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
What Was the Prime Minister Reading in the Runup to Election Year?It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. ...
In case you hadn't noticed, FYI, the public OIA request site, has been used to conduct a significant excavation into New Zealand's intelligence agencies, with requests made for assorted policies and procedures. Yesterday in response to one of these requests the GCSB released its policy on New Zealand Purpose and ...
Farming leaders are watching closely whether Damien O’Connor keeps the key portfolios of Agriculture and Trade when Prime Minister Chris Hipkins restructures his Cabinet. O’Connor has been one of the few ministers during Labour’s term in office who has won broad support for what he has done ...
South Islands farmers are whining about another drought, the third in three years. If only we knew what was causing this! If only someone had warned them that they faced a drying climate! But we do know what is causing it: climate change. And they have been warned, repeatedly, for ...
Ok, there’s good news and bad news in this week’s inflation figures, but bad > good. Our inflation rate held steady but hey, at a level below the inflation rate in Australia. The main reason for the so/so result here? A fall in petrol prices of 7.2% offset the really ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet ...
Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet there have been dozens of columns ...
The Clinical Magus: Of particular relevance to New Zealanders struggling to come to terms with the sudden departure of their prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is Jung’s concept of the anima. Much more than what others have called the feminine principle, the anima is what the human male has made out ...
The Select Committee, considering the proposed RNZ-TVNZ merger, has come back with a report conceding many of the criticisms that were made of the original legislation. In what is one of the most comprehensive demolitions of a Bill submitted to a Select Committee, the Economic Development, Science and Innovation ...
Such are the 2020s, the age when no-one, it seems, actually respects the basic underpinnings of democracy. Even in New Zealand. This week, I stumbled across a pair of lengthy and genuinely serious articles, that basically argue that Something is Rotten in the state of New Zealand democracy. One ...
Buzz from the Beehive Hurrah. Today we found something fresh on the Beehive website, Beehive.govt.nz, which claims to be the best place to find Government initiatives, policies and Ministerial information. It wasn’t from Finance Minister Grant Robertson, whose reaction to the latest inflation figures would have been appreciated. So, too, ...
Smiling And Waiving A Golden Opportunity: Chris Hipkins knew that the day at Ratana would be Jacinda’s day – her final opportunity to bask in the unalloyed love and support of her followers. He simply could not afford to be seen to overshadow this last chance for his former boss ...
Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of “Act of Oblivion” concerns the relentless pursuit of the “regicides” Edward Whalley and William Goffe – two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles I’s death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harris’s novel brings to life a period ...
To challenge the Government’s promotion of co-governance, to share power between Maori and public authorities and agencies, is to invite accusations of racism. An example: this article by Martyn Bradbury on The Daily Blog headed Luxon’s race baiting hypocrisy at Ratana. The article was triggered by National leader Christopher Luxon, ...
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...
Yesterday the Herald ran an op-ed from Mayor Wayne Brown titled “The case for light rail is lighter than ever” and a few things stood out. However, it’s getting more and more tricky to make a strong economic case for spending up to $29 billion on a single route of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...
In 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...
Inflation is showing little sign of slowing down, posing a problem for freshly minted PM Chris Hipkins. According to that old campaigner Richard Prebble, Hipkins should call a snap election. If he waits till October, he risks being swept away. The dilemma for the new leader is that fighting an election ...
Buzz from the Beehive A great deal has happened since January 19. Among other things, a new Prime Minister and deputy have been sworn in and our leaders (past, present and aspiring) have delivered speeches at Ratana. Newshub reported that politicians of all stripes had descended upon Rātana for the ...
It’s a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, “Chippy” era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...
New Zealand has another Prime Minister who does not have a basic grasp of the three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi. THOMAS CRANMER writes: It is simply astonishing that New Zealand’s next Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, is unable to give even a brief explanation of the three articles ...
A statue of a semi-naked Nick Smith puts the misogyny debate into perspective. GRAHAM ADAMS writes … In the wake of Ardern’s abrupt resignation, the mainstream media are determined to convince us she was hounded from office mainly because she is a woman and had to fall on her sword ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is ...
