics for discussion …..
Was thinking that too veutoviper and was wondering if there would be a piece on the 6pm news, “Collins resigns!”. She really is holding on by her fingernails, super strong glossily painted shellac fingernails.
Even if Collins gets the boot, she will only get her job back after the election. Just like Williamson will…
Last night I saw TV3’s ‘on the street’ piece and maybe it was just the editing, but it looked decidedly like many in his electorate were turning away from Williamson now, regardless of how well they thought he had done in the past.
If I was running National Williamson would be convinced (bribed if need be) to stand down and Craig would be gifted Pakuranga
Not that I agree with what Craig says but as a junior partner he can easily be ignored
If National had any ethical standards Williamson would have been stood down and charges laid.
An article supporting something you said the other day phillip, along the lines of animal testing on synthetics only being part of a very large problem, just in NZ alone. On the front page of the Dom Post today:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/10004053/87-000-animals-die-in-one-year-as-part-of-scientific-testing
aye rosie..
..an interesting/grotesque aspect of all that..
..is that the spca sign-off on/’approve’ all that animal torture/killing..
..and i dunno if they still do..
..but the spca used to supply/sell(?) animals to the vivisection-‘labs’/torture-centres..
..the animal gulag..
..knowing these facts/realities means the sight of cuddly’ ol’ bob kerridge ‘cuddling’ his ‘cuddly’ puppies..for the fawning-media..
..actually makes my skin fucken crawl…
..his fingers are dripping with the blood/suffering of all of those tortured then killed animals..
..his fingers signed off on all that..
..and over the years his fingers held the torture/death-pen…millions of them..
..how does he fucken sleep at nite..?
..don’t their screams keep him awake..?
Yes, I recall you mentioned something about that once phillip, the SPCA’s involvement in supply of animals to labs. That information, is that inside information or is there documented evidence of it happening or having once happened?
And a question I had the other day to you, that you may not have seen, was regarding Massey University’s (Palmy) animal testing. I had heard somewhere that they were the largest animal testing facility in NZ, testing commercial domestic products such as cleaners and cosmetics as well as medical research as they might be expected to undertake. Is this your understanding, that they are the largest?
rosie..
..i dunno if massey is the largest or not..but it will be up there..
..and re spca supply of animals to labs..?
..i know that used to happen..’cos i once liberated a dog from a courier van..
..and i liberated it because it was on it’s way from the spca to auckland rail station..
..destination..vivisectors in wellington..
..and i said ‘no fucken way!’..and tucked her under my arm..and hoofed it..
..so instead of a shortened/tortured life..followed by death..
..she was much loved..
..and lived to be 14 yrs old..
..so..’cos of that.. i know that they did..
..i don’t know if they still do..
Onya for rescuing the diggety phillip and just too shocking for words that the SPCA were involved in such a trade…..Really troubling in many ways.
+1 way to go Phil.
Labs who do any significant experimental or chemical trial work on animals usually need several, to several dozen, of the exact same species and age of animal.
So no, I’d say that the SPCA would not be where they go for their test subjects (in the main).
The murder of Sarwen Lata occurred on 25th November 2013, a street away from where I live. The story of her relationship with her husband is very sad and even sadder because she is one of many women who have been killed by partners or ex partners who they protection orders against. Sarwen was killed the day after white ribbon day.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/10004052/Stalker-husband-defied-protection-orders
The one thing that has stayed in my mind that is particularly upsetting was that in the last hours of her life no body helped her. The one call to 111 came from her. Although neighbours heard screaming, the only call that was made came from the victim:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9442238/Screams-heard-before-body-found
You can see in the video above that Sarwen’s house is very close to other houses, all around. Her particular house is plaster clad, as all the houses around her are too, they were all built at the same time. The walls are thin and none of those houses are double glazed in that part of the development. Why on earth did no one pick up the phone? When Singh broke the ranch slider glass surely that would have woken people and they should have been on to 111 straight away. For the record this is the most unfriendly neighbourhood I have lived in but surely the instinct to help when someone’s life is in danger would take over any social indifference? What the fuck is wrong with people?
Tragic. He was a classic high risk for murder-suicide and it’s very difficult to protect partners from men like him. Not sure what the answer is – protection orders won’t work with people who are intent on killing and then taking their own life. If we had effective mental health services it might help but in the absence of effective therapy for potential killers, the only way to be reasonably sure of protecting women is to relocate them – maybe with new identities.
