That shows how idiotic so much of the coverage of "tax cuts" has been. Treating it like scratch Lotto … "you could get $20 in your hand!". That only makes sense if everything else stays the same.
Economic policy changes things (sorry for stating the obvious, but the obvious isn't being reported much in this campaign). Sure, analysts might not all agree on the possible effects, but at a bare minimum there must be consideration of increased household costs, which would include house prices, rent, interest rates, council rates, and everything else related to the voter's home.
Tax Cuts are National's standard go to Policy, that trick has worked b4 as the average person does not understand the finer detail. Once National are voted in they develop policy to pay for the Tax Cuts like raising GST which for lower income earners nullifies the value of the Tax Cut.
The Lower Socio-Economic groups or "Bottom Feeders" who Luxon refers them as will get hammered by this next NACT Government.
Nikki Willis is doubting Goldman Sachs analysis and Grant Robertson's analysis, obviously she is a lot smarter than they are, hopefully she can clarify this and disprove their analysis.
I think point two is the most critical in terms of this election. That is failure to deliver on key projects such as Kiwibuild and Light Rail. I think this is front and centre of voters' minds when they consider promises that Labour makes for this current election. A lot of voters likely think "yeah right" and doubt what Labour promises will ever happen.
RNZ newsreader, 7am, said Labour MPs had told RNZ that saving the furniture is what matters now – but is parliament's furniture really threatened?
I suppose if the mob invades parliament next week then takes off in all directions carrying it, they'll be vindicated in their stand. Pictures of that happening on the evening news could effect a stunning turn-around in Labour's political fortunes.
However there's a real danger undecided voters will decide Labour has the wrong priorities. After all, folks can buy useful furniture at many large op-shops & parliamentary services could always go to Target if they felt obliged to be more up-market. Still, those Labour MPs could be right – let's wait & see if the mob goes for it.
ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden is locked in a statistical tie with the incumbent Simon O'Connor in the previously safe National seat of Tāmaki, a new Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll reveals.
When those who are undecided or refused to state their preferences are removed, O'Connor is on 40 percent support – down 13 points on the 2020 election – while van Velden is on 38 percent, up 30 points on the last election. Labour's Fesaitu Solomone was on 14 percent, the Greens on 4 percent, Te Pāti Māori on 2 percent, and NZ First on 1 percent.
Tāmaki has been a National stronghold for decades since former prime minister Robert Muldoon won the seat back at the 1960 general election.
If she wins it'll embed ACT for the forseeable future. I wonder what made her ditch the Greens & switch to ACT – haven't seen any reporter ask her the obvious question.
IMO Brooke van Velden one of the blue …"Green"? types you keep promulgating…For reasons known to yourself.
Prior to working for Seymour she worked for Matthew Hooton's lobbying firm Exceltium, and was at number 3 on the list in the 2017 election.
“I switched from being a Green Party voter to an ACT supporter while studying economics and international trade at Auckland University. The ability for free markets to lift countries from hardship was a revelation for me,” van Velden said in a statement.
I've explained the lack of authenticity of the left-Green stance often enough onsite here in the past, so those reasons you mention ought to be well-known by now. In sum: The Green movement I joined in '68 was deliberately conceived as neither left nor right but in front. Since that ethos went global in the early '80s I'm surprised you remain unaware of it.
Her view of lifting poverty via market forces is valid enough and I've reported stats on that once or twice here – it's just that the picture is more complex for us in the developed world, which is why the GP gets public support for wealth taxation.
Ideological the Free Trade Ideology in the real world which she probably hasn't experienced International Trade does not work that way, Seymour Butt would not understand that either as he has never had a proper job in his working life.
Interesting. A case of a University Business School succeeding at what it was designed to do. How economics is taught is just one more frontline in the battle.
A sizeable proportion of the voters of Tamaki could have had enough of Simon O'Conner's personal views too. I know several National voters who would vote very strategically to get rid of a happy clappy if National put one up in their electorate.
Would say the party vote in Tamaki is still resoundingly blue.
It makes sense to oust O'Connor, even for left-wing voters.
He would be replaced by a National list candidate. Tamaki voters can't choose who, obviously that would depend on National's party vote. But still likely to be less terrible than an ultra-conservative, one of the worst in the House.
(Brooke VV will be there regardless, on the list. So it's a free hit).
The same thing seems to be happening in Mahutu's seat of Hauraki-Waikato. The difference seems to be a little larger at 4% but I can't imagine that Nania is going to be very happy. She is on 36% with the TPM candidate on 32%.
If she loses of course she's gone as she hasn't got a place on the Labour Party list.
She was on the list, and quite high up, in every election since 2008 except for 2017 when, if I remember correctly, the party decided that none of the Maori electorate members should be on the list except for Kelvin Davis.
She was number 6 in 2014, 10 in 2008 and 2020 and number 12 in 2011.
I can't be bothered looking any further back than that.
I can't be bothered looking any further back than that.
Well I’m bothered! You'd have to look pretty far back to find a general election where Nanaia Mahuta didn't contest and win an electorate seat – 1996 in fact.
An unbroken run of eight electorate seat victories must be close to a record among incumbent electorate MPs.
Her being an mp for 27 years is a weakness not a strength for Gen z and Gen Y voters, a careerist old guard during a new Maori reneisance…
Being in parliament for longer than many voters have been alive is a travesty.
Anyone elected during the Bolger years should have retired during the early Key years.
Yikes.
We need Term limits on parliamentarians, professional politicians are genuinely the worst. Serving and representing your community is an honor, not a career!
I actually despise the party system, it creates professional politicians who don't stand up for their communities and instead they just toe the party line and work their way up the party ladder.
I'm not disputing that fact. It has, however absolutely nothing to do with what I was talking about.
However Anne was, or at least I assume that she was, suggesting that Nanaia did not stand on the list and tried only for the electorate seat. That was the only interpretation I could make on the statement "Nanaia Mahuta has always gone to the electorate" in response to my comment that she wasn't on the list this time.