An editorial in the NZ Herald last week, titled “Nimbyism goes bananas as housing intensifies“, introduced Herald readers to a couple of acronyms that go along with the now-familiar NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard): “bananas” (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone) “cave” dwellers (citizens against virtually everything). The editorial ...
Back in the dark autumn of 2020, when the prospect of Covid was freaking the country out, Finance Minister Grant Robertson set himself and Treasury a series of questions about what a post-Covid economy might look like. Those were fearful days, and the questions in part reflected a series ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet another day has passed without Ministers of the Crown posting something to show they are still working for us on the Beehive website. Nothing new has been posted since January 17. Perhaps the ministers are all engaged in the bemusing annual excursion ...
Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has already indicated he intends making the tax system “fairer”. That points to the route a government facing an election could take to tilt the odds towards winning in its favour, given Labour’s support in the last months of the Ardern era had been ...
NewsHub has a poll on the cost-of-living crisis, which has an interesting finding: the vast majority of kiwis prefer wage rises to tax cuts: When asked whether income has kept up with the cost of living, 54.8 percent of people surveyed said no and according to 58.6 percent of ...
Labour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because he‘s the best ...
Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at Māori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...
The first of Kiwirail’s big network shutdowns to fix the foundations on our tracks is now well underway with the Southern Line closed between Otahuhu and Newmarket. This is following on from the network wide Christmas/New Year shutdown, during which Kiwirail say that nearly 1,300 people working across 69 different ...
This is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blogIn last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...
You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...
Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be expected now that she has resigned. I noted that the level of threat she has been exposed to is unprecedented ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is able to steer ...
The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey Lynn and Wellington Central towards the ...
Following the surprise resignation of Jacinda Ardern last week, her replacement, Chis Hipkins, has said: Over the coming week, Cabinet will be making decisions on reining in some programs and projects that aren’t essential right now That messaging is similar to what Jacinda Ardern said late last year and as ...
Much of what will mark the early days of Chris Hipkins’ Prime Ministership would have happened anyway. By December, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister were making it clear the summer break and early days of this year were going to be spent on a reset of government policy. ...
Going to try to get into the blogging thing again (ha!) what with an election coming up and all that. So today I thought I'd start small and simple, by merely tackling the world's (second) richest man.I'm no fan of Elon Musk. You don't want to know why, but I'll ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 15, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 21, 2023. Story of the Week State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2022With a new year underway, most of the climate data for ...
Well, that was a disappointment. As of today, the New Zealand Labour Caucus opted for Chris Hipkins as our new Prime Minister, and I cannot help but let loose a cynical cackle. ...
Get ready for a major political reset once Chris Hipkins is sworn in as Prime Minister this week. Labour’s new leader is likely to push the Government to the right economically, and do his best to jettison the damaging perceptions that Labour has become “too woke” on social issues. Overall, ...
Things have gone sideways… and it’s only the third week of January? It was political earthquake time. For some the Prime Minister made a truly significant announcement. For others – did you have this on your bingo card? – a body double did so (sit tight, you’ll understand later, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Because our hard-working Ministers of the Crown are engaged in Labour Party caucus stuff in Napier, no doubt jockeying to ensure they keep their jobs or get a better one, Point of Order was not surprised to find no fresh news on the Beehive website this ...
By the end of 2019, Jacinda Ardern was a political superstar heading towards an election defeat. She was an icon, internationally beloved, on track to be an ex-prime minister before the age of forty. It was the year of the Christchurch terror attack when Ardern’s response to the atrocity saw ...
People complain about their jobs being meaningless. Does it matter?David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It, would have smiled at Elon Musk’s sacking half the Twitter workforce. Musk seems to be confirming the main thesis of the book, that ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. ...
Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. So, although Ardern has named an ...
I warned about the trap of virtue signaling in my article Virtue signaling over Ukraine. This video is still relevant – but have we moved on since then? The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was universally condemned at the time. Or was it? Certainly, the political atmosphere ...
Earlier this week Point of Order carried a post by Geoffrey Miller on how Japan under a new security blueprint is doubling its defence spending. The plans see Japan buying up advanced weaponry – including long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US – and spending more on ...
