Neo-liberal New Zealand.
This will break your heart.
100%.
Axed over the Christmas break, told to be out by lunchtime after 50 years’ loyalty – this is redundancy in New Zealand, where there’s no mandatory notice period or compensation payments and little support for those searching for new work.
………..New Zealand ranks in the bottom third of the OECD for spending on what are known as active labour market policies – government interventions to help people into meaningful new work. The organisation’s report last year said Work and Income focuses largely on people receiving benefits, which only includes a minority of people made redundant. “As a result, social assistance and public employment support are reduced to a minimum and act very much as systems of last resort for displaced workers who end up in the welfare system… Displaced workers are, to a large extent, left by their own to find a new job”
…..”Once you walked out the gate, that was it – no one wanted to know you. Even WINZ didn’t want to know you, because you’ve got all that [redundancy] money. So they don’t wanna know you until all the money’s gone. They were real arseholes about it, to be frank.”
……In New Zealand, unlike Australia, Canada and several other OECD countries, there is no legal requirement to pay workers redundancy compensation, leaving unions and workers to negotiate redundancy clauses in their contracts. The payments are taxed at 33 percent, and if a business goes into receivership, employees’ back-pay and redundancy payments are capped at about $22,000 – regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company or what redundancy clause their contract contains.
There’s no guarantee that a company will pay anything at all
Neo-liberal New Zealand.
Our country has been destroyed.
100%.
The country’s highest-profile suicide prevention helpline is missing one in four phone calls because of a funding shortage.
At the same time, Lifeline is dealing with a rise in phone calls by people who are at risk of suicide.
The helpline now receives an average of six calls a day from people in severe distress – double the amount it received three years ago.
Executive director Glenda Schnell said calls from suicidal people were highly complicated and consumed much more resources from the helpline, which is staffed by a combination of paid staff and volunteers.
Neoliberal Economics removes the human element from the equation and focus’s on the almighty dollar $’s and who can acquire the most in the shortest period of time, ideological B/S from Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics. This ideology was picked up early by the NZ Labour Party and Sir Roger Douglas in the 1980’s.
IMHO is has not been good for NZ and it’s naturalized citizens including te tangata whenua ?
More significant than our Prime Minister attending the South Pacific Forum, is the Prime Minister of Australia not attending the South Pacific Forum.
Morrison’s non-attendance amounts to a cowardly refusal to debate with Forum countries over the differences between Australia and the other Pacific Nations on climate change and immigration.
Morrison obviously does not want to be taken to task over these issues. And so has stayed away.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne says Australia is not snubbing the Pacific Island Forum despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison skipping the event…..
…..”We have absolutely reinforced the Pacific is a key priority of Australia’s foreign policy.”
Pacific leaders are also concerned about climate change, which has once again torn apart the Liberal party as it seeks a new energy policy.
Senator Payne said she was not surprised by the attitudes of Pacific leaders, because climate change had been raised in previous Pacific Island Forum declarations.
“We absolutely recognise it’s in our national interest to take action on climate change,” she said.
As the saying goes; “Actions speak louder than words”.
This snub must be seen for what it is.
The record shows that any Australian leader, (of either major party), who dares stand up to the powerful Australian fossil fuel lobby is immediately rolled by the conservative wings of their party.
Morrison obviously does not want to be taken to task over these issues. And so has stayed away.
Unlike Nixon, Morrison hasn’t even got the courage to issue his own denial.
This bodes ill for Australia ever doing anything meaningful to address climate change, or address the very real concerns of the Pacific Nations on the front line of climate change, facing rising sea levels and more energetic hurricanes fueled by warming seas.
Speaking at the Lowy Institute, just days before the beginning of the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru, the Samoan prime minister seemed to take a swipe at Australia’s commitment to minimising the impact of climate change, which he called the “single greatest threat to the livelihood, security and wellbeing peoples of the Pacific”.
“While climate change may be considered a slow onset threat by some in our region, its adverse impacts are already felt by our Pacific islands peoples and communities,” said Sailele. “Greater ambition is necessary to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade and Pacific island countries continue to urge faster action by all countries.”
Sailele said addressing climate change required “political guts” from leaders. “We all know the problem, we all know the causes, we all know the solutions. All that is left would be some political courage, some political guts to get out and tell the people of your country, ‘Do this, this, this, or there is any certainty of disaster.’”
All power to our Prime Minister for fronting up.
Despite the political backlash she has attracted in this country, Prime Minister Ardern is showing the political courage and guts that Prime Minister Sailele has called for, but which is sadly missing in Australian political leaders.
I heard Jacinda, I think Monday, explaining in detail about why she decided to go to the Pacific forum and why she would or wouldn’t take her baby, the costs, the problems (something about there being no holding sites for planes on Nauru was one). They had tried to think of all possible matters and nitpickers on the Right can’t easily come up with this or that negative to wave triumphantly in the air. As is their wont.
While if the situation was reversed, the Gmats would just laugh at any questions at all.
The comparison between Morrison and Ardern. – Ardern is fronting up, despite her circumstances and Morrison is ducking for cover.
A leader’s job is to lead.
You don’t send a delegate, or deputy, (as the opposition parties and right wing media say the Prime Minister should). You don’t try to duck the responsibilities of your position like Morrison has. You make it work.
“…….she decided to go to the Pacific forum and why she would or wouldn’t take her baby, the costs, the problems (something about there being no holding sites for planes on Nauru was one). They had tried to think of all possible matters……”greywarshark
To the all the opposition Torrys and right wing media commentators:
Woman have children. Get over it.
When a world leaders conference was called in Teheran in 1943, Churchill didn’t sent a delegate, or representative, he went himself, this despite serious complications. Special arrangements and allowances had to be made to transport Churchill to Iran, to taking into account his health and age.
In the end Churchill was transported from England on a mattress in the back of special transport plane all the way to Iran and back.
Allowances were made for his health and age.
Prime Minister Ardern is a female leader of child bearing age, As a society we need to normalise and accept pregnancy, child birth and breastfeeding as part of the human condition, as unavoidable as old age and illness.
Many women have had to make similar difficult decisions and trade offs.
Prime MInister Ardern is a trend setter, but first of all she is a leader of world ranking, like all leaders she has had to make difficult decisions and personal sacrifice to carry out her job.
TBF to the new guy, given Aussies unstable politics he probably thinks if he left the country for more than a day he would be out of a job when he got back.
Scott Morrison has already been out of Australia in his first week as PM – to Indonesia to sign a free trade agreement with them. But can’t make it to Nauru for the Pacific Island Forum – and be exposed to criticism re the refugees sent there by Australia.
First he’s got to survive the Wentworth by- election, which from all accounts is getting really interesting as it’s a very diverse electorate from the big end of town to the bottom end of town. After that he has the cross bench in the upper and lower House’s of Parliament. Then the 85 knife throwers in Party room to deal with and next years budget which is also election yr.
Unless Sco Mo pull’s something out of his hat between now and year or Labour somehow falls off the cliff. Then they’re got buckles chance at getting back as they are already on life support at.
It’s been quite relaxing, not worrying or stressing about the bullshit of RAAF’s SECFOR (Training, Operations/ Op’s planning and planning) within the two NT SEC Flts. My wife and I couldn’t be bothered going the open days at Darwin and the Forward Operation Base setup down the road at Batchor Airfield to show the wife the set up at what we did on my two Timor trips.
The rest of the yr is getting house and my tank hanger (20m x9m shed) setup with my Troop SGT office up before the big wet or before first test match of the summer with all my diecast planes, britan soldiers, tanks, my 1/700 model ships and my gun safe. Looking after my little girl (Saffie cross Ozzie Cattle dog) as the wife ran her over a couple of weeks. Listening to my classical, old school country, British Classical and hymns.
As for the future, want to finish of my pilots license, my mate at my bush block wants to get involved with the Timor veterans programs in ET, the wife to go to Timor, wildlife protection feral animal control and anti poachingtravel back to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma and do some wildlife tours before its to late to Africa, sub Antarctic and Arctic Regions. Higher education in History or Strategic studies and of course further training in bush fire fighting and in fire management.
Tinker in the shed with my 50’s or 60’s yank tank with the big fins, my uncle motorcycles when I finally get them and the wife has given me permission to buy an Armoured Vehicle of some sort unless we win lotto a warbird or her uncles warbird. Setting up the garden in next yr in between fishing and hunting.
ROFL – oh so just the usual “what do I do with myself now” retirement things then!
What sort of warbird? Despite being a female civilan Kiwi, when I spent almost seven years in London in the ’70s, I worked in a civil/military organisation, NATS. For almost three years of that, I was private secretary/aide de camp to Air Marshall Sir Ivor Broom, the Controller of NATS – and a rather highly medalled RAF pilot during WW11. He was still in active service and I used to also go to the big wig RAF meetings with him- female and in civvie clothes with a very high security rating obviously. It used to raise eyebrows, which Sir Ivor loved doing. LOL. Part of my role was also to look after Sir Douglas Bader, then a part time Member of the Board of the CAA (who I officially worked for.)
Two hard cases but extreme gentlemen as well. You just did not get in a car driven by either of them if you valued your life, nerves and blood pressure! I also flew with Sir Ivor at the controls quite often in various types of planes when we went around the UK for meetings etc – and sometimes, depending on the plane,once in the air, he would hand over to me despite no formal training and tell me to follow the rail lines. My elder brothers back in NZ were so jealous of me, but I told them it was my revenge for their complaints about having to drag little sister along to the Saturday afternoon movies – many of which were, yes you guessed it, films such as the Dam Busters, etc.
We had a wonderful office set up, quite unusual for the time. As well as me in my role (which included deciding who got to meet, talk to Sir Ivor etc – up your nose bigwigs got to wait a loooonnng time) there was a male typist, a male batman who was also the tea lady (lovely older guy) and Sir Ivor’s driver was female.
Memories are wonderful things.
Ps – Funnily enough, I mentioned on here a few days ago that I worked in London with the father of Brian May of Queen fame and got to know Brian, and the rest of Queen through him. Brian’s Dad was an ex RAF avionics engineer in NATS.
What awesome company you had back then, I reminds me of some the cocktail parties I intended during the few years after Timor (INTERFET) as Airfield Defence Guard (An Aussie Rockape) especially the WW2 and Korean Fighter Pilots. Especially when the Spitfire Pilots from the Morotai Spitfire Wing/ Borneo found out I was and ADG which some them were good mates of old John Gorton en Oz PM had very close encounter with his gun sight when he panged his fighter during the Battle of Malaya.
Brian May would’ve been an interesting fella to talk too, let alone his dad.
As for the warbird, her uncle has a winjeel trainer, but there is a Ex RAAF Mk5c Spitfire in pieces that saw service in Darwin/ Arnhem area on wish list, the wife likes the Me-109G in winter camo, but having read the pilots notes they don’t like asphalt runways all that much and requires big grassy Airfields because of the torque of the big DB engines. The goal would to own a RNZAF, RAAF, RAF, or FAA Aircraft or similar A/C either a single or twin engine that saw service in the Far East or South Pacific to honour my great uncle who was in 3NZ Div, my wife’s Pop (RAN) and Nan (AIF) those veterans and those who have no known grave which to is the saddest thing I’ve seen in War cemetery’s that someone’s lost family member has no known grave.
VV
There are so many stories and paths that cross from war and defence efforts.
I was doing some volunteer counter work at local art gallery, got talking to an English woman and found that her husband had been the Squadron Leader? (in charge) of my birth father’s bomber group around north England Market Rasen area during WW2.
This was interesting. https://www.spitfireclub.co.uk/dowding—park Leigh-Mallory, already envious of Park for leading the key 11 Group while No.12 Group was left to defend airfields, repeatedly failed to support No.11 Group. Leigh-Mallory and his Big Wing (led by Douglas Bader) often ran amok through No.11 Group airspace confusing the defences. Quintin Brand’s No. 10 Group in the South West successfully supported No.11 Group when required despite having far more arduous defensive duties in its own area than No.12 Group.
Park’s subsequent objection to Leigh-Mallory’s behaviour during the Big Wing controversy may have contributed to his and Dowding’s removal from command at the end of the battle, but neither Park nor Dowding had much time for internal politics and fell easy prey to their waiting critics. Richard Saul of 13 Group on the other hand, wrote to Park on learning of his pending departure from No.11 Group, commenting on “the magnificent achievements of your group in the past six months; they have borne the brunt of the war, and undoubtedly saved England”. Park was to remain indignant however over his and Dowding’s treatment for the rest of his life. Park was posted immediately to Training Command before seeing later high ranking service in the Mediterranean and elsewhere.,,
On leaving the Royal Air Force, Park personally selected a Supermarine Spitfire to be donated to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, New Zealand. This aircraft is still on display today along with his service decorations and uniform….
While Sir Hugh Dowding controlled the Battle from day to day, it was Keith Park who controlled it hour by hour. Air Vice Marshal ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, one of the top Allied air aces of the war, said: “He was the only man who could have lost the war in a day or even an afternoon”. This was an echo of Winston Churchill’s description of Admiral Jellicoe in the First World War.
Although Park has not received widespread public recognition, either in Britain or his native New Zealand, he has a claim to be one of the greatest commanders in the history of aerial warfare.
You mention the original characters you met. Did you see or know the story of Colonel Wintle shown on TV in Heroes and Villains series?
Exkiwiforces
If you or your wife have time to read and like quirky Laoa and Tahi based mystery/detective books I recommend trying Colin Cotterill’s books. He has a couple of main characters in series Dr Siri Paiboun and his wife is one, and other Jimm Juree, super girl reporter.
Unfortunately the wife goes by the stars with accommodation IRT SEA travels as I tend to sleep under the stars where I go in SEA. As tend to follow J P Cross an eccentric British Army Officer base in Laos during the war in between stints with Gurkhas or at famous British Jungle Warfare School in Borneo, Graham Greene’s travels through Indo- China, and another eccentric British Army Officer from that era called Arthur George Trevor- Wilson who the French booted out in 1950 as he was good Mates with Ho Chin Minh.
The other three I want to follow is Johnny Cooper the SAS fellow not the boxer, Fitzroy McLean travels in Asia Minor and his time with Tito and old mate T.E Lawrence.