If Anne meant something else perhaps she could reply and say what it was she did mean.
I didn't, and still don't believe that your reply to Patricia B was on point.
Nanaia Mahuta has always gone to the electorate. – PB @5.4.1
You began your reply with "That isn't true I'm afraid Patricia." And yet it is true for the last 8 elections – further back than you could be bothered.
Mahuta has won an electorate seat in each of the last 8 elections, and you can’t win an electorate seat unless you have “gone to the electorate.”
It was not true, however, for the 1996 election – let's call it a draw
Or perhaps as George and Ira Gershwin would have put it.
"You like potato and I like potahto
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto.
Let's call the whole thing off"
If Anne cares to tell us what she really meant I may show some further interest. Otherwise I can't be bothered as to whether your interpretation of what she meant versus mine is the more likely.
I got confused trying to understand what on earth Drowsy was going on about and used the wrong name in my reply to him.
What does Tina Turner have to do with my comment? Did she record it at some stage? George and Ira Gershwin wrote it long before she was around. The best recording of it, as far as I am concerned, was by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
About as much as the Gershwins have to do with mine
OK, so you didn't understand "Nanaia Mahuta has always gone to the electorate.", in response to your comment about pre-election polling in Nanaia's electorate seat and her not being on Labour's list.
Had my doubts even you could be that confused, but no longer.
When Patricia tells me that that is what she meant I will accept it. When you magically divine what somebody else means with a statement I'll take the interpretation with a very large grain of salt. Your record for accuracy in such matters is not great.
From the files of things that are never meant to happen. Men lied about being non binary to gain access to a women’s tech recruitment conference.
Lots of them.
Feminists said this would happen and were called bigots.
Would be interesting to know why. A so-called "men's rights" protest about a women-only event?. Oddball geeks wanting to hit on women? Tech guys don't always set the highest standards for their own personal behaviour. And genuine trans people aren't to blame for it.
apart from the genuine trans people who are trans rights activists and who wholly supported and fought for exactly this.
From what I can tell, it's a recruitment conference, so the dude's are after the jobs. But yeah, I would suspect there's been some MRA type organising going on, or even just the word got out and it's over entitled blokes who know how to game the systems.
Fair enough. But it still annoys me that genuine trans people, whose lives are surely already difficult enough, get an extra dose of crap thrown at them because of opportunistic behaviour by men.
Completely agree. It's one of the most stupid own goals from liberals I've seen, and they were warned that going beyond trans humans rights to taking from women's rights would backlash against trans people. It's not over yet and I really hope NZ can avoid the worst of that.
This year, droves of men showed up with résumés in hand. AnitaB.org, the nonprofit that runs the conference, said there was “an increase in participation of self-identifying males” at this year’s event.
It's not even trans people or men pretending to be non-binary, it's men just being men and feeling entitled. To lump trans people in with men as being the issue here is incorrect.
some registrants had lied about their gender identity when signing up,
From your linked article.
So, yes, the self-ID provision – theoretically for the benefit of trans people – has been abused in exactly the way that women have said it would be.
By self-identified men – posing as 'women' for the purposes of registration – but with no intention of actually being in any way actually trans.
I don't feel that anyone is blaming trans for the issue. They are blaming the system. And pointing out that the theoretical advantages for trans people haven't eventuated, while the predicted disadvantages for women have come to pass.
The statement that this situation is what trans rights activists 'wholly support and fought for' is absolutely incorrect and it is blaming trans advocates for a number of men (self-identifying men, i.e. not claiming to be trans) attending a space they already couldn't legally be excluded from. It has nothing to with any gains made by trans people in terms of legal recognition of their gender (which is where we hear the alarmism over people 'self-identifying').
No. It's pointing out that the concerns that women had about the self-ID provisions designed to benefit trans people, being gamed by self-identifying men – have been found to be correct.
Perhaps this comment was intended to be in response to someone else – since your quoted phrase doesn’t appear in my comment.
This isn't an issue of identification on legal documents (what trans people want to 'self-ID' about) this is men, who identify as men, gate-crashing the event. Some booked places claiming non-binary status but didn't assert it when they attended. This isn't a situation about self-ID provisions as those are provisions are about legal documentation not about lying on a google form.
You said you don't feel anyone is blaming trans people, the quote is pointing out that which you may have missed, not what you specifically said.
Yes – these men used the self-ID provisions to game the system. Just as women said they would.
If you think that self-ID is limited to legal documentation – I invite you to inspect the real world.
It's clear that you support the self-ID provisions for trans people – which is at least a contributing factor. How do you think this kind of situation could or should be avoided?
No they didn't, they lied on an online form, paid an entry fee and showed up to apply for jobs as a man, identifying as a man, at a women’s conference they cannot legally be excluded from. Entitled behaviour that is very disappointing but unsurprising from men, particularly in this industry (gamergate etc. etc.). This is fundamentally different to someone being able to change their gender marker on their birth certificate by statutory declaration (as they already could for their passport and drivers licence) which is the 'self-ID provision' trans rights advocates support. This isn't a case of trans women taking cis women's spaces, it's men being men and feeling entitled to jobs they already disproportionally dominate. The patriarchy is the problem, the solutions to that are many and varied. In this particular situation the onus is on the companies soliciting applications to discriminate because it is federally illegal for the event organisers to do so and that has nothing to do with self-ID.
“showed up to apply for jobs as a man, identifying as a man, at a women’s conference they cannot legally be excluded from”
How is it not legal to exclude males?
I agree with Belladonna. Self-ID is a set of sociopolitical changes across legislatoon, policy and culture. It’s not just about birth certificates. Self ID enables males to gain access to women’s spaces, it’s not a document that does, it’s societal sanction.
