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notices and features - Date published:
7:00 am, March 4th, 2020 - 67 comments
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The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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The Abortion Legislation Bill had it’s Second Reading debate last night and passed on a personal (conscience) vote easily, 81-39.
There is strong opposition but that’s from a minority. It looks like the Bill should get right through Parliament, with or without NZ First MP votes who want it to go to a referendum (I don’t think ithat’ss necessary).
A summary of the speeches both for and against the Bill.
https://yournz.org/2020/03/04/abortion-legislation-bill-passes-second-reading-81-39/
Hansard with full speech transcripts and who voted for and against:
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20200303_20200303_16
Good, 50% of the population are closer to having control over their own bodies and reproductive rights improved.
Bridges opposed.
Be interesting to hear how his wife thinks about it.
Yes, interesting that. I wonder if it's the result of his Baptist upbringing?
Which is why believers should be barred from public office.
Everyone brings beliefs about the world into office. Some are more mature than others about how they reconcile those with the responsibilities of their role.
Except
The above link is well worth a read. Not all Christians hold anti-social, anti-progressive views. And many of the progressive advances in our laws have been initially sponsored by Christian concern, Indeed our nations founding document was to a large extent brought about by Christian concern for the then current practice of English expansionism and colonisation in the early 19th C, and the undesirable effects it was having on indigenous populations.
Having worked to end slavery Wilberforce and his friends turned to the next social problem of the abuse of indigenous people by colonisation:
http://www.bibleandtreaty.co.nz/history.html
So not all bible bashers are opposed to progress toward a decent and fair society, and they are just as appalled by the pronouncements of those who would withhold fair social justice as anyone else.
Millsy,
Ridiculous proposition. In any event Simon doesn't really let his personal views influence policy development. Only on the rare occasion of conscience votes, which are essentially the one occasion where you have a personal vote. Same with Bill English. There are MP's (but not the leadership) who make crusades of conscience issues, and they do represent the views of a significant number of New Zealanders.
However, successive National leaders (Jim Bolger, Bill English, and Simon Bridges as leaders with conservative religious views) do not let their personal views affect party policy. They know there is a variety of views in the National caucus, and that the mid point of caucus is more liberal then they are.
I would note that the current law works fine in practise. No women is denied an abortion in New Zealand. I get it that the current law essentially ratifies current reality. Which is why the second reading passed with a big majority, with around half the Nat MP's voting for it. In practise, virtually nothing will change.
"…Simon doesn't really let his personal views influence policy development."
That has to be a candidate for laugh of the year.
His attitude to Laura Norder and the gangs is fairly old testament.
We need a law that requires anyone who wishes to stand for Parliament to spend a week strapped to a chair while on LSD watching documentaries about poverty in New Zealand.
Or deliver an old fridge to the cleaner's house. The sourness overrides.
🙂
I hope he keeps telling himself that
Chris,
I meant conscience issues, as must have been obvious from the context.
Being Bill English.
Women shouldnt be compelled to have babies against their will. Abortion bans effectively turns women into slaves.
Noticable that no one seems to call for vacectomies to be outlawed.
The God botherers fears are unfounded, given that abortion numbers are falling, as well as teenage pregnancies, and the amount of people having sex in general.
Same with drinking, that is falling as well.
Fears that this country is turning into Sodom and Gommorah is not borne out by facts.
To be honest, for a God to exterminate a whole community because they have the odd orgy seems to be rather petty.
Orgies seem to be rather off-putting with the smells and sounds and the affront to personality.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12313605
Sanity sanitary advice.
Exactly what I have been thinking these past few days… haven't these idiots who ransacked the supermarkets and chemists heard about soap and water?
My biggest gripe is the selfishness and lack of consideration for other people – elderly people and people with limited mobility who rely on others to take them to the shops once a week. When I went to my local supermarket on Monday there were empty shelves everywhere. No toilet rolls and other sanitary items. Pet foods were limited to a few brands only. Basic items like bread and milk were in relatively short supply.
I put the insanity down to the 'me, me, me and what's mine' generation who grew up under neoliberalism and suffer from the 'I'm alright Jack to hell with anyone else syndrome'.
Also aren’t we all supposed to be prepared with supplies for the next big earthquake? I know that most in my small community already are, but we did have a huge earthquake in 1929 and then 1965.
2 weeks self isolation will be a breeze compared to the aftermath of a really big shake.
Yes! Absolutely senseless behaviour.
