The NZ Defence Force has been called on to defend New Zealanders, by using some of their resources to help Te Puea Marae deal with the homeless emergency.
Will the army step up to the plate in defending poorer New Zealanders?
Is are our armed forces only purpose, to serve the geo-political interests of the rich and powerful, here and overseas?
Or to defend all New Zealanders?
The New Zealand Defence force has received a “big jump” in their funding in this budget, they are well able to spare some resources to help Te Puea Marae cope with emergency housing efforts.
Or is our army only at the beck and call of the rich and privileged who have no interest in defending New Zealand, only their own selfish geo political partnerships and interests, with our soldiers lives if necessary.
National will allocate $100.3 million in next month’s Budget and a total of $535 million over the next four years….
Jenny the armed forces, in NZ, follow the orders of the NZ government. This is as it should be.
It sounds nice and good to say why doesn’t the military act when someone deserving asks for help but that would be a very bad thing.
It would be a very bad thing because, as an example, if a government is elected that the military thinks is bad for the country then the military might decide that a coup is in order to protect the people from themselves.
Now I would have no problem with the military being called in to help, it would probably even be good training, but only if the government gives the good ahead.
Basically I feel that the slippery slope argument is why the military should always take direction from the government of the day
And if the Government tells you to escort all the South Aucklanders living in cars to an internment camp on the Desert Rd.. you would be just following orders right?
You are required to follow any order from a superior officer that will not result in a breach of the law. If you are given an order that would result in an illegal action you are required to not follow that order. If you do not agree with an order or feel that it is not a lawful order (does not meet certain criteria, nothing to do with illegal) you are required to follow that order and then file a formal complaint in regards to the order.
Failure to follow lawful orders can include detention in Burnham military camp or a sever fine. In times of war it can result in execution (yes New Zealand does still have the death penalty).
Military personnel do contribute to the community every day in ways you don’t see. The number of times you will be approached to help out with charitable endeavours is impressive. It is also in policy that if you are carrying out certain types of training and team building you are required to organise time to do community service.
If you want more information on how the NZDF contributes to the communities in which they are located feel free to go to your local base and have a chat to them. I am sure they will be happy to answer any queries you have.
Bought to you by your friendly local member of the NZDF.
I couldn’t give you numbers. Formal complaints are common and often upheld. There is a very rigorous system that allows any member to push a complaint as high as the Chief of Defence Force if they feel it has not be fairly addressed.
IIRC complaints could also progress to the Governor General, if CDS does not satisfy the complaint. That was still one of the main reasons IMHO for the retention of the Monarchy. I held my commission as an officer of the RNZN from the Queen – not the PM.
Whilst serving on Naval Staff I dealt with a number of complaints of a variety of different reasons. (but that was back in the late ’70’s early ’80’s)
I can’t think of any that did go on to the GG however.
The NZDF, fearing that these restrictions will place the country in an immediate threat of invasion, have decided to mount a coup to protect NZ
They do this because, instead of waiting for parliament to agree, they just decide its the right thing to do because they want to protect the people of NZ.
My question is: would you be ok with that?
Because that’s the other side of the coin. IMHO the system we have now where the NZDF responds to requests is the better option, it isn’t perfect but the alternative may well lead to outcomes you weren’t expecting
That’s not really the question though is it, a hypothetical question was asked supporting one side of the argument, I posed a hypothetical for the other.
I don’t expect the NZDF to stage a coup at any time but then I don’t expect the homeless to be shipped off to an internment camp on the Desert road either
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, ugly and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Unaffordable housing.
‘John Key suggested we Google Trade Me for homes under $500,000. So we did, and here they are The prime minister told reporters yesterday there are plenty of (relatively) affordable Auckland homes on Trade Me. Madeleine Chapman searched the site to see if he was right.
Asked yesterday about Auckland’s average house price nearing the $1 million mark, John Key was as upbeat as ever: “If you go on Trade Me this afternoon and Google property $500,000 or less in Auckland, you will find there are quite a few.”
Leaving to one side the curious instruction to Google something on Trade Me, this isn’t the first time the PM has directed us to this online real estate nirvana.
Almost exactly two years ago he talked down concerns about the housing crisis with an even stronger endorsement of Trade Me’s budget catalogue.
“If you go on Trade Me to look for Auckland housing under $400,000 there are over 2,000 properties listed.”
The journey from 2,000 under-$400k to “quite a few” under-$5ook is troubling enough. But what are these “quite a few”? I Googled up my Trade Me to find out.’
Key carries on under the assumption his media shills will keep swallowing the spin and not bother doing any digging or analysis on his BS. His recent rants being examples.
This site has many examples yet look at the msm and it’s a wasteland of celebrity, sport and human interest pieces in between careful messaging on behalf of national.
Mr and mrs soper appear to be very busy along with the usual sycophants like trevitt and the suck up brothers Henry/Hoskins.
This was a particularly stupid comment even by Key’s standards. Very odd-there is a consistent pattern now that he just can’t be bothered; that the media “will swallow anything I say”. So he tells the media there are still lots of cheap houses in Auckland, where on Planet Key this is under $500k, and it’s not really true anyway. He just can’t come to terms with the housing crisis that National has created.
If Little had said this the MSM would have hit him with a tonne of bricks.
I notice in the Herald today 14.2% of sales in Auckland last month were below $500k. Assuming almost all of these were in the $400-500k bracket that means there are sod-all affordable houses around. Is a house at $350k really affordable to a wide range of society? Not in my book.
‘Shoeless and limping to school.’
But that’s ok…..John Key and Mike Hosking says there isn’t a housing or homeless crisis in New Zealand. We should just pull up our tinted windows in our SUVs and pay them money to disappear.
Godzone has morphed into Randistan and narcissist psychopaths are shredding this country.
@ Paul, While I like the theme of how bad John Key has made this country – I have to say that I am optimistic that people are still kind and caring and generous. Not Hoskings obviously, but have a look at the Te Puea Marae and people have donated over $7000 already, when Campbell Live was on people always gave generously.
There is a lot of hope and worldwide things are changing. Just caring by posting is changing the discourses….
Paul I do like your constant repetition of the line “cruel and selfish” in its various guises.
It does describe our society to a considerable extent, brought on and/or cemented in place by the arrival of the neoliberal paradigm in the 1980’s which had as its base premise “self-interest”.
It is a very sad indictment.
But it is true.
People today are outwardly more selfish, cruel, nasty, greedy and less caring..
But inwardly people will be the same – with the other characteristics of humanity that are more caring and sharing, more social (we are the most social of creatures and absolutely not a bunch of individuals – what a stupid idea), more with a view to what we leave for our mokopuna… those characteristics are there for sure …..
….. they are just hidden under the ugly morass of greedy neoliberalism, but they will sprout and flower again..
Maybe you should try staying in bed. Every morning is the same, try seeing the glass half full for a change. Who cares what Mike Hosking thinks? He makes a living out of people like you giving him oxygen. Lighten up a bit, it’s a lovely day.
Hosking says 800 under $500k in Auckland.
Spinoff says 65. (Of which some are a long way out of Auckland and some are on lease land.)
Who should I believe? Key/Hoskings or Spinoff?
Key knows that he can toss off his remarks with immunity. How many voters would go and actually look? And why quibble about the exact number of houses?
A cunning plan Baldrick!
Take out the leases. Remember the woman who had her lease in Cornwall park go up to $40,000 per year or something. She then had to go to court about it when she couldn’t pay and had to abandon the property etc etc.
Also take out the apartments with Body Corps as the same thing can happen. They decide you need a big long term fund, replace the roof, new swimming pool or what have you and low and behold, legally you have to make the extra payments.
I’m constantly bemused by the inability of the media at large to use a search engine, especially the Trademe one. Some of these people who quote Trademe are really too stupid for words.
All Hoskings had to do was sort his search results in order of highest price to lowest and he would have discovered that the Trademe search engine is a little less than truthful. But no, he instead makes a dick of himself.
Will the conservative Democratic Super-Delegates hand the presidency to Donald Trump by nominating second runner (to Sanders) Clinton as their nominee?
Will the Democratic Convention of 2016 be a repeat of the Democratic Convention of 1968?
Where the convention handed the US presidency to Nixon by choosing an unpopular pro-Vietnam war candidate Hubert Humphrey, over and anti-Vietnam war candidate Eugene McCarthy?
The horse race itself is swinging toward the billionaire businessman, who according to the Washington Post-ABC News poll has picked up 11 points since March, giving him a narrow 46%-44% lead. But the sum result in both surveys is a statistical dead heat. Clinton leads by 3 points, 46%-43%, in the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
Both results are within the margin of error.
Trump’s recent bump coincides with a growing sense of acceptance among Republican establishment figures. From former primary opponents to elected officials on Capitol Hill, the GOP is broadly warming to its likely standard-bearer.
Efforts by the #NeverTrump movement to draft a conservative challenger have been all but abandoned. Perhaps the most popular figure in the GOP, House Speaker Paul Ryan, has signaled a desire for détente with Trump.
On the Democratic side, Clinton remains the front-runner but has yet to actually clinch the number of delegates necessary to defeat rival Bernie Sanders. But the Vermont senator is not going quietly, and the left is now seemingly at odds with itself as Democrats squabble over the allocation of delegates.
Indeed, both polls show the most popular candidate in either party is Sanders, who to his benefit has largely avoided any especially negative attacks during the primary. The Washington Post-ABC News poll shows the Vermont independent with a net positive favorability rating (49% to 41%), which essentially matched the NBC News/Wall Street Journal findings.
I read this op-ed by Thomas Friedman this morning (02/06/2016) in the Tampa Bay Times (I’m stuck in Florida for the next several months, ugh)
All lying in politics is not created equal. I think the ideology Sanders is selling is fanciful, but underlying it is a moral critique of modern capitalism that has merit and deserves to be heard. But Sanders is not being truthful about the costs. What is grating about Clinton is that her prevarications seem so unnecessary and often insult our intelligence. But they are not about existential issues. As for Trump, his lies are industrial size and often contradict each other. But there is no theory behind his lies, except what will advance him, which is why Trump is only scary if he wins. Otherwise, his candidacy will leave no ideas behind. It will be just a reality TV show that got cancelled.