Then a little unknown Kiwi lady called Iris a friend of my NZ grandmother who was with SOE in Western Europe as a courier, spy, and escorted escaped or downed RAF aircrew to freedom via Spain and Portugal. She was a bluebell dancer in Paris before the war and she could Fench and German. A 6ft blond with blue eyes and she was petty handily a pistol from all accounts, just as she was with a Croquet mallet.
I’ll take a look at that website.
That bit about Dowding and Park is so true that they not recognise in the wider public and the thing about Park was that was head hunted by old Winnie to be the RAF CInC for Defence of Malta and again he could’ve lose the war in the British Pond (the med) for the first time since 1746.
I find those stories about resistance from SOE fascinating.
Nancy Wake for one. Looking at Violette Szabo the other day. Her little girl was presented with a cross by King George VI and she said she would keep it for Mummy for when she came home.
I think the Gestapo had tortured her and executed her by that time. Apparently she did not give away anybody. It is all very hard to think about and especially it didn’t teach us to be better.
Thinking of JP Cross I see there is a book called Operation janus by him about the Ghurkas on TradeMe here for $23.50NZ with free shipping. It actually comes from booktopia located in Australia.
When Alan Hinlea, a British Gurkha captain with a hatred of a class system that has always kept him down, deserts to the guerillas and is spirited away to the jungle Communist HQ, Chin Peng, the leader of the Malayan Communist Party gloats at what he hopes will be a major propaganda victory.
A fellow British Gurkha officer is despatched with five Gurkhas to hunt Hinlea down and the chase through pathless jungle becomes a race against time and a contest of deadly jungle warfare skills. Operation Janus is the first in a trilogy of books involving Gurkha milita…
I have the upmost respect to my grandparents generation and in your case your late father going through the Great Depression then followed by WW2 and then building a society where everyone had an equal share in the nations wealth alongside a equally caring society as they knew what the alternative was especially with invent of the “bomb”. When everyone kept their word or handshake and prepared to get stuck in when it was need in times of stress or disaster.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve reading about Luftwaffe’s Aces under the heading “The German Aces Speak” series by Colin D. Heaton and Anne- Marie Lewis also is on British and German Night Fighters. I’ve the last paragraph in each chapter quite somber on their thoughts for the future. Just like as I was brought up with grandparents in the Nelson region many moons weather about the war, the depression or working class fights with bosses or in case of grandparents turning to the 81 protests in Nelson with helmets etc as it was a worthy battle that needed to be fought. But needless to say they were force to take back seat and how they managed to talk my grandmother out of it, I do not know.
Just like those young kids/ man like your late father climbing into their bomber/ fighter every day/ night or in case of Mike Simths relative in Singers climbing into that elderly biplane knowing what odds were at returning or those on the convoys or facing Rommel tanks or Herr Hitlers paras or the likes of Iris in the SOE or the PoW’s to incredible brave. Compared with what I’ve done and seen in my last 15yrs.
Three quotes, I want to share two from JP Cross and the old bulldog Winnie
Fighting in privacy seem to a relic of the past. Propaganda- that branch of the art of lying which consists of nearly deceiving your friends without quite deceiving your enemies- has been become more acute. Now rallies, chiefly negative because they have organised by people leaping to unwarranted conclusions without adequate examination of the evidence, are a feature of modern life now.
The other JP quote,
At the beginning of the 21st century, was no longer worldwide and all- embracing Communism. Instead, an unhealthy mixture of religious bigotry, lust of oil and over educated idiots with no sense of history rising to the top of the political tree have broken the pattern which has created a new type of situation for which no lasting answer has yet been found.
The further back you look, the further for you can see
They are unlikely to have another coup.
Early federal elections are a problem as Victoria has its state election on 24th Nov 2018 and NSW is 23 rd march 2019
Theres really ‘no space’ to do a 6 week federal campaign till after NSW is done next year. Technicalities about Senators terms also mean that it wont happen till after may 2019.
Yes, the Libs have really shot them selves in foot since the last couple of wks. The federal election is really Labour’s to grab unless they do something really stupid before the polls.
to which we should add boo hoo wah wah wah wah wah.
and if the only way business can be conducted is by using slave labour and forcing costs onto others (such as by supposedly ‘independant contractors – couriers, food delivery people, exploitation of immigrants, a series of ticlet clippers in the chain, and so on), then your business isn’t viable,
btw, I post the above having looked at some comments on TDB that are akin to the
“boo hoo hoo wah wah wah – YOU try running a business and see how you get on” bullshit
So far, all I’ve seen from ‘bizzniss’ leaders is that the reason for poor bizzniss confdinse is “uncertaintay”.
Bizzniss doesn’t like ‘uncertainty”
Well fellas, welcome to the whurl of the precariat. Uncertainty is the precariat class’ biggest characteristic, yet it’s something they’re expected to swallow whilst their bizzniss counterparts expect to be able to cut costs, diminish the rights of their greates asset (their worker bees), take on greater risk from the bizzniss they work for, and basically prop up the fortunes (or otherwise) of their masters.
Whether now, or a few more steps down the road – it ain’t gonna last.
Again, if the only way your bizzniss can survice is by imposing slave-like conditions, then your bizzniiss ain’t viable.
(Maybe fuck off to Straya and try your hand there)
Oh how history repeats (or at least echoes)
boo hoo wah wah wah
Perhaps good journalism is not yet quite dead in NZ when the Southland Times can come up with this editorial this morning. Perhaps we should be looking past the biggies and looking more to news sources such as this or ODT.
The subject is Chelsea Manning and her appearance at the Sydney Antidote Festival on Sunday via satellite from Los Angeles in conversation with Peter Greste, the Australian Aljazeera journalist imprisoned by Egypt for over a year.
Yesterday I also read a related article of particular interest in exploring the dubious nature of character by Dr Binoy Kampmark, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, teaching within the Bachelor of Social Science (Legal and Dispute Studies) programme at RMIT in Melbourne. Unfortunately the link to the article at abandonhope. net is currently broken but if it comes up again I will try to post the link, as I think some here would find it worth reading.
As of this morning, the Australian govt has still not made a final decision whether to ban Manning from entry to Australia for the two remaining events in Melbourne on Friday 7 Sept and Tues 11 Sept. It remains to be seen whether they will make a decision one way or another or just procrastinate… Some Australian articles are suggesting that they are not wishing to upset their US friends …
Tickets are still on sale for her two events here next weekend in Auckland and Wellington (Embassy Theatre not St James as I think I said in early posts) and supposedly the issue of her visa will just be a matter of rubber stamping with the decision last Friday to give her a special direction to apply for the visa.
Just for the hell of it because I am just plain nosey, I checked ticket availability.
In Auckland (Q theatre) ticket seem to be about 2/3 booked for the floor A reserve seats, and the same for the B reserve Gods seats. the other two options (VIP Meet and Greet) and Balcony seats are shown as “Not available right now” so whether sold out or quite what is not clear.
In Wellington the Embassy seat plan is showing about half booked in total.
Another slight update – John Pilger has thrown his hat in the ring in joining the petitioners to the Australian govt to allow Manning into Australia for the two remaining events in Melbourne and Brisbane, according to this Australian Green Party report two hours ago,
For those who do not click on links when they don’t know the who or what, this is an interesting take by David Cormack on “What if National had actually retained power?”
Mickysavage or lprent – Possibly good for a post by itself given it is almost a year since the general election?
“By way of a bribe payment, a price was agreed upon which was typically $400 if the applicant attended and sat their IR or IF driving test, and up to $550 if the applicant did not attend and between $1500 and $2500 for a class two to five truck licence.”
The scheme had the potential to allow people to drive heavy trucks on the open roads without having to sit the required test….
Brar was involved in at least 107 corrupt transactions between 2014 and 2016. He received over $56,000 in bribes. More bribe money was passed on to his co-defendants….
Lovepreet Brar, or Love Brar has he is known in online Punjabi pop videos, has been sentenced to 11 months home detention for taking bribes for driver licences.
In some cases people who did not even sit the test were able to buy a New Zealand drivers licence and get behind the wheel.
In the video for his song ‘Jail’, Brar depicts a character who lives in a showy house, owns expensive cars, carries guns and has just been shot in the shoulder. It has had more than 4.3 million hits on Youtube.
His video promotion shows him with a large gun standing staunchly. Hardly something to encourage positive reactions in the public. However it may have appealed to the dairy owners, and the liquor store owners who have suffered menace and death. This young man is a symptom of problems that need to be fixed in our society. There will become a growing division with immigrants from Asia, with NZrs becoming warier and Indians feeling grief and anger, and resentment.
Chinese have been connected with an active and open drug market and imports, and I think this possibility is based on known facts. I have respect for Chinese and Indian, but I think some find us easy pickings and some NZrs are very ready to enlarge established criminal activities.
There may be racism involved when people are refused employment, but often there is a question in the employers’ minds based on known facts of tendencies. If Ia large enough number of Indian people end up in Court or under investigation, any bias against them will increase.
Then we too have to watch that our own dealings with immigrants are of an equitable nature. There is a twisted approach to respect and fair dealings to them in immigration, and in other departments too.
What a ridiculously low sentence. Not even being made to pay the money back. certainly the judiciary seems to be sending a message to migrants that they can just break NZ laws and get away with a slap on the wrist, no jail time for dishonest migrants endangering lives and NZ reputation. Unlike if Kiwi’s do it.
Look at these sentences clearly very light ones, given to migrants who are dishonest and corrupt.
In this a Chinese business man received $33,000 worth of stolen honey and was repackaging it, but only fined $17,500 – sounds like he was still $15,500 better off after being caught. Funny enough endangering our food reputation for quality export honey is fine apparently but less so if you just send a hoax and not even do the crime aka the nearly 9 years jail Jeremy Kerr got for sending a hoax letter to Fonterra about 1080.
“A Chinese businessman has been fined for receiving 480kg of stolen mānuka honey after a well-planned heist targeting a ready-for-export shipment at an Auckland warehouse.”
“Judge Singh convicted and sentenced Sun to pay a $17,500 fine, $15,000 of which would be a reparation payment to Azurelife.
Sun said he was able to pay the fine by week’s end.”
… so they made more than a million in profit but only fined $847k…. that’s certainly sending the message to ignore OIA if you can make a buck, you still get to make a profit even if you are caught.
Come to NZ and poison the locals with drugs, no need to pay an taxes or declare any income and you will become a citizen no questions asked!
“According to Inland Revenue records neither Yim nor Wu, who arrived in New Zealand in 1991 and 1994, have ever declared their income nor paid any tax.”
“As part of the raids on Yim, police also seized 12 luxury sports cars valued at more than $1.3m, including a Ferrari worth more than $500,000 and a Lamborghini Gallardo. More than $1.8m in cash was seized and a further 1kg of methamphetamine found.
Watches, jewellery, electronics, and 48 bottles of vintage French wine valued at about $42,000 were also seized.”
“Yim was sentenced this month in the High Court at Auckland to 11 and a half years in prison for possession of a class A drug for supply.
During sentencing he was described by Justice Geoffrey Venning as being vital to the drug scheme which imported the equivalent of 30kg of pure methamphetamine with a street value of $40m.”
Yim, who came to New Zealand from Hong Kong on a resident visa before gaining citizenship in 1995, has previously been convicted on three unrelated charges.
In July 2006 he was convicted at the Auckland District Court for drink-driving and on a dangerous driving charge, while in April 1997 he was convicted of shoplifting.”
I can only hope that the ird investiagtes this man and taxes him on any undisclosed income. My understanding, even illegal earnings are subject to tax, penalties and use of money interest 🤑
I thought we could seize criminals’ stuff or is it just Maori ganga. I meant gangs (I think Freudian slip.) Spoiler – racist thoughts occurring here. Why do some foreign people get treated so badly, and others get jailed for a long time at our expense and if they are in drugs, they will get a whole new set of traders there. Daft.
Dunno about “redeemed”, but it’d be awkward if they didn’t figure out how to get along at the very least – they get seated next to each other all the time lol
GW will never live down starting the “forever war” (as I saw it called somewhere).
But people who run into each other regularly build relationships.
Very good article on Radio NZ site about redundancy in NZ. However rather than expecting the government to pay for training etc, maybe it should be time in NZ where businesses are regulated to not constantly being making people redundant willy nilly and then often hiring people back later as contractors. This is creating a precriat class not just at the bottom end but through the whole NZ work culture. Part of the reason it is so common, is that it is so easy for an employer to do make employees redundant at little cost to themselves while the costs to the workers are huge. Not easy to find replacement work if they have kids and morgages and so forth and can go from being relatively well off to losing their homes and no guarantee in next job it does not happen again.
“In New Zealand, unlike Australia, Canada and several other OECD countries, there is no legal requirement to pay workers redundancy compensation, leaving unions and workers to negotiate redundancy clauses in their contracts. The payments are taxed at 33 percent, and if a business goes into receivership, employees’ back-pay and redundancy payments are capped at about $22,000 – regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company or what redundancy clause their contract contains.
There’s no guarantee that a company will pay anything at all, as Rob Dempsey found out.”
“The Statistics NZ paper, along with two more follow-up Motu reports, and the OECD report, found people who lose their jobs earn between 12 and 22 percent less than comparable workers four to five years afterward, even if they find other work.
“Income and especially wage effects upon displacement can be considerable, even for those who successfully return to work, and seem to be more pronounced in New Zealand than in most other OECD countries,” the OECD authors wrote.”
Great article about how much money Mondelez has made from NZ as they created debts sent profits to offshore companies in return for ‘intellectual property’ until they destroyed the local business and the factory closes down and they make those workers redundant.
Will she or won’t she? That is, will Jacinda Ardern appear in the House this afternoon for Question Time to parry with Simon Bridges on Question 1, her only question for the day – Does she have confidence in all her Ministers?
The PM has not appeared on her usual Tuesday media slots on RNZ Morning Report, the AM Show etc. Presumably getting ready for her trip to Nauru without Neve for the first time, as Neve is too young for the vaccinations needed to go there.
Neither the PM nor Winston Peters will be in the House tomorrow as Peters is already in Nauru for the Pacific Islands Forum and Ardern is flying up this afternoon or tonight on the RNZAF Boeing 757 for a quick one day /36 hour visit for the Leaders Retreat tomorrow, before everyone (Peters, Ardern, other government attendees and the press contingent) return together on the Boeing 757 leaving about midnight Weds. (Flight time to/from Nauru is about 5 – 6 hours; and Nauru is in exactly the same time/day zone as NZ.)