And then watching the News on TV1 last night we have an electrician saying home owners won't be able to buy light switches! Good grief! I'd better get out there and make sure I have plenty in the shed just in case.
… just in case all the light switches pack a sad at the same time.
The loopaper hoarding is an interesting angle. It's a respiratory virus, not a gastro one.
Regarding stocking up on loo paper, this is always a sensible thing to do. If you can't get to the shops, you can't necessarily expect it to be delivered as it is bulky and everyone else could be busy covering for staff shortages and looking after their own people.
After the Christchurch quakes, it was difficult and took a long time to do anything so having some supplies was great (Also broken sewers, no running water for weeks and no power meant hand sanitizer was really useful). The only manufacturer of toilet paper is in the north island so south islanders should stock up anyway for when the big quake comes and breaks up supply routes.
It's not like you are not going to use it. Think of it as a healthy bogroll bank balance. Think of it as being proactive.
I suggest the hoarders practise in advance by spraying hand sanitisers onto their bumholes in anticipation of no more toilet paper.
Heh. The idea of Sanders becoming the nominee poses a serious existential crisis for conservative Never-Trumpers.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/03/never-trump-maybe-bernie-118981
You could almost feel sorry for them. That is, until you remember the collection of views they hold and the kind of candidate they would enthusiastically support are really quite repugnant.
Immigration. Are we importing all our social problems from the wider, decaying world?
We should just bring in the best people, not the worst.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/119996987/200kg-of-methamphetamine-seized-after-raid-of-auckland-apartment
Well done to the Police, by the way.
which gang did he belong to?
Interesting, a sitting National MP with a five figure majority is being challenged for selection. Oh, it's only Compost, he's turned out to be a complete plonker
I've got an idea who the local challengers might be, and there's several, but wonder if there's any high ranking list MPs who could be considering a move south.
You could slap a blue rosette on a goat in that part of the country.
And in the case of Todd, they did
Do like to party at the top of the electorate, those creatures. Awful mess.
Hmm, rather surprising. Hamish Walker has had really positive publicity at the broader national level, and well as being a real champion for the Lumsden birthing unit. I would have thought the voters, but especially National Party activists, would have been pleased with that.
Perhaps Todd's gonna have another crack at it!
Or Sarah, having lost favour in Invercargill, will try her luck in the provinces?
What has he been up to that we have not heard about?
While he's a bit of a machine at cranking out the press releases he's had more than a few foot in mouth moments, a couple valiant attempts at both legs. The petition post just being the latest. Apart from making lots of noise he's really been pretty ineffectual as an MP. Some of the things he comes out with you'd think he was batting for the red party.
The electorate is one of the powerhouses of the economy, it really demands an MP who's senior cabinet level and capable of advanced strategic thinking on behalf of their electorate, not some kid that's barking at every passing car. And that's irrespective of stripe.
Moving to Queenstown was his downfall, if you are Clutha Southland MP you have to live in Clutha or Southland, not Queenstown. You've also got to get your head around the social and economic / business issues that Queenstown has, it must be one of the hardest electorates in the country for an MP. Bill English did it very well, but Bill picked up the Queenstown end late in his career and was a very capable MP. Warren Cooper and David Parker were also respected MPs in a similar electorate. The last two haven't reflected well on their party.
There may be an exception for a Queenstown based MP in Clutha Southland where that MP is absolutely spectacular and is either in the party's top 10, preferably 5, or definitely going to be there by the end of their first term. Would be a likely place to parachute the next PM into.
Parachute? Paraglide more.
Slither might be more descriptive
https://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/120001253/heres-what-id-like-you-to-know-about-property-investors
Property investor pleads his case.
He points put that tendering is one thing that drives up house prices .
Is it doable to ban tenders in the housing market?
"He points put that tendering is one thing that drives up house prices . "
That's the whole point of selling property, trying to 'drive up' to the best possible price. Auctions do the same thing, as do 'offers' where there are competing buyers, and every other way of selling a house.
Banning tenders would just make people use another method of trying to get the best price possible.
Houses should be for living in .
Tendering forces people to do stupid things and pay way over the odds. A more transparent selling mechanism would stabilize price rises .
Did you note the guy in the article tries to say landlords arnt greedy then mentions the 20 houses hes sold to first home buyers as they can be forced into paying more.
He didn't say anything about force.
He said first home buyers were willing to pay more.
It's not just an emotional decision as he indicated. An investor has to look at costs and returns, and if a price goes too high the numbers don't stack up.
