The Shearer bid has the backing of a powerful faction within caucus, including outgoing leader Phil Goff and deputy Annette King, and party strategist Trevor Mallard.
But that team may also be counselling Mr Robertson – seen by many in the party as a future leader – to hold back from announcing his intentions until the largely untested Mr Shearer vies with Mr Cunliffe in a series of television debates. Later, they will hit the hustings at meetings with Labour rank and file.
Mr Robertson could still emerge as a contender if Mr Shearer’s bid falls over. However, his rival seemed to gain momentum on Thursday after Mr Parker’s shock withdrawal.
But Camp Cunliffe were back on an even keel yesterday and are understood to have spent the day crafting a direct pitch to grassroots members about a radical plan for change after Labour’s election thumping.
That will pit them against the party’s old guard, whom they will paint as no longer representing the new generation of activists.
It seems to me that if Cunliffe gets to lead Labour, by countering the media, astroturfer and centrist/right-leaning campaign against them, he is well on the way to mounting a credible challenge for a Labour-led government in 2014.
Good move to characterise the apparent “newness” of Shearer, as a new face for the old guard. And to indicate an inclusive, non-factionalist party by signalling a front bench role for Shearer in a Cunliffe-led Labour caucus.
That will pit them against the party’s old guard, whom they will paint as no longer representing the new generation of activists.
Anyway in an MMP environment would that really be a bad thing?.
I know nobody here will agree but NZ needs to have it’s two main parties just on either side of central you can’t have the country lurching one way or the other every three,six, nine years.
The wastage is immense, the people hate it and the country never moves forward because we are in a constant state of change all the time.
This is why Shearer must lead the Labour party as he will pull Labour back to the center where the majority of the votes are.
Cunliffe should take the activists, the union delegates and form his own party, then he could form a coalition with the Labour lead Shearer party.
That would make a pretty powerful block.
It is extremely hard to be clear about what people mean by the term “centre” and in fact they tend to mean different things. Key & his cronies tend to mean assuaging fears while continuing with the neoliberal project, and pulling back where there is danger of losing popularity. Dunne seems to define it as some sort of golden mean, while supporting Key’s policies.
When a Labour person is described as “more centrist” I often have no idea as to whether this means that they have little time for identity politics (as seems to be the case with Damian O’Connor) or whether they think that our best bet is to find some accommodation with neoliberal economics, perhaps at the expense of the already poor. Or something else again.
Colloquially the term often simply means “me” – as in those fatter than me are fat, those older than me are old, etc. Someone mentioned a few days ago (I cannot remember who) that NZers tend to see themselves as middle class, often against the evidence, which adds another layer of occlusion to the term.
To me being centrist doesn’t mean always having middle of the road views and always supporting middle of the road policies. Rather, it’s a starting point where I hope I’ll look properly at both sides of an issue and decide what I think is best from there.
Being centrist means I can still support social policies and I can still support capitalist policies instead of feeling bound to lean one way or the other.
I try to pick the best of whatever policies are proposed, and look for the best ways of implementing them.
This approach can be fair to those in need of assistance, and fair to those who work harder.
PG you have defended Nationals policies at all costs during the campaign now you are defending the ever reducing popularity of the one man band Unbalanced Follicles you have no principles so nothing to defend boring people to death.Your 160 odd and i mean ODD votes in Dunedin North they must have been so fed up with you harassing them they gave you their vote to get rid of you . I don’t imagine you have that many family or friends.
I haven’t defended National policies at all costs.
Most candidates of both Dunedin electorates (there were 16) and all MPs I talked to (3/4) indicated support for what I’m initiating in Dunedin.
The fact that I get abused by a handful of off-topic posters here is no reflection on what sort of reception I have got elsewhere, especially around Dunedin.
Why the ignorant speculation on family and friends? Do you them to be put off Labour for good as well? I’m surprised how much nastiness there is on political blogs, doesn’t seem to be a great way to attract support.
Yes, but the terms “centre” tells me nothing about the criterion on which you base your idea of what is best. Nothing about the position from which you determine what is in the balance.
Dunne seems to define it as some sort of golden mean…
Dunne and the rest of UF have fallen into what I call the Myth of the Middle
These people who have so fallen take two positions, label them extremes and then say that the answer to all our woes is in the middle. These are the people who have taking the truism Everything in moderation – even moderation to heart (although they seem to have missed the warning at the end) and will oppose doing anything that they see as radical.
The thing is that they can claim any position as radical and what they want as the “middle”. Of course, if you need a radical change plotting a middle course doesn’t help either and we need radical change. Continuing with failed capitalism isn’t doing us any favours.
Are give you a clue mate – its the electorate which decides whether or not Labour is a main party. And having done signficantly better than Bill English’s 20.9% I suggest that Labour still has a broad base to rebuild from.
If the party goes the way you want it to, I doubt Labour would be able to scrape together 10%.
Your political views probably represent about 5% of the population.
If they went radical left I suspect that they’d be able to pick the majority of the people who didn’t vote. They may lose a few centrists and neo-liberals but, IMO, they’d actually have more votes (and probably members) after.
Brett, at best your political views only represent 1% of the population – the top 1% who want to rule us all in a dictatorship. You just don’t realise it.
sorry cv but i disagree – centre on the voter identifier matrix is defined by a ever shifting double peak extremely wide and flat bell curve. people base there vote and identity on a wide range of aspects not just left right centre..and more importnantly the double dip centre if not really in the middle but a dynamic flux situation with outliers, and falloff tails to the right and left.
then each electrorate is different as well that why its importnant the local labour candiate go after both perosnal and party vote based on the elctrorate bias i.e damian oconnor,grant robertson.
Brett you know the left block came within a whisker of vicTory and with special votes low majorities in some seats the left may still win though unlikely with up to five seats hanging by a thread it could cause an over hang.
Brett you are obviously a Tory and one of your main weapons through out hisTory has been to divide and conquer with any means possible
Can’t wait for Winnie to have his cup of tea under parliamentary privilege The thin Teflon will be worn somewhat more and the yellow press will be exposed some what more
Brett this is MMP and its left block verses right the right has less versatility now National has all the power.
The wastage is immense, the people hate it and the country never moves forward because we are in a constant state of change all the time.
Although I don’t agree with the premise of your argument that Shearer is more centrist than Cunliffe, you make a good point about the financial cost of our political process whereby one party makes huge changes that the other party will simply change back when they gain power. Both National and Labour are guilty of this dysfunction. However it is more to do with our hierarchical structuring and an outdated mode of representation.