Yes, it is so tragic because her death could have quite possibly been prevented if effective mental health intervention was available to Singh combined with or at least greater safety options being provided by the state to victims of domestic violence, as you suggest.
Socially, I wondering why her neighbours didn’t keep an eye out for her and why weren’t they there for her? Why didn’t they call 111 when given the nature of the tight cluster of thinned walled homes they would have clearly heard what was going on?
Rosie
I suggest that the reason why neighbours didn’t come forward was just because they are so tightly packed and with thin walls. The only way you can have privacy, personal space and peace of living in that case, is to ignore the constant noises and talking around you.
It is a defence mechanism necessary for everyone who would otherwise be vicariously living in other people’s ups and downs. Usually if becoming involved they would end up being soundly cursed by both or all participants who they will be continuing to live beside, and need to be on equable terms with.
There is a big strain on people who are really strangers trying to live in badly designed housing in close confines..
Rosie
This would have been a good point that remained in archived under domestic violence if you had put it in the thread about williamson and domestic violence. Comments like this with links are useful for later reference.
Thanks Warbs. I might do that later. Haven’t had a chance to read that post yet.
We’ve been taught, over generations, that other peoples business isn’t our business. The last thirty years of neo-liberalism has pretty much cemented that home.
‘
The John Key-led National Ltd™ government’s blitzkrieg against the New Zealand environment is beginning to pay off for at least one mining company with close connections to it.
The so-called Environmental Protection Authority has just given the go ahead to foreign-owned Trans Pacific Resources to commence the first stage of a massive sea-bed mining operation right smack in the middle of a Maui dolphin habitat and migatory route for blue whales. Of the 4850 submissions to the EPA on the application, 4842 were opposed including those from local Iwi, environmenal groups, and fishing companies. In effect, the EPA rules governing the application for the mining consent prevent adequate input and usurp democracy while also ensuring that scientific evidence, tangata whenua concerns, and public opinion are secondary considerations to spreadsheet fantasies cooked up by unaccountable corporates.
Having made the rules to support their corporate masters, National Ltd™ further tilted the field in favour of Trans Tasman Resources when Environment Minister Amy Adams denied legal aid to small, volunteer organisations with a stake in the outcome. At the same time, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment handed the mining compnay a $25 million “innovation” grant.
The current consent, also granted by MoBIE, covers some 22 to 36 kilometres off the coast of Patea, in the Exclusive Economic Zone. It is the first stage of a much larger operation being planned by Trans Tasman Resources which is seeking to mine an additional 66 kilometres in the area. The larger application is currently going through a marine consent process being handled by a Board of Inquiry appointed by the EPA. The public notice of the application had to be re-issued because the original notice – surprise surprise – did not have all the required documentation. This delay has squeezed all the timelines for consideration of the application but – suprise surprise – Trans Tasman Resources’ timetable for commencing the raising of capital is still set for June 2014.
While it touts itself as a “New Zealand Company”, Trans Tasman Resources’ Board of Directors is the usual gaggle of international industrial henchmen one might expect, but there is a New Zealander there: none other than former National Ltd™ Prime Minister Jenny Shipley.
The New Zealand companies office record of shareholders shows that 58 percent of Trans Tasman Resources is owned by two Dutch investment companies. The largest New Zealand shareholders appear to be Benjamin Clarke Langdon and Gregor John Barclay who, between them, hold 4.88% – but not in their own names. Their Trans Tasman Resources shares are held by Minvest Securities (New Zealand) Limited which, in turn, is owned by Claymore Trustees Ltd which, in turn, is owned by Sheet Investments Ltd in which Langdon and Barclay hold 50% each. Seems legit . . . doesn’t it? Fuck knows what corporate veils have been pulled over the other Trans Tasman Resources’ shareholding entities in order to protect investors for any form or any accountability should it be required.
Welcome to John Key’s brighter future, everyone.
There are not many in NZ called Gregor John Barclay
in fact, only one who links back to any of the companies listed.
His lawyer bio says he was admitted to the bar at CHCH, which suggests a South Island connection in his younger days.
Relative of Todd perhaps?
Jenny Shipley
You can read a lot into her dealings since 2005.