First home buyers are willing to pay more to get on the property ladder. There cost considerations are different, mortgage/rates/maintenance/insurance versus rent, not just in the present but also in the future. Plus he satisfaction of having your own home.
Try to understand, Pete. People are trying to tell you that a house to live in is not a suitable commodity to expose to the blind forces of a slanted market. A healthy society does not allow that. Have you looked at the laws that govern dealings done in housing/apartments in Germany? A society I would now describe as healthier than our own here in Godforsookuszone.
So many people believe this shit now. At least Stuff hasn't allowed comments because there'd be more people heralding him a hero than those giving reasoned critique.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/120001253/heres-what-id-like-you-to-know-about-property-investors
I read that with a big smirk on my face. "Those poor property investors. People just don't know how hard they've got it." *sniffle*
Second coronavirus case confirmed by MOH. (according to NZ Herald)
It potentially gets very messy from here.
Was she not supposed to "self-isolate" returning from northern Italy ?
Also it seems she was feeling unwell some days before flying to PN .
Irresponsible ?
in Italy there are now significant problems with the health system,as around 10% of medical staff,have tested positive and are in self isolation.
https://apnews.com/837274f1bab9af1aab12f1b9481b2d62
Lombardy has ten million people and 1200 cases. Pretty near every case must be a medic, by that reckoning.
Math adds up if it's Codogno with the medic problem, though.
"It potentially gets very messy from here."
More likely there will be few if any persons infected by this new case as the family have now isolated and the flights to PN are small and al potential contacts will be traced and followed up fairly quickly.
The continued front page reporting of coronavirus may be generating cheap hits for the MSM but it's doing little of any use apart from spooking the horses.
Loopaper makers must be stoked.
Poo paper futures will be spiking !
Floating high
Like a bad egg?
Just Yuck.
How do you sit in a meeting discussing this as a potential marketing angle and come out of it saying, "Yep. We're on to a winner with this one, chaps." I guess there was no one there to put their hand up and say, "Erm… this could be misconstrued in a number of ways, all of which are profoundly offensive… and possibly criminal."
Fossil fuel companies — dogpiling a teenage girl because she threatens their profits. Utter scum.
+1
Most of Taranaki and all of the National Party would be supporting this. Free speech and everything.
Rigor has a blub about being cyber-bullied one time.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/120006172/the-am-show-host-mark-richardson-says-he-was-cyberbullied-and-quit-social-media
Umm. Mark, perhaps if you weren't such a cock most of the time people might walk on by.
But that's not what you want, is it?
Had a wee smile, there's a new Inside No 9 series out and one episode has a You Tube "influencer" that quits social media for a few hours, "OMG I felt many emojis!". Poor Mark!
But he's totally not bovvered by it, he tells us.
I also tend to get the impression that the "bullying" consists of responding to his opinion with disagreement. Some boxers have "glass jaws", this dude has a glass ego.
So TV3 is back on air after another power cut.
WTF? Something tells me someone's done f-all maintenance for years – either the lines company is screwing up, or the building can't keep running the studio power (maybe they're maxing out their power supply and someone turns on a heater if the temp goes below 25).
And if it's the lines company, then TV3 (for whom power is an instant mission-critical necessity) don't have a backup in place.
#8 wire mentality combining with short-cycle management to bite NZ in the face again? "if we can run it on the smell of an oily rag, no need to upgrade from the oily rag".
Perhaps they haven't paid their power bill!!
Here's an example of Islam belonging in a new country. The topic is the memorial event for March 15 victims.
We are told annual recognition isn't part of Islamic culture and that's fine, but right-wing commenters and David Farrar in particular decided to use this to attack the Christchurch City Council who had organised the event for the people of Christchurch, and to attack the Labour led government.
Think about that for a minute. Wingnuts, with David Farrar at the helm, after this unprecedented atrocity, sought to trash a local Muslim leader's efforts to meet Kiwi tradition solely to score political points.
I'm not surprised the far right in New Zealand want us all to forget about that mass-murder, because it was perpetrated by one of their own. A man who spoke like they did about Muslims.
What revolting human beings they are.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12312945
I haven't been there in a while, but Kiwiblog has 400 comments a day. The way of ignorance. We the intelligent have to struggle on.
And the Murdoch/Trumpian media and politics so near. Bridges tries it on but he has character of some sort. Not a complete fool like Morrison. Just requires an unscrupulous non-NZer in spirit … Or a charismatic bullshitter.