The solution is to allow the public to vote directly on policy with parties being advocates for their respective policies. The stability of the general public is preferable to the combative and wasteful political process that is clearly failing to engage many New Zealander’s in decision making.
That would be a terrible thing – there’s no upside to it! I keep hearing that it would be oh-so-secure, linked to everyone’s online banking etc – but not everyone does online banking (it took me years to decide that it was probably safe.) My son just told me about a colleague of his who has – along with her husband, just been wiped out by a hacker – $50 000… Luckily their bank is reimbursing them. But safe is relative! I just watched last night, the curiously passionless documentary ‘Hacking Democracy’, about Diebold and the 2004 election – although Kerry had proof that the Bushites stole the election with the connivance of Diebold, he caved, and whilst some of his supporters were angry, most Americans shrugged and said “meh’, which is what I mean about passionless. If Americans won’t stick up for themselves, it’s absolutely true that New Zealanders won’t. On-line voting would see us more completely fried than we already are.
perception perception and more perception – just give me an honest leader someone not so tied up in party spin and poli speak and i will give you one million voters
Perhaps we could have some basics explained here.
Brett, you could start by telling us what
“…the country never moves forward …” actually means.
Are you suggesting that every enactment of every piece of legislation is taking the country forward. In whose perspective, and where or what is this future exactly?
We already had that a few years ago. Labour held the centre, and the Alliance held the more socialist left. Then both Anderton and McCarten got too stubborn for their own good, and look where we are now.
If the Alliance had held itself together, the period of 2002-08 would have seen a lot more left policies than there actually was. Remember: Kiwibank was an Alliance initiative and now has support across the political spectrum (I think even Don Brash was lukewarm on selling it). Same with paid perental leave.
In addition, the Greens would have been able to focus on environmental issues, rather than try and be a socialist party as well.
Ever so funny, ha ha ha. If politics is just another RWC circus for the right, then it makes sense that we’re only aspiring to muddle through. That’s why prison building, more motorways and National Standards are apparently all the political outcomes we need. Dinemic. Dig more coal.
Labour has always aired its dirty linen in public . Thats good democracy at work ,not like National Act who do nearly all their dirty deal behind closed doors.Unfortunately Act has done its dirty dealings in public recently and has now been absorbed back into National.
A prickly subject as Cacti Kate would say.
Anyway, righties, I’d be far more worried about who will lead National than Labour at the moment. Key has already asked party leaders if he can step down (closed door meeting, Marie Quinn and others in attendance). Who will replace him. I’m delighted that Labour has a bevy of potential leaders. Far better than National who literally have nobody palatable.
@Tigger-when/where did you hear about Key possibly stepping down?
And you are correct, it is a real plus that Labour is spoilt for choice as regards potential leaders, whereas National is definitely ‘leader lite.’
Early on in his term as PM I thought I’d read his CV to see how long he typically stayed in roles. It’s one of the things I look at when I interview people, because their past behaviour indicates how long they might stay in the role they are being interviewed for.
From what I could see most of John Key’s roles have lasted two or three years, and his longest in any role is about five years. If he does two full terms as PM it will be the longest he has ever stuck at one role, so on this basis I think it is unlikely he will be leader of the National Party for an election in late 2014.
Given that righties play on emotional voters how is Cunliffe going to help Labour, he’ll make an excellent Finance Minister but to beat the right the Labour party need to grab voters by their emotional tails.
Goff had trouble with putting gst off, cgt on, threshold free into any emotional terms.
Universal tax cut, healthy fairer tax system.
Well who the hell are you to comment on the Labour Party.It appears to me that every damm Tory ,rightwing nutter and those Right-wing
columnists /Bloggers like Holmes .Garner ,Farrar and all the rest of the of the Right -Wing neo fascists know better than the Labour Party itself . My message to this cunning lot is piss of look after your own sleazy party .Labour is well able to manage its own affairs.
I mentioned a few days back that Garner said there was going to be a blood bath over the leadership .he is looking a bit green ,Because the leadership is being run very well and involving grass roots members . Its certainly run more democratically than the Nats BRT dominated Leader elections. Remember “No Brash no Money ‘ a couple of elections ago
I don’t. Hiding everything from view is normal behaviour of the RWNJs in their attempt to create a dictatorship with them in control. Actually involving everybody else is how you build a community that governs itself.
So let me understand this. Long ago Maori sold their assets cheap to foreigners.
Now MSM believe that Maori Party will survive politically by working with National in any shape or form?
I thought Maori had more integrity, but no, they still want to work with National.
which is perplexing since shoring up National only makes the inevitable collapse worse for Maori.
well my opinion is it is ttrime to get rid of leighton smith from newstalk zb.
this monster is a cretin of the first order.
all last week he used his position to denigrate the candidates for the NZLP leader.
then he got stuck into Helen Clarke, the United Nations and last but not least the president of the unites states Barack Obama.
there is nothing nice about this person but yet he keeps spewing his filth and ignorance all over us daily.
no wonder kiwis are so messed up. on one hand they are told they are wonderful people because they won the world cup but on the other this fountain of bile runs rampant every day.
time to make some radical changes in this country starting with the pinheads in the media.
Goebells Smith finished me with ZB talkback.
Right wing (virtually Fascist) slants on everything.
Laws finished me with the other talkback lot.
Why is the Labour leadership battle being fought so publicly when the only media coverage is certainly prejudiced against the left?
And why are the National groupies all favouring Shearer?
This is what I think, it publicly airs the winners and losers and if anything build future stories about factionalism in Labour.
Not to mention, yet once again, the focus is all on Labour for the wrong reasons, and National just gets to cruise along without any scrutiny – you would think last term would have taught them something.
The “TV debates” were pure hubris, they should have kept it at a grass roots level and then come from that with unity or at least the perception of it.
I think, for a Labour leadership team to be successful, they have to find a way of dealing with, or operating successfully inspite of, the right wing MSM and astroturfers. These right wingers will try to undermine Labour and their leader, however they go about things.
So the leadership contest is a kind of baptism of fire.
“And why are the National groupies all favouring Shearer?”
At a guess I would say that because his efforts have sought the complete opposite end of theirs, they consider his achievements to be totally worthless, so he too is totally worthless. At the centre of their thinking is the rule that anything not like them is wrong and worthless – the sneers follow from there.
I am merely a spectator to the LP leadership process, but I would like to emphasise that just because National want Shearer, it should have no bearing at all on the decision of the LP and it’s members to choose as they see fit.