From wiki
“In 2007, Shipley joined the financial services firm Source Sentinel.
Shipley also has business interests in China and is currently on the board of the China Construction Bank.
According to Companies Office records, Jack Chen, Jenny Shipley and another investor founded a business together in 2004 called New Zealand Pure & Natural. Mr Chen quit as a director a year later but only quit his shareholding in 2010. Mr Chen was instrumental in promoting the ‘Chinese Business Roundtable Council’ in NZ, and set up a new political party in NZ, before being forced to resign due to fraud and corruption charges being laid in Hong Kong.
In 2010 the China Construction Bank agreed to help finance a proposal by May Wang [also known as Hao May] and Jack Chen [also known as Chen Keen] to invest in the New Zealand dairy industry by taking over the Crafar Farms.
Since 2009, Shipley has chaired the Genesis Energy Limited board.
In December 2012 Shipley resigned from the board of directors of Mainzeal Property & Construction which later went into receivership on 6 February 2013. At mid-day on 5 February 2013 she was one of four independent directors who resigned from the board of Mainzeal Group Limited. Both Mainzeal Property & Construction (MPCL), and Mainzeal Group Limited are part of the Richina group, controlled and majority owned by Yan Ci Lang (Richard Yan). “
Which, of course, is what the function of the EPA always was. Its name is the exact opposite of its purpose and that purpose is to fast track business.
Cronyism runs deep in National.
It’s probably many things. First it would hide and protect the owners and, most likely, it’s also a tax dodge.
What mechanism are you suggesting is employed as a “tax dodge”. I mean precisely? Or are you simply making shit up? Again.
Also the mission of the EPA is clear:
“Streamlined and strengthened national environmental regulation that protects the environment while enabling economic progress and growth.”
What is not sensible about that?
http://www.epa.govt.nz/Publications/EPA%20SOI%202012.pdf
Just a hunch. We keep hearing about these people who have lots of nested companies which seem to pay very little tax. And I’m sure you’ve heard of the Loss Attributing Qualifying Company – A company specifically set up to run at a loss that can be written off against other income.
Sounds good but they don’t seem to be protecting the environment.
I STRONGLY recommend folks have another read of whistleblower Dr Jacob Cohen’s ‘Murder at Pike River Mine?’ – Chapter 10:
SECRET REASON BEHIND THE REPEAL OF THE FORESHORE AND SEABED ACT: TO EXPLOIT NZ’s VAST MINERAL WEALTH:
http://mistymountain.info/sites/default/files/users/Dan/pdf/Murder%20at%20Pike%20River%20Mine.pdf
Check out the role of Trans Tasman Resources ….
Penny Bright
MBIE’s New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals have just given Trans Tasman Resources a twenty year permit to extract ironsand off the coast of Patea. This is before the EPA hearings have even concluded, which just goes to show how much they don’t care about the consultation process. That’s how assured of a pro-industry decision from the EPA they are as well. New Zealands EPA is pretty much copied from the United States’ EPA, which is well known for making many decisions which have had a negative impact on the environment and people’s health.
Is there any way that long-term and irreversible damage to the seabed, and the consequences of turbidity pollution from ironsand dredging can be made as visible to the NZ public as say the breach of a toxic tailings dam or marine oil spill?
Am I wrong to have a gut feeling that this is sanctioning of environmental vandalism?
I think you’re right. Kiwis Against Seabed Mining has some good resources on their webpages. It’s a high volume, low value operation that shifts a lot of sand, but where it can’t be seen. There are studies showing that dunes, beaches, waves, and river mouths near the mining areas can be drastically changed. None of this seems to matter to NAct at all, as long as someone makes a buck.
http://kasm.org.nz/
Corporate systems of exploitation are systems of organised death and destruction. Facts are facts.
While all facts are facts, it is sometimes useful to know exactly what they are. It can be easier to build a local movement to protect a beach if you can point to something slightly more detailed than “organised death and destruction”. When I learned how to give lectures and seminars, I was advised to spend the first five or ten minutes telling the audience stuff they were familiar with. The conclusion comes at the end.
Yes, that works well.
So is it because the left are pining their hopes on WinstonFirst that no ones mentioning this:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9999622/NZ-First-travel-claims-queried
Maybe people are just waiting till Parliamentary Services return with their answers?