Where I said,
“apart from the genuine trans people who are trans rights activists and who wholly supported and fought for exactly this”
I wasn’t saying that trans people cause men to abuse the system. I was saying that removal of women’s spaces is an intended part of the activism. #notallTRAs of course. But there are TRAs who want an end to single sex spaces (this is what a big part of the UK fight is about).
Further, self ID is inherently a system that allows any man to self ID as a woman at any time and then has to be treated as such (or NB or whatever). That is the intention of the trans umbrella and self ID. There is no external validation needed, that’s the whole point.
When feminists said hang on, that’s going to cause all sorts of problems because men will abuse this system, many feminists were told to shut the fuck up, nazi bigot, and had sexualised abuse directed at them.
TRAs went ahead with self-ID despite being told of the problems. It’s intentional.
As the article I posted said the issue in this situation was men, 'self-identifying males'. That excludes trans women and non-binary people. Biology doesn't come in to it
do TW and NB males have the same kinds of patterns of behaviours as other males.
The first is self evident. If society says any man can say they are a woman at any time and have to be treated as such, this is a distinct change from women are adult human females and are entitled to their own spaces in some situations. In this case, would the men have felt entitled to enter a women’s conference without the aid of self ID?
I’ve seen no evidence that TW and NB males don’t share at least some of the patterns of behaviours as other males. Observation suggests they do.
It's not even trans people or men pretending to be non-binary, it's men just being men and feeling entitled. To lump trans people in with men as being the issue here is incorrect.
Yes, I know. This is the point, men are using self-ID to be NB to access women's stuff. Feminists have been warning about this for a long time and were called bigots.
I didn't lump trans people in with this, I pointed out the problems with self-ID. Now you know what we've been going on about all this time.
It's male entitlement, many men do it and so do many trans women and non-binary males.
In addition, trans women aside, I'm still waiting to hear why NB males would be let into a women's event in the first place. No-one ever explains this.
It's male entitlement, many men do it and so do many trans women and non-binary males.
You can't be serious
Trans women and, as you say, non-binary 'males' would be welcome at this event, the issue here was men, who identify as men, they live as men, they lied to enter a job fair. That men lie to improve their employment chances is not a revelation that trans advocates are surprised by, but is fundamentally different to the idea that it is a property inherent to 'maleness' which incorrectly lumps trans and non-binary people into this situation.
yes, arkie, I'm a gender critical feminist. I see TW and NB males as biologically male. Most people do.
Trans women and, as you say, non-binary 'males' would be welcome at this event, the issue here was men, who identify as men, they live as men, they lied to enter a job fair.
Self ID means that any man can say he is a man at any time and has to be believed. It's very transphobic of you to be thinking you know which are the real trans people.
That men lie to improve their employment chances is not a revelation that trans advocates are surprised by, but is fundamentally different to the idea that it is a property inherent to 'maleness' which incorrectly lumps trans and non-binary people into this situation.
If I could be bothered I'd go dig up all the conversations were TRAs and trans allies said this shit wouldn't happen. Even when we said it would.
Lying isn't a property inherent to maleness. Males of any identity self ID-ing into women's business is.
You still haven't explained why NB males should be allowed into women's spaces.
Lying isn't a property inherent to maleness. Males of any identity self ID-ing into women's business is.
And in this situation males self-identifying as men were the problem, no need to invoke trans people at all, except that you're a gender critical feminist, again, not new information.
People's genuinely held identities should be respected, but again, that wasn't the issue here and I'm at a loss as to why I'm expected to explain the admission policy choices of this event.
And in this situation males self-identifying as men were the problem, no need to invoke trans people at all, except that you’re a gender critical feminist, again, not new information.
But the only reason they were able to self-ID is because of self-ID. I agree the problem isn’t trans people, it’s self-ID (and TRA pol).
People’s genuinely held identities should be respected, but again, that wasn’t the issue here and I’m at a loss as to why I’m expected to explain the admission policy choices of this event.
I agree that people’s genuinely held identities should be respected. Including women’s. But self ID is massively disrespectful to women’s culture and identity. You can’t have it both ways.
what you are essentially arguing is the end of women’s culture. I would have less of a problem with a conference for people under represented or who face barriers in tech. But if they’re going to call it a women’s conference, then that’s a problem if it’s not for women only, as we have just seen.
Yeah but who wants to know about the real world during an election campaign?
Marine and ice specialists from top research outfits gathered at an emergency summit in Wellington on Tuesday to discuss record low sea ice in Antarctica this year, which they described as "deeply alarming".
More than 40 researchers banded together to release a joint statement saying the unprecedented Antarctic sea ice low was driven by warming of the Southern Ocean and atmosphere, and calling for urgent cuts to climate pollution. Speaking to media afterwards, they were not buying the argument that New Zealand is too small to make a difference to climate change, saying urgent emissions cuts on the scale needed called for global cooperation and that New Zealand could have an outsized impact on a per-capita basis.
At its seasonal peak, the typical area of ice floating on the Southern Ocean is so vast it doubles the size of the Antarctic continent, adding around 50 New Zealand’s worth of area. That was why it has such far-reaching effects on the planet’s climate.
Neither Hipkins nor Luxon will pay attention & do the right thing, I predict. Neolib ideology defeats reality in the minds of such mainstreamers constantly.
I very much doubt it. They're providing the long-term holistic view. Causal analysis doesn't really work in complex systems, which is why the butterfly effect usually gets mentioned by those up with the scientific play.
Brandolino the yank weather guy is usually good at pointing the media to the guts of whatever's happening but it would get down to the local interaction of El Nino & effects of the sea-ice decline down south. I haven't encountered any science on the effects of significant southern sea-ice reductions on a year-by-year basis.
Ditto. But I think it's a reasonable presumption that it will put more fiscal pressure on governments having to deal with whatever happens. Not a good time to be gutting whatever pathetically inadequate pots of money governments might have already set aside.
If you don't have regular access to the internet, or the right identification details (New Zealand driver licence, New Zealand passport or RealMe ID) to accompany an online enrolment, you can still enrol in other ways.