Every Thursday since October 13 I’ve driven 20 minutes up the highway with my Rolleiflex camera and a handful of film and asked the activists at Occupy Los Angeles their greatest hope for a positive outcome in this global movement toward change
WOW! Terrific idea and commitment.
Thank you Joe for something wonderful that I would not have seen or ‘heard’ if it were not for you. Thanks too to all the occupiers for sharing their hopes and occupying for change.
‘Blowing the whistle’ on Transparency International’s 2011 ‘Corruption Perception Index’ – where NZ is ‘perceived’ to be the least corrupt country in the world.
In my considered opinion, as a GENUINE ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner – if NZ is perceived to be the ‘least corrupt country in the world’ then Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is not worth the paper upon which it is written.
As a delegate – I personally distributed about 400 copies of the following ‘NZ Corruption Reality Checklist’ amongst the 1200 delegates from 135 countries who were represented at the 2010 Transparency International 14th International Anti-Corruption Conference which I attended in Bangkok last year.
(Funded by donations received from fellow concerned citizens who support the work I am doing as an ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner.)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
CORRUPTION REALITY CHECKLIST – NEW ZEALAND
1. Has NZ ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption? ……… NO
2. Does NZ have an independent anti-corruption body tasked with educating the public and PREVENTING corruption? ……. NO
3. Do NZ’s laws ensure transparency in the funding of candidates for elected public office and political parties at central government level? …………………. NO
4. Do NZ Members of Parliament have a ‘Code of Conduct’? NO
5. Do NZ Local Govt elected reps have a ‘Code of Conduct’? ……. YES
6. Is it an offence for NZ Local Govt elected reps to breach the ‘Code of Conduct’? NO
7. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available ‘Register of Interests’ for NZ Local Govt elected reps? …………………NO
8. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available ‘Register of Interests’ for NZ Central Govt staff responsible for procurement? ……………… NO
9. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available ‘Register of Interests’ for NZ Local Govt staff responsible for procurement? ………. NO
10. Is there a lawful requirement for details of ‘contracts issued’ – including the name of the contractor; scope, term and value of the contract to be published in NZ Central Govt Public Sector, and Local Govt (Council) Annual Reports so that they are available for public scrutiny?……. NO
11. Is it a lawful requirement that a ‘cost-benefit analysis’ of NZ Central Govt public finances be undertaken to substantiate that private procurement of public services previously provided ‘in-house’ is cost-effective for the public majority? ………NO
12. Is it a lawful requirement that a ‘cost-benefit analysis’ of NZ Local Govt public finances be undertaken to substantiate that private procurement of public services previously provided ‘in-house’ is cost-effective for the public majority? ………NO
13. Does NZ have a legally-enforcable ‘Code of Conduct’ for members of the NZ Judiciary? ……NO
14. Are all NZ Court proceedings recorded, and audio records made available to parties who request them?……………NO
15. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available NZ Judicial ‘Register of Interests’? …. NO
16. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available NZ ‘Register of Lobbyists’ at Central Govt Ministerial level? ………… NO
17. Is there a legal requirement at NZ Central and Local Govt level for a ‘post-separation employment quarantine ‘ period’ from the time officials leave the public service to take up a similar role in the private sector?………………NO
18. Is it a lawful requirement that it is only a binding vote of the public majority that can determine whether public assets held at NZ Central Govt or Local Govt level are sold; or long-term leased via Public-Private –Partnerships? …………………. NO
19. Is it unlawful in NZ for politicians to knowingly misrepresent their policies prior to election at central or local government level? …………………………. NO
20. Do NZ laws promote and protect individuals, NGOs and community-based organisations who are ‘whistleblowing’ against ‘conflicts of interest’ and corrupt practices at central and local govt level and within the judiciary? ……………………………. NO
Transparency International is a global civil society coalition leading the fight against corruption. It compiles a number of measures of different aspects of corruption including the Corruption Perceptions Index, the Global Corruption Barometer, and the Bribe Payers Index. Information on Transparency International can be found at http://www.transparency.org and detailed information on the Corruption Perceptions Index can be found at http://www.transparency.org/cpi
Transparency International New Zealand is the local chapter of Transparency International and is an independent registered charity. Information on TI-NZ, including New Zealand’s performance in the Global Corruption Barometer and the As Good As We Are Perceived? report can be found at http://www.transparency.org.nz
The Convention entered into force on 14 December 2005, in accordance with its article 68 (1). For each new State or regional economic integration organization becoming a party to the Convention, the Convention enters into force on the thirtieth day after the date of deposit by such State or organization of the relevant instrument.
Status: Signatories: 140 ,Parties: 154.
Authoritative status information on treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption, is available on the United Nations Treaty Collection.
We don’t do too well on the ‘corruption reality’ check list do we ? Perhaps we are a banana republic after all?
Thanks for all your ‘watchdogging’ Penny. You are one brave,principled lady.
Rethink opposing asset sales and a Capital Gains Tax, welfare reform, National Standards.
Apparently, in Armstrongs world, voters don’t care about asset sales and parents like National Standards. Polls on the issues suggest otherwise.
A CGT isn’t necessary and looking at ways of alleviating poverty (anything other than make/compel people to be work ready in the absence of jobs) is unpopular.
Labour also has some ‘1/2 baked ideas’ amongst its policies.
I guess there is a difference between mimicing the ‘do nothing’ ‘grab bag’ of ideas run by the current Government, in order to be elected short term, and actually doing some hard thinking about the countries future needs.
What Armstrong hasn’t bothered to factor in are the economic, social and environmental turmoil we are going to experience in the next 10 years. Doing nothing may have been most popular this year but won’t do much to help NZ in 5 years time. If Armstrong thinks that things are going to quickly default to pre 2008 conditions and be benign enough for a do nothing neo-liberalism to remain popular, I suggest he is deluded.
Rather than lurch toward the brand of neo-liberal ‘grab bag’ politics, Labour needs to continue doing thinking about appropriate long term answers to the questions now being posed. The 2011 election manifesto was a good start.
Mister Armstrong can no doubt continue to be a cheer leader for brand ‘do nothing’.
Well, well, why so silent during the election campaign Brian Gaynor? What a disgrace!
How many would have voted for JokyHen if they had seen this sort of commentary?