The PM hardly ever attends Question Time on Thursday and it is highly unlikely that Peters will this week after a busy few days in Nauru.
and in other news,
Credlin TV (13:00 bulletin today) has just reported (to paraphase) Winston Peters as saying that if the only reason Straya (which is in breach of its U.N obligations) is worried that Nauru detainees might hop across the deetch once PR/Citizenship was obtained, then NZ could accommodate – even if legislation is necessary.
There is actually no reason for either the Nauru or the Manus Island atrocities other than the trio of Dutton, Corman and Morrisons, and their hanger’s on.
Guys, nothing has been saved from Linguistics. We lost the entire collection of Indigenous Languages: the recordings since 1958, the songs in many languages without live speakers, the Curt Nimuendaju archive: papers, photos, negatives, the original ethnic-historical-linguistic map with the location of all ethnic groups in Brazil , the only record we had dating back to 1945. The ethnological and archaeological references of the Brazilian ethnic groups since the 16th century … In short, an irreparable loss to our Historical Memory.
Which kiwi journo seems tired of life as a right-winger, making a play to reinvent himself on the radical left? Barry Soper: “Chelsea Manning has courage and integrity, and should be welcomed here”. [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=12117259]
“National’s immigration spokesman Michael Woodhouse was frothing at the mouth at the prospect of the former US Army intelligence analyst coming here saying her criminal record should have seen her banned, and if he was still the minister, that’s most certainly what would have happened.”
“we let in the real Wolf of Wall Street in 2014 to tell sell out audiences here how he ripped off investors to the tune of US$200 million through a fake bond scheme. Jordan Belfort charged Kiwis up to $860 a head to hear how he did it. So who was the Immigration Minister then? Michael Woodhouse!”
I posted a update re Chelsea Manning at 7 above with some other links you may be interested in. They cover reviews etc from her appearance via satellite link at the Sydney Antidote Festival on Sunday, the still no decision from Australian authorities on her visa, and sales etc of tickets here in NZ.
Nah, much more simple. He has always tried to butter his bread on both sides. I am also presuming that he is probably up in Nauru thanks to the RNZAF Boeing 757 and will be coming back tomorrow night on it with Peters and Ardern.
By the way, I have drafted up something re the waka jumping bill and why it will probably not be back in the House this week. Includes a little primer on how to work out what may make it into the House in any week. Will try to post it in Daily Review tonight as now off sleepy drugs after last week.
As you are seem to be a similar age to me, you may be amused at some memories I probably stupidly revealed in a thread under 4 above. LOL
Interesting memories. At age 13, I mostly bought SF at the local 2nd-hand bookshop in 1963 (usual question: “What’s science fiction?”) but I did also get Bader’s famous “Reach for the Sky” and resonated with his struggle with adversity & heroic recovery after losing his legs. Awaiting the reason for delay of the waka bill with interest too!
Jim Mora’s chat show continues to scrape the bottom of the barrel. The Panel, RNZ National, Tuesday 4 September 2018, 4:47 p.m.
Jim Mora, Niki Bezzant, Neil Miller, Caitlin Cherry
Even for this dog of a show, this was a particularly inane exchange of inane inanities. First the host Jim Mora read out, in an evident tone of approval, a gobsmackingly depraved Nigel Farage quote praising Australia’s brutal mistreatment of refugees, claiming it “has saved lives.”
NIKI BEZZANT: I note that his website says he’s the world’s most charismatic politician!
NEIL MILLER: Pshaw! I think Barack Obama might have something to say about that! Not to mention Bill Clinton.
More—if you can bear it—of Neil Miller being vile and fatuous….
“The last election unlocked a new voice born of the quiet revolution of more Māori in Parliament. The number of Māori MPs had grown from 13 in 1996 to 29 after election 2017. Twenty are in the Labour, NZ First and Green Party governing arrangement. Ten have executive portfolios. MPs of Māori descent lead National, NZ First, Act and the Greens and Kelvin Davis is deputy leader of Labour.”
“Factoring all new enrolments, the net gain of 61,000 Māori to the general roll since 2006, compared to 25,000 to the Māori roll, exactly matches the earlier 70 per cent swing to the Māori roll.” “The percentage of Māori on the Māori roll is at its lowest, at 52 per cent, since MMP began. The percentage of Māori on the general roll, 48 per cent, is at its highest.” [Rawiri Taonui] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=12118287
Oh wow – this is so, so relevant to what I will hopefully post not just re the waka jumping bill but also about a member’s bill that will probably be debated in the House tomorrow as per my 18.3.1.1. to you above. Must feed the menagerie and me. and then will get to it.
Good morning The Am Show Condolences to Japan for the people lost in that Typhoon that is raging there at the minute .
The police get $70 k for a 40 hour week=$30.00 a hour I think that’s fine for a young person the question is how much do they get in year 2 .3 ,4, 5
I know that some have it hard dealing with some public but not all are on that roster
that has to be the highest pay rate for a first year for most industry’s $1400 extra every year for 3 years is much better than other people..Dairy farm workers have not even had a %1 rise in pay over ten years and they work hard.
trump is causing this Nike gear burning hight light and these intelligent people YEA RIGHT are falling for his lies?????? he is going to keep his deceit going it will get louder as the American President elections get closer . Many thanks to NIKE for making a stand for EQUAL RIGHT’S.
Girls out perform boys at school so why do we not have more in management .
Because these old fossils have bias systems in place that keep wahine out of management .
Segregated schools who paid for this study some old fashion religious group.
Boys have to learn to respect girls how is that going to happen if they are separated at school,s
James Shaw is a good man he has highlighted that National is cooperating on the carbon neutral policy. The polls are showing that a lot of Kiwi voter’s are taking there mokopuna’s future and Climate change seriously our Ausse cousin’s need to take Climate Change seriously . Ka pai enough said
What process do they have in place to stop cheating in harness racing ??????? I see this behavior all through out sport’s .
It’s a BIG KNOW TO SELLING OUR TAB TO AUSTRALIA we have $5 billion going there from the banks and now some fool wants to sell our Tab that would just under mine our sports franchises WAKE UP.
Duncan I see you think that it is your job to hold the government accountable .The
problem Eco Maori has is YOU did not do that to national .
There you go the Duncan that man Tony who is champion single sex is a chauvinistic person and if we let people like his spread his fossilized view’s on us it’s all about the boys in his world and we need more voices championing equal right’s for wahine .
That’s the reason this study has landed on your desk Duncan the old fossil are feeling insecure with the Big Equal right movement that is sweeping across Papatuanuku at the minute .
Its a fine balancing act to keep a coalition government in line I say Jacinda is doing that job well.
Stop calling for her to do thing you know she won’t do .
Ka kite ano
The big computer multi nation soft ware company’s have being milking Aotearoa public sector for many decades they bid low get the contract for the job and then ask for more money 2x the original bid and more .
There actions have kept Aotearoa company’s out of this market they are to big for NZ government to hold to account for there soft ware not preforming the task set out to achieve. NOVA Pay Now Acc has the same plans with Oracle these company will bleed NZ dry they don’t care that there action’s will cause harm to NZ people or anyone it’s all about the money .
The consequences of this is they are actually stunting Aotearoa TEC sector’s we have the coding expertise here what do you think Iprent well I think so .
Conclusion ban foreign company’s from bidding for these soft ware up date jobs for our public services sector.
I have a link to back my claim of the talent we have in Aotearoa
sure we mite have to import a few coders but that will ad to OUR IT service sector.
Wow the sandflys are highly sensitive about there money they had a bunch of young people harresment me at a set of lights and a marked cop car was waiting around the corner how do I know it was a set up because the boys keep perusing me right next to the cops now they have some on on a big road bike following me around muppets the want to get me in there cells and beat me muppets. Ka kite ano
Freedom of the PRESS reporter’s who put there safety on the line to broadcast the fact’s that the powerful are suppressing all the killing and un humane practices that these people are doing in there grab or clinging ont to power Eco Maori Applauds all you great people who are doing this great service for Humanity NEED to be defended .
So the powerful left people of the world need to stand up and defend these great people . I see one of OUR Kiwi reporters was held in custody on Naru
Barbara Dreaver is a Mana Wahine Journalist who is not going to give up Ka pai E hoa .Ka kite ano
Good evening Newshub That’s a strong Typhoon in Japan blowing houses boat’s and truck’s around Tangaroa and Tawhirimatea are a real power full force of Papatuanuku.
There you go Mike Eco Maori has not been barking up the wrong tree pointing out trump’s flaws . May all his fans please stand up
The housing catastrophe is a gift to Aotearoa from shonky and national to Aotearoa’ people and what do you know some of his biggest fans just cashed in there capital gains WOHO I ignore anything they have to say this is the best way to handle that.
Phenomenon.
Eco Maori think’s its ok for Nike to highlight discrimination and get some exposure for there support by using a picture to speak a thousand word they are not dumb.
Ka kite ano
The Crowd Goes Wild James & Mulls I agree with the Kiwi’s new Coach Aotearoa has had a positive effect on the International League seen .
Anna is in her element on te maunga there is plenty of snow .
Sore face jame’s NZ net ball had that phenomenon that phenomenon happen to one of our best coaches a couple of decades ago
Ka kite ano P.S electric race cars are the way of the future they are faster and cleaner less noise than there carbon gulpers cousins ka pai
Good morning The Am Show Rua Moko has been going hard all over Papatuanuku .
You no what’s a joke all this spin about the ANZ business poll showing a lack of business confidence yesterday polls show that consumer spending is up ???? and what top’s it off is whos on the ANZ board well no other than shonky so don’t take any notice of the ANZ business poll’s better still change bank’s if you bank with them in protest for the bankers cheating common people once again.
There you go Duncan alcohol is the root of the problem and you champion longer jail terms you don’t want to hurt your capitalist m8 profts .
The problem is what if the person who accidentally dies in the fight was the aggressor and the other person was just defending them selves . I have seen aggressor pick on someone next minute.
I agree with Lowe Jonson had heaps of presser on him he handled it and stayed loyal to the Warriors ka pai. IT,s a exciting weeked for sports the wahine league and Rugby Playing this week to NO People.
BUY a electric car everyone that will sort out your high fuel bill.
collins if the role were reversed ( never going to happen) would you do what you are telling someone else to do total I think not.
trump was a Democrat supporter it was bill influence on trump that gave him the hunger for the President of America trump new Democrats would not stand for his —- so he changed wakas . Ka kite ano c why I don’t like the word crack
Here you go there is a small group of farmers who don’t have the correct effluent systems in place and this tars the rest of farmers link below Ka kite ano.
Typical national neo liberals playing the lets stir up the crime subject about crime to get a lift in there polls .First why don’t they come up with Idears to benefit OUR society O NO they only come up with policys to line there pockets ITS beneath them to think about the common person in a positvey we are just sheep to these people wating to be shorn .Ana to kai ka kite ano P.S
The Operation Burnham inquiry continued to question senior NZDF staff today, and their shoddy coverup over their knowledge of civilian casualties continue to fall apart. If you recall, first, we were asked to believe that it was all a series of "mistakes and errors": a senior officer with multiple degrees ...
The Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2) had part of its committee stage yesterday. its a generally tedious bill about the nitty-gritty of local government reorganisation. But it includes a clause making the Local Government Commission subject to the Ombudsmen Act, and hence the OIA. Great! Except of ...
Yesterday Ihumātao's mana whenua reached a consensus that they would like their land back, and asked the government to negotiate with Fletcher's for its return. The government's response? Try and undermine that consensus, while talking about how doing anything would undermine existing Treaty settlements. The first is just more bad ...
Its Suffrage Day, the 126th anniversary of women winning the right to vote (but not stand in elections) in New Zealand. And to celebrate, the government has bought Kate Sheppard's house in Christchurch:The government has bought Kate Sheppard's former home in Christchurch for more than $4 million. The Ilam villa ...
The UN climate summit is happening in new York next week, and unlike previous years, coal-burners and denier-states are not being invited to speak:Leading economies such as Japan and Australia will not be invited to speak at next week’s crunch UN climate change summit, as their continued support for coal ...
Get Back Jojo! The elation in Mayor Phil Goff’s camp may be easily imagined as they watched social media light up in indignation at challenger John Tamihere’s "Sieg Heil to that" quip. Just when JT’s notoriously right-wing, sexist and homophobic stains were beginning to fade back into his ‘colourful’ past, ...
Patrick Gower is good value when he's high. Not that I've ever, you know, got stoned with him. But in the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you'd expect in a modern weed documentary and immerses himself – first with a doctor, then a ...
We surveyed candidates on their attitudes to issues facing the Western Bay Region, find out what they think: “Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues ...
Please spread widely, and sign, to support science and rationalism over the new irrationalism sweeping universities and institutions. PROJECT NETTIE Sexual reproduction, the generation of offspring by fusion of genetic material from two different individuals, evolved over 1 billion years ago. It is the reproductive strategy of all higher animals ...
Just when I was thinking that Palmerston North's mayoral race (which includes a convicted child molester / public wanker and a convicted child beater) was the worst in the country, Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere opened his mouth:Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere is being slammed for using the words "sieg ...
We reprint below an article from the excellent website the Economics of Imperialism by Tony Norfield This is an update of the statistics for my Index of Power, using data for 2018-19 and discussing what a country’s ranking reflects. The major change is that China’s rank has shifted up and ...
The All Blacks have been, for more than a century, arguably the most successful International sports team in the world. But they are more than that; even for those Kiwis who are immune to the charms of rugby (and there are more than a few), the All Blacks are ambassadors ...
Alone, Alone, All, All, Alone: To argue that the Prime Minister is the victim of her advisers’ failure to keep her informed may offer Jacinda some measure of exoneration – but only at the cost of casting her as a hopeless political ingénue. A star-dusted muppet, whose only purpose is to ...
In times of hysteria about the “World coming to an end” and “rising sea levels” so-called ‘Journalists’ who can barely spell words longer than four letters are having a ball! Though the majority of the Public have worked out that manmade climate change is nothing short of pseudo-science, and the ...
I don't want to give pblicity to certain parts of the internet that are better left to fester in their own irrelevance (I know, a bit like this place) but the listing of Chris Trotter as a 'author' on Cameron Slater's spinoff website, the BFD requires some explanation.Now, I don't ...
The text below is a Twitter thread by Heather Heying that explains the essence of sexual reproduction and it long evolutionary history. She is an evolutionary biologist and a “professor-in-exile” after she and her husband, Bret Weinstein, stood up to supporters of an enforced “Day of Absence” for white staff and teachers ...