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Yeah – I sort of feel it glosses over the fact that Luxon/Nats are quite bad enough all on their own. The carbuncles are smallish exacerbations of the same underlying disease.
To those who thought TOP were principled and progressive:
[TOP leader, Raf Manji is] calling on National to stand aside in Ilam so TOP gets into Parliament with a handful of MPs, meaning Luxon wouldn't have to rely on New Zealand First if that's what's needed to form a government.
While Luxon has ruled it out, this play by Manji really points out the hollowness of TOPs priorities; none of their 'progressive' policies would be enacted by a potential NACT government.
It's a non-story, really. Manji has no chance, of course.
Bizarre that Newshub last night made it their lead at 6 pm. Yet another case of game-playing ranked above policy. The coverage seems worse than ever this election. All about the "who", not the "what". (And then we're surprised when the "what" emerges, only after we've voted).
IMO The MSM is there to deliver a profit and a RW government – things like information and honesty are at the most 'goal adjacent' and more often aren't even in the building let alone the coverage.
The NZ Media are just playing games with the NZ Public analysis of the different parties policies is above their level of intellect, it reminds me of watching Play School as a child. No wonder this cuntry is in the sh*t with the quality of Politicians available and the the level of intellect in the NZ Media.
'And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling journalists!'
Keep 'em honest, as much as is possible in these $$$-mesmerised times.
Mediawatch: Turning off the news? [9 April 2023]
“We noticed that there's 14,500 journalists in Finland [popn 5.5 m] – and about 2500 here [popn 5.2 m]. It does actually speak to what you can offer people. I think in New Zealand we're rushing the news. I'm not blaming journalists for that, because that same stuff has to be covered with fewer resources, but you're inevitably going to get thinner coverage,” Dr Treadwell said.
TOP is a right-wing party that rakes some ideas that parts of the left favour (like UBI) and inserts them into a right-wing framing of how the economy works and must work.
It may well be that most farmers will be happy to see these regulations go, but I suspect not all of them will.
This is ACT policy to target for our agricultural economy:
Scrapping the Zero Carbon Act and … if farmers in countries who are our biggest trading partners are not paying a price for their methane emissions, neither should New Zealand farmers.
A genuine split gas approach … [between methane and CO2],
Shifting responsibility for farm plans from Wellington bureaucrats to regional councils, while ensuring a consistent template is used and existing plans remain valid.
Making sure people with practical animal handling and farming experience are appointed to the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC).
…liberalising GE laws.
[R]emoving the cap on the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, abolishing labour market tests and wage rules, removing the ‘work to residence’ divide for occupations on the Green List, and bringing back 90-day trials.
Getting rid of Three Waters and bring back a local approach to water resources by having local communities develop acceptable standards and rules for nitrates, sedimentation run off, and freshwater quality.
Liberalising water storage requirements to increase farmer resilience to climate and seasonal pressures whilst maintaining aquifer health. And … time-based tradable water permits so farmers could trade water allocations …
Classic neolib fudging to prevent anything intelligent happening. No mention of polluter accountability. Evade consequences to demonstrate loyalty to the establishment. Trad left/right jerk-off for mainstreamers.
The standing ovation Canada’s parliament gave last Friday-fortnight to a 98 year-old veteran of the notorious Ukrainian Waffen-SS, a moment that shames the civilized world, has links to the recent railroading of a Radio New Zealand journalist accused of injecting pro-Russian propaganda into Reuters’ news stories.
Yaroslav Hunka, one of thousands of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators allowed into Canada after WW2, was a guest at the September 25th official parliamentary reception for Ukraine’s President Zelensky, who was in Canada to lobby for more military and financial aid for his war with Russia.
Introducing the veteran Nazi to a full house, the Speaker of Canada’s Parliament said; “We have in the chamber today a Ukrainian war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians”, going on to call him a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and to thank him for all his service.”
As cheers erupted throughout the chamber, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Zelensky, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Canadian Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre and the assembled leaders of Canada’s political elite all stood (twice) to applaud the veteran Ukrainian Nazi’s wartime “service”. https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/10/04/reuters-russia-and-radio-new-zealand/
Author's commentary seems well-written & as a sceptic on the issue I can't fault his stance. Looks like Justin got this wrong.
What we don't have , and what Russia doesn't have ,is a self avowed white supremacist unit within our military that actively recruits fellow white supremacists internationally .
I just believe Russiaphobes are not going to cease their Russiaphobia with facts and logic. Thankfully their opinion is of little consequence in the greater scheme of things.
You do realise literally the only 'Russian' military force that could actually achieve anything was Wagner (Soledar and Bakhmut) and that Dmitry Utkin (the bloke in the photo) was the military mind behind Wagner – so bemusingly it seems the best Russuian Military mind was a bald freaky looking guy with a pile of Nazi tattoos.
We could have a NACT TOP Coalition if National steps aside in Ilam and encourages their voters to vote TOP, will save Luxon having to deal with Winston and NZF ???
France’s health minister has assured the French public that there’s “no reason for widespread panic” as Paris reports a “widespread” rise in bedbugs… Rousseau conceded that “when you see them around you, when you have bedbugs in your home, it’s a nightmare” but assured listeners that “we haven’t been invaded by bedbugs.”
“Bedbugs have been increasingly present in France for two or three years now, regularly peaking in the summer. But this year, we’ve gone beyond all other years,” INELP president Marie Effroy said, adding that the jump started “at the end of August, beginning of September.”
So looks like Gaia's to blame. No wee alien spacecraft detected yet. If you are headed for a holiday there, Outer Mongolia probably a better move…
This interview of Naomi Klein by Ash Sarkar is some relief from election silliness. Klein looks at the growth of the far right using a literary device, the doppelganger. Her basic idea is that the right has quite tactically taken ground traditionally belonging to the left (such as opposition to hierarchy, elites and corporate power) and turned it into a malevolent double of it's original self by reflecting it back through a right-wing lens. This has splintered the left and pulled sections of it over to the right. It's not an original idea but an interesting take on an existing one.