This is serious. We’re about to elect all three branches of our government. I wish we had better choices, but given the options, I’d vote for the candidate most likely to be a practical unifier and get some things done — and who only tells whoppers about herself, not about my country’s future.
Friedman has given Clinton one of the greatest weak tea endorsements I’ve seen in ages. lol
So Frieddman says “But there is no theory behind his lies, except what will advance him,…”
In my eyes this is what Key does. No particular philosophy, say what the audience want to hear, and respond to problems with pragmatic non solutions to buy time. Key has a smoother delivery though.
This, I think, is the crux of the matter. There are things you can lie about with impunity but there are some things you can’t and they don’t always make, logical, sense
You are right, Trump and Key are very similar. Key is dangerous because he has a team behind him, working the numbers and pushing obstacles out of his way (Campbell Live) and appears pretty ordinary in other ways so you don’t realise what he is capable of (being the IDU chairman seems to mean he is VERY capable), Trump is dangerous because if he gets elected he is likely to have a bad hair day and release all the missiles, maybe just for fun if Merkel doesn’t put lipstick on. He wants people to fear him. It’s kinda like an American Kim Jong Un – in fact Kim Jong Un is one of the few foreign PM’s who have endorsed Trump and called him ‘wise’ while John Key has had a secret meeting with Trump (another endorsement).
The liar is concerned with that the truth of the statement is believed. Key cares neither what people think nor about the real state of affairs – he says what makes him look good.
The gorilla is a good example – we are supposed to believe that the gorilla engaged Key’s sympathy – but it’s a counterfactual – Key never had to cope with the gorilla, and given the enthusiasm with which he has DOC poisoning kiwi this new ‘animal lover’ identity is empirically unlikely.
Clinton needs Trump for now, i just dont believe that Trump can win, too many republicians will not vote, as trump will set the image of Republicianism. Why are so many prominent party politicians unavailable to back their parties candidate, its obvious they or who they want to run in the future would be worse off with Trump.
But in many ways they have their selves to blame, they thought they could go right against Clinton, and they’d win, till Trump beat off weak spineless out of touch wanabees.
Despite pressure from party establishment on Sanders to drop out of the race, most Democratic voters want the senator to keep running.
The findings contradict the pressure from prominent Democratic politicians and centrist pundits on Sanders to drop out of the presidential race—some of whom even argue that he’s already lost—despite the fact that several states (including delegate-rich California) and U.S. territories have yet to hold their primaries. (Polls also show Sanders and Clinton in a dead heat in California, which votes on June 7.)
Despite pressure from party establishment on Sanders to drop out of the race, most Democratic voters want the senator to keep running.
The findings contradict the pressure from prominent Democratic politicians and centrist pundits on Sanders to drop out of the presidential race—some of whom even argue that he’s already lost—despite the fact that several states (including delegate-rich California) and U.S. territories have yet to hold their primaries. (Polls also show Sanders and Clinton in a dead heat in California, which votes on June 7.)
Last week I queried the Meth Contamination thresholds in houses. Turns out that this could be this year’s biggest scam and there is shitloads of candidates for that title.
The “testing ” is being done by real estate agents, and to top it off there is no official threshold, that is being establish by, you quested it, the people doing the testing.
Who would have thought that real estate agents could be dishonest.
What I want 3’s Story to follow up on is how many ” contaminated” houses have been bought by agents or their proxies for a huge discount.
My understanding is that that there is no legislation, there are no ‘standards’, regulations, policies, procedures or protocols covering the testing for alleged “P” contamination of houses, owned by either the private sector or the State.
So – how exactly is it being decided that houses ARE ‘contaminated’ with “P”?
Who decides that – based on what?
Next question – WHO contaminated the house with “P”?
How convenient for the impression to be created that there are empty State houses because State tenants contaminated them with “P”?
I have a comprehensive OIA request on the issue of “P” contamination of State houses currently lodged with Housing Minister Nick Smith and am awaiting with interest the official response to my questions.
I think the question you should be asking is not who conducts tests, but looking at the tests themselves, how many, how good is each product, are the testers trained, are they aware of cross contamination, rental property managers could be cross contaminating tons of places just inspecting renters.
Due to this their will be a regulation, tests will eventually become compulsory on all sales and the few agencies with certification to do it will be owned by tories and raking in truckloads off kiwis in testing costs.
P. I like the Indonesian laws on this, a bullets cheaper.
Good point Adrian!!! Now there is some cottage industry of people going around finding everything is P contaminated and the property is unliveable. Another reason to sell off the state houses and to blame the tenants.
Not to mention the windfalls for real estate agents and property investors.
From what I have read, both here and on Public Address, the meth-testing business should send a shiver down everyone’s spine. For one thing, if there is no threshold, those accused are left with no grounds for defending themselves – you cannot challenge a false positive if there is no standard determining the positive in the first place. For another, according to Russell Brown, scientists have said that meth manufacture poses a serious health risk, but meth having been smoked in a house generally does not. http://publicaddress.net/hardnews/this-is-crazy/ Moreover, minor contamination could just as easily come from a tradesman who fixed the toilet, or a relative sneaking off to the laundry at an after-wedding party, etc – there could even be a cooking ingredient that registers a blip on whatever it is they use for “testing”. If what I have read about it is even half true, it shows a frighteningly cavalier attitude to human rights, rule of law, and sober-minded governance.
There is a guideline actually. Ministry of Health say that it is .5mg per 100mg.
However, this guideline relies on a “per room” method of testing in which up to 8 swabs are taken in a different area of each room. So for a 3 bedroom house, you’re looking at around 50 swabs.
This is a fairly expensive method.
What the meth tests companies do instead, is use ONE swab, and rub it over 8 different locations throughout the house and come up with a ‘composite test’
This is incredibly misleading as some of the ingredients in P are also found in common household brands of flyspray.
Housing NZ have a policy that any meth contamination is too much contamination.
A lot of their houses have been found to only have .05mg or less, per 100mg of contamination.
That apparently, is enough to prove P use. Despite the fact it likely isn’t.
So to summarise.
MoH say .5mg per 100mg is a level at which a house is safe to live in. Anything above it is likely to have been a p lab.
However,the guidelines recommend 8 swabs per room.
P testing companies routinely report contamination levels of .05mg/100mg and under. That is, 10 times less contamination than the MOH recommends.
This is often arrived at by using one swab across 8 areas of the house.
Likely that the ‘composite’ test inflates the true figure of potential contamination, and could easily be picking up flyspray residue.
If any level whatsoever counts against the tenant, and the testing method is open to producing a positive from fly spray, then the ‘guideline’ functions as little more than a fig leaf for expedience. And of course, the zero tolerance stance allows for an “honest mistake” claim to be made should a serious challenge arise. Hardly a recipe for political or social trust.
Toluene which is used in meth production is also in nail varnish and particularily in remover and in all sorts of cleaner including carpets etc”
I,m sure this is a scam using bad science and fear mongering to scam the house trading industry.
“The Ministry of Health currently recommends that surface wipes for methamphetamine not exceed a concentration of 0.5 μg/100 cm2 as the acceptable post-remediation re-occupancy level for a dwelling that has been used as a clan meth lab”. Based on US guidelines (suggestions). Ok. Note that 0.5 micrograms (μg or ug) means 0.0005 mg.
This does not differentiate from potential residue left by end-users, who can be quite different to the ‘cooks’ or producers (in my ignorant opinion, I don’t believe that that every P user makes their own?)
They also make no mention of the type of meth molecule being tested for. Illicit methamphetamine is characterised by its stereochemistry, dictated by the choice of precursor used. All manufacturing methods starting from l-ephedrine or d-pseudoephedrine produce (d) (+)-(S)-methamphetamine as the single optical isomer. Methods using P2P (phenyl-2-nitropropene to phenylacetone) results in a racemic mixture (both l- and d- isomers) of methamphetamine.
A well-used example: L-methamphetamine (“l” form/isomer) is available over-the-counter as the active ingredient of decongestant inhalers like the popular Vick’s brand. It is a metabolite of certain prescription medications. Both “d” and “l” test positive by both immunoassay and most GC/MS assays.1
Meth is meth but I would expect a positive result to be further investigated to determine if the meth COULD have originated from a completely legit source. https://www.hitpages.com/doc/5766999321870336/2#pageTop is one link.
Not much indication that testing for other chemicals involved in illicit manufacture is actually REQUIRED, which one might expect? Seems the Guidelines (suggestions) only suggest that these other chemicals be tested for. To my small brain this would go some way in determining the source of the detected ‘meth’ (i.e. clan lab vs. end user)
I’d like to see some basic NZ-based research. I’d like to at least see a random selection of houses/dwellings ‘tested for meth’. Or even just the McMansions, that would be entertaining.
How do they prove that the current tenant/occupier/owner was ACTUALLY involved in cooking? Or even an end-user? Some of this is really not right. To say the least.
Here in Papakura a corner block of state houses in Rosehill were demolished on grounds of P contamination.
And P Contamination is one of the reasons given why another 25-50 State Houses in this suburb of high housing need are kept empty.
It is distressing to read that such grounds for demolition and removal of State Housing stock from the rental market on grounds of P Contamination is a subjective matter.
Especially when our local Bruce Pulman Park has been in the news for the large number of homeless who camp here.
(Bruce Pulman Park even featured in the news of John Key’s latest lies)
John Key says his comments that some of the homeless sleeping in cars in Bruce Pulman Park didn’t want to be housed, were made on the information supplied to him by his officials.
