Joe Biden’s message is a blatant push for NZ to sign TPPA.
“New Zealand has never been a more “consequential” partner of the United States than now, says US vice-president Joe Biden in a video recording to mark a US Independence Day celebration in Wellington tonight hosted by US ambassador Mark Gilbert.
Mr Biden made a special mention of the work the two countries are doing to get the Trans Pacific Partnership deal among 12 countries completed.
“Our nations, the United States and New Zealand and our people have always been bound together by the common commitment to a more democratic, open and prosperous and secure world,” he said “and as we continue our nation’s rebalance strategy in the Asia Pacific region, partners like New Zealand have never been more consequential.
“Nowhere is that more clear than in the remarkable progress we have made together in the Trans Pacific Partnership.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11474848
“consequential” – as in consequential threats of suing NZ by large multicorporations under the Investor State Dispute Settlement part of the TPPA?
“more democratic”: like people only being able to make submissions AFTER the TPPA is signed and only at the discretion of the select committee in the 15 days before Cabinet can sign it off is more democratic??. http://itsourfuture.org.nz/explanation-of-nzs-treaty-making-process/
“open” – as in the proposed TPPA text being available to the public and not just the interested multicorporations and to be kept secret for 4 years after signing???
“prosperous” – as in the nonexistent cost benefit analysis of TPPA for NZ?
“secure world” – as exemplified by Iraq where the current situations resulting from .US foreign policy.
“• The Herald columnist, Rachel Glucina, had misrepresented as PR rather than newsgathering the basis on which she was conducting the interview that led to the article (subterfuge).
• The columnist’s and her brother’s connections with the cafe owners and the columnist’s connection with John Key were not disclosed (conflict of interest).”
I have just one follow up question about this: did the herald specifically send Glucina to cover this story because of her affiliation with the PM? Because if so, that makes Glucinas’ bosses as implicit in this complete f*** up of a piece of ‘journalism.’
At the end of the day, once Glucina found out the facts behind this story, she should have handed it off to a co-worker that didn’t have a conflict of interest. That would have been the professional and non-deceitful thing to do…
“…she should have handed it off to a co-worker that didn’t have a conflict of interest…”
That would still have been conflict of interest. Parsing a string of facts automatically includes bias of the person arranging the information. So unless she gave a string of facts to the “disinterested collegue”:
Couch
House parnell
27 year old woman
man
talk
etc etc…
It would be the same story. She could only have said to someone not working for the Herald, “Hey look over there, that’s a story!” The editor of the Herald immediately saw the problem and tried to cover it up, in real time, what was it… four times?
If the judgement (is accurately descibed and) says the employers were the Herald intermediary…
“• Said the Herald had spoken to the cafe owners in the early evening and while they said they had thought the article was for all media, they “were comfortable with the fact that they would appear in the paper the following day”. They were and remained the Herald’s intermediary with Ms Bailey, and were supplied with their (and her) quotes so that all could see what would be published the next day.
Then the timeline of events means The Herald knew what Glucina was about to do before she did it. All the problem was, was that they weren’t smart enough to present the story without breaking rules of good journalism.
It doesn’t much matter though. The horse has bolted. And if, say, your job at Gilmours is about to end for good in a few weeks, not only will you not give a shit about the finer points of journo-crapping, you already know how people with power lie. And nothing will save the reputation of the Herald now. People who read it by choice are too far gone to hear any sense.
From a quick review of the ruling it appears to me that the Press council have shamelessly protected their own apart from a token acceptance that there was a breach of principle 10 all other complaints haven’t been upheld, disgraceful.
Yep, if you read the “discussion of conflict of interest”, so much was left out, it’s like they say, “We accept there is a foul odour in the room resembling shit, however we do not accept that we are ignoring a large turd somewhere nearby.” They simply shrug their shoulders and say, “There’s no way of knowing what was said by who to whom.” Quite the “investigation”.
Never mind Nigel. Serco is different in NZ. Our immensely competent Ministers would never enter into any dodgy contracts with Serco. Trust them? Sure can! Huh!
The article burbles a bit about how a Google executive is a mother AND won an award a Viaduct ceremony last night, in its usual patronising manner. Most wouldn’t even know her name – even after reading the article.
But, hey, the supreme award was won by some woman called Helen Clark. “Kea chief executive Craig Donaldson labelled her a “remarkable and inspiring Kiwi” who was making her mark on the global stage while maintaining close links to home.”
I’m sure the editors had wished that there was some instantly recognisable name to headline that article…. oh, how disappointing for them…
Thanks for the Guardian link Nigel, great read. After 2 months on and off in England The Guardian was such a breath of fresh air each morning especially after the pap that passes for journalism here. If only…….
