Back in the day when Richard Long and Karl du Fresne ran the show at the Dominion, there was never any supportive commentary for the 1990-1999 government, nor any criticism – just balanced reporting and columnists and guest writers who added their expertise and insight.
Nor had they any part in the Herald led winter of discontent in 2000 after Labour was elected in 1999.
The only thing I could criticise about it was that it was so white, the constant support for a low tax regime and there was limited resort to left wing opinion to balance out the occasional lapse to right wing comment and reporting of pro business voices.
So it is understandable, that someone use to balance in MSM, such as from former state broadcasters Mike Hosking and Sean Plunkett, would find it totally untenable for there to be any criticism of the dynamic and approach of the new government from anyone employed in state owned media, such as RNZ and TVNZ.
The public servants this government will want to change the most, also happen to be in departments that will slow-walk the change the most: NZTA, Education, Welfare, Oranga Tamariki, DIA, and Kainga Ora.
There are also many agencies that will do really well out of this government, like NZPolice, MPI, and Corrections. Believe it or not I think health will do really well too.
A few like Kiwirail and ACC and HRC will shrink.
The rest as usual will just assume a crouch position. And in that position they will assume rightly that this National-led government is so incoherent and inexperienced that little will occur to them or with them.
I'll add this here as it was not "published" on the Daily Blog.
Sean Plunkett never came out openly as, a knuckle dragging champion of white race nation supremacy via majority while the boomers live (and by landed gentry estate wealth and power afterwards), while working in state broadcasting.
In his day, establishment expressed its cultural hegemony merely with the dominant presence of the white face affecting a toned accent of the wealthier suburb, or private school.
Whereas du Fresne, one of the Mr Magoo's at the Dominion was always a Garth George, but one without a conscience.
That said Plunkett has become boorish on radio and on x social media and Du Fresne can still write in complete sentences.
PS The reason we have state radio and TV is so that there is journalism not beholden to the advertisers/corporate sponsors that serves all New Zealanders, especially those without a voice or status in society.
He has a job at Sean Plunkett's, The Platform – the pertinent point being some want John Campbell to be accountable to the owner of TVNZ and not criticise the government in power.
"…just balanced reporting and columnists and guest writers who added their expertise and insight."
In a sense, Campbell is writing as a 'Columnist', is he not? His piece is clearly labelled as 'Opinion', and so his writing is his own and we are free to critique the points he makes, as Du Fresne has done with some skill.
As to balance, the points Campbell makes about the Labour party under the sections headed "Then there was Chippy" and "Where is Labour now" are pretty brutal, so it's hard to get too worked up.
Taking a wider view, I would like to see opinion pieces such as this subject to rebuttal in the same publication. That would surely lead to better quality opinion writing and provide a counter to accusations of a lack of balance.
Sort of, his title is Chief Correspondent. He is like an investigative reporter with a license to do in depth stories.
Such will usually question what is going on, thus will be deemed by some anti-government of the day (in this case more left than Labour, or just left under National).
One would have thought serious people in the industry would get this but curmudgeonly they resile from their stated values and go partisan and demand complacency/complicity by those in state owned media – once National is in government.
"In December the UN Women’s UK committee appointed a male who presents in a highly sexualised stereotype of womanhood as an ambassador for women. We coordinated a letter from seventeen UK campaign groups to register our dismay, as reported in the Times today.
UN Women has made a point of demonstrating that it considers males can become women."
mindblowing. Even if one accepts males into women's roles*, Bergdorf is clearly unsuitable. Which makes me think this is about the new boys network and women who've lost their goddam minds.
*there’s really no excuse for that either other than deciding that the needs of TW outweigh the rights of women.
Some happy news – Jacinda and Clarke have set their wedding date. She so deserves a wonderful celebration at last. (Hope there will be some photos released!)
"Now wait for the conspiracy delusionists and naysayers to start posting crap."
Yes. Like the horrible stuff that was tossed at Helen Clark and her husband, Peter Davis which in essence was: their marriage was a convenient arrangement that would allow both of them to have same-sex relationships under the radar. I knew them both and they had been in a stable relationship for years before they married.
I still find it hard to believe that this kind of evil garbage is allowed to fester and spread without any attempt by the powers-that-be to bring the culprits to book. They are not hard to find. I knew one of the culprits well.
It should be noted this kind of crap comes from right wingers, and their targets are always left leaning women politicians – something the MSM never see fit to highlight.
I remember that well. A flood of bullshit about their marriage being one of convenience. And some very nasty mudslinging about Peter as well. Fortunately, it was all before the internet, but the anonymous letters were all over the place – I got at least one of them from London of all places.
I knew the stories were not true. I have been in their house, I have even been in their bedroom – and you could tell by the books on each bedside table – who slept where!