If the government at the highest level can blatantly lie about fictional visits to the homeless in Bruce Pulman Park, – With no proper sound scientific basis for making such decisions, who can trust that these same zealous officials are not exaggerating the nature and the extent of the P contamination of State Houses in Papakura to help carry out the government’s stated privatisation program of the State Housing asset?
Following the 2014 election the National government embarked on what it intends will be the largest privatisation of State assets in New Zealand history – dwarfing any of the sales successive Labour and National governments have posted in the last 30 years. National is beginning the sale of New Zealand’s estimated $15 billion in State housing stock. No less than three National government ministers are now directly involved – Housing Minister Nick Smith, State Housing Minister Bill English and Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett.
The first stage of privatisation involves the sale of 6,000 to 8,000 houses over the next few years with up to 2,000 being sold in the first year. It’s clear that if unchecked National will sell every last State home. The latest proposal for mass privatisation of State housing comes close on the heels of National Party attacks on Housing New Zealand (HNZ) and its tenants from its first two terms. Early in its first term National forced HNZ to slash State house waiting lists, close most local offices and strip tenure (the right to stay in your home) from existing tenants. It drove staff morale to rock-bottom and HNZ has been stripped of its role in assessing tenants for housing needs. Work and Income NZ (WINZ) has taken over this function and will allocate eligible tenants and families to HNZ or private “social housing providers”. John Minto
Newstalk ZB has revealed anywhere between 20 and 50 cars are parked every night at Bruce Pulman Park in Takanini as their homeless occupants make use of a toilet facility.
The Ministry of Social Development has said it has become aware of the group and is now working hard to get them the help they need.
Base on the evidence, let me correct the above statement;
The MSD has said it has become aware of the group and is now lying hard to prevent them getting the help they need.
Housing New Zealand has said it has 52 vacant houses in Papakura, with 25 of those not presently fit to rent
of the 27 Housing New Zealand homes ready to let, a family is either about to move in, or the property is in the process of being matched to a family while minor maintenance work is carried out.
The remaining 25 have significant issues such as fire damage, methamphetamine contamination or may be about to be demolished to make way for new homes.
What the ZB report blatantly leaves out or doesn’t make clear is what kind of homes are being built to replace the demolished State Houses.
On past experience, most of them (or even just the land) will be sold privately with a few sold/given to private charities to run as so called “Social Housing”.
The National Government’s “Social Housing” program, with it’s stated concentration on providing affordable houses for private sale, as well as to private charities, has had very mixed results. While it can be argued that the Social Housing program has provided relief for those on middle incomes unable to buy in an overpriced housing market. (and some relief for those at the very bottom reliant on private charities). Overall it has seen a decline in the number of rentals for people unable to afford to buy, at the so called affordable level ($300,000)
“Following the release, earlier this week, of testimony filed in a federal lawsuit against Trump University, the United States is facing a high-stakes social-science experiment.
Will one of the world’s leading democracies elect as its President a businessman who founded and operated a for-profit learning annex that some of its own employees regarded as a giant rip-off, and that the highest legal officer in New York State has described as a classic bait-and-switch scheme? …”
___________________________
Of all of my loathing of Paul Henry being a Tory Scum, he made me famous this morning. Still hate your guts Henry and yes you lost to Georgina Beyer.
Now I would like to make it clear I do not have any issues with transgender people at all. I said it that way, because I imagine to a TORY SCUMBAG like Paul Henry, the dent in his TORY pride from losing to an LBGT of all opposition to him, must really irritate him hence he attacks the left every opportunity to exact his pathetic revenge and dislike..
Since I cannot battle his Tory point of view, to make my sad little life better, I thought i’d make his day in Keys paradise a reminder of what a loser National prospect he was.
So to Any TG people reading, no offence meant and thank you for allowing/hopefully not crucifying me to use Georgina B to rub salt in Henrys wounds.
Cracked up when he said Richard, I don’t think he’s a fan.. Never thought he’d actually read it out.
I just woke up, turned on to see Henry spouting all homeless don’t want help and painting the National line.
I remembered someone posting here yesterday that Henry lost to GB, I didn’t know that till yesterday, I didn’t know Henry had stood for National and I was shocked he’s now on TV3 with full access in the morning to spout his tory beliefs.
I’m Bi-polar and even on meds find things coming out that I realize I should have thought of first before I spoke.
I was wrong, But at the same time I got everyone who watches Paul Henry and didn’t know he’d been a National candidate to know go hold on? is that true?
They may research and now know for a fact what they hear from him has a political purpose!
If in any way one person changes knowing they are being manipulated by the media, i’m sure the LBGT members who support our political point of view will let it slide.
I apologise to anyone who loves to point fingers and pick fault in others, in the belief no one makes mistakes and if they do they should be thoroughly rounded upon. 🙂
no problems richard – this position of mine is consistent with me and honed over a long time – not a personal thing against you or even what you said or did – it is my limits, my lines in the sand – not other people’s whose lines may be and often are in different places. My only point in posting was to say out loud the above so that others see different views and opinions.
The issue is more about how in a more even contest Paul Henry loses hands down.
Yep Weldon, Chrisite and John Key have put him on this pedestal and got him on TV to push their poison – but ultimately he is deeply unpopular no matter what they do and that is why TV3 ratings have plummeted.
Thats because TV ratings are as relevant as winning lotto statistically… something like 600 over 4.5 million people. You do the math. Then moderated by the TV companies.
With all due respect I’m pretty sure most people would know that Paul Henry’s an unpleasant person and so his political leanings are on the right, its not really a big surprise
Why do you watch the show if Henry is Tory scum, he loves the hate mail it builds his ratings. I can’t really understand why you hate him, most of what he does and says is hilarious with no malice and for effect, people with thin skins simply choose to be offended
So if it is true, and the labour party has only about 5k members – give or take.
Then has the time come to announce their death? With those numbers they look like the Bolsheviks, representing just over 0.1% of the population. National are not much better at something like 0.6% of the population as members – but they at least do politics in the interests of the 0.6%
Is it not well past time that people on the left did what was best for the people rather than let a tired old bunch of professionals and technocrats telling them what is best for them. Because if the third way taught us anything, it was that the professional left is a nasty vicious piece of work.
A whole lot of electorates are up for grabs – take your pick from lazy, to the down right awful Labour MP’s. Mix in those neo-con muppets who have sold working people down the river in the first place.
“So if it is true”. There’s a lot of prognosticating going on here and with Chris Trotter based on an “if”.
What if Trotter were wrong? His guess of 2000 ordinary members spread over 67 electorates means about 30 members per electorate. My electorate is a ‘safe’ National rural provincial seat, yet this number attended this years electorate committee AGM.
So you are saying the future of the Labour party is more falling membership?
My point, is in a MMP environment, why should the left bow down to any party? Why should labour be uncontested in electorates when it puts forward non-left candidates.
I’d also point out the vaunted labour war chest no longer exists. So left wing people should stand in electorates, because labour does not have the money. Labour still gets list MP’s with it’s party vote.
Adam, I’m saying nothing about what you think I’m saying. I have merely pointed out that Trotter, and therefore you, may (have allowed your feelings for Labour to colour your figures and thinking and ) have constructed an argument based on a premise that has not been substantiated- i.e. Labour has only 2000 members or 6000 if you count affiliates.
I point out your conditional argument. You want now to accord me even more thinking than I have put forward. There is no “so” for you to fly with.
I say Trotter is wrong, in my experience. “So”, it is up to you to justify that figure to allow all the rest of your argument any validity.
BTW, I have been a member for forty plus years. The branch I joined in1974 had 1500 members! Of course, the membership is dropping. It is a phenomenon with many causes, all but one have to do with your major gripe-that Labour is no longer a party of the Left. It’s also no longer 1975. It’s a different world with different working patterns, life styles, media, upbringing, literature, songs, history, education, union membership, TV, films, family structures, social pressures; all of these have impacted, and there are more than I can conjure up quickly and without research, upon why people join political parties in the numbers that they do.
If people fell away from Labour because of their perceptions of how left is Left, then why did the more recent leftish parties- the Alliance, Mana et al.- not grow to bigger percentages? There are more reasons than you allow for.
My point is quite simple really, labour is a political party. It has a small membership, it can’t speak for the left, like I can’t speak for the left. It is not all powerful, and people should make decisions based on what they think is right, not what is good for the labour party. In this case, the myth of labours war chest, and membership base is just that – mythology.
It is beyond time good people stood in electorates against labour. If the party is not connecting, well that’s their issue, not one of the left, and people should get over it. No doubt some people will get upset with that assessment. Or label me loony lefty or what was Ads remark, ‘hard left’ what ever that means – personally I like Christian anarchist.
I know recent, but not the most up to date, figures for both Dunedin South and Dunedin North electorates. I also know the Clutha Southland numbers from when I was candidate there, but those numbers have grown.
Judging from that the true figure of FINANCIAL members is probably under 5,000, but 2,000 is definitely too low an estimate. I would have picked between 4000 and 5000.
If you include non-financial members the number will be over 5,000.
Having said that I am fairly certain that membership numbers have fallen by thousands from when David Cunliffe was Leader, when the financial membership was at least 10K.
Even better, act in a good comedy or tragedy. Drama is a good way to investigate political/social concerns. The last role I had, my character started as a gung ho King and Country soldier and ended by saying, “I went down to the river and threw all my medals into the water.” All sorts of political leanings saw that show- all were affected in some way. Living in the provinces does not necessarily mean we are ‘provincial’!
I recall a trip from Napier to Gisborne where I was following/chasing a Crown Limo. I figured Parekura Horomia was in the back seat so we had double immunity on the Coast.
In defence of the driver, neither s/he nor I exceeded 150kmh on the run up the East Coast.
