Jim Mora reckons Europe might be suffering “compassion overload”;
Is he an appropriate person to make such a remark? The Panel, Radio NZ National, Wednesday 2 September 2015, 4:45 p.m.
Jim Mora, Susan Hornsby-Geluk, Max Ritchie
humbugn.1. the quality of falseness or deception; 2. a person who is not what he or she claims or pretends to be; impostor; 3. a boiled lolly.
All this strife in the Middle East and Africa means that the refugee situation is getting worse. Is the problem that we Europeans and Kiwis are just too darned compassionate? In fact, so compassionate that we are suffering from “compassion overload”?
Well, that’s what Jim Mora thinks might be the trouble…..
MAX RITCHIE: New Zealanders are compassionate, caring people. Ahh, we’ve got, y’know, I was talking earlier on about the nature of New Zealanders, we DO care. But let’s do it properly.
JIM MORA:[deep intake of breath to indicate moral seriousness] I take your point about the, um, humanitarian crises that are ignored, that aren’t to do with Europe. But, ahh, the current flow is surely a humanitarian crisis for all those poor people trying to hop across the razor wire and—
MAX RITCHIE: Of course it is. Of course it is. But we had exactly the same size, ahhhh, last year, the year before, the year before that and the year before that.
JIM MORA: Did we?
MAX RITCHIE: Oooh yeah. This isn’t new, people affected by war, there were people flooding out of countries in Africa ten and twenty years ago, it was just as great as this, but they weren’t going to Europe, that’s the difference.
JIM MORA: I’ll get Professor Al Gillespie’s take on your opinion too, but before I do, Susan what do YOU think?
SUSAN HORNSBY-GELUK: Oh it seems that, um, seven hundred and fifty refugees a year for New Zealand is way too few. I mean, we’ve had that number apparently for so many years that it was, you know, the same when we had, y’know, two million people, so it does need to increase. Whether it needs to increase immediately, well yes, I think there is more a symbolic relevance there than a practical one because I don’t think the people from Europe will make it this far, but I think symbolically everyone needs to be doing their bit.
JIM MORA: Okay. Professor Al Gillespie, an expert on international law from the University of Waikato and pro-vice chancellor of research. Al, good afternoon.
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: Good afternoon, Jim.
JIM MORA: A few things to ask you. First of all, I mean, the point of that texter, how do we line up against other countries? I mean, because China actually does take refugees of a sort, doesn’t it, North Koreans for example.
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: It takes a few North Koreans and it took a few in the Vietnamese war as well. But both China and India, which are the two big powerhouses in the region, are now playing a very political game and not taking many more because they don’t want to upset their neighbors. The difference with China and India is that China signed the 1951 refugee convention but India hasn’t. But with regards to the Middle East, China very much sees this as a problem that the West’s caused and therefore one the West should solve.
JIM MORA: Do you buy that or would, um, [weary exhalation of breath] do you consider it morally reprehensible?
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: I think we need to see it from the point of human suffering. We’ve all got a responsibility here because these people have got no options, no alternative. And there’s a difference here between refugees and migrants. The migrants are just people who are looking for a better economic lifestyle, and there’s no debate that these people should be pushed back to the countries that they came from. But for refugees, they are applying because ultimately someone’s trying to kill them, or because their human rights have been severely degraded.
JIM MORA: I used the word “migrants” on air yesterday—it’s been used a lot by media coverage—and was told off by listeners who said, you know, the people in Hungary are refugees. So what ARE they, in your view?
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: Some are refugees, some are migrants. But it’s not just the ones coming across from the Middle East at the moment. There are also people coming up from North Africa where there IS no conflict in certain parts, or also they’re coming from Kosovo or certain parts of the Balkans, and again these are migrants, not people fleeing for fear of their life.
JIM MORA:[long, deep intake of breath] Is Europe—because Max’s argument is “it was always thus, or it’s been thus for a while”—is Europe suffering compassion overload now? What do you reckon?
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: I think there is a limit to our empathy. He’s partly correct on one point….
I could keep transcribing this, but I just cannot bear it any longer. I am sure that I am not the only listener who was appalled to hear Jim Mora, of all people, chuntering on about “compassion overload”. Over the last ten years, Mora has showed precious little hint of any compassion at all, leave alone “compassion overload”. Just over a year ago he and a couple of sneering National Party pricks, Chris Wikaira and David Farrar, were chuckling at the fate of War Criminals’ Enemy No. 1….
Uh, Julian Assange. The press conference at the Ecuadorian Embassy. He’s leaving, weee-e-e-e-lll, n-n-n-not really, well not right now….And he’s very short of Vitamin D. You’d think there’d be a courtyard where he’d get some sun of an afternoon wouldn’t you. Cos he’s appeared on a balcony before, when he’s made his semi-papal appearances.”
David Farrar seemed to be tickled pink at Mora’s display of sparklingwit, and added his own twist of the knife:
Well he IS very blond! So, ha ha!, maybe he’s not one that can handle the sun too much!”
I’m appalled if this transcript is what passes for insightful commentary. Who is Max Ritchie and why should I pay any attention to what he, or Mr Mora thinks?
But yeah – NZ can ‘do it properly’, to a degree, by doubling the refugee quota – right now!
Compassion overload Pfft. – certainly doesn’t extend to the Prime Minister and his party faithful (I’d love to see someone break rank). Good on the government support parties for not brushing aside the idea of a quota increase.
Climate action tracker: “New Zealand’s proposed 2030 INDC target is not on a direct path towards its 2050 goal, which is, in itself, inadequate.”