Mark Mitchell is a liar. "Crime is out of control!" he says but when confronted with Stats he just shouts and blusters jus like Standford and Luxon have taught him. Disgusting.
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This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
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Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
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Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
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Matt Gaetz as House Speaker?
Ewwww.
Never going to happen.
The MAGA shower have too few votes and there are too many "moderate" Republicans who wouldn't want him anywhere near the speakers gavel either.
OOPS
Goldman Sachs analysts warn National’s proposed tax cuts risk exacerbating inflation, and therefore causing interest rates to remain higher for longer.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/election-2023-nationals-tax-cuts-could-push-interest-rates-up-goldman-sachs-analysts-warn/VB6QT4LQCFFA5HJDPVWQKCQSUA/
Pay walled
Link past the paywall
https://archive.ph/23WEA
That shows how idiotic so much of the coverage of "tax cuts" has been. Treating it like scratch Lotto … "you could get $20 in your hand!". That only makes sense if everything else stays the same.
Economic policy changes things (sorry for stating the obvious, but the obvious isn't being reported much in this campaign). Sure, analysts might not all agree on the possible effects, but at a bare minimum there must be consideration of increased household costs, which would include house prices, rent, interest rates, council rates, and everything else related to the voter's home.
It's a con, and not even a subtle one.
Tax Cuts are National's standard go to Policy, that trick has worked b4 as the average person does not understand the finer detail. Once National are voted in they develop policy to pay for the Tax Cuts like raising GST which for lower income earners nullifies the value of the Tax Cut.
The Lower Socio-Economic groups or "Bottom Feeders" who Luxon refers them as will get hammered by this next NACT Government.
Nikki Willis is doubting Goldman Sachs analysis and Grant Robertson's analysis, obviously she is a lot smarter than they are, hopefully she can clarify this and disprove their analysis.
Bryce Edwards has given 10 reasons why Labour's support has halved.
I think point two is the most critical in terms of this election. That is failure to deliver on key projects such as Kiwibuild and Light Rail. I think this is front and centre of voters' minds when they consider promises that Labour makes for this current election. A lot of voters likely think "yeah right" and doubt what Labour promises will ever happen.
In the case of Kiwibuild, even having brought a Kiwibuild property doesn't necessarily guarantee you will get it.
Light Rail to the Airport is a disaster waiting to happen IMHO.
Brought est-ce que tu bought?
Bryce Edwards is just another National Party poodle, always was, and always will be .
RNZ newsreader, 7am, said Labour MPs had told RNZ that saving the furniture is what matters now – but is parliament's furniture really threatened?
I suppose if the mob invades parliament next week then takes off in all directions carrying it, they'll be vindicated in their stand. Pictures of that happening on the evening news could effect a stunning turn-around in Labour's political fortunes.
However there's a real danger undecided voters will decide Labour has the wrong priorities. After all, folks can buy useful furniture at many large op-shops & parliamentary services could always go to Target if they felt obliged to be more up-market. Still, those Labour MPs could be right – let's wait & see if the mob goes for it.
Situation Tamaki on a knife-edge:
If she wins it'll embed ACT for the forseeable future. I wonder what made her ditch the Greens & switch to ACT – haven't seen any reporter ask her the obvious question.
Why does anyone go to the ACT Party?
More money.
ACT is the party for the people who always want more of it.
ACT Party is for the Greedy and Well Healed.
IMO Brooke van Velden one of the blue …"
Green"? types you keep promulgating…For reasons known to yourself.Hooten? She might like..Green, as in gardening.
I've explained the lack of authenticity of the left-Green stance often enough onsite here in the past, so those reasons you mention ought to be well-known by now. In sum: The Green movement I joined in '68 was deliberately conceived as neither left nor right but in front. Since that ethos went global in the early '80s I'm surprised you remain unaware of it.
Her view of lifting poverty via market forces is valid enough and I've reported stats on that once or twice here – it's just that the picture is more complex for us in the developed world, which is why the GP gets public support for wealth taxation.
Ideological the Free Trade Ideology in the real world which she probably hasn't experienced International Trade does not work that way, Seymour Butt would not understand that either as he has never had a proper job in his working life.
Interesting. A case of a University Business School succeeding at what it was designed to do. How economics is taught is just one more frontline in the battle.
Hmm – Dennis Frank missed his opportunity for a free hit at universities there![wink wink](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/wink_smile.png?x42494)
A sizeable proportion of the voters of Tamaki could have had enough of Simon O'Conner's personal views too. I know several National voters who would vote very strategically to get rid of a happy clappy if National put one up in their electorate.
Would say the party vote in Tamaki is still resoundingly blue.
It makes sense to oust O'Connor, even for left-wing voters.
He would be replaced by a National list candidate. Tamaki voters can't choose who, obviously that would depend on National's party vote. But still likely to be less terrible than an ultra-conservative, one of the worst in the House.
(Brooke VV will be there regardless, on the list. So it's a free hit).
The same thing seems to be happening in Mahutu's seat of Hauraki-Waikato. The difference seems to be a little larger at 4% but I can't imagine that Nania is going to be very happy. She is on 36% with the TPM candidate on 32%.
If she loses of course she's gone as she hasn't got a place on the Labour Party list.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/499329/general-election-2023-nanaia-mahuta-facing-serious-challenge-in-hauraki-waikato-poll-shows
Yeah looks like a classic generational divide happening there. Mahuta's track record versus a vote for the future…
Nanaia Mahuta has always gone to the electorate. She believes in Democracy.
That isn't true I'm afraid Patricia.
She was on the list, and quite high up, in every election since 2008 except for 2017 when, if I remember correctly, the party decided that none of the Maori electorate members should be on the list except for Kelvin Davis.