————————————————————————————–
The trouble started in the spring. A young civil servant, a fast-streamer in the Ministry of Justice, noticed strange numbers in the documents submitted by Serco and G4S (another large outsourcing company) as the firms prepared to renew two electronic tagging contracts that they held with the British government. Since 2005, the two companies had earned around £700m from monitoring thousands of criminals, suspects and recently released convicts via tracking devices attached to their ankles – a practice introduced by the Home Office to reduce prison costs in 1999. But according to the junior civil servant, whose findings were initially dismissed, they were overcharging the state.
The paperwork that embodies government outsourcing, the physical contracts themselves, tells you a lot about how vexatious the whole business is. Capturing exactly what the state wants done on its behalf – the running of a railway system, the rehabilitation of prisoners – can produce dizzying piles of paper for even mundane tasks. The government chivvies its contractors to do a thousand things correctly. Private companies seek to minimise their risks, and ensure a quiet profit at the end of the day. Everyone covers their arse furiously. The documents that emerge are hundreds of pages long, dense with KPIs (key performance indicators) and SLAs (service level agreements) and kept secret from the customers – us, the public – whom they are supposed to benefit. Once they are signed, they are rarely looked at again.
For the tagging contracts, it was decided that it was up to the crown, and not G4S or Serco, to decide when individuals should be fitted with a tag. This made sense, but it gave rise to an aberration. The companies came to regard monitoring cases as open or closed on the basis of letters they received from the courts and prisons, rather than anything to do with the physical fitting or taking off of tags. They billed the state until they had a document telling them not to, even if the subjects had died, disappeared or were no longer wearing a tag. G4S’s computers were set to continue billing to 2020; Serco’s to the year 3000.
A very sad accident in Ashburton?
“A mother and three children may have died from the fumes of a car left running in the garage to keep the battery “ticking over”.
I saw and heard the Fire Command Centre truck go screaming past at 4.30 yesterday and have been following this as information emerged. Truly sad 🙁
Last night’s coverage by TV3 was appalling presenting a rumour as fact. I thought Stuff and TVNZ were more cautious in their reporting. This is sad enough without sections of the media making things up or speculating out loud.
All employers are just as bad as each other and they’re all bad for society. This is why I suggest we move to a full cooperative business model. Get rid of the employers.
Speak for yourself – my current employer is great.
But Draco, if you want to start a co-op work-place you have every right to start one. Make sure you don’t do it at an orchard though – because orchard workers are stupid and pig ignorant.
Oh, I’m sure that a co-op of teenagers would do wonders working an orchard. Great short term learning experience for them. But you’re right – it would be stupid for me, or anybody my age, to be an orchard worker as it would be a waste of the education and experience I have. That would be in the general nature of a 40+ year old person doing basic manual labour.
BTW, that guy isn’t pig ignorant because he’s an orchard worker but because he obviously hasn’t educated himself beyond what he learned at high school and indications are that he failed that as well.
Because it’s not just picking and thinning. You’d be amazed at how much folk need to know about the life cycle of fungi, hazmat handling, bureaucratic processes, and so on.
And then of course when I had a short stint thinning fruit in an orchard, I also had the impulse in the off-time to read plato (sort of the flipside of now where I sit on my arse all day using my brain on abstractions, so tend to have more physical and creative hobbies of an evening, TS notwithstanding).
I’m not saying the guy is an autodidactic polymath, but I suspect that his role on the orchard involves more knowledge and creativity in a wider range of subjects than being a corporate-trained lower-middle manager.
The father of that kid who got suspended for making that speech about teachers. DTB has a bee in his bonnet that orchard workers over 30 must be idiots, or something.
Meh – whatever. It was totally the most important story of the day to get the details right on. /sarc
As for mentioning the thirties, that’s true: you referred to it as “doing the job of someone in their teens”, so anyone working in an orchard in their twenties is also “pretty much” stupid from the world-weary perspective of some dude who was a manager at mcdonalds once or something. /sarc
But then nothing ever changes in six months in an orchard, spring is the same as summer and autumn is the same as winter. /sarc
By the way, I made sure to tag each paragraph as sarcastic, just so the sarcasm didn’t slip passed your piercing analytical skills on this issue. /sarc
So, I take it that you choose it as a lifetime career then? Just as I wouldn’t and I expect nobody else to either and for the same reasons: 1) You’d get bored in six months because nothing ever changes and 2) It’s physically damaging to you and thus likely significantly decreasing your enjoyment of later life.
Funnily enough, I was sort of shit at it. Either thinned too much so the branch was in danger of dying, or too little so it was in danger of breaking and would produce substandard fruit. But the workplace was absolutely beautiful.
The workers who weren’t seasonals (students or holidayists on the piss at night) did actually know their shit. Latin names and everything, if that sort of thing rocks your world.
But then the fact that you claim nothing ever changes inside six months in an orchard strongly suggests you have no fucking idea.