See the graphs and full report: http://climateactiontracker.org/countries/newzealand
Yes I agree – Labour are out of line on this. Shows how serving two masters is just not doable. Funny even commenters like draco the bastard want us to keep drilling, keep digging and sucking – got to keep their endofdays lifestyle going I spose and it is so much easier to say “do as I say not as I do”.
you said “and” so don’t try and back out now – be proud of your wish to opencast mine our natural resources – fuck you might even get a knighthood buddy.
You could each say what you actually believe yourselves, might save some time and aggro. Just a thought.
Myself, I don’t think all mining is the same. With deep sea oil drilling, even if we can make a good case for using the oil ourselves for good purpose (eg to transition off FF), and we can justify the emissions of that, there is still the risk issue of where the mining is happening and the impact of ‘accidents’. Accidents which I think are inevitable now given the pressures coming on with Peak Oil.
Mining in National Parks should be completely off limits because those ecosystems are far more important than the finite resource we can extract from them.
Other mining I think is case by case. We should be getting to the point of not taking anything out of the earth except rarely, but all of us, including those very opposed to mining, still use and rely on metals and oil every single day. Some of that use is critical, but much of it is simply because of the lifestyles we are used to. So I don’t think mining is that simple.
“but all of us, including those very opposed to mining, still use and rely on metals and oil every single day. Some of that use is critical, but much of it is simply because of the lifestyles we are used to.”
Isn’t that line of thinking just a cop out for everything – we can’t say don’t do something because our society and us uses the product or by-product – so it is an always perpetuating business as usual.
Oh how can you be a vegetarian when you wear leather shoes type of argument
yeah, I didn’t look at the picture, and as a general rule I don’t listen to Key.
All I was saying was we activist types need to go a bit deeper with the solutions. No mining is a starting point, but I want to see how we are going to do that.
Well, I suggest you look to anywhere where I’ve supported open cast mining.
Also, deep sea drilling.
Then you should probably look for where I’ve said that BAU can continue.
Once you’ve failed to find any of that you should say sorry.
When war criminals Blair and Bush illegally invaded Iraq in 2003, they destroyed a country.
Kids washing up dead on beaches in Europe 12 years later are just another consequence of their actions.
Britain and the US are responsible for this humanitarian catastrophe. And they refuse to stop warmongering ( Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan) or look after the refugees they created.
NZ is new to the game, although had our bankster leader Key been PM in 2003, we would have been slavishly following US orders. That we have money to send soldiers to Iraq to cause more misery and destruction, yet have no money for more refugees, shows that we have sunk to the moral abyss of the US.
those war criminals are just the tip of course – behind them the graymen who organise and reap the profits.
This country is not new to the game imo, we are just good at pretending
I have read about the many people who are trying to help this crisis, ordinary people who realise that they could just as easily be on the other side of the razor wire – people do care and they are trying to help imo
meanwhile here in our I-so-late little island some rejoice at our distance from these events and no doubt they and their crony mates would wail tears if bodies of 3 year olds started washing up on our beaches – do you want the good news or the bad news?
I see that a couple of times a year here on flowering kowhai trees. It’s only started in recent times, and since the neighbouring reserve started getting proper pest control. Fantastic sight.
I used to live in Days Bay in Wellington and there were a great series of Kowhai around there. At this time all the Bellbirds in the ranges behind us would come down and have a grand old cacophonous time.
Mind you I’ve never seen 30 Tui anywhere, nice! Great time to feed them.
Haven’t even seen that many at once here in Titirangi.
I have got to agree there Marty, We have a favourite spot we go to regularly in the spring . One great big row of bloosom trees I don’t know what, and this time of year it is loaded with these birds. Can sit there all the afternoon watching and photographing.
I like the art work, magnificent.
Peach Parade in akl looks magnificent when the blossoms are out, enjoy it now before the racecourse gets its way and chucks 12-15 storey blocks on the steeplechase track.
Here this time Fed Farmers Southland president Allan Baird reckons this …………. “”The council has got to try and steer a middle ground between what farmers want, what iwi wants, what Fish & Game want and what other people who use the rivers want.””
Nothing could be further from the truth. Allan Baird has rocks in his head if he thinks whoever sticks their hand up and demands something is entitled to it…. what a frikkin’ loophead … His understanding of the regional council and its obligations is completely wrong and is woeful to the point of being harmful to Fed Farmers (they come across as idiots).
Wouldn’t it be ironic if Big Tobacco stopped the TPPA passing through the US Senate because it was excluded from having the rights to sue states under the ISDS system!
2. “As TPP Grinds To A Halt, Asian Countries Start Focusing On Rival Trade Agreement RCEP – See more at: http://www.theasianews.net/index.php/sid/236343969#sthash.z44FnNEK.dpuf
Australia has focussed more on the US-led TPP in recent months on the basis that it would set important new principles for 21st century commerce in areas including services and regulation but the government now appears to be less confident of any swift conclusion to the TPP.
A participant in the meeting said China appeared to be seizing the opportunity to bring the RCEP to a conclusion after it had been seen to be languishing. [Australia’s trade minister] Robb supported the Chinese objective of pushing for a conclusion.
The article also notes that RCEP has a big advantage in that it is not trying to define an ambitious set of new trading rules, as TPP is, but instead is merely attempting to harmonize existing trade agreements among RCEP’s 16 nations, which also include another major economy absent from TPP — India. The Financial Review column concludes with another small but telling indicator that Asian interest may be shifting away from TPP and towards RCEP:” http://www.infowars.com/as-tpp-grinds-to-a-halt-asian-countries-start-focusing-on-rival-trade-agreement-rcep/
3.”Could the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Be Dead?”
“Canada’s elections are only a month away which gives the Trans Pacific Partnership a whole 30 days to be wrapped up and signed. Many countries have come to the conclusion that the TPP will not be wrapped up by then and have already lost interest in the TPP.” http://economyincrisis.org/content/could-the-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-be-dead-2
1. The global economy is turning down.
2. When the economy turns to custard, people become angry and isolationist.
Why am I opposed to TPPA? Its creators are the sleaziest, money grubbing bastards on the planet. I don’t trust them to do anything good for anyone except themselves. . . almost always at our expense.