She was number 6 in 2014, 10 in 2008 and 2020 and number 12 in 2011.
I can't be bothered looking any further back than that.
Well I’m bothered! You'd have to look pretty far back to find a general election where Nanaia Mahuta didn't contest and win an electorate seat – 1996 in fact.
An unbroken run of eight electorate seat victories must be close to a record among incumbent electorate MPs.
Her being an mp for 27 years is a weakness not a strength for Gen z and Gen Y voters, a careerist old guard during a new Maori reneisance…
Being in parliament for longer than many voters have been alive is a travesty.
Anyone elected during the Bolger years should have retired during the early Key years.
Yikes.
We need Term limits on parliamentarians, professional politicians are genuinely the worst. Serving and representing your community is an honor, not a career!
I actually despise the party system, it creates professional politicians who don't stand up for their communities and instead they just toe the party line and work their way up the party ladder.
I'm not disputing that fact. It has, however absolutely nothing to do with what I was talking about.
However Anne was, or at least I assume that she was, suggesting that Nanaia did not stand on the list and tried only for the electorate seat. That was the only interpretation I could make on the statement "Nanaia Mahuta has always gone to the electorate" in response to my comment that she wasn't on the list this time.
If Anne meant something else perhaps she could reply and say what it was she did mean.
I didn't, and still don't believe that your reply to Patricia B was on point.
You began your reply with "That isn't true I'm afraid Patricia." And yet it is true for the last 8 elections – further back than you could be bothered.
Mahuta has won an electorate seat in each of the last 8 elections, and you can’t win an electorate seat unless you have “gone to the electorate.”
It was not true, however, for the 1996 election – let's call it a draw![wink wink](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/wink_smile.png?x42494)
Or perhaps as George and Ira Gershwin would have put it.
"You like potato and I like potahto
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto.
Let's call the whole thing off"
If Anne cares to tell us what she really meant I may show some further interest. Otherwise I can't be bothered as to whether your interpretation of what she meant versus mine is the more likely.
George & Ira, or Tina Turner: What's "Anne" got to do, got to do with it?
Are you OK?
Oops – PB @5.4.2
Sorry Anne. Sorry Patricia.
I got confused trying to understand what on earth Drowsy was going on about and used the wrong name in my reply to him.
What does Tina Turner have to do with my comment? Did she record it at some stage? George and Ira Gershwin wrote it long before she was around. The best recording of it, as far as I am concerned, was by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
About as much as the Gershwins have to do with mine![smiley smiley](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png?x42494)
OK, so you didn't understand "Nanaia Mahuta has always gone to the electorate.", in response to your comment about pre-election polling in Nanaia's electorate seat and her not being on Labour's list.
Had my doubts even you could be that confused, but no longer.
When Patricia tells me that that is what she meant I will accept it. When you magically divine what somebody else means with a statement I'll take the interpretation with a very large grain of salt. Your record for accuracy in such matters is not great.
Happy for others to decide whose interpretation is more ‘magical’![wink wink](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/wink_smile.png?x42494)
From the files of things that are never meant to happen. Men lied about being non binary to gain access to a women’s tech recruitment conference.
Lots of them.
Feminists said this would happen and were called bigots.
https://x.com/rottengirl/status/1709195019792318622?s=46
Would be interesting to know why. A so-called "men's rights" protest about a women-only event?. Oddball geeks wanting to hit on women? Tech guys don't always set the highest standards for their own personal behaviour. And genuine trans people aren't to blame for it.
apart from the genuine trans people who are trans rights activists and who wholly supported and fought for exactly this.
From what I can tell, it's a recruitment conference, so the dude's are after the jobs. But yeah, I would suspect there's been some MRA type organising going on, or even just the word got out and it's over entitled blokes who know how to game the systems.
Fair enough. But it still annoys me that genuine trans people, whose lives are surely already difficult enough, get an extra dose of crap thrown at them because of opportunistic behaviour by men.
Completely agree. It's one of the most stupid own goals from liberals I've seen, and they were warned that going beyond trans humans rights to taking from women's rights would backlash against trans people. It's not over yet and I really hope NZ can avoid the worst of that.
https://www.wired.com/story/grace-hopper-celebration-career-fair-men/
It's not even trans people or men pretending to be non-binary, it's men just being men and feeling entitled. To lump trans people in with men as being the issue here is incorrect.
From your linked article.
So, yes, the self-ID provision – theoretically for the benefit of trans people – has been abused in exactly the way that women have said it would be.
By self-identified men – posing as 'women' for the purposes of registration – but with no intention of actually being in any way actually trans.
I don't feel that anyone is blaming trans for the issue. They are blaming the system. And pointing out that the theoretical advantages for trans people haven't eventuated, while the predicted disadvantages for women have come to pass.
The statement that this situation is what trans rights activists 'wholly support and fought for' is absolutely incorrect and it is blaming trans advocates for a number of men (self-identifying men, i.e. not claiming to be trans) attending a space they already couldn't legally be excluded from. It has nothing to with any gains made by trans people in terms of legal recognition of their gender (which is where we hear the alarmism over people 'self-identifying').
No. It's pointing out that the concerns that women had about the self-ID provisions designed to benefit trans people, being gamed by self-identifying men – have been found to be correct.
Perhaps this comment was intended to be in response to someone else – since your quoted phrase doesn’t appear in my comment.
This isn't an issue of identification on legal documents (what trans people want to 'self-ID' about) this is men, who identify as men, gate-crashing the event. Some booked places claiming non-binary status but didn't assert it when they attended. This isn't a situation about self-ID provisions as those are provisions are about legal documentation not about lying on a google form.
You said you don't feel anyone is blaming trans people, the quote is pointing out that which you may have missed, not what you specifically said.
Yes – these men used the self-ID provisions to game the system. Just as women said they would.
If you think that self-ID is limited to legal documentation – I invite you to inspect the real world.