“But then the fact that you claim nothing ever changes inside six months in an orchard strongly suggests you have no fucking idea.”
Of course Draco has an idea, his crowning achievement is managing a McD’s once. Which for some reason makes him think he can insult others for being orchard workers.
bored in 6 months and physically damaging? – being an orchard worker is not like sitting in an unnatural position at a desk for hours under artificial light sucking in air conditioned exhales doing ‘work’ that bores in 1 month and mentally and physically damages many, but each to their own. We will need many orchard workers not too far in the future.
No, it’s like working your body unnaturally in unnatural positions and carrying unnatural weights which over stresses your body causing an early death.
The other side of the argument is that increasing the age of retirement will cause significant hardship to the working class. And I agree with this argument completely. My father was a boilermaker by trade. He is aged 76 and although his health is reasonably good he is the only person of his graduation class to still be alive. The rest of them died years ago, their bodies having given up after a lifetime of hard physical work.
Yeah, I figure that still doing manual work after your 40 is probably a bad idea.
Draco, I think you are way off base here. I have a friend in her 30s who loves orchard work. She’s fairly high up the chain now because she’s learned the skills to get the better job, but because it’s a small orchard that means lots of manual labour. This is skilled, knowledgeable work. There are other things she might choose to do for the long term if she lived somewhere else but this is the good job that is available to her where she lives and she lives there out of choice i.e. she’s not going to move somewhere else to chase a career.
I’ve also known older people who do seasonal orcharding work because it means they can work when they want and have long periods of time in the year when they don’t have to work. When I did some fruit picking when I was 20, the work was paid by how much you picked and it was the older people who made the most money by a long shot. Experience and wisdom outstripped young bodies.
I wouldn’t generalise from all that. There are people whose bodies get wrecked, and there are people who find the work boring. But you can’t generalise it in the way you do either.
Basically you don’t shit about the faimly, the man, the daughter, anything outside what you have read in The Herald yet you feel you are justified in insulting someone based upon their job title and what their daughter said. Basically that makes you a fucking asshole.
“This is why I suggest we move to a full cooperative business model. Get rid of the employers.”
How would that work? I can think of lots of situations where a cooperative model would be good, but also some where it wouldn’t eg a situation where a single person owns a business and employs people on a seasonal basis.
edit, would be interested to know how the orchard one would work too. Is that a cooperatively run team that gets contracted into whatever orchard is needed?
a situation where a single person owns a business and employs people on a seasonal basis.
I don’t think anybody should be able to own a business, not even shares in a business, as it’s little better than outright slavery.
The business would be a separate legal entity that would be run cooperatively by the people who work there. People brought in short term would have an equivalent say in the running of the business.
Has anybody noticed lately how The Listener has been slowly sanitised. We now have a lifestyle magazine filled with leader stories about health, health and more health, food columns, films and movies and other useless fluff. Once it was a great read full of critical analysis and information that was really informative. Jane Clifton’s weekly column was pithy and tongue in cheek about the “goings on” in the house with the two main parties and now all you read about is anything but. The media seems to be giving the government of the day a hell of a wide berth. Mark Sainsbury was filling in for Jane Clifton’s political column in the latest Listener and he burbled on about Colin Craig, NZ First and the Greek crisis. Nothing that could rock the boat.
Now we can have major legislation passed and nobody ever hears anything about it – the MSM offers nothing that is important with their news programmes, the Listener has abdicated its role as well so where do we turn to, to get relevant information which is our right in a democratic country – we may as well have no news and current affairs on at all, as we never hear the important stuff which is going to affect each and every one of us.
Democracy has disappeared in this once lovely country – I am old and feel very worried for the younger generations as they have no experience of our country when citizens could participate in the democratic process, were not kept in ignorance and newspapers did their jobs properly – they will never know how good we once had it – now the ballet box is nothing but a farce.
I stopped reading the Listener quite some years ago (which was a big deal having read it all my life). There was a big change after the 90s (around the time that Gordon Campbell left), when it stopped printing the cutting edge political articles. Much later I realised I was only reading it for the TV pages and reviews and I could access that kind of content online. It’s a magazine for people that like Jim Mora and The Panel 😉 (i.e. it suits people who want their middle class values or prejudices affirmed).
I did notice something recently about the music reviewers leaving because they were being told what to write.
Now we can have major legislation passed and nobody ever hears anything about it – the MSM offers nothing that is important with their news programmes… we may as well have no news and current affairs on at all, as we never hear the important stuff which is going to affect each and every one of us.
Absolutely Barbara. I stopped reading The Listener a long time ago because of the obvious bias and sanitation. In the past couple of months it has been particularly noticeable that the MSM, in all its forms, appear to be avoiding contentious political issues or reporting on them in a weak and non-informative way. And this at a time when we have been confronted by one government initiated scandal after another!