In advance of the international climate negotiations at the end of the year, the Government has set a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 11% below 1990 levels. Climate Tracker, and others, have pointed out this target is low compared to the commitment by other countries, and also comes without a plan of how to achieve it.
The Green Party has put together a plan that sets out a pathway to meet a more ambitious emissions reduction target. This plan can bring us into line with the rest of the world, while also transitioning New Zealand towards a smarter, greener, more prosperous future.
Co-leader James Shaw will launch the emissions reduction plan, and introduce a roadmap for building political consensus around a more ambitious target that New Zealanders can be proud of.
Me too. The GP have this reputation as being the best on social media and connecting, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. I’m trying to pull together various links re the presentation, but it’s not easy. Would have been good to have had the slide show online by the time the presentation started too, I found it a bit hard to follow.
no worries, it was pretty short notice. I’m hoping to have a proper look through today. A post would be good, there’s some interesting bits in there. They’ve produced an actual plan that will work within the economy and meet our international obligations which should be accessible to the mainstream even if it’s not enough for the likes of us 😉
I’m hoping this will help the people feeling like they can’t do anything to realise there are things we can actually to. A detailed plan of action is exactly what we need. So not the ultimate solution by any means, but a good start to get us moving.
Maybe this botanic error should be thoroughly checked out as it will have profound implications, our silver fern is unique and it is shabby and ill thought out in design if Kyle Lockwood hasn’t done his homework correctly – like everything else about this Govt when they organise anything they are all hair oil and no socks.
everywhere we turn this is a farce. That’s a good article and yet again shows how far along the path of NZ Inc we are. Wake up sleepy hobbits, not much time left now.
The Black & Silver flag has the leaves opposite each other and the leaf tips are rounded. Both those things are different to what a real silver fern looks like.
At least Lockwood’s designs do have the leaves alternating running up the frond, and the tips are all pointed, which all says to me they more closely represent the real thing.
good point. I tried looking for the original AB silver fern but can’t find it. I’ve got this image in the back of my mind of an actual silver fern shape, who used that?
The sums are paltry. It comes down to replacing all existing flags and defence uniforms and reflagging NZ Government ships and replacing the flag on drivers’ licences.
The last time the NZDF changed their uniforms was all the way back in 2013, for a cost of $13.6 million. Hopefully Fran meant it is only the flag patches that need replacing, not the entire uniform. The cost should only be a few thousand dollars for the new patches. I assume the soldiers will remove the old flag patch and sew on the new flag patch themselves ….. http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/news/media-releases/2013/20130620nanail.htm
But that is small potatoes and pales into insignificance when we consider another item listed in Fran O’Sullivan’s statement – drivers’ licences.
There are approximately 3,280,603 class 1-6 car licences issued.
There are 486,722 motorcycle licences issued.
As some motorists hold both classes and some motorcyclists don’t hold a car licence lets call it 3,500,000 licences.
The current renewal of a class 1-6 licence costs $43.60
That totals $152,600,000 to replace the licences.
This $152 million is a sum Fran O’Sullivan calls paltry.
So who is going to pay the renewal costs?
Has anyone asked the government?
Personally, having very recently renewed my ten year driver licence, I am not in favour of being asked to pay another $43 for another new licence so a 2cm x 1cm bit of printed plastic conforms with a change the public did not ask for. The fact my car is off the road anyway as I can’t afford to get it roadworthy (or run it) doesn’t help either. So I’m off for a walk into town to once again wander the supermarket aisles, stupefied by the ever increasing prices, as my brain does its best to stretch as far as possible what actually is a paltry sum.
I remember noting the division between me and my weekly income and that of John Hawkesby and the wine fans he was talking to, when he quoted a wine as being very affordable at $30. The viewpoint about what is paltry depends on how high up the income level you are, and of course whether it is a cost that affects others more or those who are lesser mortals on lesser money.
seems an obvious solution doesn’t it weka, especially from an economics point of view – but raises all sorts of issues with fakes etc.
‘Experts’ are well paid to plan these things. I haven’t seen a single publicly disclosed time-line for the re-branding of any government items that require inclusion of the New Zealand flag, if a new flag is adopted, let alone the costings.
ok, mild exaggeration, maybe not “all sorts of issues” but having two different flag images in circulation when fake ID’s and fake driver’s licenses are already a very real problem, surely compounds that problem?
interesting. They need to give that 18year old something better to do with his talents.
I’m not sure that two versions of the licence would make that any worse tbh. If they can already produce fakes that people can’t tell are fakes, would it matter?
was only thinking It adds another layer of uncertainty to the task of spotting them.
Nefarious teens with devious plans aside, another thing crossed my mind about the renewal of licences.
If they do go ahead and demand they all change enmasse, rather than as the expiration dates come up, there will be an enormous demand on the services that renew the licences.
I had an unscientific observational survey of the local AA staff to estimate the time it takes to renew a licence and put against previous personal experience I would surmise it takes 8-12 minutes per licence – this includes paperwork, photo & transaction fee processing.
The government might allow the digital photo on file to be used to speed up the process but we can’t count on that, so let’s use 10 minutes as the ballpark figure. I tried to find out on-line what the current average annual renewal volume is, to no avail. When I made enquiries to NZTA I was told I needed to apply in writing and there would probably be a fee.
User-pays data or food? End result, I have no current NZTA figures on annual volumes of driver licence renewals to gauge against the herculean task of renewing 3.5 million licences.