Visubversa, you might know – or at least know of – the person who started those stories. She was linked to the Mt Albert LEC in the 1970s and early 1980s, then moved on to the New Lynn LEC for a while. Her reasons for being in the LP were always suspect but that is another story.
Very possibly. I moved into the Mt Albert electorate in 1981 and joined the Labour Party then. Helen Clark actually signed me up. However 1981 was a busy year, I had an old new house and there was that small interruption called a Springbok Tour – and I was living 800m from Eden Park. My deeper involvement with the Party was a couple of years later.
She was part of the Douglas/Prebble faction battling to take control of the party in the 1980s. A large part of the game was to discredit Helen Clark and you will know better than I what happened because I shifted to the Shore in 1983. I do know however she caused a lot of trouble for a variety of high profile people in politics – and elsewhere – with her false claims about them. She was getting help along the way, but that is the other story.
I'm not sure how that kind of 'evil garbage' being allowed to fester and spread could have been curtailed.
Attempts by the 'powers-that-be to bring the culprits to book' ?
According to some we had the most tyrannical despotic rule in our history under Ardern because of the way Covid was handled.
The evil garbage is because we are, for all the lashings we trip out on happy occasions about how wonderful we are, a most nasty dysfunctional society. We are not happy unless we are asserting our importance, worth and qualities by putting others down, attacking someone we use to show our superiority. We're in a world of winners and losers and we sure as hell want to not be losers.
The stuff about Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford which saw the involvement of the head of our police is a most astonishing, appalling episode. I was going to say 'bewildering' but it wasn't, it was how we roll.
Curtailing the stories? It's the dumnness and nastiness in the citizenry which needs to be curtailed, the need to operate on the levels we're now accustomed to. Mid January '22 in Northland listening to the musos in the afternoon sun, a number of helicopters flew over during the afternoon, not the rescue ones. I was assured by a person I'd always considered sensible and intelligent that it was the overseas million and billionaires who'd been to the ritzy resorts up north, they were here for the Ardern/Gayford wedding. Adamantly. She was so brainwashed into anti-Arden position no way would she accept the known reality of that wedding.
Mind you I'd seen on idiot sites that Gayford was appearing one particular day in the Whangarei Court for terrible things he was involved in. "Yep, today's the day," with the suitable frothing at the mouth. He would have needed those helicopters because others said on the very same day he most definitely was going to be in the Gisborne Court facing serious charges.
I'm sure top cop of the time Mike Bush didn't get involved because on incidents like those. How to curtail? How to address whatever prompted Bush to act?
Of course (some in) the media loved the situation. I think the position they found themselves in is called a 'no-lose' situation.' An expert in capitalising on that was Barry Soper. "Response to false Clarke Gayford rumour risks politicising police" was the headline and his "Ardern's refusal to confront the false rumours head on" reeked of chagrin at not getting a story straight from Ms Ardern.
The soon to be married couple are off the central radar for the moment. Dr Susie Wiles and other scientists have had their turn. (They'll be back.) Ashley Blomfield too although he built up a store of goodwill which cushioned him against much of the tsunami. Not having exotically coloured hair and unconventional clothing helped.
Barry Soper isn't going to stop evil garbage spreading. There's no way it's in the interest of Mike Hosking (apparently the most listened to voice on radio in NZ) to have festering evil garbage cease. It's their currency, it's our currency.
Maybe the only answer is when one of the culprits you easily identify has it brought to their attention how they're operating is at the first step. Hearing there are other perspectives than theirs, or they are nasty, negative, destructive cretins might be like a speck of sand on a beach but at least their attitudes don't get a free pass.
Immediately of course the other common realm of the day has been entered – "You are being divisive." The no-win situation.
"It should be noted this kind of crap comes from right wingers, and their targets are always left leaning women politicians "
I don't think so. In February 2016, Geoffrey Miller wrote about the "nasty underbelly" that inhabits the "left-wing blogosphere". He quotes a tweet from David Cunliffe expressing concern at the support from Green Party activist Dr. Sea Rotmann (a female) for left wing activists who threw some kind of muck at Gerry Brownlee (a male).
Around the same time, Bryce Edwards catalogued the increasing hate being expressed towards John Key by the left. He highlighted how "toxic comments about John Key" were allowed on the RNZ Checkpoint Facebook page.
'There is no amount of money the government shouldn't spend to fix Long Covid. The problem is so large, the only question is will the prevention or treatment even marginally work. There is no amount that's overdoing it.' David Cutler PhD Harvard Economist.
A growing consensus is emerging that receiving multiple doses of the COVID vaccine before an initial infection can dramatically reduce the risk of long-term symptoms. Although the studies disagree on the exact amount of protection, they show a clear trend: the more shots in your arm before your first bout with COVID, the less likely you are to get long COVID. One meta-analysis of 24 studies published in October, for example, found that people who’d had three doses of the COVID vaccine were 68.7 percent less likely to develop long COVID compared with those who were unvaccinated.