I do think that its the Limo drivers who love to speed knowing they are above the law, rather than any Poli’s pulling their ears and screaming “faster, Faster”
Liar! It had nothing to do with Helen Clark and you know it. The police laid the charges because the driver was one of their own and this has always been the course of action when a police officer is involved in an alleged law breaking incident. The Judge threw the case out and Helen Clark was then able to respond to the case by saying:
” She believed that the judge made the right decision”. Or words to the same effect.
I liked Kevin Locke’s analysis this morning on Morning Report, especially where he said now the media should report the block vote for polls i.e. Lab/Gr 42% Gnats 46%.
I watched Glucina’s ‘scout’ trash twice. The second time because I couldn’t believe it the first time.
I’m sure TV3 people were proud to be associated with it.(sarc).
How awful can TV get.
Dunno..ask Paddy Gower how low journalism can get? He is incredible . (i.e That is-not credible)
Sample quote:
“If the convention centre was being led by a private company, then the CEO of that company would have been fired a long time ago for failing to deliver on the project.
April 2019 has now been set as the latest operational completion date. That’s frankly disgusting, and Gerry Brownlee needs to front up and stop acting like a 12 year old whenever criticism comes his way.
The report also shows the government initially wanted all negotiations around the convention centre to be finalised before CERA was disestablished. Well that hasn’t happened? So who’s going to take responsibility? Who’s protecting who? And who needs to be fired for failing Christchurch and its business community?”
Not sure when in New Zealand I’ve anything more excoriating of a government Minister, without them being held to account by a Prime Minister.
Of this government, only Key is smart enough about Auckland not to take on responsibility for the entire Council’s functions. Ordinarily I’d expect all his jaw-jawing is simply focusing Auckland Council’s mind in preparation for August.
But is he still so smart? He’s been so cack-handed lately it’s hard to really trust him to manage a proper conversation between Smith and Brownlee on the perils of trying to run/command-and-control/plan/influence either Christchurch or Auckland.
There just doesn’t appear to be a real “lessons learned” from Christchurch being applied to Auckland at all. Other than in Treasury.
Which – given these cities’ dominance of New Zealand into the future – strikes me as somewhat fatal for them, and not too good for the rest of us either.
His accountability standards have lowered substantially since the good of days when Craig Heatley stood down for something pretty minor. Pretty hard to raise them back up again in a different government.
“Those in default and living in Australia will come under more scrutiny from next month, when a transtasman information-sharing agreement begins. It will cover contact details of student loan borrowers living in Australia.”
One overseas womans $6000 student loan has ballooned over $30,000. “Will I be arrested at the airport?…how will I pay my mortgage if I’m detained in New Zealand, what will happen to my children in Australia if I’m detained?”
Cue responses from all those who never fucked up in their lives …3-2-1-
Even if I agreed that student loans should be paid back or even exist, that’s still a completely different argument to whether people should be arrested because of them.
No no McFlock, the full strength of the state MUST be used for naughty loan defaulters, “respect my athoritah!” & all that, like the poor children of poor familes they should just “jump back up your mother”, which came first the horse or the cart etc…
“that’s still a completely different argument to whether people should be arrested because of them” – thank you, more succinct than mine.
We’ll pay it off quickly and don’t incur penalty or interest, by far the majority of non payers are just taking the piss of people who paid thier loans and tax payers who fund the loans who both are in exactly the same financial circumstances as the free loaders
When someone loans someone money that person is taking the risk that they’re not going to get it back. We even have laws allowing for this to happen through bankruptcy (And a student, once they get through their course, is essentially bankrupt) and No Asset Procedure. Of course, the government has excused itself from those laws.
So, we have rich people defaulting willy nilly on loans and other responsibilities while poor people get the boot put into them by the government in its persona of Loan Shark.
This is just the very end of the tip of this type of horrendous exploitation and offending – the great mass of it is hidden – behind respectable facades and benign exteriors…
A Christchurch activist and union organiser has admitted child abuse imagery charges.
Joseph (Joe) Robert Davies, 60, pleaded guilty on Thursday to five charges brought by the Customs Department of possessing, distributing, and exporting objectionable material.
The charges involve 44 videos and nine images, some involving bondage, and many involving penetrative sex between adults and children.
Christchurch District Court Judge Tom Gilbert remanded Davies on bail for sentencing on August 31, and asked for a pre-sentence report to consider his suitability for home detention.
And you know what? I don’t give a flying fuck if institutions are hurt by this, if movements are hurt – I deal with people who are the children grown from this shit and they are struggling to find reasons to exist and live. Fuck you exploiter.
Pot-Smokers Harm Gums; Other Physical Effects Slight
Long-term study finds no differences in metabolism, lung function, inflammation
Durham, NC – A long-term study of nearly 1,000 New Zealanders from birth to age 38 has found that people who smoked marijuana for up to 20 years have more gum disease, but otherwise do not show worse physical health than non-smokers.
The international research team assessed a dozen measures of physical health, including lung function, systemic inflammation and several measures of metabolic syndrome, including waist circumference, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, glucose control and body mass index.
Tobacco users in the study, which appears online the week of June 1 in JAMA Psychiatry, were found to have gum disease as well as reduced lung function, systemic inflammation and indicators of poorer metabolic health.
“We can see the physical health effects of tobacco smoking in this study, but we don’t see similar effects for cannabis smoking,” said Madeline Meier, an assistant professor of psychology at Arizona State University who conducted the study with colleagues at Duke University, King’s College in the UK and the University of Otago in New Zealand.
I’m not too surprised. I think most social service agencies would not be too keen on the Prime Minister or any state official so grossly misrepresenting what they do to the public. Or lying about it.
That article is great.
Director Salvation Army social policy and parliamentary unit director Ian Hutson said it was important the “miscommunication” between his organisation and MSD was corrected in the public eye.
The Prime Minister and the Minister for Social Housing Paula Bennett have been contacted for comment.
MSD said addressed any queries on the incorrect statements to the Minister.
It was continuing to “offer a community presence” in Auckland so people without a place to stay could get their help.
Sallies calling the PM a liar.
The MSD passing the buck to the Minister.
The MSD admitting that it basically either doesn’t know what to do or isn’t allowed to do it’s job. And that people don’t trust them any more.
Interesting position from the SA about not approaching people in cars too. FFS can you imagine having someone from the MSD knock on your window.
It shouldn’t Bill, the relationship between the government and The Salvation Army has be deteriorating for sometime. The Salvation Army are rightly upset they are being left to carry the load – time after time after time.
Well! It seems that the Clinton campaign has deliberately been mis-leading us all about the Super-delegates. They are NOT to be counted until the Convention in July. They change their minds. All is not yet lost for Bernie!
“Not on a hot mic or during a commercial break, but live on the air, Luis Miranda, (communications director for the Democratic National Committee) in no uncertain terms, told Jake Tapper that the media should not be including them. Miranda said, “One of the problems is the way the media reports them. Any night that you have a primary or caucus, and the media lumps the Superdelegates in, that they basically polled by calling them up and saying who are you supporting, they don’t vote until the convention, and so they shouldn’t be included in any count.” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election/king-clinton-media-counting-superdelegates-dnc-pleas-article-1.2655752?cid=bitly
Drivers in Tunbridge Wells have been left outraged after (…) foxes apparently chewed through the brake cables of several cars. Kent police have now warned drivers to check their brakes before setting off on journeys.
Another day has passed in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring ,nasty and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
It’s predicted to be 5 degrees in Auckland tonight.
3 degrees in Christchurch.
Cold if you’re in a car.
Cold if you’re in a garage.
Cold if you’re on the street.
About one in every 100 New Zealanders don’t have a home to call their own, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of Otago found that in 2013, more than 41,000 people were staying in severely crowded houses with family or friends, or in boarding houses, camping grounds, in cars or on the street.
Less than 1 pc of pop, of that most will be random, ie there will a percentage as such no matter what you do, you can’t ignore it but don’t pimp it either or extrapolate to Paul’s and little angry andy absurdity that the county going to hell in a hand cart, which it is plainly not, cheer up son
Just watched some of Duncan Garner’s whateverit’scalled show with shriekers shouting about the Labout-Greens memorandum of understanding and Garner desperately trying to sound like Hosking while his guests try equally desperately, but unsuccessfully to sound important. No idea who they are or why they are on TV…Awful bias TV much like the insincere fools on ‘Fox News’ attacking Obama and democrats at any cost.
Oh for some real panel discussions on the issues of the day with someone of intellect.
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
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 Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
The NZ Defence Force has been called on to defend New Zealanders, by using some of their resources to help Te Puea Marae deal with the homeless emergency.
Will the army step up to the plate in defending poorer New Zealanders?
Is are our armed forces only purpose, to serve the geo-political interests of the rich and powerful, here and overseas?
Or to defend all New Zealanders?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11648844
The New Zealand Defence force has received a “big jump” in their funding in this budget, they are well able to spare some resources to help Te Puea Marae cope with emergency housing efforts.
Will they do it?
“Big Jump In Defence Spending”
Or is our army only at the beck and call of the rich and privileged who have no interest in defending New Zealand, only their own selfish geo political partnerships and interests, with our soldiers lives if necessary.
Jenny the armed forces, in NZ, follow the orders of the NZ government. This is as it should be.
It sounds nice and good to say why doesn’t the military act when someone deserving asks for help but that would be a very bad thing.
It would be a very bad thing because, as an example, if a government is elected that the military thinks is bad for the country then the military might decide that a coup is in order to protect the people from themselves.
Now I would have no problem with the military being called in to help, it would probably even be good training, but only if the government gives the good ahead.
Basically I feel that the slippery slope argument is why the military should always take direction from the government of the day
And if the Government tells you to escort all the South Aucklanders living in cars to an internment camp on the Desert Rd.. you would be just following orders right?
the shultz defence would kick in then – at the peoples trials held after I mean…
You are required to follow any order from a superior officer that will not result in a breach of the law. If you are given an order that would result in an illegal action you are required to not follow that order. If you do not agree with an order or feel that it is not a lawful order (does not meet certain criteria, nothing to do with illegal) you are required to follow that order and then file a formal complaint in regards to the order.