What there is, is the data we know
3.5 million licences at approximately 10minutes per licence is 583,333 hours or 24,305 days
There are 69 authorised driver licence agents across the country. AA has 38 centres, VTNZ has 27 and VINZ has 4.
This conundrum presents those offices with 352 days of 24/7 activity to renew the approximately 3.5 million private car and motorcycle licences currently in circulation.
My guess would be they are going to be compelled to have people update their licences as they come up for renewal.
note: None of the above includes truck/special vehicle/passenger licences or endorsements
They were actually very friendly and very prompt in answering. More so than my current telco anyway.
but an OIA? yeah nah, I’m gonna foolishly assume the bean-counters in the back office will be onto that already because sooner or later the MSM will need to present such information, when enough people start to ask the question.
If someone in his position is that stupid that he thinks that ,that shit is appropriate any where then they are not fit for office ,its the same with key pulling ponytails . I would prefer my “leaders ” to be a bit more aware.
I don’t have a lot of time for Trotter – but he is correct on this one
In other words, it’s a flag that speaks directly to this country’s past, present and future. For that reason, alone, it makes the strongest case for being chosen as the present flag’s replacement. That it is also a superb design merely strengthens its claim.
I rather like that flag too marty. Recognizable. Colour. Balanced. Symmetrical. If that was up for choosing alongside the Morgan one I would get really interested. As it is I will vote for the Koru as least best. (Not the spoiled ballot paper as that still leaves the vote for one of the others which will “win” and a spoiled paper will not change the outcome.
MADE FROM NEW ZEALAND
Red Peak was designed to reflect distinctly powerful and fundamental visual elements from New Zealand culture. The challenge was to break down multicultural elements into the most simple shared forms.
The flag design uses a primary shape of triangle/chevron which is drawn from Taniko weaving patterns. The shapes and colour positioning suggest a landscape of alpine ranges, red earth, and black sky, which refers to the Maori mythology of Rangi & Papa. The red triangle with white stripe is an iteration of elements of our existing flags (tip of our existing Stars, Union Jack detail, Commonwealth Games 74 logo).
This is the beginning of the end of the EU as we have known it, for sure, and more fractures will come soon, as this refugee disaster, totally mismanaged by a “union” that has not got its act together, is causing stress levels so far unknown to Europe.
It is every one to their own, Greece was just barely “rescued” from bankcruptcy weeks ago, and to get that managed, the Eurozone, a large part of the EU member states, was already stressed to the limits, as they struggled to agree on a “rescue package”, which some rather considered a dictate of harsh terms.
Now the refugee crisis is finishing off Europe, as Hungary goes its way, tells Germany and other states to get stuffed, and simply sends trains to the Austrian border, so the thousands on them can move on. In the meantime they will build more fences and walls, pass draconian “anti migrant” laws, ban refugees from entering and more. Before that Slovakia and some other new member states expressed similar concerns as the Hungarian government.
The cobbled together, expanded EU has reached its limits, and is facing at least partial collapse.
Merckel and others stand there unable to do much, as they themselves face a dilemma. While many in their populations in Germany, Austria, perhaps Sweden and a few other countries may show solidarity, and offer support for Syrian and other refugees, there is also strong opposition brewing among the “silent majority”, who oppose further intake of refugees.
The strategy of Islamic State (ISIS) is working, bringing Europe to its knees, I fear.
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A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
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 ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
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 ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
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Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
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. ...
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Jim Mora reckons Europe might be suffering “compassion overload”;
Is he an appropriate person to make such a remark?
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Wednesday 2 September 2015, 4:45 p.m.
Jim Mora, Susan Hornsby-Geluk, Max Ritchie
humbug n. 1. the quality of falseness or deception; 2. a person who is not what he or she claims or pretends to be; impostor; 3. a boiled lolly.
All this strife in the Middle East and Africa means that the refugee situation is getting worse. Is the problem that we Europeans and Kiwis are just too darned compassionate? In fact, so compassionate that we are suffering from “compassion overload”?
Well, that’s what Jim Mora thinks might be the trouble…..
MAX RITCHIE: New Zealanders are compassionate, caring people. Ahh, we’ve got, y’know, I was talking earlier on about the nature of New Zealanders, we DO care. But let’s do it properly.
JIM MORA: [deep intake of breath to indicate moral seriousness] I take your point about the, um, humanitarian crises that are ignored, that aren’t to do with Europe. But, ahh, the current flow is surely a humanitarian crisis for all those poor people trying to hop across the razor wire and—
MAX RITCHIE: Of course it is. Of course it is. But we had exactly the same size, ahhhh, last year, the year before, the year before that and the year before that.
JIM MORA: Did we?
MAX RITCHIE: Oooh yeah. This isn’t new, people affected by war, there were people flooding out of countries in Africa ten and twenty years ago, it was just as great as this, but they weren’t going to Europe, that’s the difference.
JIM MORA: I’ll get Professor Al Gillespie’s take on your opinion too, but before I do, Susan what do YOU think?
SUSAN HORNSBY-GELUK: Oh it seems that, um, seven hundred and fifty refugees a year for New Zealand is way too few. I mean, we’ve had that number apparently for so many years that it was, you know, the same when we had, y’know, two million people, so it does need to increase. Whether it needs to increase immediately, well yes, I think there is more a symbolic relevance there than a practical one because I don’t think the people from Europe will make it this far, but I think symbolically everyone needs to be doing their bit.
JIM MORA: Okay. Professor Al Gillespie, an expert on international law from the University of Waikato and pro-vice chancellor of research. Al, good afternoon.
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: Good afternoon, Jim.
JIM MORA: A few things to ask you. First of all, I mean, the point of that texter, how do we line up against other countries? I mean, because China actually does take refugees of a sort, doesn’t it, North Koreans for example.