Anne, disappointingly a few men are still Neanderthals and cannot cope with women being in public roles (attractive and popular sets them off even more). Is it aging blokish blokes and/or youngish ones as well? As time goes by I hope those "blokes" become fewer and fewer.
It's not just ageing blokes Reality. It's jealous middle-aged women as well. Some women had a hate on Helen Clark and even more on Jacinda Ardern. They disguised it by repeating the negative stuff coming out of the nay-sayer influencers' mouths (eg. Hosking) but in truth it was plain envy and spite.
Don't knock Neanderthals by comparing them to some modern men
From Wikipedia:
For much of the early 20th century, European researchers depicted Neanderthals as primitive, unintelligent and brutish. Although knowledge and perception of them has markedly changed since then in the scientific community, the image of the unevolved caveman archetype remains prevalent in popular culture"
Yes, the tall poppy fixation is also alive and well. Don't cope well with other people's success and popularity. Listened earlier to the warped Liz Gunn and her crazed accusations about Jacinda. How do they get like that? Are they desperate for attention or what?
From my personal experience it is in part attention seeking but they also thrive on conspiracies and intrigue. If they can't find anything on someone they simply dream it up in their heads and convince themselves it is the truth. They almost always are narcissistic which adds another level of delusional grandeur to the mix. Donald Trump is a perfect example.
Belated action after it became clear the Zaidis were intent on blocking safe passage through the Red Sea for all but ships catering to Russia, China and Iran cargo.
In a debate at the UN Security Council on Wednesday evening, there was unanimous condemnation of the Houthi attacks
The group of 12 states – Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK and the US – issued a formal warning to the Houthis.
They called ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea "illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilising" and said there was "no lawful justification for intentionally targeting civilian shipping and naval vessels".
They said if the group continued to attack shipping, it would "bear the consequences".
The group comes from a sub-sect of the country's Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis. They take their name from the movement's founder, Hussein al Houthi.
They have been fighting a civil war since 2014 against Yemen's government and control both the capital Sana'a and the north of the country, as well as the Red Sea coastline.
Presumably the action would be based on eliminating sea going capability and active satellite oversight (identification of) and drone attacks of land based launch places.
One of the things that bothers me about Aotearoa New Zealand is that we are so binary. We seem to only exist on opposing poles and flip-flop between them.
I have never forgotten first seeing and hearing Jacinda Ardern at a public meeting in Hawkes Bay when Andrew Little was leader of the Labour Party. I attended because I wanted to make my own assessment of the two of them.
I came away impressed with her as she had the X factor, she was magic. Fast forward and the government she led saved tens of thousands of lives in AoNZ with Covid-19 but then stopped making decisions based on science and started making political decisions and abandoned us.
And "transformation government" anyone? Yeah, nah.
So I wish Jacinda, Clarke and Neve well.
I have no idea of the cost of the vitriol she attracted, but can we have a balanced assessment of her years in politics? I'd give her perhaps a B+ – could have done much better with the political capital she burned.
I totally agree. She definitely had the x factor and I remember going to see her speak during the 2017 and being utterly impressed with her, and stunned by the throngs of supporters she had following her, which only a few months earlier at a smaller venue Andrew Little couldn't even muster enough of to stand behind him let alone fill a room.
She was pretty bloody good during that first term and that first year of lock down.
That second term was a joke, her and her party stopped listening to the public and had a very smug self righteous tone and wouldn't listen or debate anyone or anything and thought by acting like grumpy librarians shouting "shhh" and blocking their ears and not engaging with media or Debates they didn't like would end, but in reality the debates continued just now without any counter arguments from the left.
They focused on everything but class and pretended that identity and generational conflicts would replace class but low and behold now that gen y and Gen z are starting to inherit all this loot from their Boomer parents they are turning to right…. *gasp* shocker.
She was great from 2017 til mid 2021.
I'll never forgive her for leaving (on her worst day she was a thousand times better than hipkins and the loser bridgage in her caucus)
And I'll always despise that a self confessed "nz republican" accepted a fucking dame hood. Hypocrite..
All I want now is universalist policies on housing and a codified bill of rights, a formal written nz constitution and an upper house and powerful supreme court to hold the government of the day to account and slow their agenda down (all of which ardern could have done)
Lumme, I thought I was the only one who felt that way about the damehood. Agree totally: should never have been offered (and who did offer it, anyway?), nor accepted so eagerly. Not enough real achievement to merit it, in my view – leaving aside any conflict with JA's republican convictions.
Another black mark: the self-congratulatory fence-sitting over the cannabis referendum. A decent push from JA could well have got that over the line, and paved the way for a more enlightened approach in general to drug addiction (it's a medical problem, FFS). Instead, another decade of the futile "war on drugs", which is never going to be "won".