I have also thought about commenting here because my “conspiracy detector” is getting very twitchy. What is going on? Is the MSM being overtly or perhaps covertly threatened in some way? Only yesterday there was talk on this site about the fact a couple of major news outlets in NZ have received “threatening letters” about a certain issue which has links to an arm of government. It does not auger well for the health of our democracy.
Edit: Just noticed weka’s comment: blockquote>I did notice something recently about the music reviewers leaving because they were being told what to write.
This is what I suspect is happening. The journos and reporters are being told what… and what not to say.
One front cover some years back on the trends in interior decorating and I thought Oh no, that’s the finish. Now it appeals to the university trained man, or woman particularly, with conventional middle class concerns about being naice, prosperous and looking stylish and being well informed to match ‘the sort we want to mix with’.
Keep listening and watching what goes on at Radionz. If we don’t watch that continually, we will turn around and find that it has been given up to the trivially minded like the commercial stations. I love RNZs end of the week funny nutty session at 11.45 am but it is good just because it’s not like that all the time.
And who is taking part in the RNZ Talk discussions? Really if you don’t try to be involved in what is good, it won’t stay around and wait for you. If you don’t know how to access it, ask and I’ll explain how I do it. It is a new venture for them, and the more used, the more it will be kept and make Radionz stronger.
A small town has a big vision to close the digital divide and it gets chopped thanks to petty small minded-ness. Wairoa was going to implement town wide free wifi, which would have made internet a public utility and allowed those low incomes to access this service. But the rednecks poured cold water on it.
“The Wairoa branch of Federated Farmers said it was a service which “should be left to the market to determine”.”
I can’t figure out if they mean they approved of the idea, process and it’s subsequent scrapping (because it sounds like “the market” determined it was unwanted), or if they didn’t approve of the idea, or the process and would prefer people pay a private company, individually, for everything (their definition of “the market”). I guess we’ll never know.
Well if it was free irrigation, then FF would be backing it 200%, that’s for sure.
Meanwhile, the left wing Madrid (or is that Barcelona?) mayor announces plan to reverse her predecessor’s act of naming a public square in honour of Margaret Thatcher.
Oh I wish we had hard core progressive left wing local body leaders…
It would be a major step forward if all the government funding going into internet infrastructure was conditional upon all areas and citizens receiving a free wi-fi broadband allowance of up to 1 gig per day.
Providers can then just compete for those who need more than that.
It would be great if all NZer’s had free internet for everyday use.
Would be a great leveler between the haves and the have nots and would create much more equity of opportunity for all.
If I’m not going to hit my limit for the month I quite often take off my security for neighbours to use the excess til the end of the billing month.
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Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other. One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the ...
A poll last August found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law. The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. ...
The solo show from Ana Scotney is both sprawling and intimate, and a must-see, writes Mad Chapman. In the opening moments of Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko, writer and performer Ana Scotney lays out the groundwork, literally. Silently moving around the square stage, Scotney is not so much dancing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University Who makes the words? Why are trees called trees and why are shoes called shoes and who makes the names? – Elliot, age 5, Eltham, Victoria Good question Elliot! Let’s start with ...
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In the case of New Zealand, the results confirm that there is no popular support for the vicious austerity program being imposed by the National Party-led government, which is backed in all fundamental respects by the opposition Labour Party. ...
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Testing of drinking water in rural Canterbury over the weekend by Greenpeace revealed that several public town supplies were reaching levels of nitrate above 5 mg/L - the threshold which a growing body of scientific evidence has linked to increased ...
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Responding to the Government’s announcement of changes to resource management laws, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: “These changes are a step in the right direction in terms of removing ideological and unworkable ...
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We repeat our call for criminal justice policy to be based on evidence, something the three strikes regime neglects to recognise – with no evidence that it either reduces crime or assists with rehabilitation. ...
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Joe Biden’s message is a blatant push for NZ to sign TPPA.
“New Zealand has never been a more “consequential” partner of the United States than now, says US vice-president Joe Biden in a video recording to mark a US Independence Day celebration in Wellington tonight hosted by US ambassador Mark Gilbert.
Mr Biden made a special mention of the work the two countries are doing to get the Trans Pacific Partnership deal among 12 countries completed.
“Our nations, the United States and New Zealand and our people have always been bound together by the common commitment to a more democratic, open and prosperous and secure world,” he said “and as we continue our nation’s rebalance strategy in the Asia Pacific region, partners like New Zealand have never been more consequential.
“Nowhere is that more clear than in the remarkable progress we have made together in the Trans Pacific Partnership.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11474848
“consequential” – as in consequential threats of suing NZ by large multicorporations under the Investor State Dispute Settlement part of the TPPA?