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: It takes a few North Koreans and it took a few in the Vietnamese war as well. But both China and India, which are the two big powerhouses in the region, are now playing a very political game and not taking many more because they don’t want to upset their neighbors. The difference with China and India is that China signed the 1951 refugee convention but India hasn’t. But with regards to the Middle East, China very much sees this as a problem that the West’s caused and therefore one the West should solve.
JIM MORA: Do you buy that or would, um, [weary exhalation of breath] do you consider it morally reprehensible?
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: I think we need to see it from the point of human suffering. We’ve all got a responsibility here because these people have got no options, no alternative. And there’s a difference here between refugees and migrants. The migrants are just people who are looking for a better economic lifestyle, and there’s no debate that these people should be pushed back to the countries that they came from. But for refugees, they are applying because ultimately someone’s trying to kill them, or because their human rights have been severely degraded.
JIM MORA: I used the word “migrants” on air yesterday—it’s been used a lot by media coverage—and was told off by listeners who said, you know, the people in Hungary are refugees. So what ARE they, in your view?
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: Some are refugees, some are migrants. But it’s not just the ones coming across from the Middle East at the moment. There are also people coming up from North Africa where there IS no conflict in certain parts, or also they’re coming from Kosovo or certain parts of the Balkans, and again these are migrants, not people fleeing for fear of their life.
JIM MORA: [long, deep intake of breath] Is Europe—because Max’s argument is “it was always thus, or it’s been thus for a while”—is Europe suffering compassion overload now? What do you reckon?
PROFESSOR AL GILLESPIE: I think there is a limit to our empathy. He’s partly correct on one point….
I could keep transcribing this, but I just cannot bear it any longer. I am sure that I am not the only listener who was appalled to hear Jim Mora, of all people, chuntering on about “compassion overload”. Over the last ten years, Mora has showed precious little hint of any compassion at all, leave alone “compassion overload”. Just over a year ago he and a couple of sneering National Party pricks, Chris Wikaira and David Farrar, were chuckling at the fate of War Criminals’ Enemy No. 1….
David Farrar seemed to be tickled pink at Mora’s display of sparklingwit, and added his own twist of the knife:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-20082014/#comment-869959
I’m appalled if this transcript is what passes for insightful commentary. Who is Max Ritchie and why should I pay any attention to what he, or Mr Mora thinks?
But yeah – NZ can ‘do it properly’, to a degree, by doubling the refugee quota – right now!
Compassion overload Pfft. – certainly doesn’t extend to the Prime Minister and his party faithful (I’d love to see someone break rank). Good on the government support parties for not brushing aside the idea of a quota increase.
I stopped listening to Mora a while back.
His programme is an utter disgrace.
Mora’s panel is another vehicle in the Dirty Politics fleet and a good example of the depths RNZ has sunk to under Griffins stewardship.
Boring why not just a link with a brief preamble?
Boring why not just a link with a brief preamble?
And what is wrong with the occasional magnum opus, may we ask?
Climate action tracker: “New Zealand’s proposed 2030 INDC target is not on a direct path towards its 2050 goal, which is, in itself, inadequate.”
See the graphs and full report:
http://climateactiontracker.org/countries/newzealand
SHAME!!!!
How can the Labour Party support deep sea oil drilling in the light of the Climate Change information?
I challenge them to revisit their stance.
This support for further oil exploration plus not coming out directly with No to TPPA is turning off more support than it is gaining.
Yes I agree – Labour are out of line on this. Shows how serving two masters is just not doable. Funny even commenters like draco the bastard want us to keep drilling, keep digging and sucking – got to keep their endofdays lifestyle going I spose and it is so much easier to say “do as I say not as I do”.
And, as you well know but have ignored, I put very strict conditions on that mining and drilling.
yep you do and what I said is true too.
No, not even close.
you said “and” so don’t try and back out now – be proud of your wish to opencast mine our natural resources – fuck you might even get a knighthood buddy.
You could each say what you actually believe yourselves, might save some time and aggro. Just a thought.
Myself, I don’t think all mining is the same. With deep sea oil drilling, even if we can make a good case for using the oil ourselves for good purpose (eg to transition off FF), and we can justify the emissions of that, there is still the risk issue of where the mining is happening and the impact of ‘accidents’. Accidents which I think are inevitable now given the pressures coming on with Peak Oil.
Mining in National Parks should be completely off limits because those ecosystems are far more important than the finite resource we can extract from them.
Other mining I think is case by case. We should be getting to the point of not taking anything out of the earth except rarely, but all of us, including those very opposed to mining, still use and rely on metals and oil every single day. Some of that use is critical, but much of it is simply because of the lifestyles we are used to. So I don’t think mining is that simple.
“but all of us, including those very opposed to mining, still use and rely on metals and oil every single day. Some of that use is critical, but much of it is simply because of the lifestyles we are used to.”
Isn’t that line of thinking just a cop out for everything – we can’t say don’t do something because our society and us uses the product or by-product – so it is an always perpetuating business as usual.
Oh how can you be a vegetarian when you wear leather shoes type of argument
I didn’t say we can’t do anything 🙂 Why would you think that?
I don’t know – feeling a bit put out today – think I’ll sit the rest of the day out 🙂
I feel quite agitated – that image of the child dead on the beach, key fucking going on like he gives a shit about anyone other than himself – grrrr
yeah, I didn’t look at the picture, and as a general rule I don’t listen to Key.
All I was saying was we activist types need to go a bit deeper with the solutions. No mining is a starting point, but I want to see how we are going to do that.
Hope your afternoon is good to you 🙂
Nope, still not even close. In fact, I’d say that you’re seriously misrepresenting everything that I’ve said on the matter.
If I have I will concede and say sorry..
Well, I suggest you look to anywhere where I’ve supported open cast mining.
Also, deep sea drilling.
Then you should probably look for where I’ve said that BAU can continue.