Failure to follow lawful orders can include detention in Burnham military camp or a sever fine. In times of war it can result in execution (yes New Zealand does still have the death penalty).
Military personnel do contribute to the community every day in ways you don’t see. The number of times you will be approached to help out with charitable endeavours is impressive. It is also in policy that if you are carrying out certain types of training and team building you are required to organise time to do community service.
If you want more information on how the NZDF contributes to the communities in which they are located feel free to go to your local base and have a chat to them. I am sure they will be happy to answer any queries you have.
Bought to you by your friendly local member of the NZDF.
“a formal complaint in regards to the order”
has this happened very much?
I couldn’t give you numbers. Formal complaints are common and often upheld. There is a very rigorous system that allows any member to push a complaint as high as the Chief of Defence Force if they feel it has not be fairly addressed.
IIRC complaints could also progress to the Governor General, if CDS does not satisfy the complaint. That was still one of the main reasons IMHO for the retention of the Monarchy. I held my commission as an officer of the RNZN from the Queen – not the PM.
Whilst serving on Naval Staff I dealt with a number of complaints of a variety of different reasons. (but that was back in the late ’70’s early ’80’s)
I can’t think of any that did go on to the GG however.
I also see that in the UK they have now introduced a Service Complaints Ombudsman.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/armed-forces-service-complaints-process
Something we could perhaps introduce here.
Since you’ve asked me a question I’ll ask one of you in response:
Its 2020 and Labour/Greens have claimed power. As part of the deal the Greens have insisted on implementing their policy on defence: https://home.greens.org.nz/policy/summary/defence
The NZDF, fearing that these restrictions will place the country in an immediate threat of invasion, have decided to mount a coup to protect NZ
They do this because, instead of waiting for parliament to agree, they just decide its the right thing to do because they want to protect the people of NZ.
My question is: would you be ok with that?
Because that’s the other side of the coin. IMHO the system we have now where the NZDF responds to requests is the better option, it isn’t perfect but the alternative may well lead to outcomes you weren’t expecting
What exactly would the NZDF mount a coup with?
That’s not really the question though is it, a hypothetical question was asked supporting one side of the argument, I posed a hypothetical for the other.
I don’t expect the NZDF to stage a coup at any time but then I don’t expect the homeless to be shipped off to an internment camp on the Desert road either
Better shit than the Fijian military has.
All the shit they get from the UN
Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, ugly and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Unaffordable housing.
‘John Key suggested we Google Trade Me for homes under $500,000. So we did, and here they are The prime minister told reporters yesterday there are plenty of (relatively) affordable Auckland homes on Trade Me. Madeleine Chapman searched the site to see if he was right.
Asked yesterday about Auckland’s average house price nearing the $1 million mark, John Key was as upbeat as ever: “If you go on Trade Me this afternoon and Google property $500,000 or less in Auckland, you will find there are quite a few.”
Leaving to one side the curious instruction to Google something on Trade Me, this isn’t the first time the PM has directed us to this online real estate nirvana.
Almost exactly two years ago he talked down concerns about the housing crisis with an even stronger endorsement of Trade Me’s budget catalogue.
“If you go on Trade Me to look for Auckland housing under $400,000 there are over 2,000 properties listed.”
The journey from 2,000 under-$400k to “quite a few” under-$5ook is troubling enough. But what are these “quite a few”? I Googled up my Trade Me to find out.’
http://thespinoff.co.nz/politics-media/02-06-2016/john-key-suggested-we-google-trademe-for-homes-under-500000-so-we-did-and-here-they-are/
Key carries on under the assumption his media shills will keep swallowing the spin and not bother doing any digging or analysis on his BS. His recent rants being examples.
This site has many examples yet look at the msm and it’s a wasteland of celebrity, sport and human interest pieces in between careful messaging on behalf of national.
Mr and mrs soper appear to be very busy along with the usual sycophants like trevitt and the suck up brothers Henry/Hoskins.
This was a particularly stupid comment even by Key’s standards. Very odd-there is a consistent pattern now that he just can’t be bothered; that the media “will swallow anything I say”. So he tells the media there are still lots of cheap houses in Auckland, where on Planet Key this is under $500k, and it’s not really true anyway. He just can’t come to terms with the housing crisis that National has created.
If Little had said this the MSM would have hit him with a tonne of bricks.
I notice in the Herald today 14.2% of sales in Auckland last month were below $500k. Assuming almost all of these were in the $400-500k bracket that means there are sod-all affordable houses around. Is a house at $350k really affordable to a wide range of society? Not in my book.
A cruel and selfish nation.
Mike Hosking.
A narcissist, who comments on a housing crisis while driving around the leafy suburbs in a Maserati.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/housing-crisis-driven-more-emotion-than-fact
‘Shoeless and limping to school.’
But that’s ok…..John Key and Mike Hosking says there isn’t a housing or homeless crisis in New Zealand. We should just pull up our tinted windows in our SUVs and pay them money to disappear.
Godzone has morphed into Randistan and narcissist psychopaths are shredding this country.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/80649213/Nelson-boy-came-to-school-shoeless-and-limping-Child-Poverty-Action-Group-told
@ Paul, While I like the theme of how bad John Key has made this country – I have to say that I am optimistic that people are still kind and caring and generous. Not Hoskings obviously, but have a look at the Te Puea Marae and people have donated over $7000 already, when Campbell Live was on people always gave generously.
There is a lot of hope and worldwide things are changing. Just caring by posting is changing the discourses….
Paul I do like your constant repetition of the line “cruel and selfish” in its various guises.
It does describe our society to a considerable extent, brought on and/or cemented in place by the arrival of the neoliberal paradigm in the 1980’s which had as its base premise “self-interest”.
It is a very sad indictment.
But it is true.
People today are outwardly more selfish, cruel, nasty, greedy and less caring..
But inwardly people will be the same – with the other characteristics of humanity that are more caring and sharing, more social (we are the most social of creatures and absolutely not a bunch of individuals – what a stupid idea), more with a view to what we leave for our mokopuna… those characteristics are there for sure …..
….. they are just hidden under the ugly morass of greedy neoliberalism, but they will sprout and flower again..
Maybe you should try staying in bed. Every morning is the same, try seeing the glass half full for a change. Who cares what Mike Hosking thinks? He makes a living out of people like you giving him oxygen. Lighten up a bit, it’s a lovely day.
Hosking says 800 under $500k in Auckland.
Spinoff says 65. (Of which some are a long way out of Auckland and some are on lease land.)
Who should I believe? Key/Hoskings or Spinoff?
Key knows that he can toss off his remarks with immunity. How many voters would go and actually look? And why quibble about the exact number of houses?
A cunning plan Baldrick!
Take out the leases. Remember the woman who had her lease in Cornwall park go up to $40,000 per year or something. She then had to go to court about it when she couldn’t pay and had to abandon the property etc etc.
Also take out the apartments with Body Corps as the same thing can happen. They decide you need a big long term fund, replace the roof, new swimming pool or what have you and low and behold, legally you have to make the extra payments.
I’m constantly bemused by the inability of the media at large to use a search engine, especially the Trademe one. Some of these people who quote Trademe are really too stupid for words.
All Hoskings had to do was sort his search results in order of highest price to lowest and he would have discovered that the Trademe search engine is a little less than truthful. But no, he instead makes a dick of himself.
“A narcissist, who comments on a housing crisis while driving around the leafy suburbs in a Maserati”
Paul your idol Mike sold his Maserati in 2014. Do try to keep up old boy.
well. that changes things no end
On TradeMe no doubt.
Shame though because I’ve been told that a Maserati makes for excellent night accommodation for homeless people.
Severely tortured Guantánamo detainee makes case for freedom at board hearing
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/02/guantanamo-bay-hearing-mohamedou-slahi-diary
Clinton and Trump “Neck and Neck in the polls”
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/22/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-polls/
How could this disaster happen?
Will the conservative Democratic Super-Delegates hand the presidency to Donald Trump by nominating second runner (to Sanders) Clinton as their nominee?
Will the Democratic Convention of 2016 be a repeat of the Democratic Convention of 1968?
Where the convention handed the US presidency to Nixon by choosing an unpopular pro-Vietnam war candidate Hubert Humphrey, over and anti-Vietnam war candidate Eugene McCarthy?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention
President trump will save us all by killing everyone.
If I was a democrat I’d be ditching Clinton
I read this op-ed by Thomas Friedman this morning (02/06/2016) in the Tampa Bay Times (I’m stuck in Florida for the next several months, ugh)
Friedman has given Clinton one of the greatest weak tea endorsements I’ve seen in ages. lol
So Frieddman says “But there is no theory behind his lies, except what will advance him,…”
In my eyes this is what Key does. No particular philosophy, say what the audience want to hear, and respond to problems with pragmatic non solutions to buy time. Key has a smoother delivery though.
“All lying in politics is not created equal”
This, I think, is the crux of the matter. There are things you can lie about with impunity but there are some things you can’t and they don’t always make, logical, sense
Lying never makes logical sense. Believing that it does is probably a sign of psychopathy.
You are right, Trump and Key are very similar. Key is dangerous because he has a team behind him, working the numbers and pushing obstacles out of his way (Campbell Live) and appears pretty ordinary in other ways so you don’t realise what he is capable of (being the IDU chairman seems to mean he is VERY capable), Trump is dangerous because if he gets elected he is likely to have a bad hair day and release all the missiles, maybe just for fun if Merkel doesn’t put lipstick on. He wants people to fear him. It’s kinda like an American Kim Jong Un – in fact Kim Jong Un is one of the few foreign PM’s who have endorsed Trump and called him ‘wise’ while John Key has had a secret meeting with Trump (another endorsement).
Key is not a liar, he’s a bullshitter.