Reply to Corey and Obtrectator: Does Jacinda Ardern actually have republican convictions?
All I can see online is a number of articles where she is quoted saying NZ will become a republic in her lifetime. But in none of them can I see anything more.
"I do believe that is where New Zealand will head in time. I believe its likely to occur in my lifetime but I don't see it as a short-term measure or anything that is on the agenda anytime soon," Ardern said. Typical Ardern really.
The remarks were an observation made in response to the death of QE2, not I believe as evidence of being a republican.
I'm not surprised she accepted a damehood. It was probably because it looks good on her CV and may be help to open doors influenced by those to whom such a title still matters.
Very little of this current government is different to the previous one so far other than in some upcoming minor tax changes and some cultural emphases that people are spiting the dummy on.
Jacinda did a great job for a term and was after that was a massive millstone around the neck of progressive causes. After the 2020 election Ardern was the anti-Midas: everything she touched turned to shit.
They’ve already committed to minimum wage increases.
This kind of rhetorical BS could’ve come straight from spin doctors that ran the election campaigns for the NACTF coalition parties and it’s disingenuous and meaningless.
As the new government burns down the institutional improvements of the Labour-Green government, it remains for those who wish to activate to join together. Particularly since no opposition party is attempting it: it’s up to us. We don’t have to wait for new theoretical groundwork to arise beyond this paradigm of public institutional failure.
Progressive causes tend to lose their import when the existential ones are ignored….id suggest the electorate understands that even if only at a subconscious level.
"Could have done much better with the political capital she burned," is a good assessment.
Is it possible that any party will have the will to take a bold path? If the Labour majority support wasn't enough to embolden a government what will be?
"It is a strange process that appears so effective on some occasions and not others….one might conclude that there were other forces at play."
Indeed there are and they're complex but in the recent case, the details have been well explored and broadcast – look to the cartoonists to lift the veil, pat!
The “voluntary” resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza is slowly becoming a key official policy of the government, with a senior official saying that Israel has held talks with several countries for their potential absorption.
Zman Israel, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister site, has learned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is conducting secret contacts for accepting thousands of immigrants from Gaza with Congo, in addition to other nations.
“Congo will be willing to take in migrants, and we’re in talks with others,” a senior source in the security cabinet said.
Congo has high levels of inequality, and 52.5 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Food Programme.
They can see Saudi Arabia/UAE/Qatar funding of the rebuild with EU/USA pressure on Israel to agree.
Because defeat of the military wing of Hamas allows the political wing to come under the PLO and a return of the PA to Gaza. That allows parliamentary and presidential elections and growing world pressure for there to be two states.
Netanyahu's ambition for victory over Hamas might be the first block in the road to permanent occupation of WB by Israel.
"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves." – Confucius.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
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As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
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TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
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Back in the day when Richard Long and Karl du Fresne ran the show at the Dominion, there was never any supportive commentary for the 1990-1999 government, nor any criticism – just balanced reporting and columnists and guest writers who added their expertise and insight.
Nor had they any part in the Herald led winter of discontent in 2000 after Labour was elected in 1999.
The only thing I could criticise about it was that it was so white, the constant support for a low tax regime and there was limited resort to left wing opinion to balance out the occasional lapse to right wing comment and reporting of pro business voices.
So it is understandable, that someone use to balance in MSM, such as from former state broadcasters Mike Hosking and Sean Plunkett, would find it totally untenable for there to be any criticism of the dynamic and approach of the new government from anyone employed in state owned media, such as RNZ and TVNZ.
https://karldufresne.blogspot.com/2024/01/an-epic-display-of-dummy-spitting.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
The public servants this government will want to change the most, also happen to be in departments that will slow-walk the change the most: NZTA, Education, Welfare, Oranga Tamariki, DIA, and Kainga Ora.
There are also many agencies that will do really well out of this government, like NZPolice, MPI, and Corrections. Believe it or not I think health will do really well too.
A few like Kiwirail and ACC and HRC will shrink.
The rest as usual will just assume a crouch position. And in that position they will assume rightly that this National-led government is so incoherent and inexperienced that little will occur to them or with them.
I'll add this here as it was not "published" on the Daily Blog.
Sean Plunkett never came out openly as, a knuckle dragging champion of white race nation supremacy via majority while the boomers live (and by landed gentry estate wealth and power afterwards), while working in state broadcasting.
In his day, establishment expressed its cultural hegemony merely with the dominant presence of the white face affecting a toned accent of the wealthier suburb, or private school.
Whereas du Fresne, one of the Mr Magoo's at the Dominion was always a Garth George, but one without a conscience.
That said Plunkett has become boorish on radio and on x social media and Du Fresne can still write in complete sentences.