Once you’ve failed to find any of that you should say sorry.
I haven’t looked but I’ll take you at your word – I am sorry.
Apology accepted.
When war criminals Blair and Bush illegally invaded Iraq in 2003, they destroyed a country.
Kids washing up dead on beaches in Europe 12 years later are just another consequence of their actions.
Britain and the US are responsible for this humanitarian catastrophe. And they refuse to stop warmongering ( Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan) or look after the refugees they created.
NZ is new to the game, although had our bankster leader Key been PM in 2003, we would have been slavishly following US orders. That we have money to send soldiers to Iraq to cause more misery and destruction, yet have no money for more refugees, shows that we have sunk to the moral abyss of the US.
Shame on Key and his US lackey government.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/shocking-image-of-drowned-syrian-boy-shows-tragic-plight-of-refugees
I agree with most of that, and
those war criminals are just the tip of course – behind them the graymen who organise and reap the profits.
This country is not new to the game imo, we are just good at pretending
I have read about the many people who are trying to help this crisis, ordinary people who realise that they could just as easily be on the other side of the razor wire – people do care and they are trying to help imo
meanwhile here in our I-so-late little island some rejoice at our distance from these events and no doubt they and their crony mates would wail tears if bodies of 3 year olds started washing up on our beaches – do you want the good news or the bad news?
Wicked – just watched 30, yes thirty, Tui hanging around in a flowering cherry tree – good start to the day.
They all looked as Robin interprets them – fierce, direct, beautiful.
http://redartgallery.com/collections/robin-slow/products/untitled
I see that a couple of times a year here on flowering kowhai trees. It’s only started in recent times, and since the neighbouring reserve started getting proper pest control. Fantastic sight.
I used to live in Days Bay in Wellington and there were a great series of Kowhai around there. At this time all the Bellbirds in the ranges behind us would come down and have a grand old cacophonous time.
Mind you I’ve never seen 30 Tui anywhere, nice! Great time to feed them.
Haven’t even seen that many at once here in Titirangi.
I have got to agree there Marty, We have a favourite spot we go to regularly in the spring . One great big row of bloosom trees I don’t know what, and this time of year it is loaded with these birds. Can sit there all the afternoon watching and photographing.
I like the art work, magnificent.
Peach Parade in akl looks magnificent when the blossoms are out, enjoy it now before the racecourse gets its way and chucks 12-15 storey blocks on the steeplechase track.
Federated Farmers really seriously genuinely need to deepen their thoughts and analysis as they simply get things wrong time and time and time again…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/71665796/environment-southland-airs-frustration-with-federated-farmers
Here this time Fed Farmers Southland president Allan Baird reckons this …………. “”The council has got to try and steer a middle ground between what farmers want, what iwi wants, what Fish & Game want and what other people who use the rivers want.””
Nothing could be further from the truth. Allan Baird has rocks in his head if he thinks whoever sticks their hand up and demands something is entitled to it…. what a frikkin’ loophead … His understanding of the regional council and its obligations is completely wrong and is woeful to the point of being harmful to Fed Farmers (they come across as idiots).
That does seem to be the default setting for a lot of people these days. Our economic system has divorced people from the reality of scarce resources.
Politically motivated SPAM?
The CEO of an iconic NZ Company supporting privatisation of our healthcare service.?
Apparently this email has been sent to all Southern Cross members by Peter Tynan the CEO of Southern Cross: http://tinyurl.com/prnhjv3
No surprise where his loyalties lie on this issue but using his organisations membership list to promote a political issue seems a little naive to me.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if Big Tobacco stopped the TPPA passing through the US Senate because it was excluded from having the rights to sue states under the ISDS system!
http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/could-tobacco-carveout-kill-tpp/
The latest TPPA news sounds promising!
1 .”Canada scuttles Australia’s TPP bid”
….., it looks as if the TPP could finally be ‘dead and buried’ – a view confirmed today via The Australian Dairy Farmer, which claims that Canada’s refusal to give ground on dairy protection has helped scuttle the deal:”
http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2015/09/canada-scuttles-australias-tpp-bid/
and
http://adf.farmonline.com.au/news/magazine/industry-news/general/canada-dairy-protection-hurts-tpp-bid/2742090.aspx
2. “As TPP Grinds To A Halt, Asian Countries Start Focusing On Rival Trade Agreement RCEP – See more at: http://www.theasianews.net/index.php/sid/236343969#sthash.z44FnNEK.dpuf
Australia has focussed more on the US-led TPP in recent months on the basis that it would set important new principles for 21st century commerce in areas including services and regulation but the government now appears to be less confident of any swift conclusion to the TPP.
A participant in the meeting said China appeared to be seizing the opportunity to bring the RCEP to a conclusion after it had been seen to be languishing. [Australia’s trade minister] Robb supported the Chinese objective of pushing for a conclusion.
The article also notes that RCEP has a big advantage in that it is not trying to define an ambitious set of new trading rules, as TPP is, but instead is merely attempting to harmonize existing trade agreements among RCEP’s 16 nations, which also include another major economy absent from TPP — India. The Financial Review column concludes with another small but telling indicator that Asian interest may be shifting away from TPP and towards RCEP:”
http://www.infowars.com/as-tpp-grinds-to-a-halt-asian-countries-start-focusing-on-rival-trade-agreement-rcep/
3.”Could the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Be Dead?”
“Canada’s elections are only a month away which gives the Trans Pacific Partnership a whole 30 days to be wrapped up and signed. Many countries have come to the conclusion that the TPP will not be wrapped up by then and have already lost interest in the TPP.”
http://economyincrisis.org/content/could-the-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-be-dead-2
That’s all good news about TPPA.