The liar is concerned with that the truth of the statement is believed. Key cares neither what people think nor about the real state of affairs – he says what makes him look good.
https://jdc325.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/why-are-lies-worse-than-bullshit/
The gorilla is a good example – we are supposed to believe that the gorilla engaged Key’s sympathy – but it’s a counterfactual – Key never had to cope with the gorilla, and given the enthusiasm with which he has DOC poisoning kiwi this new ‘animal lover’ identity is empirically unlikely.
Clinton needs Trump for now, i just dont believe that Trump can win, too many republicians will not vote, as trump will set the image of Republicianism. Why are so many prominent party politicians unavailable to back their parties candidate, its obvious they or who they want to run in the future would be worse off with Trump.
But in many ways they have their selves to blame, they thought they could go right against Clinton, and they’d win, till Trump beat off weak spineless out of touch wanabees.
Last week I queried the Meth Contamination thresholds in houses. Turns out that this could be this year’s biggest scam and there is shitloads of candidates for that title.
The “testing ” is being done by real estate agents, and to top it off there is no official threshold, that is being establish by, you quested it, the people doing the testing.
Who would have thought that real estate agents could be dishonest.
What I want 3’s Story to follow up on is how many ” contaminated” houses have been bought by agents or their proxies for a huge discount.
My understanding is that that there is no legislation, there are no ‘standards’, regulations, policies, procedures or protocols covering the testing for alleged “P” contamination of houses, owned by either the private sector or the State.
So – how exactly is it being decided that houses ARE ‘contaminated’ with “P”?
Who decides that – based on what?
Next question – WHO contaminated the house with “P”?
How convenient for the impression to be created that there are empty State houses because State tenants contaminated them with “P”?
I have a comprehensive OIA request on the issue of “P” contamination of State houses currently lodged with Housing Minister Nick Smith and am awaiting with interest the official response to my questions.
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
I think the question you should be asking is not who conducts tests, but looking at the tests themselves, how many, how good is each product, are the testers trained, are they aware of cross contamination, rental property managers could be cross contaminating tons of places just inspecting renters.
Due to this their will be a regulation, tests will eventually become compulsory on all sales and the few agencies with certification to do it will be owned by tories and raking in truckloads off kiwis in testing costs.
P. I like the Indonesian laws on this, a bullets cheaper.
Good point Adrian!!! Now there is some cottage industry of people going around finding everything is P contaminated and the property is unliveable. Another reason to sell off the state houses and to blame the tenants.
Not to mention the windfalls for real estate agents and property investors.
From what I have read, both here and on Public Address, the meth-testing business should send a shiver down everyone’s spine. For one thing, if there is no threshold, those accused are left with no grounds for defending themselves – you cannot challenge a false positive if there is no standard determining the positive in the first place. For another, according to Russell Brown, scientists have said that meth manufacture poses a serious health risk, but meth having been smoked in a house generally does not. http://publicaddress.net/hardnews/this-is-crazy/ Moreover, minor contamination could just as easily come from a tradesman who fixed the toilet, or a relative sneaking off to the laundry at an after-wedding party, etc – there could even be a cooking ingredient that registers a blip on whatever it is they use for “testing”. If what I have read about it is even half true, it shows a frighteningly cavalier attitude to human rights, rule of law, and sober-minded governance.
There is a guideline actually. Ministry of Health say that it is .5mg per 100mg.
However, this guideline relies on a “per room” method of testing in which up to 8 swabs are taken in a different area of each room. So for a 3 bedroom house, you’re looking at around 50 swabs.
This is a fairly expensive method.
What the meth tests companies do instead, is use ONE swab, and rub it over 8 different locations throughout the house and come up with a ‘composite test’
This is incredibly misleading as some of the ingredients in P are also found in common household brands of flyspray.
Housing NZ have a policy that any meth contamination is too much contamination.
A lot of their houses have been found to only have .05mg or less, per 100mg of contamination.
That apparently, is enough to prove P use. Despite the fact it likely isn’t.
So to summarise.
MoH say .5mg per 100mg is a level at which a house is safe to live in. Anything above it is likely to have been a p lab.
However,the guidelines recommend 8 swabs per room.
P testing companies routinely report contamination levels of .05mg/100mg and under. That is, 10 times less contamination than the MOH recommends.
This is often arrived at by using one swab across 8 areas of the house.
Likely that the ‘composite’ test inflates the true figure of potential contamination, and could easily be picking up flyspray residue.
If any level whatsoever counts against the tenant, and the testing method is open to producing a positive from fly spray, then the ‘guideline’ functions as little more than a fig leaf for expedience. And of course, the zero tolerance stance allows for an “honest mistake” claim to be made should a serious challenge arise. Hardly a recipe for political or social trust.
“There is a guideline actually. Ministry of Health say that it is .5mg per 100mg.”
thats for lab contamination – which has a different set of chemicals and residues
(as far as im aware)
this is where much of the problem arises – guidelines for one set of chemicals being used for a different situation than they cover
Toluene which is used in meth production is also in nail varnish and particularily in remover and in all sorts of cleaner including carpets etc”
I,m sure this is a scam using bad science and fear mongering to scam the house trading industry.
Hi adrian, I agree, a scam run by the sorts of people who do workplace ‘drug testing’.
Very interesting point. It’s hard to get ANY reliable information on the subject of testing, reliability, acceptable levels of meth, who gets to decide that suspicion is permitted to be cast onto whatever property. Finally found a little something, sorry if you all have already seen it: http://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2016/03/24/meth-contaminated-homes-whats-the-risk-expert-reaction/
“The Ministry of Health currently recommends that surface wipes for methamphetamine not exceed a concentration of 0.5 μg/100 cm2 as the acceptable post-remediation re-occupancy level for a dwelling that has been used as a clan meth lab”. Based on US guidelines (suggestions). Ok. Note that 0.5 micrograms (μg or ug) means 0.0005 mg.
This does not differentiate from potential residue left by end-users, who can be quite different to the ‘cooks’ or producers (in my ignorant opinion, I don’t believe that that every P user makes their own?)
They also make no mention of the type of meth molecule being tested for. Illicit methamphetamine is characterised by its stereochemistry, dictated by the choice of precursor used. All manufacturing methods starting from l-ephedrine or d-pseudoephedrine produce (d) (+)-(S)-methamphetamine as the single optical isomer. Methods using P2P (phenyl-2-nitropropene to phenylacetone) results in a racemic mixture (both l- and d- isomers) of methamphetamine.
A well-used example: L-methamphetamine (“l” form/isomer) is available over-the-counter as the active ingredient of decongestant inhalers like the popular Vick’s brand. It is a metabolite of certain prescription medications. Both “d” and “l” test positive by both immunoassay and most GC/MS assays.1
Meth is meth but I would expect a positive result to be further investigated to determine if the meth COULD have originated from a completely legit source.
https://www.hitpages.com/doc/5766999321870336/2#pageTop is one link.
Not much indication that testing for other chemicals involved in illicit manufacture is actually REQUIRED, which one might expect? Seems the Guidelines (suggestions) only suggest that these other chemicals be tested for. To my small brain this would go some way in determining the source of the detected ‘meth’ (i.e. clan lab vs. end user)
I’d like to see some basic NZ-based research. I’d like to at least see a random selection of houses/dwellings ‘tested for meth’. Or even just the McMansions, that would be entertaining.
How do they prove that the current tenant/occupier/owner was ACTUALLY involved in cooking? Or even an end-user? Some of this is really not right. To say the least.
Meanwhile the privatisation of the State Housing stock proceeds at pace.
http://www.converge.org.nz/watchdog/39/07.html
Here in Papakura a corner block of state houses in Rosehill were demolished on grounds of P contamination.
And P Contamination is one of the reasons given why another 25-50 State Houses in this suburb of high housing need are kept empty.
It is distressing to read that such grounds for demolition and removal of State Housing stock from the rental market on grounds of P Contamination is a subjective matter.
Especially when our local Bruce Pulman Park has been in the news for the large number of homeless who camp here.
(Bruce Pulman Park even featured in the news of John Key’s latest lies)
PM’s remarks, “untrue” say Salvation Army
John Key says his comments that some of the homeless sleeping in cars in Bruce Pulman Park didn’t want to be housed, were made on the information supplied to him by his officials.
If the government at the highest level can blatantly lie about fictional visits to the homeless in Bruce Pulman Park, – With no proper sound scientific basis for making such decisions, who can trust that these same zealous officials are not exaggerating the nature and the extent of the P contamination of State Houses in Papakura to help carry out the government’s stated privatisation program of the State Housing asset?
Base on the evidence, let me correct the above statement;
The MSD has said it has become aware of the group and is now lying hard to prevent them getting the help they need.
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/half-the-homes-vacant-in-papakura-are-not-fit-to-rent-to-families-sleeping-in-cars/
What the ZB report blatantly leaves out or doesn’t make clear is what kind of homes are being built to replace the demolished State Houses.
On past experience, most of them (or even just the land) will be sold privately with a few sold/given to private charities to run as so called “Social Housing”.
The National Government’s “Social Housing” program, with it’s stated concentration on providing affordable houses for private sale, as well as to private charities, has had very mixed results. While it can be argued that the Social Housing program has provided relief for those on middle incomes unable to buy in an overpriced housing market. (and some relief for those at the very bottom reliant on private charities). Overall it has seen a decline in the number of rentals for people unable to afford to buy, at the so called affordable level ($300,000)
http://www.socialhousing.govt.nz/
Wth, This is actual depressing. Think I need to watch me some Batchelor reruns to get my mind off it…
“Quested”?, should be quessed , is predictive spelling just another pain in the arse?
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump – ‘Presidential’?
SCARY stuff !
http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/trump-university-its-worse-than-you-think?mbid=nl_Copy%20of%20060216%20Cassidy%20Post%20Newsletter%20(1)&CNDID=41877260&spMailingID=9006421&spUserID=MTMyMDA4OTYwNzQzS0&spJobID=940207458&spReportId=OTQwMjA3NDU4S0
“Following the release, earlier this week, of testimony filed in a federal lawsuit against Trump University, the United States is facing a high-stakes social-science experiment.