“more democratic”: like people only being able to make submissions AFTER the TPPA is signed and only at the discretion of the select committee in the 15 days before Cabinet can sign it off is more democratic??.
http://itsourfuture.org.nz/explanation-of-nzs-treaty-making-process/
“open” – as in the proposed TPPA text being available to the public and not just the interested multicorporations and to be kept secret for 4 years after signing???
“prosperous” – as in the nonexistent cost benefit analysis of TPPA for NZ?
“secure world” – as exemplified by Iraq where the current situations resulting from .US foreign policy.
The Undercurrent: Forget the TPP, does a secret global court spell the end of democracy?
I see the press council found against the NZ Herald and their atrocious behaviour against Amanda Bailey.
I feel that these points were critical in this judgement: (taken from the herald story http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11475095):
“• The Herald columnist, Rachel Glucina, had misrepresented as PR rather than newsgathering the basis on which she was conducting the interview that led to the article (subterfuge).
• The columnist’s and her brother’s connections with the cafe owners and the columnist’s connection with John Key were not disclosed (conflict of interest).”
I have just one follow up question about this: did the herald specifically send Glucina to cover this story because of her affiliation with the PM? Because if so, that makes Glucinas’ bosses as implicit in this complete f*** up of a piece of ‘journalism.’
At the end of the day, once Glucina found out the facts behind this story, she should have handed it off to a co-worker that didn’t have a conflict of interest. That would have been the professional and non-deceitful thing to do…
http://www.presscouncil.org.nz/display_ruling.php?case_number=2448
“…she should have handed it off to a co-worker that didn’t have a conflict of interest…”
That would still have been conflict of interest. Parsing a string of facts automatically includes bias of the person arranging the information. So unless she gave a string of facts to the “disinterested collegue”:
Couch
House parnell
27 year old woman
man
talk
etc etc…
It would be the same story. She could only have said to someone not working for the Herald, “Hey look over there, that’s a story!” The editor of the Herald immediately saw the problem and tried to cover it up, in real time, what was it… four times?
If the judgement (is accurately descibed and) says the employers were the Herald intermediary…
“• Said the Herald had spoken to the cafe owners in the early evening and while they said they had thought the article was for all media, they “were comfortable with the fact that they would appear in the paper the following day”. They were and remained the Herald’s intermediary with Ms Bailey, and were supplied with their (and her) quotes so that all could see what would be published the next day.
Then the timeline of events means The Herald knew what Glucina was about to do before she did it. All the problem was, was that they weren’t smart enough to present the story without breaking rules of good journalism.
It doesn’t much matter though. The horse has bolted. And if, say, your job at Gilmours is about to end for good in a few weeks, not only will you not give a shit about the finer points of journo-crapping, you already know how people with power lie. And nothing will save the reputation of the Herald now. People who read it by choice are too far gone to hear any sense.
That’s not how I read it.
From a quick review of the ruling it appears to me that the Press council have shamelessly protected their own apart from a token acceptance that there was a breach of principle 10 all other complaints haven’t been upheld, disgraceful.
Yep, if you read the “discussion of conflict of interest”, so much was left out, it’s like they say, “We accept there is a foul odour in the room resembling shit, however we do not accept that we are ignoring a large turd somewhere nearby.” They simply shrug their shoulders and say, “There’s no way of knowing what was said by who to whom.” Quite the “investigation”.
Check this out….lengthy but interesting.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/02/serco-rupert-soames-outsourcing-privatisation
Never mind Nigel. Serco is different in NZ. Our immensely competent Ministers would never enter into any dodgy contracts with Serco. Trust them? Sure can! Huh!
If only we were dogs, it would be so easy to be happy, happy, happeeey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-5r-adQcwE
I only realised The Juliana Hatfield Three had released a “new” album, yesterday. Where have I been hiding?
Herald headlines: Entrepreneur Mum makes flying visit.
The article burbles a bit about how a Google executive is a mother AND won an award a Viaduct ceremony last night, in its usual patronising manner. Most wouldn’t even know her name – even after reading the article.
But, hey, the supreme award was won by some woman called Helen Clark.
“Kea chief executive Craig Donaldson labelled her a “remarkable and inspiring Kiwi” who was making her mark on the global stage while maintaining close links to home.”
I’m sure the editors had wished that there was some instantly recognisable name to headline that article…. oh, how disappointing for them…
Thanks for the Guardian link Nigel, great read. After 2 months on and off in England The Guardian was such a breath of fresh air each morning especially after the pap that passes for journalism here. If only…….
the guardian has an interesting history. you should check out its founding story some time.
Why would our National Government give this company any more money? How many blind trusts hold shares in Serco?