PS The reason we have state radio and TV is so that there is journalism not beholden to the advertisers/corporate sponsors that serves all New Zealanders, especially those without a voice or status in society.
I can’t see why this wouldn’t be published on TDB and perhaps it’s pending until someone releases it …
He has a job at Sean Plunkett's, The Platform – the pertinent point being some want John Campbell to be accountable to the owner of TVNZ and not criticise the government in power.
"…just balanced reporting and columnists and guest writers who added their expertise and insight."
In a sense, Campbell is writing as a 'Columnist', is he not? His piece is clearly labelled as 'Opinion', and so his writing is his own and we are free to critique the points he makes, as Du Fresne has done with some skill.
As to balance, the points Campbell makes about the Labour party under the sections headed "Then there was Chippy" and "Where is Labour now" are pretty brutal, so it's hard to get too worked up.
Taking a wider view, I would like to see opinion pieces such as this subject to rebuttal in the same publication. That would surely lead to better quality opinion writing and provide a counter to accusations of a lack of balance.
Sort of, his title is Chief Correspondent. He is like an investigative reporter with a license to do in depth stories.
Such will usually question what is going on, thus will be deemed by some anti-government of the day (in this case more left than Labour, or just left under National).
One would have thought serious people in the industry would get this but curmudgeonly they resile from their stated values and go partisan and demand complacency/complicity by those in state owned media – once National is in government.
When the "Ambassador for Women" is a man.
https://fairplayforwomen.com/a-letter-to-un-women-this-male-does-not-represent-us/
"In December the UN Women’s UK committee appointed a male who presents in a highly sexualised stereotype of womanhood as an ambassador for women. We coordinated a letter from seventeen UK campaign groups to register our dismay, as reported in the Times today.
UN Women has made a point of demonstrating that it considers males can become women."
mindblowing. Even if one accepts males into women's roles*, Bergdorf is clearly unsuitable. Which makes me think this is about the new boys network and women who've lost their goddam minds.
*there’s really no excuse for that either other than deciding that the needs of TW outweigh the rights of women.
Bottom line – women are going backwards with their rights.
It's bullshit.
it's so weird, but I guess not totally surprising. We all thought our liberal gains were grounded in something real. Apparently not.
Being a Woman
Whistle the Band
Some happy news – Jacinda and Clarke have set their wedding date. She so deserves a wonderful celebration at last. (Hope there will be some photos released!)
Yep. Happy news. I.wish them well
Now wait for the conspiracy delusionists and naysayers to start posting crap.
Agree, lotsa people don't seem to like something nice happening to someone else
It was almost instantaneous. The same buckets of hate and misogyny, and the same old lies given another turn around the ring.
Yes. Like the horrible stuff that was tossed at Helen Clark and her husband, Peter Davis which in essence was: their marriage was a convenient arrangement that would allow both of them to have same-sex relationships under the radar. I knew them both and they had been in a stable relationship for years before they married.
I still find it hard to believe that this kind of evil garbage is allowed to fester and spread without any attempt by the powers-that-be to bring the culprits to book. They are not hard to find. I knew one of the culprits well.
It should be noted this kind of crap comes from right wingers, and their targets are always left leaning women politicians – something the MSM never see fit to highlight.
I remember that well. A flood of bullshit about their marriage being one of convenience. And some very nasty mudslinging about Peter as well. Fortunately, it was all before the internet, but the anonymous letters were all over the place – I got at least one of them from London of all places.
I knew the stories were not true. I have been in their house, I have even been in their bedroom – and you could tell by the books on each bedside table – who slept where!
Visubversa, you might know – or at least know of – the person who started those stories. She was linked to the Mt Albert LEC in the 1970s and early 1980s, then moved on to the New Lynn LEC for a while. Her reasons for being in the LP were always suspect but that is another story.
Very possibly. I moved into the Mt Albert electorate in 1981 and joined the Labour Party then. Helen Clark actually signed me up. However 1981 was a busy year, I had an old new house and there was that small interruption called a Springbok Tour – and I was living 800m from Eden Park. My deeper involvement with the Party was a couple of years later.
She was part of the Douglas/Prebble faction battling to take control of the party in the 1980s. A large part of the game was to discredit Helen Clark and you will know better than I what happened because I shifted to the Shore in 1983. I do know however she caused a lot of trouble for a variety of high profile people in politics – and elsewhere – with her false claims about them. She was getting help along the way, but that is the other story.
I'm not sure how that kind of 'evil garbage' being allowed to fester and spread could have been curtailed.
Attempts by the 'powers-that-be to bring the culprits to book' ?
According to some we had the most tyrannical despotic rule in our history under Ardern because of the way Covid was handled.
The evil garbage is because we are, for all the lashings we trip out on happy occasions about how wonderful we are, a most nasty dysfunctional society. We are not happy unless we are asserting our importance, worth and qualities by putting others down, attacking someone we use to show our superiority. We're in a world of winners and losers and we sure as hell want to not be losers.