Will one of the world’s leading democracies elect as its President a businessman who founded and operated a for-profit learning annex that some of its own employees regarded as a giant rip-off, and that the highest legal officer in New York State has described as a classic bait-and-switch scheme? …”
___________________________
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Penny Bright – mayoral candidate….scary stuff !
+1,000.
Luckily the chances of that happening are nil.
Just hope Penny gets more votes than Cameron’s Palino.
Of all of my loathing of Paul Henry being a Tory Scum, he made me famous this morning. Still hate your guts Henry and yes you lost to Georgina Beyer.
Now I would like to make it clear I do not have any issues with transgender people at all. I said it that way, because I imagine to a TORY SCUMBAG like Paul Henry, the dent in his TORY pride from losing to an LBGT of all opposition to him, must really irritate him hence he attacks the left every opportunity to exact his pathetic revenge and dislike..
Since I cannot battle his Tory point of view, to make my sad little life better, I thought i’d make his day in Keys paradise a reminder of what a loser National prospect he was.
So to Any TG people reading, no offence meant and thank you for allowing/hopefully not crucifying me to use Georgina B to rub salt in Henrys wounds.
Cracked up when he said Richard, I don’t think he’s a fan.. Never thought he’d actually read it out.
I don’t agree with using a group, that has suffered so much in society, as a weapon against a dickhead. No one wins, everyone loses.
I just woke up, turned on to see Henry spouting all homeless don’t want help and painting the National line.
I remembered someone posting here yesterday that Henry lost to GB, I didn’t know that till yesterday, I didn’t know Henry had stood for National and I was shocked he’s now on TV3 with full access in the morning to spout his tory beliefs.
I’m Bi-polar and even on meds find things coming out that I realize I should have thought of first before I spoke.
I was wrong, But at the same time I got everyone who watches Paul Henry and didn’t know he’d been a National candidate to know go hold on? is that true?
They may research and now know for a fact what they hear from him has a political purpose!
If in any way one person changes knowing they are being manipulated by the media, i’m sure the LBGT members who support our political point of view will let it slide.
I apologise to anyone who loves to point fingers and pick fault in others, in the belief no one makes mistakes and if they do they should be thoroughly rounded upon. 🙂
no problems richard – this position of mine is consistent with me and honed over a long time – not a personal thing against you or even what you said or did – it is my limits, my lines in the sand – not other people’s whose lines may be and often are in different places. My only point in posting was to say out loud the above so that others see different views and opinions.
With all due respect I’m pretty sure most people would know that Paul Henrys political leanings are on the right, its not really a big surprise
The issue is more about how in a more even contest Paul Henry loses hands down.
Yep Weldon, Chrisite and John Key have put him on this pedestal and got him on TV to push their poison – but ultimately he is deeply unpopular no matter what they do and that is why TV3 ratings have plummeted.
Hes not a good politician that’s for sure but to label him deeply unpopular isn’t quite correct because the ratings for his show have increased:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11496016
http://www.throng.co.nz/2015/09/ratings-paul-henrys-numbers-up/
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1604/S00338/paul-henry-hits-2016-ratings-high-tv3-wins-friday-night.htm
Tried to do it by monthly but its not always easy to find the viewing stats
Thats because TV ratings are as relevant as winning lotto statistically… something like 600 over 4.5 million people. You do the math. Then moderated by the TV companies.
“leanings”?
Nice, gentle, forgiving word, “leanings”.
Bullshit.
With all due respect I’m pretty sure most people would know that Paul Henry’s an unpleasant person and so his political leanings are on the right, its not really a big surprise
Why do you watch the show if Henry is Tory scum, he loves the hate mail it builds his ratings. I can’t really understand why you hate him, most of what he does and says is hilarious with no malice and for effect, people with thin skins simply choose to be offended
So if it is true, and the labour party has only about 5k members – give or take.
Then has the time come to announce their death? With those numbers they look like the Bolsheviks, representing just over 0.1% of the population. National are not much better at something like 0.6% of the population as members – but they at least do politics in the interests of the 0.6%
Is it not well past time that people on the left did what was best for the people rather than let a tired old bunch of professionals and technocrats telling them what is best for them. Because if the third way taught us anything, it was that the professional left is a nasty vicious piece of work.
A whole lot of electorates are up for grabs – take your pick from lazy, to the down right awful Labour MP’s. Mix in those neo-con muppets who have sold working people down the river in the first place.
And a left wing government looks viable.
“So if it is true”. There’s a lot of prognosticating going on here and with Chris Trotter based on an “if”.
What if Trotter were wrong? His guess of 2000 ordinary members spread over 67 electorates means about 30 members per electorate. My electorate is a ‘safe’ National rural provincial seat, yet this number attended this years electorate committee AGM.
Go figure as to the accuracy of Trotter’s claim.
+1
So you are saying the future of the Labour party is more falling membership?
My point, is in a MMP environment, why should the left bow down to any party? Why should labour be uncontested in electorates when it puts forward non-left candidates.
I’d also point out the vaunted labour war chest no longer exists. So left wing people should stand in electorates, because labour does not have the money. Labour still gets list MP’s with it’s party vote.
The hard left could keep voting Mana, and all the best to them, bowing and all.
Missed my point, but OK. Love the irony with Kelvin Davies though.
Adam, I’m saying nothing about what you think I’m saying. I have merely pointed out that Trotter, and therefore you, may (have allowed your feelings for Labour to colour your figures and thinking and ) have constructed an argument based on a premise that has not been substantiated- i.e. Labour has only 2000 members or 6000 if you count affiliates.
I point out your conditional argument. You want now to accord me even more thinking than I have put forward. There is no “so” for you to fly with.
I say Trotter is wrong, in my experience. “So”, it is up to you to justify that figure to allow all the rest of your argument any validity.
BTW, I have been a member for forty plus years. The branch I joined in1974 had 1500 members! Of course, the membership is dropping. It is a phenomenon with many causes, all but one have to do with your major gripe-that Labour is no longer a party of the Left. It’s also no longer 1975. It’s a different world with different working patterns, life styles, media, upbringing, literature, songs, history, education, union membership, TV, films, family structures, social pressures; all of these have impacted, and there are more than I can conjure up quickly and without research, upon why people join political parties in the numbers that they do.
If people fell away from Labour because of their perceptions of how left is Left, then why did the more recent leftish parties- the Alliance, Mana et al.- not grow to bigger percentages? There are more reasons than you allow for.
My point is quite simple really, labour is a political party. It has a small membership, it can’t speak for the left, like I can’t speak for the left. It is not all powerful, and people should make decisions based on what they think is right, not what is good for the labour party. In this case, the myth of labours war chest, and membership base is just that – mythology.
It is beyond time good people stood in electorates against labour. If the party is not connecting, well that’s their issue, not one of the left, and people should get over it. No doubt some people will get upset with that assessment. Or label me loony lefty or what was Ads remark, ‘hard left’ what ever that means – personally I like Christian anarchist.
I know recent, but not the most up to date, figures for both Dunedin South and Dunedin North electorates. I also know the Clutha Southland numbers from when I was candidate there, but those numbers have grown.
Judging from that the true figure of FINANCIAL members is probably under 5,000, but 2,000 is definitely too low an estimate. I would have picked between 4000 and 5000.
If you include non-financial members the number will be over 5,000.
Having said that I am fairly certain that membership numbers have fallen by thousands from when David Cunliffe was Leader, when the financial membership was at least 10K.
That is still substantially less than national party membership.
Also much lower than the historical membership numbers.
But my point is, that labourights no longer have to be tolerated.
Just being a smart arse, but thought something might be said about labour rights and labourites…;-)
Teehee, auto correct I love you…
Obviuosly not much else on in the provinces, why not go watch a good comedy or Greek tragedy, irrespective of your political leanings 😀
Even better, act in a good comedy or tragedy. Drama is a good way to investigate political/social concerns. The last role I had, my character started as a gung ho King and Country soldier and ended by saying, “I went down to the river and threw all my medals into the water.” All sorts of political leanings saw that show- all were affected in some way. Living in the provinces does not necessarily mean we are ‘provincial’!
Good point, love the provinces, 😀
Oh dear, remember the tremendous fuss over Helen Clark’s speeding motorcade?
Well, apparently it happens on almost a daily basis:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11649911
+1 Anne-my thoughts exactly when I read that.
Oh yeah, the good old days are still with us.
I recall a trip from Napier to Gisborne where I was following/chasing a Crown Limo. I figured Parekura Horomia was in the back seat so we had double immunity on the Coast.
In defence of the driver, neither s/he nor I exceeded 150kmh on the run up the East Coast.
I do think that its the Limo drivers who love to speed knowing they are above the law, rather than any Poli’s pulling their ears and screaming “faster, Faster”
Ah yes but Helen was quite happy to throw the driver in front of the bullets even though she was well aware and approving of the speeding
Liar! It had nothing to do with Helen Clark and you know it. The police laid the charges because the driver was one of their own and this has always been the course of action when a police officer is involved in an alleged law breaking incident. The Judge threw the case out and Helen Clark was then able to respond to the case by saying:
” She believed that the judge made the right decision”. Or words to the same effect.
Tell the truth for a change.
Toby Manhire gets it right (as usual) on the Labour/Green pact.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11649618
I liked Kevin Locke’s analysis this morning on Morning Report, especially where he said now the media should report the block vote for polls i.e. Lab/Gr 42% Gnats 46%.
Gnats and nzf 58pc then
Oh dear, with the loss of their great visionary leader who managed to tank tv3, Scout and Rachel Glucina are now on their way out.
A blow for journalism in NZ. 😉
What’s her “new opportunity”? Punching babies in the face and then laughing?
Oh dear!
How sad!
Never mind.