“…Key and Finance Minister Bill English have a reputation for being prudent financial managers yet their three-year deficit of $35.5 billion
compares with a $35.6 billion surplus by the previous Labour Government
and a $5.7 billion surplus by the 1990 to 1999 National Government…”
“…But the best way to look at Government debt is as a percentage of GDP. The last two Labour Governments reduced Government debt as a percentage of GDP but only one of the three National Governments – the Bolger/Shipley Administration – has produced a similar result…”
In addition to various wild shootings in Wairoa amongst weekend activities, fires in the far north, asians being blown sky high in the Urerewas, …
There are without doubt incidents of rampant violence in the face of authority going on more and more. Has anybody else noticed this? And what does it mean? And should we all of us buy guns? Like the US government? Or even our government? Do we follow our leaders in declaring war? Or do we circle the wagons?
A bit of a wobble in Nelson guessing more than 4. Centred in Wellington I think – that place needs a shake-up. 5.7 40 km from Wellington towards Picton.
Like domestic assaults I suppose. Depends on the reporting. And we are much more aware since Ch CH. In the past I might have just noticed tonight’s earthquake but now I worry that it is a signal in Marlborough that might be a flow on effect from a more serious quake elsewhere.
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The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
The change allows for devices that do screening, similar to at drink-drive checkpoints, rather than having to test oral fluid to an evidentiary standard. ...
Almost 40% of those departing NZ long-term are aged 18 to 30. What sort of country will they leave behind, asks Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Young people leading the charge out the door Last year saw ...
New Health Minister Simeon Brown is presiding over a list of resignations from high-ranking health officials that some say is a "bloodbath". What's going on? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Rickerby, Lecturer, School of Product Design, University of Canterbury The Poly-1. MOTAT , CC BY-NC Some 45 years ago, a team of staff and students at Wellington Polytechnic designed and built a desktop computer with an operating system customised for ...
The Forum has raised concerns regarding the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill and the Regulatory Standards Bill, which, if enacted, will radically undermine existing human rights protections, Indigenous rights, and constitutional safeguards ...
The passage of time hasn’t been kind to Ngāi Tahu.When its High Court hearing over wai māori (freshwater) commenced last week, 52 months after the claim was filed, the tribe mourned the loss of two named first plaintiffs – Bishop Richard Wallace, of Makaawhio, and Theo Bunker, of Wairewa – ...
Margie Apa, Nicholas Jones, Diana Sarfati, the board of Health New Zealand … and will Lester Levy be next?The biggest names in our health service are tumbling like dominos.It’s been called a bloodbath and a crisis.What’s going on?Every day there’s a new story about shortages, patients having to wait for ...
Opinion: The coalition Government’s recent revisions to the business investor visa, officially the Active Investor Plus but commonly known as the ‘golden visa’, has put pay-for-residency back in the headlines. While many object to the commodification of citizenship implicit in this policy, questions should be asked about its potential as ...
One Christmas, to thank him for helping me hugely with my writing (on a mentor scheme), I sent Michael King a dark blue cashmere scarf. I chose it with the awful knowledge that he was battling cancer, and I somehow thought it might keep him warm and make him feel ...
Comment: Readers may recall the commentaries from academics that appeared on these pages as well as on many media outlets, alarmed and appalled by the disbanding of the Marsden panels for humanities and the social sciences.The Marsden Fund is a “blue skies” initiative established by Simon Upton in the 1990s. ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard seven hours of submissions. Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.An “insult to every one of our tīpuna” was the first advice the Justice Committee heard on the Treaty principles bill ...
The same councillors who decry excessive spending on pet projects just voted to pump millions of dollars into a greenhouse for flowers. On Thursday last week, Wellington City Council voted to consult on repairing Begonia House, the greenhouse for exotic flowers in Wellington Botanic Garden. The options for repairs range ...
It’s important to respect people’s right to free speech and peaceful assembly, but how much political deference is due when it isn’t peaceful? Commenting on Destiny Church members storming a children’s event at the Te Atatū library and community centre on Saturday, prime minister Christopher Luxon said it’s important to ...
Comment: US is capitulating to Moscow’s demands before negotiations over Ukraine even begin The post The day the West died appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Asia Pacific Report Two Palestinian resistance groups have condemned “the brutal assault” on prisoners at Ofer Prison, saying it was “barbaric criminal behaviour that reflects the fascist and terrorist nature of” Israel. In the joint statement, Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) called the attack a “miserable attempt” by Israel ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist in Avarua, Rarotonga Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown hopes to have “an opportunity to talk” with the New Zealand government to “heal some of the rift”. Brown returned to Avarua on Sunday afternoon (Cook Islands Time) following his week-long state visit to China, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sonia R. Grover, Clinical Professor of Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne Polina Zimmerman/Pexels Menstruation, or a period, is the bleeding that occurs about monthly in healthy people born with a uterus, from puberty to menopause. This happens when the endometrium, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ella Barclay, Senior Lecturer, School of Art and Design, Australian National University Despite the perceived outrage at Khaled Sabsabi’s depiction of Hassan Nasrallah in his 2007 work You, Australian art has long made subjects of outlaws and questionable figures. And it is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Pryke, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia “It’s an old song”, Hermes (Christine Anu) sings at the opening of Hadestown, but “we’re gonna sing it again and again”. Based on a ...
An additional $13 million will be invested in tourism infrastructure, including upgrading huts and resolving the backlog in Milford Sound concessions. ...
The reality is that we have no obligation to tolerate the intolerant. They are using violence to shut down and silence others. The result of tolerating intolerant views is the loss of everyone’s freedom of speech except for the one who most effectively ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Davis, Associate Professor in Conservation, Edith Cowan University Adwo/Shutterstock Humans have been poisoning rodents for centuries. But fast-breeding rats and mice have evolved resistance to earlier poisons. In response, manufacturers have produced second generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as bromadiolone, widely ...
Alex Casey unearths Simon Court’s full sales pitch for how menstrual cups could end poverty. On Friday last week, Act MP Simon Court was accused of “mansplaining” during a parliamentary committee hearing about benefit sanctions. After submitter Rachel Dibble shared her concerns about period poverty and the impact that sanctions ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato It’s an unfortunate fact that bad people sometimes want guns. And while laws are designed to prevent guns falling into the wrong hands, the determined criminal can be highly resourceful. There are three main ...
Asia Pacific Report Two independent Jewish Voices groups in Aotearoa New Zealand have written an open letter to the government condemning the Zionist “colonisation” project leading to genocide and criticising the role of the NZ Jewish Council for its “unelected” and “uncritical support” for Israel. The groups, Alternative Jewish Voices ...