The stuff about Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford which saw the involvement of the head of our police is a most astonishing, appalling episode. I was going to say 'bewildering' but it wasn't, it was how we roll.
Curtailing the stories? It's the dumnness and nastiness in the citizenry which needs to be curtailed, the need to operate on the levels we're now accustomed to. Mid January '22 in Northland listening to the musos in the afternoon sun, a number of helicopters flew over during the afternoon, not the rescue ones. I was assured by a person I'd always considered sensible and intelligent that it was the overseas million and billionaires who'd been to the ritzy resorts up north, they were here for the Ardern/Gayford wedding. Adamantly. She was so brainwashed into anti-Arden position no way would she accept the known reality of that wedding.
Mind you I'd seen on idiot sites that Gayford was appearing one particular day in the Whangarei Court for terrible things he was involved in. "Yep, today's the day," with the suitable frothing at the mouth. He would have needed those helicopters because others said on the very same day he most definitely was going to be in the Gisborne Court facing serious charges.
I'm sure top cop of the time Mike Bush didn't get involved because on incidents like those. How to curtail? How to address whatever prompted Bush to act?
Of course (some in) the media loved the situation. I think the position they found themselves in is called a 'no-lose' situation.' An expert in capitalising on that was Barry Soper. "Response to false Clarke Gayford rumour risks politicising police" was the headline and his "Ardern's refusal to confront the false rumours head on" reeked of chagrin at not getting a story straight from Ms Ardern.
The soon to be married couple are off the central radar for the moment. Dr Susie Wiles and other scientists have had their turn. (They'll be back.) Ashley Blomfield too although he built up a store of goodwill which cushioned him against much of the tsunami. Not having exotically coloured hair and unconventional clothing helped.
Barry Soper isn't going to stop evil garbage spreading. There's no way it's in the interest of Mike Hosking (apparently the most listened to voice on radio in NZ) to have festering evil garbage cease. It's their currency, it's our currency.
Maybe the only answer is when one of the culprits you easily identify has it brought to their attention how they're operating is at the first step. Hearing there are other perspectives than theirs, or they are nasty, negative, destructive cretins might be like a speck of sand on a beach but at least their attitudes don't get a free pass.
Immediately of course the other common realm of the day has been entered – "You are being divisive." The no-win situation.
"It should be noted this kind of crap comes from right wingers, and their targets are always left leaning women politicians "
I don't think so. In February 2016, Geoffrey Miller wrote about the "nasty underbelly" that inhabits the "left-wing blogosphere". He quotes a tweet from David Cunliffe expressing concern at the support from Green Party activist Dr. Sea Rotmann (a female) for left wing activists who threw some kind of muck at Gerry Brownlee (a male).
New Zealand’s increasingly dangerous level of political vitriol – Geoffrey Miller
Around the same time, Bryce Edwards catalogued the increasing hate being expressed towards John Key by the left. He highlighted how "toxic comments about John Key" were allowed on the RNZ Checkpoint Facebook page.
Political roundup: Increasing hatred for John Key? – NZ Herald
The rapper Tom Scott wrote a song about killing John Key, and joked about raping his daughter.
Rude rant goes to air – New Zealand News – NZ Herald
This is the unfortunate, dark side of extremism. It is not exclusively left or right, male or female.
Best wishes to Jacinda and Clarke. No doubt little Neve will be the flower girl. Can't wait to see some pics.
We hope they are very happy and have a lovely day.![heart heart](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/heart.png?x42494)
Heck of a job, cookers.
//
Sue
@inkblue01
'There is no amount of money the government shouldn't spend to fix Long Covid. The problem is so large, the only question is will the prevention or treatment even marginally work. There is no amount that's overdoing it.' David Cutler PhD Harvard Economist.
https://twitter.com/inkblue01/status/1742183209809453456
Sue
@inkblue01
Long COVID may cost US economy $3.7 trillion PDF download – https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/cutler/files/long_covid_update_7-22.pdf
https://twitter.com/inkblue01/status/1742184967096971396
A growing consensus is emerging that receiving multiple doses of the COVID vaccine before an initial infection can dramatically reduce the risk of long-term symptoms. Although the studies disagree on the exact amount of protection, they show a clear trend: the more shots in your arm before your first bout with COVID, the less likely you are to get long COVID. One meta-analysis of 24 studies published in October, for example, found that people who’d had three doses of the COVID vaccine were 68.7 percent less likely to develop long COVID compared with those who were unvaccinated.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/vaccination-dramatically-lowers-long-covid-risk/
Anne, disappointingly a few men are still Neanderthals and cannot cope with women being in public roles (attractive and popular sets them off even more). Is it aging blokish blokes and/or youngish ones as well? As time goes by I hope those "blokes" become fewer and fewer.