It's clear that you support the self-ID provisions for trans people – which is at least a contributing factor. How do you think this kind of situation could or should be avoided?
No they didn't, they lied on an online form, paid an entry fee and showed up to apply for jobs as a man, identifying as a man, at a women’s conference they cannot legally be excluded from. Entitled behaviour that is very disappointing but unsurprising from men, particularly in this industry (gamergate etc. etc.). This is fundamentally different to someone being able to change their gender marker on their birth certificate by statutory declaration (as they already could for their passport and drivers licence) which is the 'self-ID provision' trans rights advocates support. This isn't a case of trans women taking cis women's spaces, it's men being men and feeling entitled to jobs they already disproportionally dominate. The patriarchy is the problem, the solutions to that are many and varied. In this particular situation the onus is on the companies soliciting applications to discriminate because it is federally illegal for the event organisers to do so and that has nothing to do with self-ID.
“showed up to apply for jobs as a man, identifying as a man, at a women’s conference they cannot legally be excluded from”
How is it not legal to exclude males?
I agree with Belladonna. Self-ID is a set of sociopolitical changes across legislatoon, policy and culture. It’s not just about birth certificates. Self ID enables males to gain access to women’s spaces, it’s not a document that does, it’s societal sanction.
Where I said,
“apart from the genuine trans people who are trans rights activists and who wholly supported and fought for exactly this”
I wasn’t saying that trans people cause men to abuse the system. I was saying that removal of women’s spaces is an intended part of the activism. #notallTRAs of course. But there are TRAs who want an end to single sex spaces (this is what a big part of the UK fight is about).
Further, self ID is inherently a system that allows any man to self ID as a woman at any time and then has to be treated as such (or NB or whatever). That is the intention of the trans umbrella and self ID. There is no external validation needed, that’s the whole point.
When feminists said hang on, that’s going to cause all sorts of problems because men will abuse this system, many feminists were told to shut the fuck up, nazi bigot, and had sexualised abuse directed at them.
TRAs went ahead with self-ID despite being told of the problems. It’s intentional.
The article I posted says it is not legal because of 'federal non-discrimination protections in the US'
You say male because you are lumping trans women in with the men in this situation which is erroneous.
You make extraordinary claims about the views and aims of others quite freely on this issue it seems.
are you saying that you believe trans women aren’t biologically male?
are you also saying that NB males aren’t biologically male?
As the article I posted said the issue in this situation was men, 'self-identifying males'. That excludes trans women and non-binary people. Biology doesn't come in to it
there are two issues here.
The first is self evident. If society says any man can say they are a woman at any time and have to be treated as such, this is a distinct change from women are adult human females and are entitled to their own spaces in some situations. In this case, would the men have felt entitled to enter a women’s conference without the aid of self ID?
I’ve seen no evidence that TW and NB males don’t share at least some of the patterns of behaviours as other males. Observation suggests they do.
Yes, I know. This is the point, men are using self-ID to be NB to access women's stuff. Feminists have been warning about this for a long time and were called bigots.
I didn't lump trans people in with this, I pointed out the problems with self-ID. Now you know what we've been going on about all this time.
It's male entitlement, many men do it and so do many trans women and non-binary males.
In addition, trans women aside, I'm still waiting to hear why NB males would be let into a women's event in the first place. No-one ever explains this.
and then
You can't be serious
Trans women and, as you say, non-binary 'males' would be welcome at this event, the issue here was men, who identify as men, they live as men, they lied to enter a job fair. That men lie to improve their employment chances is not a revelation that trans advocates are surprised by, but is fundamentally different to the idea that it is a property inherent to 'maleness' which incorrectly lumps trans and non-binary people into this situation.
yes, arkie, I'm a gender critical feminist. I see TW and NB males as biologically male. Most people do.
Self ID means that any man can say he is a man at any time and has to be believed. It's very transphobic of you to be thinking you know which are the real trans people.
If I could be bothered I'd go dig up all the conversations were TRAs and trans allies said this shit wouldn't happen. Even when we said it would.
Lying isn't a property inherent to maleness. Males of any identity self ID-ing into women's business is.
You still haven't explained why NB males should be allowed into women's spaces.
And in this situation males self-identifying as men were the problem, no need to invoke trans people at all, except that you're a gender critical feminist, again, not new information.
People's genuinely held identities should be respected, but again, that wasn't the issue here and I'm at a loss as to why I'm expected to explain the admission policy choices of this event.
But the only reason they were able to self-ID is because of self-ID. I agree the problem isn’t trans people, it’s self-ID (and TRA pol).
I agree that people’s genuinely held identities should be respected. Including women’s. But self ID is massively disrespectful to women’s culture and identity. You can’t have it both ways.
what you are essentially arguing is the end of women’s culture. I would have less of a problem with a conference for people under represented or who face barriers in tech. But if they’re going to call it a women’s conference, then that’s a problem if it’s not for women only, as we have just seen.
“And in this situation males self-identifying as men were the problem, no need to invoke trans people at all,”
That's just 'La-La-La fingers in the ears' not paying attention to the issue.
Which is males using the self-ID provisions designed for trans people – to access women's spaces.
Women said this would happen. And it has. Multiple times and in multiple different ways.
Still waiting to hear how trans-activists propose to address this – entirely foreseeable – consequence of the self-ID provisions they campaigned for.
Yeah but who wants to know about the real world during an election campaign?
Neither Hipkins nor Luxon will pay attention & do the right thing, I predict. Neolib ideology defeats reality in the minds of such mainstreamers constantly.
Is anyone yet venturing about how this might affect New Zealand?
I'm presuming it will but don't have the expertise to venture how.
I couldn't see it from the participants.
I very much doubt it. They're providing the long-term holistic view. Causal analysis doesn't really work in complex systems, which is why the butterfly effect usually gets mentioned by those up with the scientific play.