My expectations are:
1. The global economy is turning down.
2. When the economy turns to custard, people become angry and isolationist.
Why am I opposed to TPPA? Its creators are the sleaziest, money grubbing bastards on the planet. I don’t trust them to do anything good for anyone except themselves. . . almost always at our expense.
any chance this could go up as a Notice?
YES WE CAN – a plan for significantly reducing greenhouse gas emisions.
Announcement and Livestream today, 12.30pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/865812643501395/
Thanks Weka
Here are the various links from the presentation. The first part was a speech, the second was a power point presentation about the actual plan.
Part 1: Speech transcript
https://www.greens.org.nz/news/speeches/yes-we-can-plan-significantly-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions
Part 2: PP summary,
https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/YesWeCanOnePagerFINAL.pdf
Part 2: Slides,
https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/YesWeCanPresentation.pdf
Press release,
https://www.greens.org.nz/news/press-releases/yes-we-can-green-climate-plan-shows-40-target-2030-achievable
There was much more detail in the power point, so I hope they get that up online soon.
I found this useful to look at while listening too. It has a pie chart of GHG sectors and emissions in NZ.
https://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Climate%20Change/ghg-inventory-2014-snapshot.pdf
Video is here,
http://livestream.com/nzgreens/climate/videos/98017470
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USXsQofeZxQ
Full version of the plan plus appendices for
Electricity
Transport
Other combustion of fossil fuels
Industrial processes
Waste
Forestry
QELRO and emissions budget
https://www.greens.org.nz/file/yes-we-can-finalpdf
What will Labour say?
Will they back the Greens or sit on their hands?
That could well decide my party vote in 2017 and to whom my donations go.
Miffed – did not get to hear Q and A
Me too. The GP have this reputation as being the best on social media and connecting, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. I’m trying to pull together various links re the presentation, but it’s not easy. Would have been good to have had the slide show online by the time the presentation started too, I found it a bit hard to follow.
Shit. Sorry Weka. Missed that, or I would have thrown it up. Been reading through the full policy with an eye to a post on it though?
no worries, it was pretty short notice. I’m hoping to have a proper look through today. A post would be good, there’s some interesting bits in there. They’ve produced an actual plan that will work within the economy and meet our international obligations which should be accessible to the mainstream even if it’s not enough for the likes of us 😉
I’m hoping this will help the people feeling like they can’t do anything to realise there are things we can actually to. A detailed plan of action is exactly what we need. So not the ultimate solution by any means, but a good start to get us moving.
Oops! “If we are to recognise our history and use national symbols, we ought to get them right. Kyle Lockwood’s silver fern is a generic, two-divisional plant fern that can be found on every continent.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11506892 – David Ellison
Maybe this botanic error should be thoroughly checked out as it will have profound implications, our silver fern is unique and it is shabby and ill thought out in design if Kyle Lockwood hasn’t done his homework correctly – like everything else about this Govt when they organise anything they are all hair oil and no socks.
everywhere we turn this is a farce. That’s a good article and yet again shows how far along the path of NZ Inc we are. Wake up sleepy hobbits, not much time left now.
I have a major problem with Ellison’s comment though, the flag that he is backing is the Black & Silver flag, a flag that is even more botanically incorrect. https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/gallery/design/15513
The Black & Silver flag has the leaves opposite each other and the leaf tips are rounded. Both those things are different to what a real silver fern looks like.
At least Lockwood’s designs do have the leaves alternating running up the frond, and the tips are all pointed, which all says to me they more closely represent the real thing.
good point. I tried looking for the original AB silver fern but can’t find it. I’ve got this image in the back of my mind of an actual silver fern shape, who used that?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11506379
The last time the NZDF changed their uniforms was all the way back in 2013, for a cost of $13.6 million. Hopefully Fran meant it is only the flag patches that need replacing, not the entire uniform. The cost should only be a few thousand dollars for the new patches. I assume the soldiers will remove the old flag patch and sew on the new flag patch themselves …..
http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/news/media-releases/2013/20130620nanail.htm
But that is small potatoes and pales into insignificance when we consider another item listed in Fran O’Sullivan’s statement – drivers’ licences.
http://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Research/Documents/Motor-Vehicle-Crashes-2013/Motor-vehicle-crashes-2013-Driver-licence-and-vehicle-fleet-statistics.pdf
There are approximately 3,280,603 class 1-6 car licences issued.
There are 486,722 motorcycle licences issued.
As some motorists hold both classes and some motorcyclists don’t hold a car licence lets call it 3,500,000 licences.
The current renewal of a class 1-6 licence costs $43.60
That totals $152,600,000 to replace the licences.
This $152 million is a sum Fran O’Sullivan calls paltry.
So who is going to pay the renewal costs?
Has anyone asked the government?
Personally, having very recently renewed my ten year driver licence, I am not in favour of being asked to pay another $43 for another new licence so a 2cm x 1cm bit of printed plastic conforms with a change the public did not ask for. The fact my car is off the road anyway as I can’t afford to get it roadworthy (or run it) doesn’t help either. So I’m off for a walk into town to once again wander the supermarket aisles, stupefied by the ever increasing prices, as my brain does its best to stretch as far as possible what actually is a paltry sum.
kia kaha freedom
A paltry fran as usual
I remember noting the division between me and my weekly income and that of John Hawkesby and the wine fans he was talking to, when he quoted a wine as being very affordable at $30. The viewpoint about what is paltry depends on how high up the income level you are, and of course whether it is a cost that affects others more or those who are lesser mortals on lesser money.
Why not wait until the 10 year change for each person?
why wait when you can extort the money because people have to have the new tea towel printed on their lisences……
How much money is the Government gonna make on the GST component alone?
We have a Grifter Government run by and for Grifters.
enough to pay for a flag referendum perhaps?