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/02/serco-rupert-soames-outsourcing-privatisation?CMP=fb_gu
————————————————————————————–
The trouble started in the spring. A young civil servant, a fast-streamer in the Ministry of Justice, noticed strange numbers in the documents submitted by Serco and G4S (another large outsourcing company) as the firms prepared to renew two electronic tagging contracts that they held with the British government. Since 2005, the two companies had earned around £700m from monitoring thousands of criminals, suspects and recently released convicts via tracking devices attached to their ankles – a practice introduced by the Home Office to reduce prison costs in 1999. But according to the junior civil servant, whose findings were initially dismissed, they were overcharging the state.
The paperwork that embodies government outsourcing, the physical contracts themselves, tells you a lot about how vexatious the whole business is. Capturing exactly what the state wants done on its behalf – the running of a railway system, the rehabilitation of prisoners – can produce dizzying piles of paper for even mundane tasks. The government chivvies its contractors to do a thousand things correctly. Private companies seek to minimise their risks, and ensure a quiet profit at the end of the day. Everyone covers their arse furiously. The documents that emerge are hundreds of pages long, dense with KPIs (key performance indicators) and SLAs (service level agreements) and kept secret from the customers – us, the public – whom they are supposed to benefit. Once they are signed, they are rarely looked at again.
For the tagging contracts, it was decided that it was up to the crown, and not G4S or Serco, to decide when individuals should be fitted with a tag. This made sense, but it gave rise to an aberration. The companies came to regard monitoring cases as open or closed on the basis of letters they received from the courts and prisons, rather than anything to do with the physical fitting or taking off of tags. They billed the state until they had a document telling them not to, even if the subjects had died, disappeared or were no longer wearing a tag. G4S’s computers were set to continue billing to 2020; Serco’s to the year 3000.
———————————————————————————————————-
.
Ron Marks confirmed as NZ First’s new Deputy.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/69926566/ron-mark-new-nz-first-deputy
A very sad accident in Ashburton?
“A mother and three children may have died from the fumes of a car left running in the garage to keep the battery “ticking over”.
I saw and heard the Fire Command Centre truck go screaming past at 4.30 yesterday and have been following this as information emerged. Truly sad 🙁
Last night’s coverage by TV3 was appalling presenting a rumour as fact. I thought Stuff and TVNZ were more cautious in their reporting. This is sad enough without sections of the media making things up or speculating out loud.
Some views from inside Syriza in Greece about the current situation, the important referendum on austerity on Sunday, etc:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/eyewitness-in-greece-we-need-a-no-vote/
Fonterra showing once again that NZ employers are just as bad as ‘foreign’ ones: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/fonterra-treating-workers-like-cattle/
All employers are just as bad as each other and they’re all bad for society. This is why I suggest we move to a full cooperative business model. Get rid of the employers.
Could not agree more Draco T Bastard.
Speak for yourself – my current employer is great.
But Draco, if you want to start a co-op work-place you have every right to start one. Make sure you don’t do it at an orchard though – because orchard workers are stupid and pig ignorant.
Oh, I’m sure that a co-op of teenagers would do wonders working an orchard. Great short term learning experience for them. But you’re right – it would be stupid for me, or anybody my age, to be an orchard worker as it would be a waste of the education and experience I have. That would be in the general nature of a 40+ year old person doing basic manual labour.
BTW, that guy isn’t pig ignorant because he’s an orchard worker but because he obviously hasn’t educated himself beyond what he learned at high school and indications are that he failed that as well.
Now fuck off troll.
Have you ever worked in an orchard?
Because it’s not just picking and thinning. You’d be amazed at how much folk need to know about the life cycle of fungi, hazmat handling, bureaucratic processes, and so on.
And then of course when I had a short stint thinning fruit in an orchard, I also had the impulse in the off-time to read plato (sort of the flipside of now where I sit on my arse all day using my brain on abstractions, so tend to have more physical and creative hobbies of an evening, TS notwithstanding).
I’m not saying the guy is an autodidactic polymath, but I suspect that his role on the orchard involves more knowledge and creativity in a wider range of subjects than being a corporate-trained lower-middle manager.
what guy are you talking about?
The father of that kid who got suspended for making that speech about teachers. DTB has a bee in his bonnet that orchard workers over 30 must be idiots, or something.
Didn’t you get the memo? The stupid idiot wasn’t suspended.
Oh, and BTW fuckwit, I haven’t mentioned 30s anywhere.
Meh – whatever. It was totally the most important story of the day to get the details right on. /sarc
As for mentioning the thirties, that’s true: you referred to it as “doing the job of someone in their teens”, so anyone working in an orchard in their twenties is also “pretty much” stupid from the world-weary perspective of some dude who was a manager at mcdonalds once or something. /sarc
But then nothing ever changes in six months in an orchard, spring is the same as summer and autumn is the same as winter. /sarc
By the way, I made sure to tag each paragraph as sarcastic, just so the sarcasm didn’t slip passed your piercing analytical skills on this issue. /sarc
So, I take it that you choose it as a lifetime career then? Just as I wouldn’t and I expect nobody else to either and for the same reasons: 1) You’d get bored in six months because nothing ever changes and 2) It’s physically damaging to you and thus likely significantly decreasing your enjoyment of later life.