With crunch time for new Zealand climate policy approaching, most of the New Zealand media have got on board with a global reporting effort to cover the issue. There's one strand of stories today about polling and what it shows about changing public attitudes to the crisis, but the strand ...
Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...
Current and former NZDF top brass are being publicly grilled this week by the hit and run inquiry over their public responses to allegations of civilian casualties. Previously, they've claimed there were no casualties, a position which led them to lie to Ministers and to the public. Now, they're saying ...
by Rafael D. Quiles (gender-critical gay man from Puerto Rico) The writing on the wall is right in people’s faces and people just don’t see it or don’t want to. What could actually possess a heterosexual male to want to feminize himself and claim that he is a lesbian? Because ...
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...
by the Redline blog collective At Redline we are very saddened to hear of the death of Magdalen Burns who passed away on the morning of Friday, September 13 (British time). Magdalen was a great fighter for the rights of women in general and lesbian women in particular, a defender ...
The Brexit issue has certainly brought with it a series of apparently difficult constitutional issues, many of them concerning the respective roles of the executive and parliament. Most of them arise because of the unwillingness of MPs, despite their professions to the contrary, to be bound by a constitutional rarity ...
. . This blogpost is different to my usual format of reporting on issues… Since July 1011, I have blogged on a variety of political issues; near always political and/or environmental; mostly highly critical of the previous National Government. Other issues included Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and repression of ...
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...
The government has released its Arms Legislation Bill, containing the second tranche of changes to gun laws following the March 15 massacre. And it all looks quite sensible: a national gun register, higher penalties for illegal possession and dealing, tighter restrictions on arms dealers and shooting clubs, and a shorter ...
Private prisons are a stain on humanity. Prison operators explicitly profit from human misery, then lobby for longer prisons terms so they can keep on profiting. And in the US, prison companies run not only local and state prisons, but also Donald Trump's immigration concentration camps. Faced with this moral ...
When National was in power, they were very keen on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) - basicly, using private companies to finance public infrastructure as a way of hiding debt from the public. They were keen on using them for everything - roads, schools, hospitals. But as the UK shows, that "service" ...
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...
by Philip Ferguson Much of the left, even people who formally identify as marxists, have collapsed politically in the face of postmodern gender theory of the sort pioneered by American philosopher Judith Butler. For Butler even biological sex is socially constructed. “If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps ...
The media is reporting that the (alleged) Labour party sexual assaulter has resigned from their job at Parliament, which means hopefully he won't be turning up there making people feel unsafe in future. Good. But as with everything about this scandal, it just raises other questions. Most significantly: why the ...
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...
Property developers think there is an "oversupply" of houses in Auckland:High turnover rates and falling prices may be a sign that there are too many new houses going in to some parts of Auckland, commentators say. [...] Property developer David Whitburn said there was a "bit of an oversupply" in ...
Labour Party president Nigel Haworth resigned yesterday over the party's sexual assault scandal. But while that's good news, its unlikely to take away the stench of a coverup. Because according to Paula Bennett in Parliament yesterday, pretty much everyone in the Prime Minister's office was involved as well:I have been ...
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...
There has been a lot of talk about Boris Johnson wanting an election, and he has blustered with great gusto about 'chicken' Jeremy Corbyn refusing one, but I think there are many reasons why he is secretly glad he has been refused the opportunity:The Tories are an utter rabble,tearing themselves ...
Scottish appeal court judges have declared that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline is unlawful. The three judges, chaired by Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, overturned an earlier ruling that the courts did not have the powers to interfere in the prime ...
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...
I understand there's some stuff going round about how the SIS "was removed from the list of public offices covered by the Public Records Act in 2017". The context of course being their records derived from US torture, which will be disposed of or sealed. The good news is that ...
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ...
Australia is burning down again, and meanwhile its natural disaster minister is denying climate change:Australia’s minister responsible for drought and natural disasters, David Littleproud, has said that he doesn’t “know if climate change is manmade”. Clarifying earlier comments that the question is “irrelevant” when considering the Coalition government’s response to ...
Auckland Philippines Solidarity is excited to host Professor Judy Taguiwalo for a speaking tour of NZ in September. She is a well-known activist in the Philippines and was a political prisoner under the Marcos dictatorship. Professor Taguiwalo briefly served as a Cabinet member under President Duterte but was forced from ...
This open letter to the Green Party was penned after an opinion piece by Jill Abigail, a feminist and founding member of the party, was censored by the Greens’ leadership. (Redline has reprinted her article here).The intolerance of the Green Party leaders and their acceptance of the misogyny of gender ...
Today is a Member's day, and David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill continues its slow crawl through its committee stage. They're spending the whole day on it today, though the first hour is likely to be spent on voting left over from last time. After that they'll move on ...
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. So how's that going? I was curious, so I asked for all advice about the proposal. ...
As the Brexit saga staggers on, the focus is naturally enough on the Prime Minister and his attempts to achieve Brexit “do or die”. But the role played by the Leader of the Opposition is of almost equal interest and complexity. The first problem for Jeremy Corbyn is that he ...
Last week, English Prime Minister Boris Johnson boldly declared that he would rather die be dead in a ditch than delay Brexit. Unfortunately for him, the UK parliament accepted the challenge, and promptly dug one for him. The "rebellion bill" requires him to ask for and secure yet another temporary ...
Lost In Political Space: The most important takeaway from this latest Labour sexual assault scandal, which (if I may paraphrase Nixon’s White House counsel’s, John Dean’s, infamous description of Watergate) is “growing like a cancer” on the premiership, is the Labour Party organisation’s extraordinary professional paralysis in the face of ...
by Daphna Whitmore Every Sunday for the past two months unionists from First Union, with supporters from other unions, have set out to the Ihumatao land protest, put up gazebos and gas barbeques, and cooked food for a few hundred locals and supporters who have come from across the country. ...
Newsroom today has an excellent, in-depth article on pine trees as carbon sinks. The TL;DR is that pine is really good at soaking up carbon, but people prefer far-less efficient native forests instead. Which is understandable, but there's two problems: firstly, we've pissed about so long on this problem that ...
Canan Kaftancioglu is a Turkish politician and member of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Like most modern politicians, she tweets, and uses the platform to criticise the Turkish government. She has criticised them over the death of a 14-year-old boy who was hit by a tear gas grenade during ...
Hi there, just call me Tim.We face tough problems, and I’d like to help, because there are solutions.An Auckand District Health Board member has nominated me for as a candidate for the ADHB, because her MS-related pain and fatigue is reduced with hemp products from Rotorua. Nothing else helped her. If I ...
The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security has published their report on whether the SIS and GCSB had any complicity in American torture. And its damning. The pull quote is this:The Inquiry found both agencies, but to a much greater degree, the NZSIS, received many intelligence reports obtained from detainees who, ...
Bewhiskered Cassandra? Professor Hugh White’s chilling suggestion, advanced to select collections of academic, military and diplomatic Kiwi experts over the course of the past week, is that the assumptions upon which Australia and New Zealand have built their foreign affairs and defence policies for practically their entire histories – are ...
For most of the time I was a British MP, my party was out of government – these were the Thatcher years, when it was hard for anyone else to get a look-in. As a front-bencher and shadow minister, I became familiar with the strategies required in a parliamentary democracy ...
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh On August 29th a video in which veteran FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) commander Iván Márquez announced that they had taken up arms again was released. There was no delay in the reaction to it, from longtime Liberal Party figure and former president Uribe, for ...
Air New Zealand couldn’t believe its luck that this seemingly ideal piece of real estate had so far gone entirely unnoticed. Air New Zealand’s search for a site to build a second Auckland Airport may have made a breakthrough this afternoon, after employees scanning Google satellite imagery spotted a huge, ...
No-one on the anti-capitalist left in this country today puts forward a case that Labour is on the side of the working class. There are certainly people who call themselves ‘socialist’ who do, but they are essentially liberals with vested interests in Labourism – often for career reasons. Nevertheless, there ...
Federated Farmers congratulates the Auditor-General’s office on its release today of its report Managing Freshwater Quality: Challenges and Opportunities. ...
Growth has now slowed to a 6-year low, and downside risks are dominating. June quarter GDP growth came in at 0.5%qoq, in line with our expectation, and slightly above consensus. Although there were a few sensational reports of the chance of a negative print. ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is calling the release of the National Climate Change Risk Assessment (NCCRA) framework a good first step in balancing New Zealand’s response to climate change. ...
Family First NZ says that a new Colorado report compiled by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area finds marijuana-positive traffic fatalities, hospitalisations, marijuana use, and illegal market activity have exploded since marijuana legalization. ...
This year’s Ratepayers’ Report , local government league tables released yesterday, reveals which local councils owe the most and which owe the least. ...
Rachel MacGregor welcomes the decision released today by Justice Hinton. The key issue on which all the various litigation has been based is the question, did Colin Craig sexually harass Rachel. That question has been answered – he did. Justice ...
The Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) has today ratified a ground breaking pay deal with Dunedin Railways which will see all union members being paid a living wage and the lowest paid receiving an 18% wage increase. Higher paid RMTU members ...
Inclusion for trans women/men and non-binary peoples has today been announced as the cornerstone of a new resolution for the National Council of Women New Zealand (NCWNZ). ...
It took a testy Morning Report interview this week to remind me that Simon Bridges was still the Leader of the Opposition. Until then, he had been largely invisible as the events of recent weeks unfolded. ...
The National Council of Women NZ has today welcomed the news that the Government has purchased Kate Sheppard’s house in Christchurch, the base for the NZ suffrage campaign. ...
The Māori Party supports mana whenua of Ihumātao and acknowledges their coming together to reach consensus on the future of their whenua. “We also acknowledge the leadership of the Kīngitanga who have played an important role in supporting ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is questioning why, for the second time, Jacinda Ardern has appointed a Crown-owned company Chief Executive to Chair her “Business Advisory Council”, following her announcement that Mercury CEO Fraser Whineray ...
Responding to the Government’s decision to give around $300 million to Amazon as a sweetener for filming a TV series in New Zealand, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “As a matter of simple waste, this is striking, ...
I am very pleased with Air New Zealand’s Decision to backdown and withdraw their application to trademark into a logo Kia Ora. I said at the time that it was an ill conceived idea and poorly thought out – more importantly it should never have been ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa members will be joining with others across the union movement by wearing black and white in support of pay equity on Suffrage Day tomorrow, and urging the Government to commit to a settlement for teacher aides this year. ...
Yesterday’s announcement from the Minister for Immigration, to improve temporary work visas for migrant workers, provides some positive changes but more detail is needed. The Council of Trade Unions fundamentally supports the principle of making ...
FIRST Union today welcomed Westpac’s public admission of the significant gender pay gap in its workforce and reiterated its call for employers to work with unions to close this disparity, arguing that this work must begin at the bottom of the pay ...
Changes to the work visa system announced by the Minister of Immigration are not all positive for employers or migrants, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the ...
The Dairy Workers Union (DWU) has welcomed the announcement from dairy company, Synlait, that they will be boosting parental leave entitlements significantly for working parents. ...
In June, the Children’s Commissioner announced a thematic review into Oranga Tamariki’s policies, processes and practice relating to care and protection issues for tamariki Māori aged 0-3 months. Today the Children’s Commissioner has released the full ...
“Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues of the Western Bay region. We believe that this is ...
In response to DairyNZ's attempt to dismiss an economic report that highlighted dairy's role in the New Zealand economy is only three per cent of GDP, Fish & Game New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Taylor says: "If DairyNZ wishes to reject a report ...
Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has successfully guided the mana whenua of lhumaatao to reach a consensus on the future of their whenua. ...
Two activists disguised as shareholders interrupted the AGM of a gold mining company in central Auckland this morning to inform shareholders their plans to mine for gold in conservation estate in the Karangahake Gorge were unwelcome. ...
The Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) has been labelled ‘NATO’ (no action, talk only) when it comes to child mental health, with just 0.6 full time staff (24 hours per week) for inpatient child psychology and just 0.8 full time staff ...
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL has awarded three New Zealand climate youth groups with its Ambassador of Conscience award, its highest recognition for human rights work, previously given to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Ai Weiwei and Malala Yousafzai. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union , in partnership with the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance , has today published this year's Ratepayers' Report – online local government league tables – at www.ratepayersreport.nz . ...
NZUS Council executive director Jordan Small welcomes the news New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet with US President Donald Trump in New York next week. ...
The recent NZIER report trivialises the significant role the dairy sector plays in New Zealand’s economy – and fails to look at the specifics of the Government’s freshwater package, according to DairyNZ. DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle said ...
This week, the New Zealand Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) will jointly host a seminar on tackling the global spread of illicit weapons. ...
In a landmark judgment issued this morning, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the Southern Response Concealment Class Action will proceed issued on an "opt out” basis. ...
Mainstream media, as the purveyors of truth and source of balanced information, took another backward step today with the announcement by Stuff that most New Zealand organisations had joined 170 media outlets from around the world in the “Covering ...
The goal of one million Kiwis having basic conversations in te reo by 2040 is unrealistic if more is not done to get serious about reo acquisition says the Māori Party. “While small steps have been taken to bolster efforts to increase the numbers of speakers, ...
Changes announced today by the Immigration Minister to employer-assisted visas will help businesses, but more work is needed to boost economic growth says Business Central. ...
DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle is welcoming today’s announcement that the Government will be streamlining the employer assisted work visa process to help businesses and farms fill skills shortages. ...
Lawrence Yule MP wrote to our Office with concerns about the Department of Corrections' approach to procuring design and build services for rapid deployment of prison accommodation. We have published our response to Mr Yule on our website . ...
That from the chair of the Wellington Region of the College of Midwives, Siobhan Connor, following the news that Hutt Valley District Health Board is targeting midwives from overseas to help fill gaps in maternity units. ...
70% of New Zealand’s surface water take is allocated to Meridian’s Manapouri Power Scheme. But when Environment Minister David Parker asked to exempt the Scheme from his Freshwater Action Plan, he didn’t tell Cabinet that. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that officers responded in a timely and appropriate manner as soon as they were aware that a fleeing driver had hit a pedestrian. ...
prevention and intervention. Following Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s post-Cabinet press conference we are encouraged to see the acknowledgement of the mistakes made and the need to address this. The five points outlined in the action plan, which ...