Weka, that would be the most logical and cost effective approach.
seems an obvious solution doesn’t it weka, especially from an economics point of view – but raises all sorts of issues with fakes etc.
‘Experts’ are well paid to plan these things. I haven’t seen a single publicly disclosed time-line for the re-branding of any government items that require inclusion of the New Zealand flag, if a new flag is adopted, let alone the costings.
“but raises all sorts of issues with fakes etc.”
how so?
ok, mild exaggeration, maybe not “all sorts of issues” but having two different flag images in circulation when fake ID’s and fake driver’s licenses are already a very real problem, surely compounds that problem?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/68803722/Wellington-police-fight-uphill-battle-against-fake-IDs
interesting. They need to give that 18year old something better to do with his talents.
I’m not sure that two versions of the licence would make that any worse tbh. If they can already produce fakes that people can’t tell are fakes, would it matter?
was only thinking It adds another layer of uncertainty to the task of spotting them.
Nefarious teens with devious plans aside, another thing crossed my mind about the renewal of licences.
If they do go ahead and demand they all change enmasse, rather than as the expiration dates come up, there will be an enormous demand on the services that renew the licences.
I had an unscientific observational survey of the local AA staff to estimate the time it takes to renew a licence and put against previous personal experience I would surmise it takes 8-12 minutes per licence – this includes paperwork, photo & transaction fee processing.
The government might allow the digital photo on file to be used to speed up the process but we can’t count on that, so let’s use 10 minutes as the ballpark figure. I tried to find out on-line what the current average annual renewal volume is, to no avail. When I made enquiries to NZTA I was told I needed to apply in writing and there would probably be a fee.
User-pays data or food? End result, I have no current NZTA figures on annual volumes of driver licence renewals to gauge against the herculean task of renewing 3.5 million licences.
What there is, is the data we know
3.5 million licences at approximately 10minutes per licence is 583,333 hours or 24,305 days
There are 69 authorised driver licence agents across the country. AA has 38 centres, VTNZ has 27 and VINZ has 4.
This conundrum presents those offices with 352 days of 24/7 activity to renew the approximately 3.5 million private car and motorcycle licences currently in circulation.
My guess would be they are going to be compelled to have people update their licences as they come up for renewal.
note: None of the above includes truck/special vehicle/passenger licences or endorsements
Nice accounting. I’m guessing they’ll do it at the ten year renewal too.
Not surprised by the NZTA, was that the call centre? For some reason they’re one of the more authoritarian govt depts. You could OIA them 😈
They were actually very friendly and very prompt in answering. More so than my current telco anyway.
but an OIA? yeah nah, I’m gonna foolishly assume the bean-counters in the back office will be onto that already because sooner or later the MSM will need to present such information, when enough people start to ask the question.
Steve Keen: Why Capitalism Needs a Debt Jubilee to Survive (Video)
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/71698532/Maurice-Williamson-so-offensive-conference-attendees-walked-out
Surely they have to sack this fool this time!!
I hope so – he is a parody of a person now.
If someone in his position is that stupid that he thinks that ,that shit is appropriate any where then they are not fit for office ,its the same with key pulling ponytails . I would prefer my “leaders ” to be a bit more aware.
How odd is this – it’s almost 10 years since the Stern review.
Global capitalism – happy to watch us burn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ztgqH8_0Ps
I don’t have a lot of time for Trotter – but he is correct on this one
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/71655482/why-the-tino-rangatiratanga-flag-should-be-our-national-choice
I rather like that flag too marty. Recognizable. Colour. Balanced. Symmetrical. If that was up for choosing alongside the Morgan one I would get really interested. As it is I will vote for the Koru as least best. (Not the spoiled ballot paper as that still leaves the vote for one of the others which will “win” and a spoiled paper will not change the outcome.
I’ve decided that I will vote for the flag that looks like the monkey butt in the playoff round of “Pimp My Flag NZ”.
Do we txt vote in this reality TV program, or is it down to facebook likes?
This is the first flag I’ve seen that’s made me think a new flag might be a good idea,
https://www.facebook.com/redpeakflag
Can everyone else see the smilies, or has something happened to them?
🙂 🙄 😈 😉
I can.
ok, prob at my end then.
With shock and disappointment, I conclude, the “European Idea” is nothing but DEAD:
http://www.dw.com/en/orban-refugee-crisis-is-a-german-problem/a-18691306
This is the beginning of the end of the EU as we have known it, for sure, and more fractures will come soon, as this refugee disaster, totally mismanaged by a “union” that has not got its act together, is causing stress levels so far unknown to Europe.
It is every one to their own, Greece was just barely “rescued” from bankcruptcy weeks ago, and to get that managed, the Eurozone, a large part of the EU member states, was already stressed to the limits, as they struggled to agree on a “rescue package”, which some rather considered a dictate of harsh terms.
Now the refugee crisis is finishing off Europe, as Hungary goes its way, tells Germany and other states to get stuffed, and simply sends trains to the Austrian border, so the thousands on them can move on. In the meantime they will build more fences and walls, pass draconian “anti migrant” laws, ban refugees from entering and more. Before that Slovakia and some other new member states expressed similar concerns as the Hungarian government.
The cobbled together, expanded EU has reached its limits, and is facing at least partial collapse.
Merckel and others stand there unable to do much, as they themselves face a dilemma. While many in their populations in Germany, Austria, perhaps Sweden and a few other countries may show solidarity, and offer support for Syrian and other refugees, there is also strong opposition brewing among the “silent majority”, who oppose further intake of refugees.
The strategy of Islamic State (ISIS) is working, bringing Europe to its knees, I fear.
Things get no better at the Herald when Trev’ tries to be funny, tries to whip up a howler.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11506974
Ya just ain’t got it Trev’. There’s a good spot I know writing mawkish greeting cards. Call me.