It's not just ageing blokes Reality. It's jealous middle-aged women as well. Some women had a hate on Helen Clark and even more on Jacinda Ardern. They disguised it by repeating the negative stuff coming out of the nay-sayer influencers' mouths (eg. Hosking) but in truth it was plain envy and spite.
Don't knock Neanderthals by comparing them to some modern men
From Wikipedia:
Yes, the tall poppy fixation is also alive and well. Don't cope well with other people's success and popularity. Listened earlier to the warped Liz Gunn and her crazed accusations about Jacinda. How do they get like that? Are they desperate for attention or what?
" Are they desperate for attention or what?"
From my personal experience it is in part attention seeking but they also thrive on conspiracies and intrigue. If they can't find anything on someone they simply dream it up in their heads and convince themselves it is the truth. They almost always are narcissistic which adds another level of delusional grandeur to the mix. Donald Trump is a perfect example.
Belated action after it became clear the Zaidis were intent on blocking safe passage through the Red Sea for all but ships catering to Russia, China and Iran cargo.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67878906
Presumably the action would be based on eliminating sea going capability and active satellite oversight (identification of) and drone attacks of land based launch places.
One of the things that bothers me about Aotearoa New Zealand is that we are so binary. We seem to only exist on opposing poles and flip-flop between them.
I have never forgotten first seeing and hearing Jacinda Ardern at a public meeting in Hawkes Bay when Andrew Little was leader of the Labour Party. I attended because I wanted to make my own assessment of the two of them.
I came away impressed with her as she had the X factor, she was magic. Fast forward and the government she led saved tens of thousands of lives in AoNZ with Covid-19 but then stopped making decisions based on science and started making political decisions and abandoned us.
And "transformation government" anyone? Yeah, nah.
So I wish Jacinda, Clarke and Neve well.
I have no idea of the cost of the vitriol she attracted, but can we have a balanced assessment of her years in politics? I'd give her perhaps a B+ – could have done much better with the political capital she burned.
I totally agree. She definitely had the x factor and I remember going to see her speak during the 2017 and being utterly impressed with her, and stunned by the throngs of supporters she had following her, which only a few months earlier at a smaller venue Andrew Little couldn't even muster enough of to stand behind him let alone fill a room.
She was pretty bloody good during that first term and that first year of lock down.
That second term was a joke, her and her party stopped listening to the public and had a very smug self righteous tone and wouldn't listen or debate anyone or anything and thought by acting like grumpy librarians shouting "shhh" and blocking their ears and not engaging with media or Debates they didn't like would end, but in reality the debates continued just now without any counter arguments from the left.
They focused on everything but class and pretended that identity and generational conflicts would replace class but low and behold now that gen y and Gen z are starting to inherit all this loot from their Boomer parents they are turning to right…. *gasp* shocker.
She was great from 2017 til mid 2021.
I'll never forgive her for leaving (on her worst day she was a thousand times better than hipkins and the loser bridgage in her caucus)
And I'll always despise that a self confessed "nz republican" accepted a fucking dame hood. Hypocrite..
All I want now is universalist policies on housing and a codified bill of rights, a formal written nz constitution and an upper house and powerful supreme court to hold the government of the day to account and slow their agenda down (all of which ardern could have done)
Lumme, I thought I was the only one who felt that way about the damehood. Agree totally: should never have been offered (and who did offer it, anyway?), nor accepted so eagerly. Not enough real achievement to merit it, in my view – leaving aside any conflict with JA's republican convictions.
Another black mark: the self-congratulatory fence-sitting over the cannabis referendum. A decent push from JA could well have got that over the line, and paved the way for a more enlightened approach in general to drug addiction (it's a medical problem, FFS). Instead, another decade of the futile "war on drugs", which is never going to be "won".
Reply to Corey and Obtrectator: Does Jacinda Ardern actually have republican convictions?
All I can see online is a number of articles where she is quoted saying NZ will become a republic in her lifetime. But in none of them can I see anything more.
"I do believe that is where New Zealand will head in time. I believe its likely to occur in my lifetime but I don't see it as a short-term measure or anything that is on the agenda anytime soon," Ardern said. Typical Ardern really.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealand-may-become-republic-not-anytime-soon-ardern-says-2022-09-12/
The remarks were an observation made in response to the death of QE2, not I believe as evidence of being a republican.
I'm not surprised she accepted a damehood. It was probably because it looks good on her CV and may be help to open doors influenced by those to whom such a title still matters.
Crikey I think of it the other way.
Very little of this current government is different to the previous one so far other than in some upcoming minor tax changes and some cultural emphases that people are spiting the dummy on.
Jacinda did a great job for a term and was after that was a massive millstone around the neck of progressive causes. After the 2020 election Ardern was the anti-Midas: everything she touched turned to shit.