A surge in teen vaping rates and a series of deaths being linked to vaping has resulted in a number of bans on the sales of flavoured Vape juice products in the United States. Though it is widely acknowledged that vaping is far less harmful than smoking tobacco, ...
The governments’ new environmental proposals will further accentuate the move of good, productive farmland into forestry according to environmental lobby group 50 Shades of Green. ...
Covering Climate Now: A new web series challenges the false idea that rangatahi Māori “aren’t engaged” in politics or civic participation, and presents what aims to be a more hopeful and inclusive alternative. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Over the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor, School of Law, Murdoch University Today, the Sri Lankan family who had resettled in the small town of Biloela in Queensland was given a last-minute reprieve in their fight to stay in Australia. A federal court judge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sebastien Darchen, Senior Lecturer in Planning, The University of Queensland The crashing chords of punk echoed through the end of the 70s, heralding the arrival of a diverse bunch of subcultures. In Brisbane, none was more notable than the tribe known as ...
Covering Climate Now: As the temperature of the planet increases, so to does the number of documentaries about climate change. Jean Sergent watched all of them to bring you this harrowing listicle. Do you want to know which climate change documentaries will make you depressed and which will make you hopeful? ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Ian Taylor, founder of of Animation Research Ltd.This week on Business is Boring ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucas Walsh, Professor, Education Policy and Practice, Youth Studies in the Faculty of Education. Latest books with Rosalyn Black include "Imagining Youth Futures: University Students in Post-Truth Times" and "Rethinking Youth Citizenship after the Age of Entitlement", Monash University Senator Jacqui Lambie ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dodd, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne Today on Media Files, a podcast on major themes and issues in the media, we meet Bastian Obermayer, the Pulitizer prize-winning journalist who led the Panama Papers investigation into global ...
Trade, women's economic empowerment, the Pacific and space were among the broad range of topics discussed between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Japanese counterpart. ...
Vegan lube? Faux feather strokers? Condoms made from employees paid the living wage? Emily Writes delves into the world of having ethical sex. There are many upsides to being vegan, but when it comes to getting down (and by that I mean rooting), it can be quite a challenge finding 100% ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is making no apology for her focus on the Christchurch Call at the United Nations next week and points to Facebook's recent action as a sign of early success. ...
Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere's latest verbal outrage moves his campaign strategy from the bellicose to the bizarre. Mark Jennings listens in at yet another debate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Household Finances, Grattan Institute Compared to the rest of the world, income inequality is not particularly high in Australia, nor is it getting much worse. The real problem is housing inequality. Rising house prices have increased wealth inequality. ...
A harrowing account of what it’s like trying to save your child from suicide, and the toll it takes on everyone involved.This essay discusses suicide in detail. Please proceed with caution.Last week there was a lot of stuff shared around suicide awareness, and I wanted to share something as well, ...
Chloe Blades reviews Kate Weinberg’s first novel, which is selling like mad and earning the London writer comparisons to Agatha Christie and Donna Tartt. It was always going to be unfair on whichever book I read after Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women; that divisive, genre-defying masterpiece on the manipulation of female desire. ...
Annual economic growth has slowed to its weakest level in nearly six years as growth in service industries offset construction and manufacturing weakness. ...
By Wansolwara staff in Suva Twelve leading journalists from 11 Pacific Island countries will converge in Suva, Fiji, this Friday to discuss critical issues affecting the region including climate change and natural disaster relief and recovery and regional security. The one-day “Capstone at The University of the South Pacific” (USP) Laucala ...
Covering Climate Now: The release of the new Nissan Leaf electric vehicle signals a shift in the role of cars in our society. Simon Day was at the launch of the new model. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!According to ...
Covering Climate Now: Charging businesses for their greenhouse gas emissions seems simple enough, but in New Zealand, at least, emissions keep on rising. Is the system flawed, or is it how we’re implementing it?The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Economists ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Foreign affairs and trade Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Global uncertainty and domestic troubles as Ardern heads ...
Covering Climate Now: Earlier this year, the climate change response (zero carbon) bill had its first reading. The public was then invited to submit their takes on it to the government. We assessed a few of the stranger ones.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to ...
Op-Ed by Luis Alfonso de Alba – UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action SummitLuis Alfonso de Alba – UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action SummitClimate change is not a far-away problem– it is causing huge damage right now in Asia-Pacific and around the world. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Bateman, Associate professor, Curtin University Every spring in Australia is heralded by reports of magpies swooping at people. While it is of little comfort to those at the receiving end of a surprise attack, such events are actually quite rare when ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University There’s no shortage of special days throughout the year. Some — like International Literacy Day — speak to important issues in society. Others speak to our inner dag. Today marks one of the daggier days, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Pickles, Professor of History at the University of Canterbury and current Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi James Cook Research Fellow, University of Canterbury Today marks the passing of the much celebrated 1893 Electoral Act, 126 years ago, which made ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meagan Brennan, Clinical A/Prof Breast Physician, Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, University of Sydney Victorian Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos recently announced six new 3D breast screening machines would be rolled out across the state. These will be used to assess women recalled ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Brodie, Professorial Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Few feel the pain of the Great Barrier Reef’s decline more acutely than the scientists trying to save it. Ahead of next week’s UN climate summit, two ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hilary Whitehouse, Associate Professor, James Cook University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Youqing Fan, Lecturer, Western Sydney University Affordable housing is a critical problem for Australia’s biggest housing markets. Five Australian cities are in the top 25 with “severely unaffordable” housing in a 2019 Demographia survey of 91 major metropolitan markets. Sydney was ranked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angelina Hurley, PhD candidate, Griffith University From Darkness, directed by Isaac Drandic, La Boite Theatre From Darkness is the story about the aftermath of sorry business – Aboriginal rituals that are observed during a period of mourning. It looks at how, on ...
Mana whenua say they want the government to negotiate with Fletcher Building to return the land at Ihumātao. But Winston Peters is questioning if the consensus includes everyone's voice. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Difficult decision looms for govt over Ihumātao, NZDF story scrutinised at inquiry, and innovative new bus service to be trialled in Timaru. This is far from the end of the story about what will happen to the land at Ihumātao. A ...
People in central and eastern Europe take a different view on climate change than many in the west, writes the Hungarian news site Index, for the Covering Climate Now project. ...
The power balance of the incoming Auckland Council could be decided by two overheated local debates about a golf course and a carpark. Hayden Donnell reports.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.Albert-Eden local ...
Covering Climate Now:Carys Goodwin reflects on giving up, and what convinced her to take up the fight again. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Four years ago, while working for the Green Party in parliament, I did a brief stint ...
Open Mike 04/09/2018 
The Operation Burnham inquiry continued to question senior NZDF staff today, and their shoddy coverup over their knowledge of civilian casualties continue to fall apart. If you recall, first, we were asked to believe that it was all a series of "mistakes and errors": a senior officer with multiple degrees ...2 hours ago
Get Back Jojo! The elation in Mayor Phil Goff’s camp may be easily imagined as they watched social media light up in indignation at challenger John Tamihere’s "Sieg Heil to that" quip. Just when JT’s notoriously right-wing, sexist and homophobic stains were beginning to fade back into his ‘colourful’ past, ...12 hours ago
Patrick Gower is good value when he's high. Not that I've ever, you know, got stoned with him. But in the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you'd expect in a modern weed documentary and immerses himself – first with a doctor, then a ...21 hours ago
We surveyed candidates on their attitudes to issues facing the Western Bay Region, find out what they think: “Closing the Gap” Tauranga, one of the area groups of Income Equality Aotearoa NZ Inc., has surveyed all candidates in the three local body elections to discover attitudes to some basic issues ...1 day ago
Please spread widely, and sign, to support science and rationalism over the new irrationalism sweeping universities and institutions. PROJECT NETTIE Sexual reproduction, the generation of offspring by fusion of genetic material from two different individuals, evolved over 1 billion years ago. It is the reproductive strategy of all higher animals ...1 day ago
Why is New Zealand climate change policy so crap? The Herald this morning has a long article on the twists and turns of climate change policy in New Zealand [paywalled / depaywall script], which shows where we've been. The short version is that the government first began worrying about this ...1 day ago
The All Blacks have been, for more than a century, arguably the most successful International sports team in the world. But they are more than that; even for those Kiwis who are immune to the charms of rugby (and there are more than a few), the All Blacks are ambassadors ...1 day ago
2 days ago
In times of hysteria about the “World coming to an end” and “rising sea levels” so-called ‘Journalists’ who can barely spell words longer than four letters are having a ball! Though the majority of the Public have worked out that manmade climate change is nothing short of pseudo-science, and the ...2 days ago
3 days ago
Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...3 days ago
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...3 days ago
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...3 days ago
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...4 days ago
. . This blogpost is different to my usual format of reporting on issues… Since July 1011, I have blogged on a variety of political issues; near always political and/or environmental; mostly highly critical of the previous National Government. Other issues included Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and repression of ...5 days ago
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...6 days ago
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...6 days ago
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...1 week ago
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...1 week ago
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...1 week ago
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ... 1 week ago
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...1 week ago
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...1 week ago
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...1 week ago
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...1 week ago
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...1 week ago
Lost In Political Space: The most important takeaway from this latest Labour sexual assault scandal, which (if I may paraphrase Nixon’s White House counsel’s, John Dean’s, infamous description of Watergate) is “growing like a cancer” on the premiership, is the Labour Party organisation’s extraordinary professional paralysis in the face of ...1 week ago
Bewhiskered Cassandra? Professor Hugh White’s chilling suggestion, advanced to select collections of academic, military and diplomatic Kiwi experts over the course of the past week, is that the assumptions upon which Australia and New Zealand have built their foreign affairs and defence policies for practically their entire histories – are ...1 week ago
Air New Zealand couldn’t believe its luck that this seemingly ideal piece of real estate had so far gone entirely unnoticed. Air New Zealand’s search for a site to build a second Auckland Airport may have made a breakthrough this afternoon, after employees scanning Google satellite imagery spotted a huge, ...2 weeks ago
Federated Farmers congratulates the Auditor-General’s office on its release today of its report Managing Freshwater Quality: Challenges and Opportunities. ...29 mins ago
To tackle the crises of climate and unsustainability we need great cultural changes in civil society, business and politics. ...47 mins ago
Despite some early success the Government had lowering the prison population, remand is now on the rise. ...50 mins ago
Covering Climate Now: A new web series challenges the false idea that rangatahi Māori “aren’t engaged” in politics or civic participation, and presents what aims to be a more hopeful and inclusive alternative. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Over the ...1 hour ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor, School of Law, Murdoch University Today, the Sri Lankan family who had resettled in the small town of Biloela in Queensland was given a last-minute reprieve in their fight to stay in Australia. A federal court judge ...1 hour ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sebastien Darchen, Senior Lecturer in Planning, The University of Queensland The crashing chords of punk echoed through the end of the 70s, heralding the arrival of a diverse bunch of subcultures. In Brisbane, none was more notable than the tribe known as ...2 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: As the temperature of the planet increases, so to does the number of documentaries about climate change. Jean Sergent watched all of them to bring you this harrowing listicle. Do you want to know which climate change documentaries will make you depressed and which will make you hopeful? ...2 hours ago
Trade, women's economic empowerment, the Pacific and space were among the broad range of topics discussed between Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Japanese counterpart. ...4 hours ago
Christchurch's economy continues to fall well below the national average due to declining rebuild activity. ...4 hours ago
Vegan lube? Faux feather strokers? Condoms made from employees paid the living wage? Emily Writes delves into the world of having ethical sex. There are many upsides to being vegan, but when it comes to getting down (and by that I mean rooting), it can be quite a challenge finding 100% ...4 hours ago
An investigation into the poisoning of cattle with 1080 on a King Country farm a year ago still has not been completed. ...5 hours ago
Auckland mayoral candidate John Tamihere's latest verbal outrage moves his campaign strategy from the bellicose to the bizarre. Mark Jennings listens in at yet another debate. ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Household Finances, Grattan Institute Compared to the rest of the world, income inequality is not particularly high in Australia, nor is it getting much worse. The real problem is housing inequality. Rising house prices have increased wealth inequality. ...6 hours ago
A harrowing account of what it’s like trying to save your child from suicide, and the toll it takes on everyone involved.This essay discusses suicide in detail. Please proceed with caution.Last week there was a lot of stuff shared around suicide awareness, and I wanted to share something as well, ...6 hours ago
Chloe Blades reviews Kate Weinberg’s first novel, which is selling like mad and earning the London writer comparisons to Agatha Christie and Donna Tartt. It was always going to be unfair on whichever book I read after Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women; that divisive, genre-defying masterpiece on the manipulation of female desire. ...6 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Rich, Lecturer in International Relations and Security Studies, Curtin University This week’s strikes on the Abqaiq and Khurais oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia represent the latest in a pattern of actions by the Islamic Republic of Iran to escalate tensions ...6 hours ago
Annual economic growth has slowed to its weakest level in nearly six years as growth in service industries offset construction and manufacturing weakness. ...6 hours ago
By Wansolwara staff in Suva Twelve leading journalists from 11 Pacific Island countries will converge in Suva, Fiji, this Friday to discuss critical issues affecting the region including climate change and natural disaster relief and recovery and regional security. The one-day “Capstone at The University of the South Pacific” (USP) Laucala ...7 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: The release of the new Nissan Leaf electric vehicle signals a shift in the role of cars in our society. Simon Day was at the launch of the new model. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!According to ...8 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: Charging businesses for their greenhouse gas emissions seems simple enough, but in New Zealand, at least, emissions keep on rising. Is the system flawed, or is it how we’re implementing it?The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Economists ...9 hours ago
Op-Ed by Luis Alfonso de Alba – UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Climate Action Summit
New Zealand's largest bank has said it has no intention of selling off farm debt to overseas investors. ...10 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bill Bateman, Associate professor, Curtin University Every spring in Australia is heralded by reports of magpies swooping at people. While it is of little comfort to those at the receiving end of a surprise attack, such events are actually quite rare when ...11 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Rich, Lecturer in International Relations and Security Studies, Curtin University This week’s strikes on the Abqaiq and Khurais oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia represent the latest in a pattern of actions by the Islamic Republic of Iran to escalate tensions ...11 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University There’s no shortage of special days throughout the year. Some — like International Literacy Day — speak to important issues in society. Others speak to our inner dag. Today marks one of the daggier days, ...11 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meagan Brennan, Clinical A/Prof Breast Physician, Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, University of Sydney Victorian Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos recently announced six new 3D breast screening machines would be rolled out across the state. These will be used to assess women recalled ...11 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Brodie, Professorial Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Few feel the pain of the Great Barrier Reef’s decline more acutely than the scientists trying to save it. Ahead of next week’s UN climate summit, two ...11 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angelina Hurley, PhD candidate, Griffith University From Darkness, directed by Isaac Drandic, La Boite Theatre From Darkness is the story about the aftermath of sorry business – Aboriginal rituals that are observed during a period of mourning. It looks at how, on ...11 hours ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Difficult decision looms for govt over Ihumātao, NZDF story scrutinised at inquiry, and innovative new bus service to be trialled in Timaru. This is far from the end of the story about what will happen to the land at Ihumātao. A ...12 hours ago
Agency offshoot’s first product taps into anonymised location data from mobile phone towers. ...13 hours ago
People in central and eastern Europe take a different view on climate change than many in the west, writes the Hungarian news site Index, for the Covering Climate Now project. ...14 hours ago
The power balance of the incoming Auckland Council could be decided by two overheated local debates about a golf course and a carpark. Hayden Donnell reports.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.Albert-Eden local ...14 hours ago
Neo-liberal New Zealand.