I watched Glucina’s ‘scout’ trash twice. The second time because I couldn’t believe it the first time.
I’m sure TV3 people were proud to be associated with it.(sarc).
How awful can TV get.
Dunno..ask Paddy Gower how low journalism can get? He is incredible . (i.e That is-not credible)
Crikey.
The NZHerald and ZB Radio absolutely laying waste to Gerry Brownlee about failure of progress on the Christchurch rebuild:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11650090
Sample quote:
“If the convention centre was being led by a private company, then the CEO of that company would have been fired a long time ago for failing to deliver on the project.
April 2019 has now been set as the latest operational completion date. That’s frankly disgusting, and Gerry Brownlee needs to front up and stop acting like a 12 year old whenever criticism comes his way.
The report also shows the government initially wanted all negotiations around the convention centre to be finalised before CERA was disestablished. Well that hasn’t happened? So who’s going to take responsibility? Who’s protecting who? And who needs to be fired for failing Christchurch and its business community?”
Not sure when in New Zealand I’ve anything more excoriating of a government Minister, without them being held to account by a Prime Minister.
When the top quintile start getting antsy, that’s when Governments fall.
Bodes well for when national anexs the super city council!!
Of this government, only Key is smart enough about Auckland not to take on responsibility for the entire Council’s functions. Ordinarily I’d expect all his jaw-jawing is simply focusing Auckland Council’s mind in preparation for August.
But is he still so smart? He’s been so cack-handed lately it’s hard to really trust him to manage a proper conversation between Smith and Brownlee on the perils of trying to run/command-and-control/plan/influence either Christchurch or Auckland.
There just doesn’t appear to be a real “lessons learned” from Christchurch being applied to Auckland at all. Other than in Treasury.
Which – given these cities’ dominance of New Zealand into the future – strikes me as somewhat fatal for them, and not too good for the rest of us either.
When I think of failed Crown Ministers – Gerry Brownlee, is quite close to the top of my list.
Is Key unable to now to control any ministers? Or hold any to account?
His accountability standards have lowered substantially since the good of days when Craig Heatley stood down for something pretty minor. Pretty hard to raise them back up again in a different government.
Do kiwis really believe that Pharmac is safe from the TPPA? A similar agreement between the US and the EU will put an end to the NHS in the UK according to leaked papers from the EU!!
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/666454/NHS-EU-killed-off-Brexit-Remain-Leave-referendum-Brussels-European-Union
cough – f*scist state – cough
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11649957
“Those in default and living in Australia will come under more scrutiny from next month, when a transtasman information-sharing agreement begins. It will cover contact details of student loan borrowers living in Australia.”
One overseas womans $6000 student loan has ballooned over $30,000. “Will I be arrested at the airport?…how will I pay my mortgage if I’m detained in New Zealand, what will happen to my children in Australia if I’m detained?”
Cue responses from all those who never fucked up in their lives …3-2-1-
What I did do was pay what I owed.
They should.
Even if I agreed that student loans should be paid back or even exist, that’s still a completely different argument to whether people should be arrested because of them.
No no McFlock, the full strength of the state MUST be used for naughty loan defaulters, “respect my athoritah!” & all that, like the poor children of poor familes they should just “jump back up your mother”, which came first the horse or the cart etc…
“that’s still a completely different argument to whether people should be arrested because of them” – thank you, more succinct than mine.
BUT the killer is the penalty and interest.
We’ll pay it off quickly and don’t incur penalty or interest, by far the majority of non payers are just taking the piss of people who paid thier loans and tax payers who fund the loans who both are in exactly the same financial circumstances as the free loaders
We’ll pay it off quickly and don’t incur penalty or interest
Jeez why didn’t I think of that.
No taking the piss is getting a free education that takes you to top jobs ,then fucking over the kids of your peers
Why?
When someone loans someone money that person is taking the risk that they’re not going to get it back. We even have laws allowing for this to happen through bankruptcy (And a student, once they get through their course, is essentially bankrupt) and No Asset Procedure. Of course, the government has excused itself from those laws.
So, we have rich people defaulting willy nilly on loans and other responsibilities while poor people get the boot put into them by the government in its persona of Loan Shark.
the scary thing?
This is just the very end of the tip of this type of horrendous exploitation and offending – the great mass of it is hidden – behind respectable facades and benign exteriors…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/80691436/christchurch-union-organiser-pleads-guilty-to-child-porn-charges
And you know what? I don’t give a flying fuck if institutions are hurt by this, if movements are hurt – I deal with people who are the children grown from this shit and they are struggling to find reasons to exist and live. Fuck you exploiter.
Which union?
What difference?
The National Distribution Union
Remember kids, floss before bong!
Pot-Smokers Harm Gums; Other Physical Effects Slight
Long-term study finds no differences in metabolism, lung function, inflammation
Durham, NC – A long-term study of nearly 1,000 New Zealanders from birth to age 38 has found that people who smoked marijuana for up to 20 years have more gum disease, but otherwise do not show worse physical health than non-smokers.
The international research team assessed a dozen measures of physical health, including lung function, systemic inflammation and several measures of metabolic syndrome, including waist circumference, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, glucose control and body mass index.
Tobacco users in the study, which appears online the week of June 1 in JAMA Psychiatry, were found to have gum disease as well as reduced lung function, systemic inflammation and indicators of poorer metabolic health.
“We can see the physical health effects of tobacco smoking in this study, but we don’t see similar effects for cannabis smoking,” said Madeline Meier, an assistant professor of psychology at Arizona State University who conducted the study with colleagues at Duke University, King’s College in the UK and the University of Otago in New Zealand.
https://today.duke.edu/2016/05/cannhealth
The Sallies call out Key.
Key makes a claim, the Sallies say, that’s a lie, John.
Goodness!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80725620/salvation-army-msd-homeless-visits-didnt-happen-and-the-pms-wrong
Why am I not surprised?
Mind you, that the Salvation Army so publicly flat stick contradicts and criticises the PM’s public pronouncements – maybe that surprises me a little.
I’m not too surprised. I think most social service agencies would not be too keen on the Prime Minister or any state official so grossly misrepresenting what they do to the public. Or lying about it.
That article is great.
Director Salvation Army social policy and parliamentary unit director Ian Hutson said it was important the “miscommunication” between his organisation and MSD was corrected in the public eye.
The Prime Minister and the Minister for Social Housing Paula Bennett have been contacted for comment.
MSD said addressed any queries on the incorrect statements to the Minister.
It was continuing to “offer a community presence” in Auckland so people without a place to stay could get their help.
Sallies calling the PM a liar.
The MSD passing the buck to the Minister.
The MSD admitting that it basically either doesn’t know what to do or isn’t allowed to do it’s job. And that people don’t trust them any more.
Interesting position from the SA about not approaching people in cars too. FFS can you imagine having someone from the MSD knock on your window.
It shouldn’t Bill, the relationship between the government and The Salvation Army has be deteriorating for sometime. The Salvation Army are rightly upset they are being left to carry the load – time after time after time.
Maybe the latest John Key-ism was one step too far for them.
Well! It seems that the Clinton campaign has deliberately been mis-leading us all about the Super-delegates. They are NOT to be counted until the Convention in July. They change their minds. All is not yet lost for Bernie!
“Not on a hot mic or during a commercial break, but live on the air, Luis Miranda, (communications director for the Democratic National Committee) in no uncertain terms, told Jake Tapper that the media should not be including them. Miranda said, “One of the problems is the way the media reports them. Any night that you have a primary or caucus, and the media lumps the Superdelegates in, that they basically polled by calling them up and saying who are you supporting, they don’t vote until the convention, and so they shouldn’t be included in any count.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election/king-clinton-media-counting-superdelegates-dnc-pleas-article-1.2655752?cid=bitly
Clever foxes get climate change…Do you? 😈
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/02/foxes-blamed-chewing-motorists-brake-cables
WINZ tells man with cancer to get a job.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/80593373/cancer-sufferer-pleas-for-benefit-break
Stay classy, National.
FFS!
Another day has passed in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring ,nasty and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
It’s predicted to be 5 degrees in Auckland tonight.
3 degrees in Christchurch.
Cold if you’re in a car.
Cold if you’re in a garage.
Cold if you’re on the street.
Thanks Paul you should be a weather girl 😀, I was going to say metrologist but to much of a stretch
Laughing at other peoples misery, classy Red, you are all class.
We all laugh at Pauls misery. He wallows in negativity.
Not the only one naki- that is a very negative statement!!!!
Exactly
Pull up the tinted window.
If you open the Curtians and let reality in its a deal
Your comment only reinforces the point I made about NZ becoming cruel, nasty and uncaring.
About one in every 100 New Zealanders don’t have a home to call their own, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of Otago found that in 2013, more than 41,000 people were staying in severely crowded houses with family or friends, or in boarding houses, camping grounds, in cars or on the street.
Less than 1 pc of pop, of that most will be random, ie there will a percentage as such no matter what you do, you can’t ignore it but don’t pimp it either or extrapolate to Paul’s and little angry andy absurdity that the county going to hell in a hand cart, which it is plainly not, cheer up son
I think Paul’s one of those hair shirt wearing Christians.
Never happy unless they’re miserable.
coreection BM every one else has to be miserable as well,for the Paul to achieve peak happiness, hence socialism
A mean spirited point made by a citizen of Randistan.
Yes Paul, keep on parroting your manic moronic lines if it helps with the therapy
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring ,nasty and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
You have proved my point.
Just watched some of Duncan Garner’s whateverit’scalled show with shriekers shouting about the Labout-Greens memorandum of understanding and Garner desperately trying to sound like Hosking while his guests try equally desperately, but unsuccessfully to sound important. No idea who they are or why they are on TV…Awful bias TV much like the insincere fools on ‘Fox News’ attacking Obama and democrats at any cost.
Oh for some real panel discussions on the issues of the day with someone of intellect.