Funnily enough, I was sort of shit at it. Either thinned too much so the branch was in danger of dying, or too little so it was in danger of breaking and would produce substandard fruit. But the workplace was absolutely beautiful.
The workers who weren’t seasonals (students or holidayists on the piss at night) did actually know their shit. Latin names and everything, if that sort of thing rocks your world.
But then the fact that you claim nothing ever changes inside six months in an orchard strongly suggests you have no fucking idea.
“But then the fact that you claim nothing ever changes inside six months in an orchard strongly suggests you have no fucking idea.”
Of course Draco has an idea, his crowning achievement is managing a McD’s once. Which for some reason makes him think he can insult others for being orchard workers.
bored in 6 months and physically damaging? – being an orchard worker is not like sitting in an unnatural position at a desk for hours under artificial light sucking in air conditioned exhales doing ‘work’ that bores in 1 month and mentally and physically damages many, but each to their own. We will need many orchard workers not too far in the future.
No, it’s like working your body unnaturally in unnatural positions and carrying unnatural weights which over stresses your body causing an early death.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2311955/Manual-work-raise-heart-disease-risk-20-cent-especially-combined-gym-work-outs.html
http://thestandard.org.nz/the-retirement-age-debate/
Quote from that latter link:
Yeah, I figure that still doing manual work after your 40 is probably a bad idea.
Draco, I think you are way off base here. I have a friend in her 30s who loves orchard work. She’s fairly high up the chain now because she’s learned the skills to get the better job, but because it’s a small orchard that means lots of manual labour. This is skilled, knowledgeable work. There are other things she might choose to do for the long term if she lived somewhere else but this is the good job that is available to her where she lives and she lives there out of choice i.e. she’s not going to move somewhere else to chase a career.
I’ve also known older people who do seasonal orcharding work because it means they can work when they want and have long periods of time in the year when they don’t have to work. When I did some fruit picking when I was 20, the work was paid by how much you picked and it was the older people who made the most money by a long shot. Experience and wisdom outstripped young bodies.
I wouldn’t generalise from all that. There are people whose bodies get wrecked, and there are people who find the work boring. But you can’t generalise it in the way you do either.
It’s not just “way off base”. It’s insulting, presumptuous, classless, arrogant and snobbish.
I’m just going to leave this here:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01072015/#comment-1037643
Basically you don’t shit about the faimly, the man, the daughter, anything outside what you have read in The Herald yet you feel you are justified in insulting someone based upon their job title and what their daughter said. Basically that makes you a fucking asshole.
… likely the result of hiring and training practices, and a fundamental knowledge of what exploitation is occurring…
“This is why I suggest we move to a full cooperative business model. Get rid of the employers.”
How would that work? I can think of lots of situations where a cooperative model would be good, but also some where it wouldn’t eg a situation where a single person owns a business and employs people on a seasonal basis.
edit, would be interested to know how the orchard one would work too. Is that a cooperatively run team that gets contracted into whatever orchard is needed?
I don’t think anybody should be able to own a business, not even shares in a business, as it’s little better than outright slavery.
The business would be a separate legal entity that would be run cooperatively by the people who work there. People brought in short term would have an equivalent say in the running of the business.
Is this the real reason why Key is so keen on the stupid flag referendum?
http://www.postmanproductions.org/?p=3153
I don’t know what say – Sad, just really sad. I would not wish this upon any family.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/69932917/adelaide-crows-coach-phil-walsh-found-dead-in-his-home
http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/07/03/09/58/distraught-players-and-fans-pay-tribute-to-afl-coach-phil-walsh
Has anybody noticed lately how The Listener has been slowly sanitised. We now have a lifestyle magazine filled with leader stories about health, health and more health, food columns, films and movies and other useless fluff. Once it was a great read full of critical analysis and information that was really informative. Jane Clifton’s weekly column was pithy and tongue in cheek about the “goings on” in the house with the two main parties and now all you read about is anything but. The media seems to be giving the government of the day a hell of a wide berth. Mark Sainsbury was filling in for Jane Clifton’s political column in the latest Listener and he burbled on about Colin Craig, NZ First and the Greek crisis. Nothing that could rock the boat.
Now we can have major legislation passed and nobody ever hears anything about it – the MSM offers nothing that is important with their news programmes, the Listener has abdicated its role as well so where do we turn to, to get relevant information which is our right in a democratic country – we may as well have no news and current affairs on at all, as we never hear the important stuff which is going to affect each and every one of us.