This will break your heart.
100%.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/in-depth/365540/why-being-made-redundant-in-nz-is-so-tough
100% Pure… scum.
Neo-liberal New Zealand.
Our country has been destroyed.
100%.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12118028
Neoliberal Economics removes the human element from the equation and focus’s on the almighty dollar $’s and who can acquire the most in the shortest period of time, ideological B/S from Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics. This ideology was picked up early by the NZ Labour Party and Sir Roger Douglas in the 1980’s.
IMHO is has not been good for NZ and it’s naturalized citizens including te tangata whenua ?
No it hasn’t but could we expect anything else from an ideology based upon one of the Seven Deadly Sins?
More significant than our Prime Minister attending the South Pacific Forum, is the Prime Minister of Australia not attending the South Pacific Forum.
Morrison’s non-attendance amounts to a cowardly refusal to debate with Forum countries over the differences between Australia and the other Pacific Nations on climate change and immigration.
Morrison obviously does not want to be taken to task over these issues. And so has stayed away.
“I am not a crook”
Richard Nixon – November 17, 1973
“We absolutely recognise it’s in our national interest to take action on climate change,”
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne – AAP, September 3, 2018
As the saying goes; “Actions speak louder than words”.
This snub must be seen for what it is.
The record shows that any Australian leader, (of either major party), who dares stand up to the powerful Australian fossil fuel lobby is immediately rolled by the conservative wings of their party.
Morrison obviously does not want to be taken to task over these issues. And so has stayed away.
Unlike Nixon, Morrison hasn’t even got the courage to issue his own denial.
This bodes ill for Australia ever doing anything meaningful to address climate change, or address the very real concerns of the Pacific Nations on the front line of climate change, facing rising sea levels and more energetic hurricanes fueled by warming seas.
Related Posts and comments:
A taste of the Island Nations’ bitterness that Morrison does not want to have to face up to.
“World leaders who deny climate change should go to mental hospital”
Samoan Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele – The Guardian, August 31, 2018
All power to our Prime Minister for fronting up.
Despite the political backlash she has attracted in this country, Prime Minister Ardern is showing the political courage and guts that Prime Minister Sailele has called for, but which is sadly missing in Australian political leaders.
I heard Jacinda, I think Monday, explaining in detail about why she decided to go to the Pacific forum and why she would or wouldn’t take her baby, the costs, the problems (something about there being no holding sites for planes on Nauru was one). They had tried to think of all possible matters and nitpickers on the Right can’t easily come up with this or that negative to wave triumphantly in the air. As is their wont.
While if the situation was reversed, the Gmats would just laugh at any questions at all.
The comparison between Morrison and Ardern. – Ardern is fronting up, despite her circumstances and Morrison is ducking for cover.
A leader’s job is to lead.
You don’t send a delegate, or deputy, (as the opposition parties and right wing media say the Prime Minister should). You don’t try to duck the responsibilities of your position like Morrison has. You make it work.
To the all the opposition Torrys and right wing media commentators:
Woman have children. Get over it.
When a world leaders conference was called in Teheran in 1943, Churchill didn’t sent a delegate, or representative, he went himself, this despite serious complications. Special arrangements and allowances had to be made to transport Churchill to Iran, to taking into account his health and age.
In the end Churchill was transported from England on a mattress in the back of special transport plane all the way to Iran and back.
Allowances were made for his health and age.
Prime Minister Ardern is a female leader of child bearing age, As a society we need to normalise and accept pregnancy, child birth and breastfeeding as part of the human condition, as unavoidable as old age and illness.
Many women have had to make similar difficult decisions and trade offs.
Prime MInister Ardern is a trend setter, but first of all she is a leader of world ranking, like all leaders she has had to make difficult decisions and personal sacrifice to carry out her job.
All power to her.
TBF to the new guy, given Aussies unstable politics he probably thinks if he left the country for more than a day he would be out of a job when he got back.
How long will Morrison last and who will be the next PM ?
Could be an early Election in Australia ?
Scott Morrison has already been out of Australia in his first week as PM – to Indonesia to sign a free trade agreement with them. But can’t make it to Nauru for the Pacific Island Forum – and be exposed to criticism re the refugees sent there by Australia.
And Climate Change.
Exactly.
How long do you think Morrison will last? I always value your take on things Australian.
First he’s got to survive the Wentworth by- election, which from all accounts is getting really interesting as it’s a very diverse electorate from the big end of town to the bottom end of town. After that he has the cross bench in the upper and lower House’s of Parliament. Then the 85 knife throwers in Party room to deal with and next years budget which is also election yr.
Unless Sco Mo pull’s something out of his hat between now and year or Labour somehow falls off the cliff. Then they’re got buckles chance at getting back as they are already on life support at.
So a shoe in then! LOL.
How are you enjoying your ‘separation’ in July? Any firm plans for the future?
It’s been quite relaxing, not worrying or stressing about the bullshit of RAAF’s SECFOR (Training, Operations/ Op’s planning and planning) within the two NT SEC Flts. My wife and I couldn’t be bothered going the open days at Darwin and the Forward Operation Base setup down the road at Batchor Airfield to show the wife the set up at what we did on my two Timor trips.
The rest of the yr is getting house and my tank hanger (20m x9m shed) setup with my Troop SGT office up before the big wet or before first test match of the summer with all my diecast planes, britan soldiers, tanks, my 1/700 model ships and my gun safe. Looking after my little girl (Saffie cross Ozzie Cattle dog) as the wife ran her over a couple of weeks. Listening to my classical, old school country, British Classical and hymns.
As for the future, want to finish of my pilots license, my mate at my bush block wants to get involved with the Timor veterans programs in ET, the wife to go to Timor, wildlife protection feral animal control and anti poachingtravel back to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma and do some wildlife tours before its to late to Africa, sub Antarctic and Arctic Regions. Higher education in History or Strategic studies and of course further training in bush fire fighting and in fire management.
Tinker in the shed with my 50’s or 60’s yank tank with the big fins, my uncle motorcycles when I finally get them and the wife has given me permission to buy an Armoured Vehicle of some sort unless we win lotto a warbird or her uncles warbird. Setting up the garden in next yr in between fishing and hunting.
So I’ve got a lot to keep me busy atm.
ROFL – oh so just the usual “what do I do with myself now” retirement things then!
What sort of warbird? Despite being a female civilan Kiwi, when I spent almost seven years in London in the ’70s, I worked in a civil/military organisation, NATS. For almost three years of that, I was private secretary/aide de camp to Air Marshall Sir Ivor Broom, the Controller of NATS – and a rather highly medalled RAF pilot during WW11. He was still in active service and I used to also go to the big wig RAF meetings with him- female and in civvie clothes with a very high security rating obviously. It used to raise eyebrows, which Sir Ivor loved doing. LOL. Part of my role was also to look after Sir Douglas Bader, then a part time Member of the Board of the CAA (who I officially worked for.)
Two hard cases but extreme gentlemen as well. You just did not get in a car driven by either of them if you valued your life, nerves and blood pressure! I also flew with Sir Ivor at the controls quite often in various types of planes when we went around the UK for meetings etc – and sometimes, depending on the plane,once in the air, he would hand over to me despite no formal training and tell me to follow the rail lines. My elder brothers back in NZ were so jealous of me, but I told them it was my revenge for their complaints about having to drag little sister along to the Saturday afternoon movies – many of which were, yes you guessed it, films such as the Dam Busters, etc.
We had a wonderful office set up, quite unusual for the time. As well as me in my role (which included deciding who got to meet, talk to Sir Ivor etc – up your nose bigwigs got to wait a loooonnng time) there was a male typist, a male batman who was also the tea lady (lovely older guy) and Sir Ivor’s driver was female.
Memories are wonderful things.
Ps – Funnily enough, I mentioned on here a few days ago that I worked in London with the father of Brian May of Queen fame and got to know Brian, and the rest of Queen through him. Brian’s Dad was an ex RAF avionics engineer in NATS.
What awesome company you had back then, I reminds me of some the cocktail parties I intended during the few years after Timor (INTERFET) as Airfield Defence Guard (An Aussie Rockape) especially the WW2 and Korean Fighter Pilots. Especially when the Spitfire Pilots from the Morotai Spitfire Wing/ Borneo found out I was and ADG which some them were good mates of old John Gorton en Oz PM had very close encounter with his gun sight when he panged his fighter during the Battle of Malaya.
Brian May would’ve been an interesting fella to talk too, let alone his dad.
As for the warbird, her uncle has a winjeel trainer, but there is a Ex RAAF Mk5c Spitfire in pieces that saw service in Darwin/ Arnhem area on wish list, the wife likes the Me-109G in winter camo, but having read the pilots notes they don’t like asphalt runways all that much and requires big grassy Airfields because of the torque of the big DB engines. The goal would to own a RNZAF, RAAF, RAF, or FAA Aircraft or similar A/C either a single or twin engine that saw service in the Far East or South Pacific to honour my great uncle who was in 3NZ Div, my wife’s Pop (RAN) and Nan (AIF) those veterans and those who have no known grave which to is the saddest thing I’ve seen in War cemetery’s that someone’s lost family member has no known grave.
VV
There are so many stories and paths that cross from war and defence efforts.
I was doing some volunteer counter work at local art gallery, got talking to an English woman and found that her husband had been the Squadron Leader? (in charge) of my birth father’s bomber group around north England Market Rasen area during WW2.
I have read a bit about Baron Dowding. Did Bader ever talk about him and that time?
Here is a This is your Life on Douglas Bader.
https://www.bigredbook.info/douglas_bader.html
This was interesting.
https://www.spitfireclub.co.uk/dowding—park
Leigh-Mallory, already envious of Park for leading the key 11 Group while No.12 Group was left to defend airfields, repeatedly failed to support No.11 Group. Leigh-Mallory and his Big Wing (led by Douglas Bader) often ran amok through No.11 Group airspace confusing the defences. Quintin Brand’s No. 10 Group in the South West successfully supported No.11 Group when required despite having far more arduous defensive duties in its own area than No.12 Group.
Park’s subsequent objection to Leigh-Mallory’s behaviour during the Big Wing controversy may have contributed to his and Dowding’s removal from command at the end of the battle, but neither Park nor Dowding had much time for internal politics and fell easy prey to their waiting critics. Richard Saul of 13 Group on the other hand, wrote to Park on learning of his pending departure from No.11 Group, commenting on “the magnificent achievements of your group in the past six months; they have borne the brunt of the war, and undoubtedly saved England”. Park was to remain indignant however over his and Dowding’s treatment for the rest of his life. Park was posted immediately to Training Command before seeing later high ranking service in the Mediterranean and elsewhere.,,
On leaving the Royal Air Force, Park personally selected a Supermarine Spitfire to be donated to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, New Zealand. This aircraft is still on display today along with his service decorations and uniform….
While Sir Hugh Dowding controlled the Battle from day to day, it was Keith Park who controlled it hour by hour. Air Vice Marshal ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, one of the top Allied air aces of the war, said: “He was the only man who could have lost the war in a day or even an afternoon”. This was an echo of Winston Churchill’s description of Admiral Jellicoe in the First World War.
Although Park has not received widespread public recognition, either in Britain or his native New Zealand, he has a claim to be one of the greatest commanders in the history of aerial warfare.
You mention the original characters you met. Did you see or know the story of Colonel Wintle shown on TV in Heroes and Villains series?
(Radio Desert Island requests)
You might enjoy the whole written story.
https://www.headstuff.org/culture/history/terrible-people-from-history/alfred-daniel-wintle-english-rascal-hero/
Exkiwiforces
If you or your wife have time to read and like quirky Laoa and Tahi based mystery/detective books I recommend trying Colin Cotterill’s books. He has a couple of main characters in series Dr Siri Paiboun and his wife is one, and other Jimm Juree, super girl reporter.
If you can handle wacky stuff here is Colin’s blog.
http://www.colincotterill.com/home_new.html
I did mean Laos and Thai, but letters crossed somehow.
Unfortunately the wife goes by the stars with accommodation IRT SEA travels as I tend to sleep under the stars where I go in SEA. As tend to follow J P Cross an eccentric British Army Officer base in Laos during the war in between stints with Gurkhas or at famous British Jungle Warfare School in Borneo, Graham Greene’s travels through Indo- China, and another eccentric British Army Officer from that era called Arthur George Trevor- Wilson who the French booted out in 1950 as he was good Mates with Ho Chin Minh.
The other three I want to follow is Johnny Cooper the SAS fellow not the boxer, Fitzroy McLean travels in Asia Minor and his time with Tito and old mate T.E Lawrence.
Then a little unknown Kiwi lady called Iris a friend of my NZ grandmother who was with SOE in Western Europe as a courier, spy, and escorted escaped or downed RAF aircrew to freedom via Spain and Portugal. She was a bluebell dancer in Paris before the war and she could Fench and German. A 6ft blond with blue eyes and she was petty handily a pistol from all accounts, just as she was with a Croquet mallet.
I’ll take a look at that website.
That bit about Dowding and Park is so true that they not recognise in the wider public and the thing about Park was that was head hunted by old Winnie to be the RAF CInC for Defence of Malta and again he could’ve lose the war in the British Pond (the med) for the first time since 1746.
I find those stories about resistance from SOE fascinating.