Anyone else suffering back-to-work-blues? We’re battling, but still upright. Haere tonu! Today’s cover image is of sunset over Tirohanga Whānui Bridge, sourced from Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Jolisa pondered the fate of AT’s ‘Statements of Imagination’. Tuesday’s post was a guest post by Grady ...
Open access notables Bad news delivered by an all-star cast of familiar researchers: Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans. From the abstract: In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum. According to IAP/CAS data, ...
The resignation of Jacinda Ardern has already made more global headlines than you might expect for that of the PM of a small commonwealth nation like say Sierra Leone (population 6.5 million) or Singapore (population 5.5 million). But international observers might not be too surprised by Ardern’s announcement that ...
One of my earliest political memories is the resignation of Prime Minister David Lange in August 1989. I remember this because of a brown felt-tipped pen drawing I did of the Beehive, the building that houses the Executive of the New Zealand Government. More than thirty years later, we ...
Buzz from the Beehive Hard on the heels of our Buzz from the Beehive earlier today, the PM has made two announcements – the 2023 general election will be held on Saturday 14 October and she will not be campaigning to win a third term as Prime Minister. She will ...
Jacinda Ardern had an outsized impact on New Zealand’s international relations. While all Prime Ministers travel internationally, Ardern’s calendar was fuller than most. Ardern’s first major foreign trip came within weeks of her election in 2017, to the APEC summit in Vietnam. The meeting gave Ardern her first in-person encounter ...
She gave it her all. No New Zealand Prime Minister has ever dominated the political scene at home as she has done, or has established an international profile to match hers. No New Zealand Prime Minister has had to confront such a sequence of domestic and international catastrophes – from ...
Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation announcement today has left a lot of us with a lot of complicated feelings. In my case, while I've been highly critical of Ardern's government, I'm still sorry to see her go. We've had far too many terrible things happen during her term as Prime Minister ...
The decision by Jacinda Ardern to end her term as Prime Minister on February 7 has come as a stunning surprise. It turns the task of a centre-left government winning re-election this year from difficult to nigh on impossible. No-one else among the Labour caucus has Ardern’s ability to explain ...
Jacinda Ardern’s first press conference as Labour leader in August 2017 was a defining moment in the past decade of New Zealand politics. A young woman (by the standards of politics) who had long been tipped for higher office, she had underperformed as a minister and Andrew Little’s noble resignation ...
An Astonishing Rapport: Jacinda Ardern's "Politics of Kindness" raised so many progressive possibilities. Her own tragedy, and New Zealand's, is that so few of them were realised.MUCH WILL BE WRITTEN in the coming days about "The Ardern Years", some of it sympathetic and insightful, most of it spiteful and wrong.For ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Members of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have today written to Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Khamenei to condemn the ongoing violence and killing of women’s rights and democracy protesters, and to call on him to intervene immediately. ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
The Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...
A vaccine for people at risk of mpox (Monkeypox) will be available if prescribed by a medical practitioner to people who meet eligibility criteria from Monday 16 January, says Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. 5,000 vials of the vaccine have been obtained, enough for up to 20,000 ...
This is live coverage of the developing situation in Auckland. We will continue to update this with photos and information as it comes to hand. After a day of torrential rain, and new reports of at least one death in the flood water, a state of emergency has been declared ...
A state of emergency has been declared in Auckland due to severe flooding that has caused people to evacuate their homes. It was officially declared at 9.54pm. Meanwhile, Auckland Airport has closed its international terminal check-in due to flooding inside the building. The airport says it is sincerely sorry to ...
RNZ News Residents in flood-prone areas of West Auckland are being asked to prepare to evacuate as bad weather causes power cuts and car crashes across Tāmaki Makaurau, with a severe thunderstorm watch in place for the north of Aotearoa New Zealand. Auckland Emergency Management said the severe weather across ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Ward, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland Five years ago, bulldozers with chains cleared forests and woodlands almost triple the size of the Australian Capital Territory in a single year. Brazil? Indonesia? No – much closer: Queensland. In 2018-19, ...