Team Cunliffe is staging a fight back.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6079460/Cunliffe-cleanout-needed-now
It seems to me that if Cunliffe gets to lead Labour, by countering the media, astroturfer and centrist/right-leaning campaign against them, he is well on the way to mounting a credible challenge for a Labour-led government in 2014.
Good move to characterise the apparent “newness” of Shearer, as a new face for the old guard. And to indicate an inclusive, non-factionalist party by signalling a front bench role for Shearer in a Cunliffe-led Labour caucus.
Good. Seriously exploring radical plans for change are probably more important than who heads the eventual changes.
Good move to characterise the apparent “newness” of Shearer, as a new face for the old guard.
That’s an interesting (and valid) twist.
The Labour party is going to split in two.
Old Labour vs New Labour.
I don’t think so but post vote behaviour will be important. Cunliffe has offered Shearer a front bench position, Shearer so far has not done the same.
Along what grounds Brett?
Anyway in an MMP environment would that really be a bad thing?.
I know nobody here will agree but NZ needs to have it’s two main parties just on either side of central you can’t have the country lurching one way or the other every three,six, nine years.
The wastage is immense, the people hate it and the country never moves forward because we are in a constant state of change all the time.
This is why Shearer must lead the Labour party as he will pull Labour back to the center where the majority of the votes are.
Cunliffe should take the activists, the union delegates and form his own party, then he could form a coalition with the Labour lead Shearer party.
That would make a pretty powerful block.
More like the Nats should get rid of the neo-libs so they’re more centrist. The centre has moved way to right in the last decade or so
It is extremely hard to be clear about what people mean by the term “centre” and in fact they tend to mean different things. Key & his cronies tend to mean assuaging fears while continuing with the neoliberal project, and pulling back where there is danger of losing popularity. Dunne seems to define it as some sort of golden mean, while supporting Key’s policies.
When a Labour person is described as “more centrist” I often have no idea as to whether this means that they have little time for identity politics (as seems to be the case with Damian O’Connor) or whether they think that our best bet is to find some accommodation with neoliberal economics, perhaps at the expense of the already poor. Or something else again.
Colloquially the term often simply means “me” – as in those fatter than me are fat, those older than me are old, etc. Someone mentioned a few days ago (I cannot remember who) that NZers tend to see themselves as middle class, often against the evidence, which adds another layer of occlusion to the term.
To me being centrist doesn’t mean always having middle of the road views and always supporting middle of the road policies. Rather, it’s a starting point where I hope I’ll look properly at both sides of an issue and decide what I think is best from there.
Being centrist means I can still support social policies and I can still support capitalist policies instead of feeling bound to lean one way or the other.
I try to pick the best of whatever policies are proposed, and look for the best ways of implementing them.
This approach can be fair to those in need of assistance, and fair to those who work harder.
PG you have defended Nationals policies at all costs during the campaign now you are defending the ever reducing popularity of the one man band Unbalanced Follicles you have no principles so nothing to defend boring people to death.Your 160 odd and i mean ODD votes in Dunedin North they must have been so fed up with you harassing them they gave you their vote to get rid of you . I don’t imagine you have that many family or friends.
I haven’t defended National policies at all costs.
Most candidates of both Dunedin electorates (there were 16) and all MPs I talked to (3/4) indicated support for what I’m initiating in Dunedin.
The fact that I get abused by a handful of off-topic posters here is no reflection on what sort of reception I have got elsewhere, especially around Dunedin.
Why the ignorant speculation on family and friends? Do you them to be put off Labour for good as well? I’m surprised how much nastiness there is on political blogs, doesn’t seem to be a great way to attract support.
Wait for Peter Dunne to vote for National’s policies at all costs.
Pete G when are you going to come out and take a principled stance as a United First candidate against asset sales.
Yes, but the terms “centre” tells me nothing about the criterion on which you base your idea of what is best. Nothing about the position from which you determine what is in the balance.
It depends entirely on the issue.
In reality I think most people vote more on personality and perceived trust than they do on some theoretical claimed ideological position.
I always thought a centrist was someone who could not make up their mind!
I always thought you didn’t understand.
I always knew you did not have a sense of humor.
He who walks in the centre of the road gets knocked down.Late Nye Bevin .1946
Dunne and the rest of UF have fallen into what I call the Myth of the Middle
The thing is that they can claim any position as radical and what they want as the “middle”. Of course, if you need a radical change plotting a middle course doesn’t help either and we need radical change. Continuing with failed capitalism isn’t doing us any favours.
Especially when it is a crony cartel capitalism driven by financial fraud.
+1 Couldn’t have put it better myself.
lololololol
you have no understanding of the Labour Party.
Chasing votes in the centre is someone else’s job, not Labour’s.
Then they shouldn’t be a main party.
Says who? Says you? And on what basis?
Are give you a clue mate – its the electorate which decides whether or not Labour is a main party. And having done signficantly better than Bill English’s 20.9% I suggest that Labour still has a broad base to rebuild from.
If the party goes the way you want it to, I doubt Labour would be able to scrape together 10%.
Your political views probably represent about 5% of the population.
If they went radical left I suspect that they’d be able to pick the majority of the people who didn’t vote. They may lose a few centrists and neo-liberals but, IMO, they’d actually have more votes (and probably members) after.
Brett, at best your political views only represent 1% of the population – the top 1% who want to rule us all in a dictatorship. You just don’t realise it.
sorry cv but i disagree – centre on the voter identifier matrix is defined by a ever shifting double peak extremely wide and flat bell curve. people base there vote and identity on a wide range of aspects not just left right centre..and more importnantly the double dip centre if not really in the middle but a dynamic flux situation with outliers, and falloff tails to the right and left.
then each electrorate is different as well that why its importnant the local labour candiate go after both perosnal and party vote based on the elctrorate bias i.e damian oconnor,grant robertson.
Brett you know the left block came within a whisker of vicTory and with special votes low majorities in some seats the left may still win though unlikely with up to five seats hanging by a thread it could cause an over hang.
Brett you are obviously a Tory and one of your main weapons through out hisTory has been to divide and conquer with any means possible
Can’t wait for Winnie to have his cup of tea under parliamentary privilege The thin Teflon will be worn somewhat more and the yellow press will be exposed some what more
Brett this is MMP and its left block verses right the right has less versatility now National has all the power.
Exactly. Labour up 2% on 29% and National down 2% on 46% and Key would have been toast.
with 1 million non voters what 1/3 not voting – hardly a represenation of the electrorate
Brett
Although I don’t agree with the premise of your argument that Shearer is more centrist than Cunliffe, you make a good point about the financial cost of our political process whereby one party makes huge changes that the other party will simply change back when they gain power. Both National and Labour are guilty of this dysfunction. However it is more to do with our hierarchical structuring and an outdated mode of representation.