"Very little of this current government is different to the previous one…"
One was overly ambitious, the other is pinched and mean; hardly different at all!
Kainga Ora and state housing enhanced not diminished.
10 year bright-line tax revenues, not 2
Incentives for investors to leave existing property for new builds to qualify for mortgage as a cost against rent income.
Rights of tenants.
MW increases above a dollar every year.
Fair Pay Agreements/Industry Awards.
Expectation of more action in welfare/child poverty/food in schools.
Global warming pathway staying on track.
Kiwi Rail.
Defence of state (primary and secondary) education from becoming like under 5 – with large scale foreign investment buy up.
They haven't made any changes to Kainga Ora yet, other than in the name. Maybe a few more criminal nuisance sorts get booted out. That's about it.
Have they changed any rights of tenants yet? Not sure if that went through in the pre-Christmas urgency. Will it really make a difference?
They've already committed to minimum wage increases.
I don't think any of those MECA's actually got done. The near fully unionised education agreement was just the usual.
Not seen any retreat yet on any welfare. Even in schools.
Our carbon targets were based on international markets and were a proven lie.
Kiwirail was showered in gold for 6 years and got what was coming to it. They prop up the high carbon high mass economy and deserve themselves.
Sorry who is buying up primary schools?
Your list is just mild left anxiety.
The difference between 50 cents and over a $ each year is over $20 each week.
When a tenant can be removed as easy as when landlords want to put the rent up, that means something.
I’ll call you out for that comment in 2026. Anticipate it.
We’ll get a bit of clarity in the May 2024 Budget.
I remember going through Richardson and Shipley. Now that was a proper right wing government. We’ll see if these guys get close.3.0
It’ll have to be sooner, as the MW rate change is due to be effective 1 April 2024.
Depends on whom you ask, a tenant or a landlord, duh!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/renting/301022406/here-are-the-changes-the-new-government-has-planned-for-renters
This kind of rhetorical BS could’ve come straight from spin doctors that ran the election campaigns for the NACTF coalition parties and it’s disingenuous and meaningless.
https://www.laneneave.co.nz/news-events/a-moderate-minimum-wage/
That’s very Wayne Brownish of you. Let’s do nothing and just sit, wait, and see, shall we?
I think we’re waiting for Hipkins and Shaw and Waititi to pick up the phone.
Otherwise yup it’s wait and see.
Huh???
A wise man recently wrote:
https://thestandard.org.nz/progressive-minded-kiwis-after-the-2023-election-are-in-the-throes-of-a-rude-awakening/
Progressive causes tend to lose their import when the existential ones are ignored….id suggest the electorate understands that even if only at a subconscious level.
"Could have done much better with the political capital she burned," is a good assessment.
Is it possible that any party will have the will to take a bold path? If the Labour majority support wasn't enough to embolden a government what will be?
They did take the bold path.
They were thwarted.
They took a bold path that was not the path wanted/needed….hence the rejection
Not the path allowed by the pinched, mean…and moneyed.
I suspect you will find many of those who didnt vote labour/green were anything but moneyed
The voters were the responders, not the manipulators.
The former did as the latter directed.
were they manipulated in 2017 and 2020?
influenced
Apparently very selectively.
It is a strange process that appears so effective on some occasions and not others….one might conclude that there were other forces at play.
"It is a strange process that appears so effective on some occasions and not others….one might conclude that there were other forces at play."
Indeed there are and they're complex but in the recent case, the details have been well explored and broadcast – look to the cartoonists to lift the veil, pat!
Look to the fact the incumbents had their own agenda and were not addressing the concerns of the voters Robert, and the voters reacted accordingly.
No cartoonists required.
Ethnic cleansing is an ongoing project.
The “voluntary” resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza is slowly becoming a key official policy of the government, with a senior official saying that Israel has held talks with several countries for their potential absorption.
Zman Israel, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew sister site, has learned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is conducting secret contacts for accepting thousands of immigrants from Gaza with Congo, in addition to other nations.
“Congo will be willing to take in migrants, and we’re in talks with others,” a senior source in the security cabinet said.
Congo has high levels of inequality, and 52.5 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Food Programme.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-in-talks-with-congo-and-other-countries-on-gaza-voluntary-migration-plan/amp/
They can see Saudi Arabia/UAE/Qatar funding of the rebuild with EU/USA pressure on Israel to agree.
Because defeat of the military wing of Hamas allows the political wing to come under the PLO and a return of the PA to Gaza. That allows parliamentary and presidential elections and growing world pressure for there to be two states.
Netanyahu's ambition for victory over Hamas might be the first block in the road to permanent occupation of WB by Israel.
https://youtu.be/wOpSqV9E7HY?si=fUJ1DWvrhgFBRrS2