Brandolino the yank weather guy is usually good at pointing the media to the guts of whatever's happening but it would get down to the local interaction of El Nino & effects of the sea-ice decline down south. I haven't encountered any science on the effects of significant southern sea-ice reductions on a year-by-year basis.
Ditto. But I think it's a reasonable presumption that it will put more fiscal pressure on governments having to deal with whatever happens. Not a good time to be gutting whatever pathetically inadequate pots of money governments might have already set aside.
Sharon Murdoch doing her thing. The growths on Luxon’s back.
https://x.com/domesticanimal/status/1709265262384689505?s=46
Party Vote Green – or TPM, or Labour – please.
https://www.greens.org.nz/ending_poverty_together
https://vote.nz/enrolling/enrol-or-update/enrol-or-update-online/
Yeah – I sort of feel it glosses over the fact that Luxon/Nats are quite bad enough all on their own. The carbuncles are smallish exacerbations of the same underlying disease.
To those who thought TOP were principled and progressive:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/10/election-2023-national-urged-to-do-deal-in-ilam-to-get-the-opportunities-party-into-parliament-avoid-needing-winston-peters.html
While Luxon has ruled it out, this play by Manji really points out the hollowness of TOPs priorities; none of their 'progressive' policies would be enacted by a potential NACT government.
It's a non-story, really. Manji has no chance, of course.
Bizarre that Newshub last night made it their lead at 6 pm. Yet another case of game-playing ranked above policy. The coverage seems worse than ever this election. All about the "who", not the "what". (And then we're surprised when the "what" emerges, only after we've voted).
IMO The MSM is there to deliver a profit and a RW government – things like information and honesty are at the most 'goal adjacent' and more often aren't even in the building let alone the coverage.
The NZ Media are just playing games with the NZ Public analysis of the different parties policies is above their level of intellect, it reminds me of watching Play School as a child. No wonder this cuntry is in the sh*t with the quality of Politicians available and the the level of intellect in the NZ Media.
'And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling journalists!'
Keep 'em honest, as much as is possible in these $$$-mesmerised times.
good. Hopefully this plays out badly for them now that it's clear.
TOP is a right-wing party that rakes some ideas that parts of the left favour (like UBI) and inserts them into a right-wing framing of how the economy works and must work.
It may well be that most farmers will be happy to see these regulations go, but I suspect not all of them will.
This is ACT policy to target for our agricultural economy:
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2310/S00023/six-rural-regulations-first-on-the-chopping-block.htm
This is the Federated Farmer takeover they've always wanted, back into low-grade low-value, low care exports.
Classic neolib fudging to prevent anything intelligent happening. No mention of polluter accountability. Evade consequences to demonstrate loyalty to the establishment. Trad left/right jerk-off for mainstreamers.
Check out this Ukrainian nazi situation:
Author's commentary seems well-written & as a sceptic on the issue I can't fault his stance. Looks like Justin got this wrong.
Uh oh
Dennis
Rookie move to be so even-handed
Have you not read the comments on TS where this has been discussed?
The standing ovation is inconsequential because of Holodomor and Russia's war in Ukraine.
And after the war the Ukrainian nazis were very handy for their hatred of communism, which evened out their slaughter of Jews,Poles, gypsies.
Politico has come forward with an attempt to wash the sins of the Galizien unit away,there will be more to come
The Nazi Party ceased to exist 78 years ago.
The Nazi Party was the party of German Fascists.
Putin the Tiny incessantly carps on about mythical Ukranian Nazi's as a form of his dead cat on the table school of reasoning.
The Wagner PMC's main military strategist was this bloke
https://aijac.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/utkin.jpeg
That's a lovely 'lightning bolt ' tattoo – What could it ever be referring to?
Ooo and is that a German eagle tattoo as well?
Yes most definitely it is .
We have those nutters here too.
What we don't have , and what Russia doesn't have ,is a self avowed white supremacist unit within our military that actively recruits fellow white supremacists internationally .
https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-the-transnational-network-that-nobody-is-talking-about/
Thank you Francesca for your tenacity.
I just believe Russiaphobes are not going to cease their Russiaphobia with facts and logic. Thankfully their opinion is of little consequence in the greater scheme of things.
Thanks Brigid
Of course the Russophobia is built in , to the extent that there are no Nazis in Ukraine!I'm staggered by the Nazi apologists coming to the surface.
The russophobia is built by russia's murderous invasions, tortures, rapes, looting. That is what builds it in.
Here's an idea – how about they take their military and f*ck off back to russia? Unlike Ukraine, they can leave and return to their own country.
You do realise literally the only 'Russian' military force that could actually achieve anything was Wagner (Soledar and Bakhmut) and that Dmitry Utkin (the bloke in the photo) was the military mind behind Wagner – so bemusingly it seems the best Russuian Military mind was a bald freaky looking guy with a pile of Nazi tattoos.
Lol
Buttfly that photo is NOT Utkin, do a little actual research instead of spreading misinformation, similar looking but Utkin ain't the guy in the pic.
We could have a NACT TOP Coalition if National steps aside in Ilam and encourages their voters to vote TOP, will save Luxon having to deal with Winston and NZF ???
Panic in France due to alien invasion?
So looks like Gaia's to blame. No wee alien spacecraft detected yet. If you are headed for a holiday there, Outer Mongolia probably a better move…
This interview of Naomi Klein by Ash Sarkar is some relief from election silliness. Klein looks at the growth of the far right using a literary device, the doppelganger. Her basic idea is that the right has quite tactically taken ground traditionally belonging to the left (such as opposition to hierarchy, elites and corporate power) and turned it into a malevolent double of it's original self by reflecting it back through a right-wing lens. This has splintered the left and pulled sections of it over to the right. It's not an original idea but an interesting take on an existing one.
Mark Mitchell is a liar. "Crime is out of control!" he says but when confronted with Stats he just shouts and blusters jus like Standford and Luxon have taught him. Disgusting.
Stats are interesting too.