The solution is to allow the public to vote directly on policy with parties being advocates for their respective policies. The stability of the general public is preferable to the combative and wasteful political process that is clearly failing to engage many New Zealander’s in decision making.
+1
That’s why I’m so in favour of online voting. It’d make it easy to have the discussion and vote on policies.
That would be a terrible thing – there’s no upside to it! I keep hearing that it would be oh-so-secure, linked to everyone’s online banking etc – but not everyone does online banking (it took me years to decide that it was probably safe.) My son just told me about a colleague of his who has – along with her husband, just been wiped out by a hacker – $50 000… Luckily their bank is reimbursing them. But safe is relative! I just watched last night, the curiously passionless documentary ‘Hacking Democracy’, about Diebold and the 2004 election – although Kerry had proof that the Bushites stole the election with the connivance of Diebold, he caved, and whilst some of his supporters were angry, most Americans shrugged and said “meh’, which is what I mean about passionless. If Americans won’t stick up for themselves, it’s absolutely true that New Zealanders won’t. On-line voting would see us more completely fried than we already are.
perception perception and more perception – just give me an honest leader someone not so tied up in party spin and poli speak and i will give you one million voters
Perhaps we could have some basics explained here.
Brett, you could start by telling us what
“…the country never moves forward …” actually means.
Are you suggesting that every enactment of every piece of legislation is taking the country forward. In whose perspective, and where or what is this future exactly?
We already had that a few years ago. Labour held the centre, and the Alliance held the more socialist left. Then both Anderton and McCarten got too stubborn for their own good, and look where we are now.
If the Alliance had held itself together, the period of 2002-08 would have seen a lot more left policies than there actually was. Remember: Kiwibank was an Alliance initiative and now has support across the political spectrum (I think even Don Brash was lukewarm on selling it). Same with paid perental leave.
In addition, the Greens would have been able to focus on environmental issues, rather than try and be a socialist party as well.
For the brief duration of this scrap, maybe. But its one of those necessary things.
Yes but more importantly its hugely entertaining to watch
Ever so funny, ha ha ha. If politics is just another RWC circus for the right, then it makes sense that we’re only aspiring to muddle through. That’s why prison building, more motorways and National Standards are apparently all the political outcomes we need. Dinemic. Dig more coal.
Just say no especially this early
Labour has always aired its dirty linen in public . Thats good democracy at work ,not like National Act who do nearly all their dirty deal behind closed doors.Unfortunately Act has done its dirty dealings in public recently and has now been absorbed back into National.
A prickly subject as Cacti Kate would say.
Exactly. Labour need to do this.
Anyway, righties, I’d be far more worried about who will lead National than Labour at the moment. Key has already asked party leaders if he can step down (closed door meeting, Marie Quinn and others in attendance). Who will replace him. I’m delighted that Labour has a bevy of potential leaders. Far better than National who literally have nobody palatable.
@Tigger-when/where did you hear about Key possibly stepping down?
And you are correct, it is a real plus that Labour is spoilt for choice as regards potential leaders, whereas National is definitely ‘leader lite.’
“Key has already asked party leaders if he can step down (closed door meeting, Marie Quinn and others in attendance)”
Got any links for this, or is this from personal sources?
Early on in his term as PM I thought I’d read his CV to see how long he typically stayed in roles. It’s one of the things I look at when I interview people, because their past behaviour indicates how long they might stay in the role they are being interviewed for.
From what I could see most of John Key’s roles have lasted two or three years, and his longest in any role is about five years. If he does two full terms as PM it will be the longest he has ever stuck at one role, so on this basis I think it is unlikely he will be leader of the National Party for an election in late 2014.
Given that righties play on emotional voters how is Cunliffe going to help Labour, he’ll make an excellent Finance Minister but to beat the right the Labour party need to grab voters by their emotional tails.
Goff had trouble with putting gst off, cgt on, threshold free into any emotional terms.
Universal tax cut, healthy fairer tax system.
Well who the hell are you to comment on the Labour Party.It appears to me that every damm Tory ,rightwing nutter and those Right-wing
columnists /Bloggers like Holmes .Garner ,Farrar and all the rest of the of the Right -Wing neo fascists know better than the Labour Party itself . My message to this cunning lot is piss of look after your own sleazy party .Labour is well able to manage its own affairs.
I mentioned a few days back that Garner said there was going to be a blood bath over the leadership .he is looking a bit green ,Because the leadership is being run very well and involving grass roots members . Its certainly run more democratically than the Nats BRT dominated Leader elections. Remember “No Brash no Money ‘ a couple of elections ago
@ Carol 6.49am
Good comment Carol. Agree with all your points. Thought the same myself when I read this article earlier.
I was really heartened by Cunliffe’s intelligent ‘fightback’, as well as Nanaia Mahuta’s pertinent shut down of Tamihere’s ignorant remarks yesterday.
Cunliffe and Mahuta could be a formidable team. Just what Labour needs.
Shearer >>> foreign affairs…FTW!!!
Excellent idea pollyw.
I find it very odd that the prospective leaders are being drawn into televised debates, something National and their ministers avoided at all costs.
I don’t. Hiding everything from view is normal behaviour of the RWNJs in their attempt to create a dictatorship with them in control. Actually involving everybody else is how you build a community that governs itself.
Getting to know the other David Labour MP – David Clark.
So let me understand this. Long ago Maori sold their assets cheap to foreigners.
Now MSM believe that Maori Party will survive politically by working with National in any shape or form?
I thought Maori had more integrity, but no, they still want to work with National.
which is perplexing since shoring up National only makes the inevitable collapse worse for Maori.
well my opinion is it is ttrime to get rid of leighton smith from newstalk zb.
this monster is a cretin of the first order.
all last week he used his position to denigrate the candidates for the NZLP leader.
then he got stuck into Helen Clarke, the United Nations and last but not least the president of the unites states Barack Obama.
there is nothing nice about this person but yet he keeps spewing his filth and ignorance all over us daily.
no wonder kiwis are so messed up. on one hand they are told they are wonderful people because they won the world cup but on the other this fountain of bile runs rampant every day.
time to make some radical changes in this country starting with the pinheads in the media.
I refuse to listen to Newstalk ZB – it is offensive all the time!
I tried to make a comment on air once. I got started and then he hung up on me the rude pratt!
me too – twice
This.