Democracy has disappeared in this once lovely country – I am old and feel very worried for the younger generations as they have no experience of our country when citizens could participate in the democratic process, were not kept in ignorance and newspapers did their jobs properly – they will never know how good we once had it – now the ballet box is nothing but a farce.
Thanks Barbara what a sad story about our wonderful country.
I stopped reading the Listener quite some years ago (which was a big deal having read it all my life). There was a big change after the 90s (around the time that Gordon Campbell left), when it stopped printing the cutting edge political articles. Much later I realised I was only reading it for the TV pages and reviews and I could access that kind of content online. It’s a magazine for people that like Jim Mora and The Panel 😉 (i.e. it suits people who want their middle class values or prejudices affirmed).
I did notice something recently about the music reviewers leaving because they were being told what to write.
Absolutely Barbara. I stopped reading The Listener a long time ago because of the obvious bias and sanitation. In the past couple of months it has been particularly noticeable that the MSM, in all its forms, appear to be avoiding contentious political issues or reporting on them in a weak and non-informative way. And this at a time when we have been confronted by one government initiated scandal after another!
I have also thought about commenting here because my “conspiracy detector” is getting very twitchy. What is going on? Is the MSM being overtly or perhaps covertly threatened in some way? Only yesterday there was talk on this site about the fact a couple of major news outlets in NZ have received “threatening letters” about a certain issue which has links to an arm of government. It does not auger well for the health of our democracy.
Edit: Just noticed weka’s comment: blockquote>I did notice something recently about the music reviewers leaving because they were being told what to write.
This is what I suspect is happening. The journos and reporters are being told what… and what not to say.
Ran out of time: Edit should read
This is what I suspect is happening. The journos and reporters are being told what… and what not to report.
One front cover some years back on the trends in interior decorating and I thought Oh no, that’s the finish. Now it appeals to the university trained man, or woman particularly, with conventional middle class concerns about being naice, prosperous and looking stylish and being well informed to match ‘the sort we want to mix with’.
Keep listening and watching what goes on at Radionz. If we don’t watch that continually, we will turn around and find that it has been given up to the trivially minded like the commercial stations. I love RNZs end of the week funny nutty session at 11.45 am but it is good just because it’s not like that all the time.
And who is taking part in the RNZ Talk discussions? Really if you don’t try to be involved in what is good, it won’t stay around and wait for you. If you don’t know how to access it, ask and I’ll explain how I do it. It is a new venture for them, and the more used, the more it will be kept and make Radionz stronger.
PROTEST! 4 July Independence from USA / TPPA CORPORATE CONTROL of NZ!
Send US Vice-President Joe Biden back a message he cannot ignore!
US Vice-President Joe Biden has sent an unprecedented
message to New Zealanders
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/69910752/us-vicepresident-joe-biden-sends-nz-an-independence-day-message
Thinking, aware New Zealanders don’t want a BAR of the TPPA and corporate enslavement of our country and our people!
SEIZE THE MOMENT!!
STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!!
NO! NO! NO WAY JOE!
THE TPPA HAS GOT TO GO!
WHEN: Saturday 4 July 2015
TIME: 3 – 5pm
WHERE: Outside US Consulate
23 Customs Street
Auckland City
_______________________________________________
Please come if you care and SHARE this post!
(Forwarded by Penny Bright)
A small town has a big vision to close the digital divide and it gets chopped thanks to petty small minded-ness. Wairoa was going to implement town wide free wifi, which would have made internet a public utility and allowed those low incomes to access this service. But the rednecks poured cold water on it.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=11475216
It goes to show that everytime local government tries to build somehing up, they get hammered.
“The Wairoa branch of Federated Farmers said it was a service which “should be left to the market to determine”.”
I can’t figure out if they mean they approved of the idea, process and it’s subsequent scrapping (because it sounds like “the market” determined it was unwanted), or if they didn’t approve of the idea, or the process and would prefer people pay a private company, individually, for everything (their definition of “the market”). I guess we’ll never know.
Well if it was free irrigation, then FF would be backing it 200%, that’s for sure.
Meanwhile, the left wing Madrid (or is that Barcelona?) mayor announces plan to reverse her predecessor’s act of naming a public square in honour of Margaret Thatcher.
Oh I wish we had hard core progressive left wing local body leaders…
It would be a major step forward if all the government funding going into internet infrastructure was conditional upon all areas and citizens receiving a free wi-fi broadband allowance of up to 1 gig per day.
Providers can then just compete for those who need more than that.
It would be great if all NZer’s had free internet for everyday use.
Would be a great leveler between the haves and the have nots and would create much more equity of opportunity for all.
If I’m not going to hit my limit for the month I quite often take off my security for neighbours to use the excess til the end of the billing month.