You know, allowing the proper authorities to do their job?
or you could just jump in with hype lines as is your normal routine
You know what really boggles my mind?
“What’s that?”
Well I’ll tell you.
The amount of posters at places like Kiwiblog who call The Greens “Luddites” for being anti deep-sea drilling and the like. It boggles the mind because developing new technologies for energy is the complete opposite of being a Luddite whereas the continued embrace of old world technology is pure Ludditism.
Pure cognitive dissonance right there. Thoughts?
nicely said TC and welcome back
my main thought would be
There is no barrier more dangerous to constructive discussion than cognitive dissonance,
They’re not Luddites, they’re religious extremists.
Evangelical,Muslim,Greens, they’re all cut from the same cloth.
Just for fun, could you please describe the similarities between the three groups as you see them?
Neoliberals, neocons and the pro-feudal power elite should be on any list of deluded self belief.
Not sure you understand the difference between religious belief and ideological belief there chap
Er, actually I think the point is that while the Greens may be in favour of new forms of energy, they are also very much in favour of reducing energy consumption as a whole, which can be classed as ludditism.
The Luddites main point was along the lines of:
‘We must stick with the old inefficient way because jobs’,
innit?
A safe renewable low cost energy source will see energy use skyrocket Lanthanide, that is the end goal of any alternative to fossil fuels and their derivations.
Luddite is not a fair or even relevant label.
Just another indication of the different planet on which National operates. This from the DomPost today:
“Post-Budget speech requires big budget
It might be called the Budget, but there is nothing budget about the price of tickets to Prime Minister John Key’s May 16 post-Budget speech at Auckland’s SkyCity Convention Centre.
A seat at the event, organised by the Trans-Tasman Business Circle together with AUT University, QBE Insurance and Westpac, will require a looser fiscal policy than Finance Minister Bill English is planning.
They cost a taxing $375+GST for members, and $550+GST for non-members.”
When I saw that today I looked for information of a dollar destination nature, but found nothing.
Does any one know where the ticket returns, actually go ?
It’s not like the PM gets an appearance fee or anything.
It’s unlikely SkyCity would be charging much for the room.
In this day and age, does any one know why these post-budget speeches are not broadcast to a national audience?
Very good questions. SkyCity for a post-budget speech at a fairly high cost? More of the infiltration of business, especially big money, into government.
That is fucking bullshit – Michael Cullen always gave post budget speeches to a business audience in each of the main centres, and sometimes in Sydney or Melbourne – do you think they were free?
Get a grip.
yes shitlands, they were either free or had only some minimal charge, after all Finance Ministers/DPMs already get very well paid to explain their Budgets to the public.
As for getting a grip, you need to stop gripping yours.
As you obviously have no answers to some very simple and fair questions, you choose to throw around irrelevancies. Is that all you have for your contributions?
Karol’s comment is clearly not making mention of any party, neither is mine. Both are general observations of the reality at hand. Some people are actually capable of isolating their political allegiances from their due consideration of the long term situation and how it relates to the ever changing society we inhabit.
I accept that you struggle with that concept.
And if you read what I wrote srylands, there is no judgement made or opinion given other than an interest in where a sizeable bundle of topical cash ends up, and maybe it is time speeches like this were streamed to the people who pay the PM’s salary. In a post budget environment, especially in an election year, many people would like to see what the Prime Minister says if his performance is worth 500 bucks a ticket.
So, you are of course going to provide evidence that he charged.
$375 for an event like this is bog standard. You pay $500 to send one of your staff to any kind of half-day professional seminar. A two day conference at sky city (or any conference centre in wellington or auckland is typically $3,000 + GST.
Why do you think the price is high? If there is any profit it will simply cross subsidise the other TTBC events.
To paraphrase Helen Clark – I am amazed that you are amazed.
lol
true believers are easy to fleece.
$500 for any kind of half day professional seminar?
Not for lots of stuff in the health sector.
Not for lots of stuff in IT.
Not for lots of foreign policy/IR stuff.
I guess randian superheroes are just gullible.
shitlands would say that John Key’s $5000 per head dinner tickets were absolutely “bog standard” – to the 0.1%, that is.
NetHui, a 3 day IT conference, costs $40 to attend. That’s for all 3 days, not per day.
So yeah?