National’s privatization dreamland
Despite the National party only gaining 23% of the populations vote, John Key believes National has a mandate to sell off our best performing SOE’s…
NOAA: Arctic settles into new phase – warmer, greener, and less ice.
http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/press_conf/ARC2011_finalvisuals.pdf
Goebells Smith finished me with ZB talkback.
Right wing (virtually Fascist) slants on everything.
Laws finished me with the other talkback lot.
Why is the Labour leadership battle being fought so publicly when the only media coverage is certainly prejudiced against the left?
And why are the National groupies all favouring Shearer?
This is what I think, it publicly airs the winners and losers and if anything build future stories about factionalism in Labour.
Not to mention, yet once again, the focus is all on Labour for the wrong reasons, and National just gets to cruise along without any scrutiny – you would think last term would have taught them something.
The “TV debates” were pure hubris, they should have kept it at a grass roots level and then come from that with unity or at least the perception of it.
I think, for a Labour leadership team to be successful, they have to find a way of dealing with, or operating successfully inspite of, the right wing MSM and astroturfers. These right wingers will try to undermine Labour and their leader, however they go about things.
So the leadership contest is a kind of baptism of fire.
“And why are the National groupies all favouring Shearer?”
At a guess I would say that because his efforts have sought the complete opposite end of theirs, they consider his achievements to be totally worthless, so he too is totally worthless. At the centre of their thinking is the rule that anything not like them is wrong and worthless – the sneers follow from there.
I am merely a spectator to the LP leadership process, but I would like to emphasise that just because National want Shearer, it should have no bearing at all on the decision of the LP and it’s members to choose as they see fit.
http://annieappelphotography.blogspot.com/
Every Thursday since October 13 I’ve driven 20 minutes up the highway with my Rolleiflex camera and a handful of film and asked the activists at Occupy Los Angeles their greatest hope for a positive outcome in this global movement toward change
WOW! Terrific idea and commitment.
Thank you Joe for something wonderful that I would not have seen or ‘heard’ if it were not for you. Thanks too to all the occupiers for sharing their hopes and occupying for change.
3 December 2011
‘Blowing the whistle’ on Transparency International’s 2011 ‘Corruption Perception Index’ – where NZ is ‘perceived’ to be the least corrupt country in the world.
http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/
WHAT UTTER GARBAGE IS THIS??
In my considered opinion, as a GENUINE ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner – if NZ is perceived to be the ‘least corrupt country in the world’ then Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is not worth the paper upon which it is written.
As a delegate – I personally distributed about 400 copies of the following ‘NZ Corruption Reality Checklist’ amongst the 1200 delegates from 135 countries who were represented at the 2010 Transparency International 14th International Anti-Corruption Conference which I attended in Bangkok last year.
(Funded by donations received from fellow concerned citizens who support the work I am doing as an ‘anti-corruption’ campaigner.)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
CORRUPTION REALITY CHECKLIST – NEW ZEALAND
1. Has NZ ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption? ……… NO
2. Does NZ have an independent anti-corruption body tasked with educating the public and PREVENTING corruption? ……. NO
3. Do NZ’s laws ensure transparency in the funding of candidates for elected public office and political parties at central government level? …………………. NO
4. Do NZ Members of Parliament have a ‘Code of Conduct’? NO
5. Do NZ Local Govt elected reps have a ‘Code of Conduct’? ……. YES
6. Is it an offence for NZ Local Govt elected reps to breach the ‘Code of Conduct’? NO
7. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available ‘Register of Interests’ for NZ Local Govt elected reps? …………………NO
8. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available ‘Register of Interests’ for NZ Central Govt staff responsible for procurement? ……………… NO
9. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available ‘Register of Interests’ for NZ Local Govt staff responsible for procurement? ………. NO
10. Is there a lawful requirement for details of ‘contracts issued’ – including the name of the contractor; scope, term and value of the contract to be published in NZ Central Govt Public Sector, and Local Govt (Council) Annual Reports so that they are available for public scrutiny?……. NO
11. Is it a lawful requirement that a ‘cost-benefit analysis’ of NZ Central Govt public finances be undertaken to substantiate that private procurement of public services previously provided ‘in-house’ is cost-effective for the public majority? ………NO
12. Is it a lawful requirement that a ‘cost-benefit analysis’ of NZ Local Govt public finances be undertaken to substantiate that private procurement of public services previously provided ‘in-house’ is cost-effective for the public majority? ………NO
13. Does NZ have a legally-enforcable ‘Code of Conduct’ for members of the NZ Judiciary? ……NO
14. Are all NZ Court proceedings recorded, and audio records made available to parties who request them?……………NO
15. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available NZ Judicial ‘Register of Interests’? …. NO
16. Is there a lawful requirement for a publicly-available NZ ‘Register of Lobbyists’ at Central Govt Ministerial level? ………… NO
17. Is there a legal requirement at NZ Central and Local Govt level for a ‘post-separation employment quarantine ‘ period’ from the time officials leave the public service to take up a similar role in the private sector?………………NO
18. Is it a lawful requirement that it is only a binding vote of the public majority that can determine whether public assets held at NZ Central Govt or Local Govt level are sold; or long-term leased via Public-Private –Partnerships? …………………. NO
19. Is it unlawful in NZ for politicians to knowingly misrepresent their policies prior to election at central or local government level? …………………………. NO
20. Do NZ laws promote and protect individuals, NGOs and community-based organisations who are ‘whistleblowing’ against ‘conflicts of interest’ and corrupt practices at central and local govt level and within the judiciary? ……………………………. NO
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1112/S00005/new-zealand-tops-latest-global-anti-corruption-index.htm
Transparency International is a global civil society coalition leading the fight against corruption. It compiles a number of measures of different aspects of corruption including the Corruption Perceptions Index, the Global Corruption Barometer, and the Bribe Payers Index. Information on Transparency International can be found at http://www.transparency.org and detailed information on the Corruption Perceptions Index can be found at http://www.transparency.org/cpi
Transparency International New Zealand is the local chapter of Transparency International and is an independent registered charity. Information on TI-NZ, including New Zealand’s performance in the Global Corruption Barometer and the As Good As We Are Perceived? report can be found at http://www.transparency.org.nz
The Office of the Auditor General’s report Cleanest public sector in the world: Keeping fraud at bay can be found at http://www.oag.govt.nz/2011/public-sector-fraud/docs/overview-report.pdf
Information on the UN Convention Against Corruption can be found at http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/
http://www.oag.govt.nz/whats-new/2011/corruption-perceptions-index-2011
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/
I-42146 United Nations Convention against C…
See Details 31/10/2003 14/12/2005 Open Multilateral
Signature/ratification status
The Convention entered into force on 14 December 2005, in accordance with its article 68 (1). For each new State or regional economic integration organization becoming a party to the Convention, the Convention enters into force on the thirtieth day after the date of deposit by such State or organization of the relevant instrument.