Nancy Wake for one. Looking at Violette Szabo the other day. Her little girl was presented with a cross by King George VI and she said she would keep it for Mummy for when she came home.
I think the Gestapo had tortured her and executed her by that time. Apparently she did not give away anybody. It is all very hard to think about and especially it didn’t teach us to be better.
Thinking of JP Cross I see there is a book called Operation janus by him about the Ghurkas on TradeMe here for $23.50NZ with free shipping. It actually comes from booktopia located in Australia.
When Alan Hinlea, a British Gurkha captain with a hatred of a class system that has always kept him down, deserts to the guerillas and is spirited away to the jungle Communist HQ, Chin Peng, the leader of the Malayan Communist Party gloats at what he hopes will be a major propaganda victory.
A fellow British Gurkha officer is despatched with five Gurkhas to hunt Hinlea down and the chase through pathless jungle becomes a race against time and a contest of deadly jungle warfare skills. Operation Janus is the first in a trilogy of books involving Gurkha milita…
I have the upmost respect to my grandparents generation and in your case your late father going through the Great Depression then followed by WW2 and then building a society where everyone had an equal share in the nations wealth alongside a equally caring society as they knew what the alternative was especially with invent of the “bomb”. When everyone kept their word or handshake and prepared to get stuck in when it was need in times of stress or disaster.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve reading about Luftwaffe’s Aces under the heading “The German Aces Speak” series by Colin D. Heaton and Anne- Marie Lewis also is on British and German Night Fighters. I’ve the last paragraph in each chapter quite somber on their thoughts for the future. Just like as I was brought up with grandparents in the Nelson region many moons weather about the war, the depression or working class fights with bosses or in case of grandparents turning to the 81 protests in Nelson with helmets etc as it was a worthy battle that needed to be fought. But needless to say they were force to take back seat and how they managed to talk my grandmother out of it, I do not know.
Just like those young kids/ man like your late father climbing into their bomber/ fighter every day/ night or in case of Mike Simths relative in Singers climbing into that elderly biplane knowing what odds were at returning or those on the convoys or facing Rommel tanks or Herr Hitlers paras or the likes of Iris in the SOE or the PoW’s to incredible brave. Compared with what I’ve done and seen in my last 15yrs.
Three quotes, I want to share two from JP Cross and the old bulldog Winnie
Fighting in privacy seem to a relic of the past. Propaganda- that branch of the art of lying which consists of nearly deceiving your friends without quite deceiving your enemies- has been become more acute. Now rallies, chiefly negative because they have organised by people leaping to unwarranted conclusions without adequate examination of the evidence, are a feature of modern life now.
The other JP quote,
At the beginning of the 21st century, was no longer worldwide and all- embracing Communism. Instead, an unhealthy mixture of religious bigotry, lust of oil and over educated idiots with no sense of history rising to the top of the political tree have broken the pattern which has created a new type of situation for which no lasting answer has yet been found.
The further back you look, the further for you can see
Busier than ever but not stressed. Hope your wee girl recovers ok.
It’s nice and quite for the moment, but I’ll slowly ramp up next yr.
They are unlikely to have another coup.
Early federal elections are a problem as Victoria has its state election on 24th Nov 2018 and NSW is 23 rd march 2019
Theres really ‘no space’ to do a 6 week federal campaign till after NSW is done next year. Technicalities about Senators terms also mean that it wont happen till after may 2019.
Yes, the Libs have really shot them selves in foot since the last couple of wks. The federal election is really Labour’s to grab unless they do something really stupid before the polls.
Reading between the lines and perhaps the letters of pollies speeches.
When they say too many absolutely-s – perhaps one is okay but then b-wary.
Which can be added to the usuals ‘At the end of the day’ etc.
Another gem from Campbell:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1809/S00004/gordon-campbell-on-trying-to-cheer-up-the-business-sector.htm
to which we should add boo hoo wah wah wah wah wah.
and if the only way business can be conducted is by using slave labour and forcing costs onto others (such as by supposedly ‘independant contractors – couriers, food delivery people, exploitation of immigrants, a series of ticlet clippers in the chain, and so on), then your business isn’t viable,
btw, I post the above having looked at some comments on TDB that are akin to the
“boo hoo hoo wah wah wah – YOU try running a business and see how you get on” bullshit
So far, all I’ve seen from ‘bizzniss’ leaders is that the reason for poor bizzniss confdinse is “uncertaintay”.
Bizzniss doesn’t like ‘uncertainty”
Well fellas, welcome to the whurl of the precariat. Uncertainty is the precariat class’ biggest characteristic, yet it’s something they’re expected to swallow whilst their bizzniss counterparts expect to be able to cut costs, diminish the rights of their greates asset (their worker bees), take on greater risk from the bizzniss they work for, and basically prop up the fortunes (or otherwise) of their masters.
Whether now, or a few more steps down the road – it ain’t gonna last.
Again, if the only way your bizzniss can survice is by imposing slave-like conditions, then your bizzniiss ain’t viable.
(Maybe fuck off to Straya and try your hand there)
Oh how history repeats (or at least echoes)
boo hoo wah wah wah
Holy heck. This is one hell of a story of a crash landing. Its a miracle nobody died.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/news/article.cfm?c_id=7&objectid=12118594
Perhaps good journalism is not yet quite dead in NZ when the Southland Times can come up with this editorial this morning. Perhaps we should be looking past the biggies and looking more to news sources such as this or ODT.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/106771151/she-didnt-come-hardly-saw-but-kind-of-conquered
The subject is Chelsea Manning and her appearance at the Sydney Antidote Festival on Sunday via satellite from Los Angeles in conversation with Peter Greste, the Australian Aljazeera journalist imprisoned by Egypt for over a year.
From all accounts, the session went very well with Manning receiving a standing ovation at the end. A fuller report from the Guardian – https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/sep/03/chelsea-manning-ronan-farrow-and-ta-nehisi-coates-on-terror-and-bravery-at-antidote
Stuff also had a reasonable article yesterday by Alexander Gillespie – https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/106772001/manning-leaked-info-to-break-secrecy-and-privacy-governments-work-under
IMO two of the NZ best on Manning were by Gordon Campbell on Werewolf. If you missed them here are links:
29 Aug – http://werewolf.co.nz/2018/08/gordon-campbell-on-nationals-crusade-against-chelsea-manning/
30 Aug – http://werewolf.co.nz/2018/08/gordon-campbell-on-the-continuing-saga-of-the-chelsea-manning-visit-and-bts/
Yesterday I also read a related article of particular interest in exploring the dubious nature of character by Dr Binoy Kampmark, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, teaching within the Bachelor of Social Science (Legal and Dispute Studies) programme at RMIT in Melbourne. Unfortunately the link to the article at abandonhope. net is currently broken but if it comes up again I will try to post the link, as I think some here would find it worth reading.
As of this morning, the Australian govt has still not made a final decision whether to ban Manning from entry to Australia for the two remaining events in Melbourne on Friday 7 Sept and Tues 11 Sept. It remains to be seen whether they will make a decision one way or another or just procrastinate… Some Australian articles are suggesting that they are not wishing to upset their US friends …
Tickets are still on sale for her two events here next weekend in Auckland and Wellington (Embassy Theatre not St James as I think I said in early posts) and supposedly the issue of her visa will just be a matter of rubber stamping with the decision last Friday to give her a special direction to apply for the visa.
Just for the hell of it because I am just plain nosey, I checked ticket availability.
In Auckland (Q theatre) ticket seem to be about 2/3 booked for the floor A reserve seats, and the same for the B reserve Gods seats. the other two options (VIP Meet and Greet) and Balcony seats are shown as “Not available right now” so whether sold out or quite what is not clear.
In Wellington the Embassy seat plan is showing about half booked in total.
Another slight update – John Pilger has thrown his hat in the ring in joining the petitioners to the Australian govt to allow Manning into Australia for the two remaining events in Melbourne and Brisbane, according to this Australian Green Party report two hours ago,
https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/australia-government-wants-ban-chelsea-manning-they-will-not-silence-her
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12118587
What if national were still in government?
For those who do not click on links when they don’t know the who or what, this is an interesting take by David Cormack on “What if National had actually retained power?”
Mickysavage or lprent – Possibly good for a post by itself given it is almost a year since the general election?
Thanks bwaghorn
I was sorry to see this young Indian guy in this scam about issuing drivers licences.
From what i have heard there seems a lot of corruption in India. If immigrants come here and want to be accepted, they need to keep their noses clean and not just rip off our systems.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/365583/punjabi-singer-gets-home-detention-for-drivers-licences-bribes
“By way of a bribe payment, a price was agreed upon which was typically $400 if the applicant attended and sat their IR or IF driving test, and up to $550 if the applicant did not attend and between $1500 and $2500 for a class two to five truck licence.”
The scheme had the potential to allow people to drive heavy trucks on the open roads without having to sit the required test….
Brar was involved in at least 107 corrupt transactions between 2014 and 2016. He received over $56,000 in bribes. More bribe money was passed on to his co-defendants….
Lovepreet Brar, or Love Brar has he is known in online Punjabi pop videos, has been sentenced to 11 months home detention for taking bribes for driver licences.
In some cases people who did not even sit the test were able to buy a New Zealand drivers licence and get behind the wheel.
In the video for his song ‘Jail’, Brar depicts a character who lives in a showy house, owns expensive cars, carries guns and has just been shot in the shoulder. It has had more than 4.3 million hits on Youtube.
His video promotion shows him with a large gun standing staunchly. Hardly something to encourage positive reactions in the public. However it may have appealed to the dairy owners, and the liquor store owners who have suffered menace and death. This young man is a symptom of problems that need to be fixed in our society. There will become a growing division with immigrants from Asia, with NZrs becoming warier and Indians feeling grief and anger, and resentment.
Chinese have been connected with an active and open drug market and imports, and I think this possibility is based on known facts. I have respect for Chinese and Indian, but I think some find us easy pickings and some NZrs are very ready to enlarge established criminal activities.
There may be racism involved when people are refused employment, but often there is a question in the employers’ minds based on known facts of tendencies. If Ia large enough number of Indian people end up in Court or under investigation, any bias against them will increase.
Then we too have to watch that our own dealings with immigrants are of an equitable nature. There is a twisted approach to respect and fair dealings to them in immigration, and in other departments too.
What a ridiculously low sentence. Not even being made to pay the money back. certainly the judiciary seems to be sending a message to migrants that they can just break NZ laws and get away with a slap on the wrist, no jail time for dishonest migrants endangering lives and NZ reputation. Unlike if Kiwi’s do it.
Look at these sentences clearly very light ones, given to migrants who are dishonest and corrupt.
In this a Chinese business man received $33,000 worth of stolen honey and was repackaging it, but only fined $17,500 – sounds like he was still $15,500 better off after being caught. Funny enough endangering our food reputation for quality export honey is fine apparently but less so if you just send a hoax and not even do the crime aka the nearly 9 years jail Jeremy Kerr got for sending a hoax letter to Fonterra about 1080.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12077932
“A Chinese businessman has been fined for receiving 480kg of stolen mānuka honey after a well-planned heist targeting a ready-for-export shipment at an Auckland warehouse.”
“Judge Singh convicted and sentenced Sun to pay a $17,500 fine, $15,000 of which would be a reparation payment to Azurelife.
Sun said he was able to pay the fine by week’s end.”
only 4 months home detention in palatial mansion for this money launderer.
William Yan AKA Bill Liu to keep NZ citizenship despite money laundering conviction
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11905478
Compare to what happens if you live with a partner and claim a bit more benefit.
$93k fraud: beneficiary jailed for six months
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10806187
Chinese buyers fined $847k after failing to get consent to buy $5m cliff-top Auckland mansion
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12011961
… so they made more than a million in profit but only fined $847k…. that’s certainly sending the message to ignore OIA if you can make a buck, you still get to make a profit even if you are caught.
Come to NZ and poison the locals with drugs, no need to pay an taxes or declare any income and you will become a citizen no questions asked!
“According to Inland Revenue records neither Yim nor Wu, who arrived in New Zealand in 1991 and 1994, have ever declared their income nor paid any tax.”
“As part of the raids on Yim, police also seized 12 luxury sports cars valued at more than $1.3m, including a Ferrari worth more than $500,000 and a Lamborghini Gallardo. More than $1.8m in cash was seized and a further 1kg of methamphetamine found.
Watches, jewellery, electronics, and 48 bottles of vintage French wine valued at about $42,000 were also seized.”
“Yim was sentenced this month in the High Court at Auckland to 11 and a half years in prison for possession of a class A drug for supply.
During sentencing he was described by Justice Geoffrey Venning as being vital to the drug scheme which imported the equivalent of 30kg of pure methamphetamine with a street value of $40m.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11842563
Yim, who came to New Zealand from Hong Kong on a resident visa before gaining citizenship in 1995, has previously been convicted on three unrelated charges.
In July 2006 he was convicted at the Auckland District Court for drink-driving and on a dangerous driving charge, while in April 1997 he was convicted of shoplifting.”
He sounds lovely. Wonder if he qualified as highflying entreprenurial gnatzdonator or economic refugee.
It is such a shame, if we didn’t let these people into the country we would have no crime at all.
I can only hope that the ird investiagtes this man and taxes him on any undisclosed income. My understanding, even illegal earnings are subject to tax, penalties and use of money interest 🤑
I thought we could seize criminals’ stuff or is it just Maori ganga. I meant gangs (I think Freudian slip.) Spoiler – racist thoughts occurring here. Why do some foreign people get treated so badly, and others get jailed for a long time at our expense and if they are in drugs, they will get a whole new set of traders there. Daft.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/106760801/did-george-w-bush-give-michelle-obama-candy-at-john-mccains-funeral
Anyone can be redeemed in the USA it seems, wonder how long it’ll take Trump 🙂
Dunno about “redeemed”, but it’d be awkward if they didn’t figure out how to get along at the very least – they get seated next to each other all the time lol
GW will never live down starting the “forever war” (as I saw it called somewhere).
But people who run into each other regularly build relationships.
Very good article on Radio NZ site about redundancy in NZ. However rather than expecting the government to pay for training etc, maybe it should be time in NZ where businesses are regulated to not constantly being making people redundant willy nilly and then often hiring people back later as contractors. This is creating a precriat class not just at the bottom end but through the whole NZ work culture. Part of the reason it is so common, is that it is so easy for an employer to do make employees redundant at little cost to themselves while the costs to the workers are huge. Not easy to find replacement work if they have kids and morgages and so forth and can go from being relatively well off to losing their homes and no guarantee in next job it does not happen again.