Have heard some really good stories about NetHui sessions. Can you imagine srylands trying to wrap his head around the dialogues on collaborative thinking that are generated at NetHui ?
even this single line from their promotional material is probably enough to fry his cerebellum
” It’s a collaborative, multistakeholder gathering where we all set the agenda.”
$500 clams for a seat at a government speech? Sounds like normal business to me…but then I heard from right wing peeps that govts shouldn’t be in the business of doing business.
Yet this govt seems to do a lot of “business”, especially behind closed doors.
FYI – seen this?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11247865
John Drinnan: Making a stand on dope
9:30 AM Friday May 2, 2014
Blogger and political consultant ‘Bomber’ Bradbury denies exclusion of pro-marijuana party from poll was his call.
A blogger and political consultant to Mana and the Internet Party has warned he will not support closer ties with the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party.
This comes after ALCP leaders questioned Martyn “Bomber” Bradbury’s editing of The Daily Blog platform, and his links to the legal highs organisation the Star Trust.
Campaigners for legalisation of natural marijuana believe they have been getting a bad deal.
Bradbury is a longtime supporter of real cannabis, but lately has written several posts sympathetic to the synthetic highs industry.
Other liberal campaigners and blogs such as Public Address have supported a legal foundation for the legal highs industry, and lamented the decision to amend the Psychoactive Substances Act that will force 41 legal high products off the market, pending safety tests. But Bradbury is different because as well as having a high media profile, where he promotes himself as champion of the common man, other media have revealed he is also a political consultant to both the Mana Party and the Internet Party.
The danger is the commercial roles might become enmeshed.
Dak v dak
ALCP deputy leader Abe Gray – a botany lecturer at Otago University – says Bradbury has cut comment in The Daily Blog and excluded the party from a poll on the site.
Bradbury acknowledges bad vibes between himself and the ALCP, but says its exclusion from the Daily Blog poll was not decided by him.
Friction with the left wing blogger appears to reflect a rift between the natural cannabis people and the well-resourced legal highs industry.
………………………..
‘Dirty, filthy’
Star Trust director Grant Hall confirms Bradbury’s comment that he does not have a commercial relationship with the trust. “The reason you may have heard this rumour is because he interviewed some of the guest speakers [at a Star Trust conference in March], researched the questions for the political debate and hosted the political panel on the day.
“Beyond that he has no role with the trust and does no work for us currently.”
Bradbury was unhappy when asked about his ties to the legal highs industry, and sent a terse letter to ALCP leader Julian Crawford for talking to the Herald.
He said: “I worked for the Star Trust as the convener of their recent conference, my association with them has nothing whatsoever to do with your none [sic] inclusion in the poll. We only have parties on that poll with a chance of entering Parliament. The ALCP has no chance of entering Parliament.
“This type of deceitful smearing has helped make up my mind in terms of any advice to the IP and Mana in terms of broadening their alliance to include ALCP,” he said. Bradbury criticised Crawford for “dirty, filthy tactics”.
……………………
Wonder how much ‘Star Trust’ paid Martyn Bradbury to ‘convene’ their recent conference?
Did Martyn Bradbury ever do any (paid) work for Star Trust?
I’d ask Bradbury directly these questions on HIS ‘Daily Blog’ – but he blocked me – when I refused to back down as an Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Beware folks!
Follow the dollar…..?
In my considered opinion there are a lot of PHONIES out there …..
Penny Bright
MUST READ OF THE DAY
Paula Bennett says the problems faced by Writehanded.org blogger Sarah Wilson are an “isolated incident” and there is no need to change the policies or procedures at Work and Income (WINZ).
She goes on to suggest that Sarah Wilson has a “distorted perception of reality” ie Sarah Wilson and others who complain have a mental illness that makes her delusional due to the stress of her situation. (FYI minister assuming someone has a disability is a little known form of discrimination but it still fits the criteria of human rights abuse – check the handy HRC website).
“We work with some people that are at the most challenging and distressing times in their lives and their perception of how they’re dealt with can sometimes be not perhaps the reality if they were in a different frame of mind.”
With 295,000 people on welfare, she had much more to think about than Wilson, she said, and she saw no need to make changes as a result of what Wilson had said. ”
http://www.writehanded.org/blog/2014/05/02/a-bee-in-her-bonnet/