Status: Signatories: 140 ,Parties: 154.
Authoritative status information on treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption, is available on the United Nations Treaty Collection.
[Link to Full Status Page]
http://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=UNTSONLINE&tabid=2&mtdsg_no=XVIII-14&chapter=18&lang=en#Participants
Country
Signature Ratification, Acceptance (A), Approval (AA), Accession (a), Succession (d)
New Zealand 10 Dec 2003
_______________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
[email deleted]
We don’t do too well on the ‘corruption reality’ check list do we ? Perhaps we are a banana republic after all?
Thanks for all your ‘watchdogging’ Penny. You are one brave,principled lady.
Young Natz are boring
Six young natz show just how brain dead boring they are in a video negatively endorsing Cunliffe. I transcribed it because the audio is shite!
Yep young Labour would be embarassed if they made something this bad. As an example of how it is really done there is an example here.
For a bit of contrast, here’s the Young Greens video to try to get young people to vote.
W
Well at least they are sticking to the approved script for forcing a meme.
“Dishonesty, disloyalty, and arrogance”.
John Armstrong offers his opinion on some policy changes Labour needs to put in place in order to be electable
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10770511
Rethink opposing asset sales and a Capital Gains Tax, welfare reform, National Standards.
Apparently, in Armstrongs world, voters don’t care about asset sales and parents like National Standards. Polls on the issues suggest otherwise.
A CGT isn’t necessary and looking at ways of alleviating poverty (anything other than make/compel people to be work ready in the absence of jobs) is unpopular.
Labour also has some ‘1/2 baked ideas’ amongst its policies.
I guess there is a difference between mimicing the ‘do nothing’ ‘grab bag’ of ideas run by the current Government, in order to be elected short term, and actually doing some hard thinking about the countries future needs.
What Armstrong hasn’t bothered to factor in are the economic, social and environmental turmoil we are going to experience in the next 10 years. Doing nothing may have been most popular this year but won’t do much to help NZ in 5 years time. If Armstrong thinks that things are going to quickly default to pre 2008 conditions and be benign enough for a do nothing neo-liberalism to remain popular, I suggest he is deluded.
Rather than lurch toward the brand of neo-liberal ‘grab bag’ politics, Labour needs to continue doing thinking about appropriate long term answers to the questions now being posed. The 2011 election manifesto was a good start.
Mister Armstrong can no doubt continue to be a cheer leader for brand ‘do nothing’.
Wonder what Centre-bet odds are for Armstrong getting recognition in the New Years Honours Lists? What the category might be …
Well, well, why so silent during the election campaign Brian Gaynor? What a disgrace!
How many would have voted for JokyHen if they had seen this sort of commentary?
“…Key and Finance Minister Bill English have a reputation for being prudent financial managers yet their three-year deficit of $35.5 billion
compares with a $35.6 billion surplus by the previous Labour Government
and a $5.7 billion surplus by the 1990 to 1999 National Government…”
“…But the best way to look at Government debt is as a percentage of GDP. The last two Labour Governments reduced Government debt as a percentage of GDP but only one of the three National Governments – the Bolger/Shipley Administration – has produced a similar result…”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10770465
I wonder if the wild west is spreading its stench of contagion……
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6081514/Shooting-outside-Tokoroa-police-station
In addition to various wild shootings in Wairoa amongst weekend activities, fires in the far north, asians being blown sky high in the Urerewas, …
There are without doubt incidents of rampant violence in the face of authority going on more and more. Has anybody else noticed this? And what does it mean? And should we all of us buy guns? Like the US government? Or even our government? Do we follow our leaders in declaring war? Or do we circle the wagons?
A bit of a wobble in Nelson guessing more than 4. Centred in Wellington I think – that place needs a shake-up. 5.7 40 km from Wellington towards Picton.
Significant earthquake top of the South 7:20pm 10seconds approx. Hope it is not a more serious one further away?
There it is:
Reference Number: 3620927
NZDT: Sat, Dec 3 2011 7:19 pm
Magnitude: 5.7
Depth: 60 km
Details: 30 km east of Picton
That must be close to Wellington????
Phewee, at least it’s deep. Bloody hell. Are there more quakes or are we just more aware of them? That is )one of( the question.
Here’s the answer: Earthquakes on the Increase.
Like domestic assaults I suppose. Depends on the reporting. And we are much more aware since Ch CH. In the past I might have just noticed tonight’s earthquake but now I worry that it is a signal in Marlborough that might be a flow on effect from a more serious quake elsewhere.
NZ plates are slipping under Oz’s aren’t they? Hope that it is a nice deep quiet settling but sounds like it’s deep enough for plates to be moving.
prism.
Generally true but a little more complicated than that. one section of NZ is overriding he Aussie palte.
http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://modernsurvivalblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/new-zealand-plate-tectonics.jpg&imgrefurl=http://modernsurvivalblog.com/earthquakes/another-quake-rocks-christchurch-new-zealand/&usg=__kFRUj5jt35StouBsg3MgCaCspzQ=&h=342&w=600&sz=84&hl=en&start=2&zoom=1&tbnid=zsLjwjSfLz03oM:&tbnh=77&tbnw=135&ei=_evZTsShDs_jmAWLw4DCCw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnz%2Bplate%2Btectonics%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D800%26bih%3D346%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Dimvns&itbs=1
Bullshit reporting from TV One
On the TV One six O’clock news tonight, reporter Matt McLean informed us that the shellfish in Tauranga was safe to eat. However there’s still a Waikato District Health Board warning out for Tauranga and other areas saying the shellfish is toxic…
Is it just me, or is the New Zealand cricket team completely and utterly useless?
Yeah it is. They’re bloody average, but you’re the useless one.
They won’t even let you carry the drinks 🙂
This map shows very clearly where to live and where not to live with respect to active fault lines.
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/active-faults/1/1
Note that back in the mid-1800s NZers decided to move the capital to one of the worst possible places.
Christchurch looks pretty safe, eh?
felix.
Until you increase the magnification. And until you remember it was built on a swamp. And until you remember there was a volcano just over the hill.
So all those tiny fine grey lines…?