“In New Zealand, unlike Australia, Canada and several other OECD countries, there is no legal requirement to pay workers redundancy compensation, leaving unions and workers to negotiate redundancy clauses in their contracts. The payments are taxed at 33 percent, and if a business goes into receivership, employees’ back-pay and redundancy payments are capped at about $22,000 – regardless of how long they’ve worked for the company or what redundancy clause their contract contains.
There’s no guarantee that a company will pay anything at all, as Rob Dempsey found out.”
“The Statistics NZ paper, along with two more follow-up Motu reports, and the OECD report, found people who lose their jobs earn between 12 and 22 percent less than comparable workers four to five years afterward, even if they find other work.
“Income and especially wage effects upon displacement can be considerable, even for those who successfully return to work, and seem to be more pronounced in New Zealand than in most other OECD countries,” the OECD authors wrote.”
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/in-depth/365540/why-being-made-redundant-in-nz-is-so-tough
Great article about how much money Mondelez has made from NZ as they created debts sent profits to offshore companies in return for ‘intellectual property’ until they destroyed the local business and the factory closes down and they make those workers redundant.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201843153/business-commentator-rod-oram
DONT buy Cadbury chocolate.
Will she or won’t she? That is, will Jacinda Ardern appear in the House this afternoon for Question Time to parry with Simon Bridges on Question 1, her only question for the day – Does she have confidence in all her Ministers?
http://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/order-paper-questions/list-of-oral-questions/oral-questions-4-september-2018/
The PM has not appeared on her usual Tuesday media slots on RNZ Morning Report, the AM Show etc. Presumably getting ready for her trip to Nauru without Neve for the first time, as Neve is too young for the vaccinations needed to go there.
Neither the PM nor Winston Peters will be in the House tomorrow as Peters is already in Nauru for the Pacific Islands Forum and Ardern is flying up this afternoon or tonight on the RNZAF Boeing 757 for a quick one day /36 hour visit for the Leaders Retreat tomorrow, before everyone (Peters, Ardern, other government attendees and the press contingent) return together on the Boeing 757 leaving about midnight Weds. (Flight time to/from Nauru is about 5 – 6 hours; and Nauru is in exactly the same time/day zone as NZ.)
The PM hardly ever attends Question Time on Thursday and it is highly unlikely that Peters will this week after a busy few days in Nauru.
Latest on the costs of flying the 757 back to NZ to pick up the PM from Grant Robertson
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/09/grant-robertson-defends-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-s-separate-nauru-flight.html
One thing you may have missed with all the change of leadership in Aussie was this frightening piece of legislation. The Assistance and Access bill.
authorised by the dept of home au pairs….lmao
Thanks, Adam. Great link.
Colin Kaepernick is Nike’s new just do it, face.
Conniptions galore.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/03/colin-kaepernick-nike-just-do-it-campaign-nfl
and in other news,
Credlin TV (13:00 bulletin today) has just reported (to paraphase) Winston Peters as saying that if the only reason Straya (which is in breach of its U.N obligations) is worried that Nauru detainees might hop across the deetch once PR/Citizenship was obtained, then NZ could accommodate – even if legislation is necessary.
There is actually no reason for either the Nauru or the Manus Island atrocities other than the trio of Dutton, Corman and Morrisons, and their hanger’s on.
Tragic.
google translate –
RIP Brazilian history. Anyone who has something Brazilian don’t throw it out till you know they don’t want it.
Estamos tristes pela sua perda.
Which kiwi journo seems tired of life as a right-winger, making a play to reinvent himself on the radical left? Barry Soper: “Chelsea Manning has courage and integrity, and should be welcomed here”. [https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=12117259]
“National’s immigration spokesman Michael Woodhouse was frothing at the mouth at the prospect of the former US Army intelligence analyst coming here saying her criminal record should have seen her banned, and if he was still the minister, that’s most certainly what would have happened.”
“we let in the real Wolf of Wall Street in 2014 to tell sell out audiences here how he ripped off investors to the tune of US$200 million through a fake bond scheme. Jordan Belfort charged Kiwis up to $860 a head to hear how he did it. So who was the Immigration Minister then? Michael Woodhouse!”
Hoop-la.
You can’t have loose cannons running around telling folk what the government’s been getting up to denny.
Link doesn’t work because of the brackets around it. Here it is.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12117259
I posted a update re Chelsea Manning at 7 above with some other links you may be interested in. They cover reviews etc from her appearance via satellite link at the Sydney Antidote Festival on Sunday, the still no decision from Australian authorities on her visa, and sales etc of tickets here in NZ.
I updated that with a couple of additions under it.
Ok, thanks. Wonder if someone dropped a tab into his coffee?? Induced a light-bulb switching on inside the head kind of moment?
Nah, much more simple. He has always tried to butter his bread on both sides. I am also presuming that he is probably up in Nauru thanks to the RNZAF Boeing 757 and will be coming back tomorrow night on it with Peters and Ardern.
Hence his latest about 11 hours ago – https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12118650
By the way, I have drafted up something re the waka jumping bill and why it will probably not be back in the House this week. Includes a little primer on how to work out what may make it into the House in any week. Will try to post it in Daily Review tonight as now off sleepy drugs after last week.
As you are seem to be a similar age to me, you may be amused at some memories I probably stupidly revealed in a thread under 4 above. LOL
Soper’s been reading that some have thought he was soft-soaping lately and has to redress that mistake.
Interesting memories. At age 13, I mostly bought SF at the local 2nd-hand bookshop in 1963 (usual question: “What’s science fiction?”) but I did also get Bader’s famous “Reach for the Sky” and resonated with his struggle with adversity & heroic recovery after losing his legs. Awaiting the reason for delay of the waka bill with interest too!
Test
Yay thanks Lynn
Jim Mora’s chat show continues to scrape the bottom of the barrel.
The Panel, RNZ National, Tuesday 4 September 2018, 4:47 p.m.
Jim Mora, Niki Bezzant, Neil Miller, Caitlin Cherry
Even for this dog of a show, this was a particularly inane exchange of inane inanities. First the host Jim Mora read out, in an evident tone of approval, a gobsmackingly depraved Nigel Farage quote praising Australia’s brutal mistreatment of refugees, claiming it “has saved lives.”
NIKI BEZZANT: I note that his website says he’s the world’s most charismatic politician!
NEIL MILLER: Pshaw! I think Barack Obama might have something to say about that! Not to mention Bill Clinton.
More—if you can bear it—of Neil Miller being vile and fatuous….
Neil Miller has repulsive views.
“The last election unlocked a new voice born of the quiet revolution of more Māori in Parliament. The number of Māori MPs had grown from 13 in 1996 to 29 after election 2017. Twenty are in the Labour, NZ First and Green Party governing arrangement. Ten have executive portfolios. MPs of Māori descent lead National, NZ First, Act and the Greens and Kelvin Davis is deputy leader of Labour.”
“Factoring all new enrolments, the net gain of 61,000 Māori to the general roll since 2006, compared to 25,000 to the Māori roll, exactly matches the earlier 70 per cent swing to the Māori roll.” “The percentage of Māori on the Māori roll is at its lowest, at 52 per cent, since MMP began. The percentage of Māori on the general roll, 48 per cent, is at its highest.” [Rawiri Taonui] https://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=12118287
Oh wow – this is so, so relevant to what I will hopefully post not just re the waka jumping bill but also about a member’s bill that will probably be debated in the House tomorrow as per my 18.3.1.1. to you above. Must feed the menagerie and me. and then will get to it.
Good morning The Am Show Condolences to Japan for the people lost in that Typhoon that is raging there at the minute .
The police get $70 k for a 40 hour week=$30.00 a hour I think that’s fine for a young person the question is how much do they get in year 2 .3 ,4, 5
I know that some have it hard dealing with some public but not all are on that roster
that has to be the highest pay rate for a first year for most industry’s $1400 extra every year for 3 years is much better than other people..Dairy farm workers have not even had a %1 rise in pay over ten years and they work hard.
trump is causing this Nike gear burning hight light and these intelligent people YEA RIGHT are falling for his lies?????? he is going to keep his deceit going it will get louder as the American President elections get closer . Many thanks to NIKE for making a stand for EQUAL RIGHT’S.
Girls out perform boys at school so why do we not have more in management .
Because these old fossils have bias systems in place that keep wahine out of management .
Segregated schools who paid for this study some old fashion religious group.
Boys have to learn to respect girls how is that going to happen if they are separated at school,s
James Shaw is a good man he has highlighted that National is cooperating on the carbon neutral policy. The polls are showing that a lot of Kiwi voter’s are taking there mokopuna’s future and Climate change seriously our Ausse cousin’s need to take Climate Change seriously . Ka pai enough said
What process do they have in place to stop cheating in harness racing ??????? I see this behavior all through out sport’s .
It’s a BIG KNOW TO SELLING OUR TAB TO AUSTRALIA we have $5 billion going there from the banks and now some fool wants to sell our Tab that would just under mine our sports franchises WAKE UP.
Duncan I see you think that it is your job to hold the government accountable .The
problem Eco Maori has is YOU did not do that to national .
There you go the Duncan that man Tony who is champion single sex is a chauvinistic person and if we let people like his spread his fossilized view’s on us it’s all about the boys in his world and we need more voices championing equal right’s for wahine .
That’s the reason this study has landed on your desk Duncan the old fossil are feeling insecure with the Big Equal right movement that is sweeping across Papatuanuku at the minute .
Its a fine balancing act to keep a coalition government in line I say Jacinda is doing that job well.
Stop calling for her to do thing you know she won’t do .
Ka kite ano
The big computer multi nation soft ware company’s have being milking Aotearoa public sector for many decades they bid low get the contract for the job and then ask for more money 2x the original bid and more .
There actions have kept Aotearoa company’s out of this market they are to big for NZ government to hold to account for there soft ware not preforming the task set out to achieve. NOVA Pay Now Acc has the same plans with Oracle these company will bleed NZ dry they don’t care that there action’s will cause harm to NZ people or anyone it’s all about the money .
The consequences of this is they are actually stunting Aotearoa TEC sector’s we have the coding expertise here what do you think Iprent well I think so .
Conclusion ban foreign company’s from bidding for these soft ware up date jobs for our public services sector.
I have a link to back my claim of the talent we have in Aotearoa
sure we mite have to import a few coders but that will ad to OUR IT service sector.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/106809754/designer-keen-to-scrap-plastic-3d-printing-waste ka kite ano P.S I would not be advocating such drastic action’s if they did not stuff there job’s up
Wow the sandflys are highly sensitive about there money they had a bunch of young people harresment me at a set of lights and a marked cop car was waiting around the corner how do I know it was a set up because the boys keep perusing me right next to the cops now they have some on on a big road bike following me around muppets the want to get me in there cells and beat me muppets. Ka kite ano
Some music from Eco Maori.
Freedom of the PRESS reporter’s who put there safety on the line to broadcast the fact’s that the powerful are suppressing all the killing and un humane practices that these people are doing in there grab or clinging ont to power Eco Maori Applauds all you great people who are doing this great service for Humanity NEED to be defended .
So the powerful left people of the world need to stand up and defend these great people . I see one of OUR Kiwi reporters was held in custody on Naru
Barbara Dreaver is a Mana Wahine Journalist who is not going to give up Ka pai E hoa .Ka kite ano
https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/365662/nz-reporter-released-after-being-detained-in-nauru
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/04/myanmar-journalists-jail-press-freedom-attack
Good evening Newshub That’s a strong Typhoon in Japan blowing houses boat’s and truck’s around Tangaroa and Tawhirimatea are a real power full force of Papatuanuku.
There you go Mike Eco Maori has not been barking up the wrong tree pointing out trump’s flaws . May all his fans please stand up
The housing catastrophe is a gift to Aotearoa from shonky and national to Aotearoa’ people and what do you know some of his biggest fans just cashed in there capital gains WOHO I ignore anything they have to say this is the best way to handle that.
Phenomenon.
Eco Maori think’s its ok for Nike to highlight discrimination and get some exposure for there support by using a picture to speak a thousand word they are not dumb.
Ka kite ano
The Crowd Goes Wild James & Mulls I agree with the Kiwi’s new Coach Aotearoa has had a positive effect on the International League seen .
Anna is in her element on te maunga there is plenty of snow .
Sore face jame’s NZ net ball had that phenomenon that phenomenon happen to one of our best coaches a couple of decades ago
Ka kite ano P.S electric race cars are the way of the future they are faster and cleaner less noise than there carbon gulpers cousins ka pai
Good morning The Am Show Rua Moko has been going hard all over Papatuanuku .
You no what’s a joke all this spin about the ANZ business poll showing a lack of business confidence yesterday polls show that consumer spending is up ???? and what top’s it off is whos on the ANZ board well no other than shonky so don’t take any notice of the ANZ business poll’s better still change bank’s if you bank with them in protest for the bankers cheating common people once again.
There you go Duncan alcohol is the root of the problem and you champion longer jail terms you don’t want to hurt your capitalist m8 profts .
The problem is what if the person who accidentally dies in the fight was the aggressor and the other person was just defending them selves . I have seen aggressor pick on someone next minute.
I agree with Lowe Jonson had heaps of presser on him he handled it and stayed loyal to the Warriors ka pai. IT,s a exciting weeked for sports the wahine league and Rugby Playing this week to NO People.
BUY a electric car everyone that will sort out your high fuel bill.
collins if the role were reversed ( never going to happen) would you do what you are telling someone else to do total I think not.
trump was a Democrat supporter it was bill influence on trump that gave him the hunger for the President of America trump new Democrats would not stand for his —- so he changed wakas . Ka kite ano c why I don’t like the word crack
Here you go there is a small group of farmers who don’t have the correct effluent systems in place and this tars the rest of farmers link below Ka kite ano.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/106838318/small-group-of-dirty-farmers-still-causing-profound-harm-to-environment-and-industry
Typical national neo liberals playing the lets stir up the crime subject about crime to get a lift in there polls .First why don’t they come up with Idears to benefit OUR society O NO they only come up with policys to line there pockets ITS beneath them to think about the common person in a positvey we are just sheep to these people wating to be shorn .Ana to kai ka kite ano P.S
I warned you people not to stuff with Eco Maori