Auckland Transport has apologised for confusing messaging that suggested attendees of tonight’s Elton John concert should drive. In a post on Facebook last night, AT said “driving to the concert is recommended” – a suggestion that prompted backlash due to the lack of parking options near the stadium. The announcement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Tingay, John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University Asteroid 20223 BU’s path in red, with green showing the orbit of geosynchronous satellites.NASA/JPL-Caltech There are hundreds of millions of asteroids in our Solar System, which means new asteroids are discovered ...
In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry revealed he attended the future King and Queen of England’s wedding with a frostbitten penis. A veteran of Antarctic expeditions says it’s not an issue that crops up often, if at all.Now that the avalanche of coverage about the Duke of Sussex’s memoir ...
A new poem by Wellington poet and publisher Ash Davida Jane. objects in the mirror are closer than they appear if a dog digs in the right spot and unearths a rib what do I care if a woman grows from that bone take her in and tend to her ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Grove Press, $25) Everyone’s chowing down on fiction ...
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More water than anything else, the cucumber is the perfect counter to intense and fiery flavours. Cucumber is without a doubt the most refreshing vegetable*, the antidote to hot summer days. At 95% water, a cucumber is basically an edible, crunchy, waste-free water bottle. Beside water, the cucumber has almost ...
REVIEW:By Rowan Callick Radio Australia was conceived at the beginning of the Second World War out of Canberra’s desire to counter Japanese propaganda in the Pacific. More than 70 years later its rebirth is being driven by a similarly urgent need to counter propaganda, this time from China. Set ...
The yellow brick road to Mt Smart stadium looks to be packed this weekend as thousands travel to dual Elton John concerts In the words of pop royal Elton John, “I think it’s going to be a long, long time” - in this case for the 40,000 odd concert-goers driving ...
The decision by Sport Northland to deny 'Stop Co-Governance', a community group, use of their Whangarei venue to hold a public meeting is illegal and defies the rights given to all Kiwis to voice their political opinions. This case, yet again, illustrates ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rolf Gerritsen, Professorial Research Fellow, Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University The supposed dimensions of the “crisis” in Alice Springs have been exhaustively portrayed in the media, both nationally and in the Northern Territory. The stories abound: shopfront windows repeatedly broken, groups of ...
Children’s Commissioner, Judge Frances Eivers: "Myself and previous Commissioners have been clear that the use of motels at all is deplorable, and a symptom of a system that is failing children. "Concerns around the practice have been raised repeatedly ...
Everything you need to know to get through the chaotic commute to to the Elton John concert in Tāmaki Mākaurau this weekend. Fans heading to Elton John’s concerts at Mt Smart Stadium this weekend have been advised to drive or walk thereby Auckland Transport (AT). In a Facebook post ...
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Finance minister Grant Robertson has opted to go list-only for the upcoming election, meaning he will not seek to be re-elected as MP for Wellington Central. It opens up the door for a swift exit from politics should Labour lose the election; without an electorate, no byelection would be triggered ...
Tory Whanau told The Spinoff’s When The Facts Change podcast that National’s transport spokesperson would push Wellington ‘backwards’ if he becomes transport minister.Wellington’s left-leaning mayor is worried her plans for the city could be scuppered by a new National-led government – and specifically by the party’s most likely candidate ...
Thousands of people are expected to flock to Auckland’s Western Springs on Monday for the triumphant return of the Laneway Festival. But with severe weather warnings in place, is it going to be reduced to a Splendour in the Grass-style “hellscape”? According to the organisers, no. In an email sent ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert G. Patman, Professor of International Relations, University of Otago A German Leopard 2 heavy battle tank of the type destined for Ukraine.Getty Images The recent decision by Olaf Scholz’s German government to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks – after ...
The Hauraki Gulf Alliance, a group of diverse organisations representing more than 1 million people, has rubbished proposals to continue trawling and dredging in New Zealand’s first marine park, the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. The Hauraki Gulf Fisheries ...
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission has shared experiences of children and young people in emergency housing ahead of New Zealand’s review under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Geneva this week. “The government ...
It’s felt like a long time between drinks, but everyone’s favourite/least favourite family are almost back on our screens. HBO today released a trailer for the upcoming fourth season of Succession and announced a March release date. Check out the trailer – which doesn’t give away too much, but successfully ...
Want to avoid being a bad visitor at the beach this summer? Just follow these simple steps.My partner’s whānau has had a bach in Whangaparāoa, 45 minutes north of Auckland, since the 1950s. They’ve been around long enough to become a part of the bay’s furniture. They know the ...
A slightly underrated track from Elton John gained real life resonance last night. Fans heading to his concerts at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland this weekend have been advised to drive or walk there by Auckland Transport as work on the rail network upgrade has closed the Penrose train station. One of ...
Morning Report - RNZ political editor Jane Patterson and deputy political editor Craig McCulloch run the ruler over the transition to Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, and the co-governance debate. ...
Activists from the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR) will gather right outside the main entrance of the Wellington Cup with props that symbolise the blood that is shed on the racetrack. ...
Waking up this morning was like a return to my summer break, where I was lulled out of my sleep by the sound of torrential rain. The North Island is in for a wet, windy and generally just bleak weekend. That’s particularly bad news for those of us at the ...
A lot of it is from Auckland as business leaders and a local MP make their requests. Further south, leading academics want plans for a new airport scratched, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
Parts of the nation’s capital have turned into a wasteland of red stickers, and ‘for lease’ signs. WellingtonNZ CEO John Allen has been given the challenge of breathing new life into the city’s economy, businesses, and image. He talks to Bernard about housing and hotel shortages, sewerage on the streets, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Baron, Associate Professor, Philosophy of Science, Australian Catholic University Counterfactuals are claims about what would happen, were something to occur in a different way. For instance, we can ask what the world would be like had the internet never been developed. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney Ian Alexander “Molly” Meldrum is 80 on January 29 2023. The Australian music industry would not be where it is today without his work as a talent scout, DJ, record producer, ...
The Bill that will create a new public media entity has been improved by the select committee that studied it, but it remains unfit for purpose. Kio Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, a think tank at the University of Auckland, had submitted that ...
Never mind the chief executives and TV cameras in the CBD – it was a small business grouping in west Auckland that had the new Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister as a captive audience, to talk through the challenges for struggling employers. Jonathan Milne reports.Mark Hauser and his ...
This morning, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child called out the failure of the New Zealand Government to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Referring to the current minimum age of criminal responsibility, the Committee stated ...
Eighty years after Jewish youths fought for their lives on the streets of the Warsaw Ghetto, the family of an Auckland Holocaust survivor is calling on New Zealanders to reject hatred and treat everyone with dignity, no matter their background. Alicja ...
Our box-fresh prime minister sat down Auckland’s CEO set for his first public audience yesterday. Duncan Greive was there.“I did say we wanted to get closer to business,” quipped our very new prime minister, Chris Hipkins. He sat alongside former National leader, now Auckland Business Chamber CE Simon Bridges, ...
In the northern part of Aotearoa, mangroves occupy mudflats and river mouths. They’re not always loved – but given our rising sea level, maybe they should be. It took a long time for Mere Kepa (Ngati Raka, Ngati Ira) to learn to love the manawa. She grew up around their ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did the right thing in dashing off to Alice Springs this week in response to the publicity about that city’s crime crisis. But in doing so, he set up a test ...
A leading economist says New Zealand has never had a "proper conversation" about what immigration is for, which is creating uncertainty for both immigrants and businesses in the country. ...
Te Tai Hauāuru MP and Speaker of the House Adrian Rurawhe will not stand for the Māori electorate in October's general election and will instead move to the Labour Party list. ...
Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick has written to the new prime minister, thanking him for making Auckland one of his first priorities as leader. Chris Hipkins spent the day in Tāmakai Makaurau meeting with business leaders, as well as attending the tangi for Māori activist Titewhai Harawira. In the letter ...
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His groundbreaking work conducted in Christchurch in the 1960s was never pursued. Now a legal loophole could make NZ a global leader in LSD research.This story was first published on Stuff. When Mark Livingstone was going through his father’s possessions after his death in 1970, he discovered a small ...
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